Chapter 7
Seven
SLASH
Idislike bringing these people to our small area of control on campus, but I know that the little demon will enjoy seeing the brightly colored Fae.
She has not had strong parental or even friendly influences in her life based on what she’s shared, and I’m uncertain that having ancient demon men be her closest buddies is the healthiest thing for her healing process.
This is drawn from Zavida and Anton’s research into human psychology, of course, and I may be completely mistaken.
But deep down, my gut tells me I am not.
Therefore, getting this group and the one with the gargoyle woman vetted is of utmost importance.
If we can do so, Kat can have friends who are not…
us… and that will help her confidence. Having my brothers as friends has helped Zavida and Anton, who I would consider the smallest in stature of our group, feel safe to train up their powers for a long time.
Now they are quite formidable in their own right, and we use that secret strength as a gambit that is not advertised to the rest of the world.
The little demon is stuffed to the gills with unknown gifts that are going to amaze everyone; I am sure of that.
“Why so quiet, big guy?”
I look at Oriel with narrowed eyes as we walk the group of visitors around the back perimeter of the buildings.
Our goal is to keep their very noticeable appearance off the radar, so we do not get seen by our various enemies—staff and competitors alike.
We do not know how spies are embedded in the campus by Jasper’s father, Darkstar, and or any other undesirable entity.
I’d prefer this to be as quiet as possible until we’re ready for others to know.
“Oriel, you are a thief. Do not be dense.”
The crow demon grins, shrugging as he cuts his gaze to the Gemini twins, their mate, and the tall blond shifter. “You know, that guy is a lion shifter. He might have some tips…”
My glare shuts him up; I don’t want them to overhear about Kat’s shifts just yet. If she tells them, that is her right, but we are not spilling secrets we do not have permission to share. “I think their missing member and the reborn bird are taking up their time at the moment.”
“I’ve never seen a phoenix regrowing.” Turning to Zavida, I wait for him to expound.
“I mean, mythicals have common, uncommon, rare, ultra rare, and extinct species, right? Phoenixes are uncommon down here and downright rare up there. So they don’t blow themselves up very often, and I’m curious about the rebirth process. ”
“You and me both, buddy,” the pink-haired Fae says as she grins at Zav. “I didn’t even know he could fucking do it. The blast knocked us all for a goddamn loop, and we’re lucky no one died.”
Interesting. I wonder how they recovered so quickly.
“We knew,” the lion shifter says with a grimace. “I mean, the guys and I did. We’d never seen it, of course, and the aftermath was gnarly AF. But we knew and kind of fucked up by not telling Rogue sooner. She gave us a good ass-kicking for that, though Reb hasn’t gotten his yet.”
Anton looks at their group. “Having one of your members missing prior to finishing the bond must be very difficult.”
“You have no idea,” Rogue scoffs, and then shakes her head.
“Sorry. Rebel and I fought this thing between us for a very long time for stupid reasons, and once we were almost ready to let it happen… Well, this bullshit comes to screw it all up. I feel foolish for waiting and giving up the time I had, especially since the future is nebulous now.”
My eyes flick to the prince, hoping that he’s listening as he walks alongside the Gemini twins.
Jasper is damaged, stubborn, and emotionally stunted on a good day; when he’s been harmed he’s worse.
I don’t want his unresolved shit to fuck this up for all of us or to hurt the little demon more than it already has.
I haven’t intervened yet; Zavida wanted time to see if he could turn it around.
But if my oldest friend doesn’t get his shit together soon, I will step in and set him straight in an extremely unpleasant fashion.
“You were acting on human mores,” Jasper finally says as he looks at her. “That’s why most demons prefer to commute to the surface for their work rather than live there. Supernaturals who spend that much time hiding their true selves from the meat bags there pick up their twisted shit.”
Angelo snorts. “He’s not wrong about that. When D and I were coming back and forth for school, it was so fucking hard to readjust, especially with the time slippage. They really impose a lot of inconsequential things on our communities that we don’t even realize.”
“Like giving a shit that you’re crushing on a stepbrother who isn’t your blood or even your adoptive parents’ blood relation?
” The brightly colored Fae throws her hands up and sighs in resignation.
“No shit, guys. I’ve always thought I was pretty free-spirited and not oppressed by weird expectations.
I guess I wasn’t aware of some of the deeply buried shit. ”
Oriel stops, and we all pause as he listens for something—what, I’m not sure.
“This is a tricky spot. I want to take us in through a concealed entrance to the lowest floor of Canto IV. However, if we’re not extremely quiet and careful, students with lower-level windows facing this side might notice us. ”
“There’s nothing to see here, so they’d only look if they heard noises. Clever,” the bespectacled Gemini says.
“Exactly. So shut it and follow me, one by one. This is super stealth mode shit, so don’t fuck it up,” O replies as he ducks under a tree.
