Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
ROGUE
Telling Morgana that Kat and I look up to her definitely freaked her out, so I made certain to suggest to Damon that we should find some drinks so the top of her head doesn’t blow off.
It was easier than approaching the host demons myself, and since Kat is doing pretty well, I don’t want a bossy male telling her she can’t imbibe a wee bit more while she’s having fun.
I’m uncertain they would, but I’d rather err on the side of caution.
After all, we have zero clue what the missing people are going to show up with—it might ruin the whole vibe.
“Pssst,” I whisper to Kat as she plays with the kinkajou on the ground in the middle of the living area. “They’d tell us if they heard from the others, right? Your dudes wouldn’t hide it so you don’t get panicked?”
She wrinkles her nose as she considers my question.
“They might if I were already struggling. I think that’s why they’ve kept the whole ‘mate’ thing on the DL.
But if something was really wrong, they’d also know it’s not possible to keep it quiet, and I’ll find out, eventually.
Most of the guys are close enough to me now that they don’t want me to stop trusting them. ”
“Who is here that would make a command decision like that?”
“Slash,” Kat answers without pause. “But he definitely won’t mislead me.
Come to think of it, he did say there was something we should talk about, but he wasn’t certain about it yet.
When we were alone at the springs and he was showing me his shifts…
he said that. I almost forgot until now.
Do you think that was about…. the forever stuff? ”
Her eyes get comically wide, and I chuckle softly.
“If he’s the one who is most straightforward with you, then yes.
That also means he’d tell you if he’d gotten bad news, even if it would frustrate or upset you.
The big guy is your beacon—he’s how you read the situation at all times, girl.
For me, that’s Archie. He doesn’t have even a drop of guile in him, and he’ll tell me shit the others won’t. ”
“Huh. Useful info,” the smaller demon murmurs. “Thanks.”
I grin at her, and then wink playfully. “We have to stick together. There’s way too many of them, and only three of us.”
Before I can ask her about the suspicions Morgana shared with me earlier, the dark-haired crow demon climbs up on the coffee table to whistle loudly. “Hey! Listen up, reprobates!”
Kat chuckles, and I watch as her face heats as the demon winks at her. It’s very much like my wink a moment ago, but her reaction is completely different. Her chin dips, and she fusses with the tiny animal as the color spreads further down her neck.
Ladies and demons, I have a candidate for the ‘Did Something Sexy With Kat on the DL’ award.
My gaze flicks to the gargoyle, and lift my chin just a bit toward the attention-grabbing avian.
She blinks, tilting her head as she studies the muscled bad boy easily commanding the room.
We smile at the same time when we realize that somehow Kat picked one that wouldn’t be quite so difficult to manage, but also the demon who is smart enough to keep his beak shut until she is ready to share.
He’s flirting with her, sure, but he did that before.
She’s the one letting it get to her more than it did prior, so if it comes out, Kat will be the reason.
“Slash got a text from Jasper.” Everyone shuts up, watching the bird for signs of trouble.
“It took a lot of hard work from all the people, but they got the room open. Zav has the info and is working on locating the supposed owner of the studio, but they found a funky book. It’s also got some magical juju on it, and we’re going to put it in the magic dampening safe in Xerxes and Anton’s room until the morning.
They will all be here once they’ve gotten the damn thing buttoned up. ”
Lucas lets out a little cheer from the couch, and I laugh. The kid is adorable; Morgana’s right to be so fond of him. “Liam, Kas, and Slade will be tired as fuck, I bet. Lady M, we will probably need to retire for the night as soon as we finish eating.”
I blink. He’s right, but no one’s decided about sleeping arrangements yet. That will be an issue, especially since all seven demons don’t have their own dorm. “Um…”
Kat stands, wrinkling her nose as she looks around. “We’ll have to figure out how that’s going to work as soon as everyone’s here. I don’t think deciding without—”
“Me?” Jasper says as he stalks into the room, eyeing every single one of us in his space. “Yes, that would be a bad plan.”
Please let this fool behave so it doesn’t make everything way harder than it needs to be.
Oriel looks at the prince, his brow arched as the rest of the artifact retrieval team files in behind him.
Angelo makes a beeline for Damon, and I note Liam heads for Morgana, but keeps his eye on the bear.
The professor and the siren flop on the floor, leaning against the couch where Lucas is reclining.
Morgana’s dragon moves to a place near the big shark guy—it’s the best view of the room in its entirety, and I suppose both of them are hoping to prevent any bullshit.
The last three to come in are the cutie fox, the serious avian, and the panda; they disburse to stand amongst the Discordian demons in various yet predictable spots.
“I can room with Jasper,” the Kitsune says as he takes his place next to the royal. “I do that often, and though my room is smaller, it can comfortably hold one person.”
“Our room is the second biggest—I think—so it should go to Morgana and her men,” Kat says. That makes her panda’s eyes widen, and I watch the demons in her group start plotting almost immediately. “They’ll have the room they need, and I won't take up much room.”
“Kat, you’ll be very anxious sleeping in a space that isn’t yours,” the gargoyle replies with a frown. “You could still keep your room with us there.”
“Absolutely not,” the panda says firmly. “KK needs to feel safe, but too many people she doesn’t know well won’t be good, especially if she has to get up to go to the bathroom. Right?”
