Chapter 13
Thirteen
JASPER
Nothing about this sits right with my dragon, but then, he’s pissed as fuck at me.
His pouting for the past few days has been worse than when I was a wee demon and didn’t use my recent shifts to fix the problems in the world simply because I could.
Obviously, that was a young dragon’s estimation, and even as a new demon, I realized that wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
But then, unlike the few other shadow-wielding dragons I know well in my line, my beast has a sharply honed sense of morality.
It’s his morality, not what most demons or supes would subscribe to, but it’s impossible to ignore without consequences.
None of my roles—prince, shifter, demon, heir, lover, brother—is as basic as they sound on the surface, and it’s so fucking exhausting.
“Jas?”
I look at Zav as the group Anton assigned me skulks through the back stairway behind the other two.
Oriel insisted we leave the way we came to help avoid detection, and if I let Anton calculate all the group dynamics, I have to let our thief guide the way for our movements as we split up.
My brothers have different yet useful skill sets that complement my own, and if I do not use them, I am a shit-poor leader.
My father often dismisses the opinions and suggestions of his fellow Court and Council advisors to feed his ego or cover up some scheme he has working.
It never ends well, and he takes zero responsibility for the failure.
I believe there was a time he did value the advice of his caliphate, but that has long passed since they gained control of Hell.
“What?” I say with a sigh as our group finally exits into the waning light of the day. “Did you sense something?”
Zavvie shakes his head, pausing for a brief second like he’s regathering his words. “I think we should not discount what the others offer. It would be foolish to go into the arena and the magical enclave without allowing for fresh magic and senses to give us perspective.”
I didn’t expect that; Zavida is normally less direct when we’re not alone.
“You do, hmm?” I reply as I eye the Gemini, the polar bear, and the mage. “Only one of them is a demon. How are they supposed to truly aid us in a realm not their own?”
The mage stops, turning to look at me with an amused smirk.
Of everyone, I didn’t expect the one who’s basically human with an upgrade to respond.
“Prince Jasper, not to be offensive, but you don’t have a clue what magic users from centuries-old magic families can do.
You barely have a clue what goes on up where we all live because you don’t deign to rise above the crust very often.
That alone conveys a hubris that puts you in the position of not knowing that your Headmaster is conspiring with a fuckton of baddies to take over. ”
“He’s got us there,” Zav whispers. “We knew Lucian was bad, but not that he was in with Gemini or the whole mystery alliance of realm traitors.”
“To be fair,” Angelo cuts in with a sigh.
“My brother and I also didn’t know, nor did Rogue and her Guardian handlers, nor your precious Society masters, Briarton.
This shit has been getting handled in one-offs, blamed on convenient suspects, and none of it has been tied together, even by the Sibbies. ”
I frown. “Sibbies?”
“Supernatural Bureau of Investigation,” the professor replies with a dismissive wave.
“I wouldn’t expect them to know, Angelo.
Normal supes talk of them fearfully, as if they’re the highest law, but in my time in the shadows of the wealthy non-shifter, non-other realm supes?
They’re considered puppets of the agents and Guardians of the Society.
A day-to-day cop force that can override the locals when needed, but not anyone to be concerned about. ”
The bear grimaces. “He’s right. Even the wealthy shifters, especially Society-connected ones, aren’t really worried about them.
I’m a good case in point; when they accused me of murder, the Sibbies should have swooped in and stolen that high-profile, multinational suspect case, but they didn’t. Why didn’t they?”
Zavida’s tails swish as he perks up to say, “They’re… what’s that saying? Um… all hat and no cattle? Did I get it right?”
I snort, but the blond athlete smiles broadly. “That’s exactly it, little dude. You nailed it. Is your girl introducing you to our stuff? That sounds like something you’d pick up in a movie.”
“Yeah. Kit… um, Kat, I guess…” Zav frowns for a second then shrugs and goes on, “Kat has been watching movies with us after study time to help us learn your stuff, too. Plus, it’s sort of amusing in a technical sense to see how wrong the humans get everything.”
“No shit,” the professor says as he shakes his head ruefully. “We live there and have to watch it being fucked up. It’s surreal.”
“Perhaps that is why we choose not to visit your realm?” I interject with a smug grin. “It’s far too hidden in the supernatural closet to deal with. We had to change ourselves simply to walk down the street.”
“Do you always run around half-shifted?” the bear asks. “I can’t even imagine it because it’s so odd compared to our place.”
“Always,” I reply as my tail flicks back and forth.
“Hell does not demand anyone retain any form as a matter of law. It is common for school-aged demons of lower, secondary, and upper ages to remain mostly humanoid in classes to prevent issues. However, in the cities, you see very different behavior. Demons, supes, and hybrids might be fully shifted, fully demon, half and half… It may shock some of your members.” I look at Gemini pointedly because they have the goal of going further into Hell than the university family.
The elder twin blinks and nods sharply. “Thank you for reminding me, Your Highness.”
I roll my eyes, sighing again as I realize that having these people refer to me as if we’re at the Court is going to get very old, very quickly.