Stealth on land is not my strong suit, but here we go.
Shockingly, Oriel’s secret passage idea worked.
He led us out of the entrance and down a hallway tinged with the vague scent of smoke.
Jasper snarls as we pass a door that has a particularly strong burnt aroma, and I arch a brow at him.
He just turns away, gritting his jaw as if he wants to crack his fucking teeth.
That must be where he rescued the little demon what seems like eons ago.
I sigh quietly as we head up the stairs, ascending to the main common areas of the dorm.
There aren’t many students here because of exams. That’s convenient for us, because there’s no fucking way we’ll all fit in that damn elevator together.
Zavida pushes the button, his tails swishing nervously as he looks at our visitors.
“This isn’t big enough for everyone, so we’ll split into two groups.”
The Fae gives him a soft smile, and I notice Jasper grinding his jaw more. He really is a jealous dipshit sometimes, and I’m curious to see what happens when this woman is kind and friendly with Kat. “Who’s riding with us, then?”
“I will,” X says with a brilliant grin. “I like your style, and we might actually chat instead of getting stuck with the silent brigade again.”
Her eyes dance as she takes them in. “I’d love it. Do you design your own uniform? I can’t imagine this dick fest of a school has anything so nonconforming lying around.”
“I do!”
Anton actually smiles as X chatters with the sparkly woman, and I feel a little bit of relief flow through me.
He’s not upset like Jasper, but he has been even less expressive than usual, and I don’t like it.
Knowing the prideful bird, he probably just needs a conversation and an apology from Kat because he felt left out.
Once that happens, his head will be clear and he will be able to focus again.
Maybe someone should recommend the little demon start there?
The elevator dings, and I sigh in relief when it’s empty.
I’d prefer not to deal with any hyped-up, under-rested assholes who live here when they see our guests.
Unfortunately, this is the only fucking lift in the building, and the stairs are murder, even for me.
I give the entire gaggle of supes a look, and the first car of people pile in, leaving me to watch over X, the Fae, and the lion shifter.
I squint at the baby phoenix he’s holding, impressed that he’s kept it quiet.
“You have great skill with it,” I say as I nod at the carrier. “It’s impressive.”
The lion laughs softly and shakes his head.
“You’re, like, the eleventy billionth person to say that.
I guess most of us weren’t raised with siblings you had to take care of because you’re rich or you have craptastic parents.
My mom and dads are all cat shifters, and since my mom’s the lioness, she rules the whole pride.
I was expected to help out with the younger ones all the time; it’s pretty second nature. ”
Shuddering as I think about that, I reply, “The General did not summon other children once I proved to be a suitable heir. At least, not ones anyone knows about. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were bastards somewhere, though. Most of our families have them sprinkled all over Hell as spares.”
His eyes widen, and he wrinkles his nose. “Man, that would suck. How the fuck would you know if you were accidentally fucking or killing someone you were related to? Very daytime TV shit, right there. Damn.”
I blink, never having considered that before. “They aren’t likely to run in royal or elite circles, so I believe we didn’t consider it.”
As the bell dings again, they head inside the car, and I join at the end. The lion is still chuckling as he asks, “You guys absolutely never, not even once, went slumming or whatever as teens? Can’t be.”
“I do not believe that interacting with less wealthy demons is slumming personally, though I can understand why you would assume that.”
X stops babbling to their woman and looks at the blond supe. “You know, I’d be interested in finding out how the fuck you’re getting him to talk so much. The only person who can do that so easily is KK. Usually, it’s like pulling teeth from… well, a shark.”
“Archie is extremely sociable,” the Fae says with a fond smile. “Out of all my men, he and Angelo are usually the most extroverted, followed by Javi. Since he’s stuck in ugly bird-form, that just leaves those two to help us all get around without stabbing people.”
I arch a brow, wondering if she’s serious about that.
When she looks at me with a mischievous grin, I realize that she definitely is not kidding about her method of dealing with problems. I might actually like her, and that bodes well for her being a suitable friend for the little demon.
“I prefer to eat my difficulties away, but I understand the urge.”
Xerxes huffs, flipping their hair over their shoulder. “Eating is so barbaric. Poison is more fun.”
“I have that, too. That’s why I never bring my wings out unless it’s serious,” she says as she winks at them.
“You’d love that show, but I don’t know if you’d be affected or not.
My mates aren’t, and Reb always took a special tincture when we worked together to make sure he didn’t inhale the bad shit. ”
Watching her face fall, I think about how angry I would be if my prospective mate were missing, and I had absolutely no idea where to look.
I don’t think I would be able to function on a higher brain level like Rogue, and that is also quite impressive.
She’s in control of her rage and sorrow so perfectly that I only catch random glimpses of the emotion that must be roiling within.
After all, the Fae are one of the most emotional species out there, and she’s locked down like an ice sculpture.