Chapter 15 Magic
Magic
Kit/Kat
I’m a bit surprised when Oriel shows up by himself at the end of Human History.
My free period/ lunch time coincides with a couple of the guys’ over the two-hour stretch and I expected to see at least Zavida with him.
Instead, I see a sharp-eyed crow demon leaning against the wall opposite the doorway with a nervous expression that is not the norm.
At least, it’s not in my experience so far, and I’m very curious why he looks like he’s ready to bolt.
“How was class?”
I shrug, stepping out of the room and closer to him before I reply.
“Same old. The shit I knew isn’t remotely correct, and we’re only in ancient times.
My solo reading is further along—I’m in the Middle Ages—so it’s not surprising, just really hard to reframe with the new lens.
It all makes more sense with the supernatural context, but relearning things you’ve been taught since you were little is hard. You know?”
“Freaked out by the fall of Rome, aren’t you?” He smirks and I’m glad to see the worried look leave his handsome features.
Making a face, I snark, “Uh, yeah. Romulus and Remus were wolf shifters, Nero was a fucking demon, the deities were real, mythos fell along with empires because of other deities meddling, and Pompeii being less of a volcano and more a dragon? Little weird for me.”
The crow demon nods and offers his arm. “Well, I can’t say whether it will get weirder for you or not, KK.
I’m also biased, but from the other end.
Every time I have to hear the stuff they told the humans about history in that class, I marvel at how damn gullible they are.
It’s just as worthy of head shakes to supes as it is from your side. ”
I take the arm, twining mine through his as he leads me down the hall. “So what’s up with you being here all by your lonesome? I figured Zavida would have raced his tails to join you. Is he with Jasper or something?”
The smirk fades and Oriel scratches his jaw, his eyes going back to the nervous look from before. “Well, he might have if I hadn’t declared this lunchtime mine.”
What?
“Why… why would you do that?” I ask carefully.
I’m not sure if the nervousness makes sense now or not.
Salem was a bit like this until we… found a rhythm, and now he’s smugly confident.
But Oriel will not do what Salem did during lunch, right?
I swallow around a dry throat, feeling my stomach drop as I consider all the possibilities that it could be as my mind flies off the handle.
Turning to look at me, the dark-haired demon gives me a crooked smile. “I have something to show you, and those assholes aren’t invited.”
I blink, not sure what to say to that.
Does he mean what I think he means? If so, what the hell am I going to do?
As we head deeper into the building, I realize I haven’t been to this part before.
That’s not remarkable by itself, if I’m honest—outside of the doc’s office, my classes, the dorms, and the Triclinium, I don’t wander around the campus.
The one time I did resulted in Prince Pissypants rescuing me from a fire that we still don’t discuss.
No reason for me to repeat the scariest night I’ve had at Discordia so far.
But I am curious where the fuck O is taking me.
When we hit the ground floor from the twisty back staircase, I tap the arm I’m holding. “Are you ever going to tell me where we’re headed? I mean, I don’t know Discordia very well, but it seems like we’re taking a really roundabout route.”
“That’s because it is.” His eyes dance with mischief, and I huff softly. “Don’t get all puffed up, KK. I don’t want anyone following us here; in fact, turn your watch thingy off.”
Oh, damn, I forgot about this thing.
“It’s kinda funny that I disabled the tracking on your phone and laptop after Jas had Zav do his thing when you first got here, but now you wear that shiny trinket without pause.” His grin is knowing and I roll my eyes as I hit the button to turn it off with my free hand.
“Shut up,” I grumble. “You know that was to keep him from controlling me, and this thing is actually about safety. Though it wasn’t an easy transition to accept, I’ll grant you.
I have trouble accepting help, especially when it makes me feel caged, but um…
I also don’t want you guys to worry and something to happen to you because you’re distracted. It’s a Catch-22, I guess.”
“We appreciate your sacrifice, KK. However, I’m glad you turned it off.
I don’t think you’ll remember the route since you don’t roam the campus, but I don’t want them to know where we’re going.
I even considered a blindfold, but I didn’t know if that would activate a trauma, so I discarded that plan. ”
My face heats and I have to clear my throat before I answer.