“You can knock off the Prince and Your Highness shit. You have my permission. I… don’t force that on people who are close to my caliphate, and as long as you are here working with us, it’s fine. ”
That earns me a shocked look from the others and a pleased grin from my Kitsune. Zavida looks at them, his tail swishing happily as he confirms my statement. “It’s true. We only use it when we’re in public or trying to piss him off.”
I could have done without that clarification.
“Got it—only to twist his scaly knickers,” the bear says, and I have to bite back a groan because he reminds me of Salem.
“Can we get a move on?” I grumble instead. “This is never getting done if we stand here all damn night.”
“Which area should we go to first?” the Gemini says. “Your second assigned us the arena, the magical enclave, and the area where the Beastiary is. I’ve never been out there; D and I didn’t have familiars, so we never got permission to go.”
That makes me feel smug again, so I give him a look that reflects it. “Then, by all means, we should head out near The Keeper’s compound first. You may see things none of you have ever even heard of.”
“Like what?” the professor asks as he follows Zavida toward our destination. “Are you people keeping unicorns in herds down here or something? If so, I have a question.”
Frowning as we walk, I shake my head. “Of course not. The damn things are just as rare here as up there. Why would you ask that specifically?”
“We’re looking for one,” the bear replies. “But even if we find it on our own—”
Briarton gives him a dirty look. “Not the time, Lucas.”
“Uh, guys?” the Gemini twin says with a confused look. “We know a unicorn. Are they really so rare? Rogue knows a chick on her team who’s one.”
The mage and the hockey player look at one another, and then Iggy finally says, “Male ones are. They have the specific power we need, but it only runs in males. Conversely, it runs in females in pegasi or, the legends say, in alicorns.”
“You’d be more likely to find a goddamn alien than one of those,” I mutter as we cross the quad. “Some people even think they were a myth entirely.”
“Not a myth,” Zavida and the professor say at the same time.
Everyone else looks at them expectantly, and finally, Zavvie is the one who speaks.
“They existed, but like many mythical shifters, they’ve been driven into hiding so deep they appear extinct or have gone extinct.
No one is sure which. There are a decent number of lesser-known mythical species who have done so.
Some conspiracy theorists surmise the groups in question may have escaped to realms more suited to their needs, where they can hide easily. ”
“Just so, Zavida,” Briarton says in a very teacher-esque tone.
“The oldest books in the Briarton family libraries suggest that being hunted for their body parts, powers, or beauty drove things like some genders of the equine mythicals, some reptilians, some aquatic, and even some avians to leave for Faerie, the Legendary realm, and the Godly realm. People surmise that a few have gone to the Astral or Hell. Some of the ones assumed to have come here are the hydras, shades, furies, Scylla, and djinn.”
This time, I snort loudly as I cut in, “Djinn do not live here, mage. And no one has seen a fury since the days when the original deities were on the court together—before my father and his caliphate.”
“Seriously?”
Zavvie nods, pushing his glasses up. “Absolutely. Before our parents, it was the council of the underworld gods or what have you. Humans think it was all different things, but in reality, it was all of them. They got bored, as all immortals do, and sort of let the whole place go to pot. That’s what our parents swear they rose against after the last Games. ”
“Except they’re even worse than bored deities,” Angelo says with a knowing grin. “That whole absolute power thing is a bitch, especially when it’s your parents. That’s why you and your royal buddies are in Darkstar’s face, right?”
“I could suggest the same to you regarding your father’s empire,” I shoot back at the demon.
He blinks, then shrugs. “Duh.”
“No one’s asking why we’re here,” Lucas says with a sigh. “Very clique-ish, man.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I try not to get frustrated.
“We know why you’re here. If you mean here like in Hell, it’s because the women called your woman.
If it’s about joining this ridiculous alliance, I assume it’s clearing your murder accusation and probably because gargoyles and gorgons both have insanely powerful senses of justice.
Morgana likely can not bear to know assholes are trying to turn all the realms into fucking terrible places. ”
He blinks, then grins broadly. “Yeah, actually. That’s just about it. My mate is freaking awesome, huh?”
Damn, he’s young and na?ve.
“She is, Lucas, but you’re definitely heading into a battle that could kill us all,” Zavida says softly. “Your family all know that, don’t they?”
“Uh, of course they do. You think our crispy-ass dragon hasn’t mentioned it a time or a thousand?
Come on, little dude. Kaspar is easily as moody as that royal guy you love, and much less talkative.
He relishes telling everyone, including Li, that we’re idiots.
It’s why he’s not getting in the sexy times; he doesn’t know how to work as a team. ”
Angelo blinks, then snickers, and the humor works its way to the others quickly.
He raises his fist to bump the bear’s. “Yeah, that’s why Reb is on the outs, too.
He can’t seem to quit tripping over his own bullshit, and before he was snatched, it kept him out of a lot of fun stuff.
Honestly, that should be a lesson to anyone else putting their pride or fear or anger or whatever before the good stuff…
he’s got to be regretting it wherever he is. ”
I stalk faster towards the Beastiary zone, but Zavida catches up to me easily. “They’re right, Jasper. Anything could happen any day. Is it worth fighting everyone, your dragon, and Kat because you feel duped?”
Honestly? I don’t fucking know anymore, but I also don’t know how to forgive the betrayal, either.