The girl in question wrinkles her nose, but she nods. “That’s probably true. I could be frightened if I run into someone and I’m not quite awake yet. I shouldn’t be in there, but given the amount of space, your family should, M.”
Mature thoughts from her current ‘roomie’, but I doubt it was all about making sure she doesn’t run into someone on a piss run.
“Kat can bunk with me,” the crow says with a pleased expression. “My room is smaller, but the bed takes up most of it, and I can sleep on the floor. That way, one of the less spacious rooms isn’t occupied.”
The shark shifter pushes off his wall, his expression firm as he shakes his head.
“Your space is too confined, O. My room is large, and everything in it is also large because of my stature. The little demon can take my bed, and I will take my small couch. She will be comfortable next door to the bathroom, and away from your mess.”
Morgana covers her mouth, and I know she’s trying not to giggle at them fighting over which room one person is going to sleep in rather than figuring out the entire problem.
We might have to step in soon because our new friend doesn’t want to upset anyone, and I think she’s trying to calm herself about sleeping in a private room with others, anyway.
“Oriel, get down.” The stern order comes from the pretty demon, and as soon as the crow relents, they hop onto the table with a polite smile. “My brothers are used to getting their own way, as you can see, and KK is used to letting them fuss. I will speed this shit up, yes?”
Jasper glares, but he nods. “Please, X. Make this shit stop.”
“Anton and I have a fairly extensive suite. We will stay there as usual, and since the magical safe is now full, Oriel and Salem can sleep on the floor to help us guard it. Zavida will stay with Jasper, and KK can use Slash’s enormous bed all by her lonesome.
” The cobra demon gives each of their caliphate members a look that dares them to protest before they smile again.
“Wheels, the bird and I can take the fox’s room and D will bunk with Ang in the crow’s room then,” Archie says with a grimace. “It’ll be tight, but everyone can huddle in, no big deal.”
The bodyguard clears his throat, and everyone looks his way.
“Actually, it might be better if I take the crow’s room and the professor takes the Kitsune’s.
We are in… flux, and that would free up the living room for all of Rogue’s family to bunk.
I’m sure Morgana, the prince, and the siren will use the bedrooms in that suite. ”
His idea isn’t bad, though it will leave very little privacy for both of our families.
It also seems to make the professor frown in irritation, so I’m sure he was hoping to get some groveling time tonight, hoping to fix his mess.
The grumpy dragon has fucked that up but good, because my boys are all nodding.
“That sounds about right,” Angelo says with a relieved sigh. “We’re fine on the floor, but being together will make it easier for us, I think.”
“Definitely.” Damon nods, grinning at me as he and his twin finalize a decision that isn’t even theirs to make.
It’s not the dragon’s either, but everyone seems to go along with the logic.
“Fine. All rooms are decided.” The prince ambles over to the seat Kat abandoned earlier, dropping into it as his ginger lover curls up at his feet.
“We should tell you all that the defenses on that damn book required a lot of mixed magical intervention, and we believe it doesn’t belong to the person whose studio it’s in.
No students here would have the power or knowledge or even connections to work that kind of intricate system.
We believe Darkstar allowed someone into Hell to stow this on campus as a method of keeping it hidden. ”
That makes my internal alarms go off, especially since my family saw the entire freak show at the Apalachin.
“Maybe it’s the member roster? They spoke at length about people applying, being vetted, and then being accepted or rejected.
This book could list the accepted people, or any combination thereof.
Keeping it in a realm that requires a pass to enter and keeps non-species bloodlines out via magic is a very good security measure. ”
“Could we really have stumbled onto the key to the larger organization?” Morgana says as she looks around the room. “Do you think that’s possible?”
“I don’t know,” Iggy says as he rakes a hand through his hair. “It was guarded by the most bullshit I’ve seen in… well, maybe ever, as I told the others.”
Slade clears his throat, his soft eyes meeting those of the people in the room. “I’ve never seen so many spell parts that almost demanded the use of my powers or similarly aquatic magic users. It’s something big, for certain.”
“However, no one here is in any shape to take that kind of magic on tonight.” Jasper smacks his palm on the arm of his chair as he scowls.
“Our group used a great deal of energy getting to the book, and no one is trying to open the fucking thing until some of our ‘researchers’ attempt to identify it. It could be a record, or some sort of magical artifact, or even a weapon. We cannot risk anyone until we have exhausted all efforts to know what its origin is. Agreed?”
I look at my guys, who nod, and then say, “We agree, Prince Jasper.”
Liam meets Morgana’s eyes, and they check-in with their family members. Finally, the Fae prince replies, “We, too, agree.”
The host demons have a wildly difficult to follow eyebrow conversation and then look at Kat. She sighs, but says, “Yeah, we’re all in, too. Mostly because I don’t want anyone here to get hurt, even our new friends, and it’s been a really fucking hard year, you know?”
“Amen to that,” Morgana mutters. “I’m all in for being cautious with some ridiculous thing found in a maze of magical puzzles being vetted before we fuck with it.”
“Excellent,” Slash says as he walks to the door. “Since the food is here, we will eat and retire to the assigned rooms so that we might awaken in the morning ready to use this holiday to the maximum.”