His care in making sure he doesn’t accidentally trigger me is sweet, and it reminds me of how carefully Salem is treating me.
Once I’m good, I murmur huskily, “I appreciate that. Though, um, for future reference, I wouldn’t…
I mean, blindfolds aren’t an issue. Just… so you know.”
Oriel stops, giving me an absolutely sinful grin. “They aren’t, huh? Good thing you told me; I’ll tuck that away for later. I’m sure I’ll want to remember it.”
Oh, my. Now what do I say?!!
Choking back a squeaky sound, I squeeze his arm, so he leads the way again. “Get a move on, birdman. I’m hungry as fuck. The big guy’s regimen has my body trained to know when I’m s’posed to have food. That might have been his plan, come to think of it.”
“Slash would be extremely happy to hear that, you know.” He opens the door to another staircase, this one darker and more foreboding. “In fact, I think he’d be tickled pink to know you insisted I feed you. You had to be dragged to food when you arrived, KK.”
I dip my chin so I don’t have to look at him as the blush gets hotter, mumbling, “Whatever. Did you bring food or what? ‘Cause if not, we won’t be able to stay long. I definitely can’t make it through the rest of the day without eating a good meal. I snacked on my morning snacks already.”
“Damn… Slash is going to be super fucking happy to hear that.” Oriel pauses, then adds, “But yes, I have food here and once we’re here, you’re gonna be so entranced that it won’t matter what anyone else thinks, anyway.”
Was that him convincing me or himself? Either way, it’s pretty cute.
“You’re setting yourself up for some pretty big expectations.” I pat his arm, my lips curling up a bit. “Are you sure whatever you’re taking me to see is spectacular enough to withstand the build up?”
“I’m fairly certain I more than meet expectations.”
Blinking owlishly, I stumble over words again because, given how my roomie is acting now, I think Oriel just flirted with me.
The tinge in his voice was definitely suggestive—at least, I think it was.
I could have been mistaken, though the words he chose were hard to misinterpret. “I… well, I uh… I…”
His laugh is dark and husky, which makes me tingle from head to toe. “KK, I think you’re going to pass out if you don’t breathe. Relax… I promise you’re going to enjoy my surprise.”
“Oh? And how would you know? Is it a highly rated surprise?” I shoot back. My eyes widen when I hear myself; I didn’t mean to take that petulant tone. Oriel has done nothing wrong and I don’t have a right to even insinuate that he can’t enjoy… whatever… with whoever he wants.
These demons are rotting my brain and making everything confusing—more so than usual since we came back from the surface.
We reach the bottom of the stairs and Oriel winks at me, completely ignoring my little snit.
He opens an enormous door with a key he produces from his pocket, then holds it for me.
“Watch your step now, KK. We’re in the older part of the university now.
There’s a system of tunnels that goes underneath everything, but you have to know someone to get access. Lucky for us, I do.”
“Lucky for us?” I echo, hoping to move on from my oddly possessive episode.
“Yep. It’ll be hotter than you expect because of the underground lava deposits, but it’s Hell, you know?”
I nod, thinking about that. Since I haven’t explored the campus, much less the realm, I’m pretty ignorant about the geography, much less the geology of my new home. “Good thing Dottie is hanging in my bag, taking a nap. I wouldn’t want her to jump down and burn her little paws.”
Oriel snorts. “No, you would not. But where we’re going, there will be places for her to explore.”
“Are we going to a secret jungle gym? A hidden amusement park? Maybe an underground bowling alley like the White House had?” My curiosity is killing me, but it’s been taking a back seat to the uncertainty about flirting and double entendres.
“Well, we’re using the underground to get where we’re going, and it will have things for you to play with,” he says with a bob of his eyebrows.
Damnit, what is with these guys now? Am I putting out a vibe or something?
I say that like I’m mad, but surprisingly, I’m not.
Anger and fear aren’t part of the equation, strangely enough, but anxiety and nervousness are.
My lack of experience doesn’t seem to matter to Salem, but I don’t know what to expect from Oriel—or any of the rest, if that becomes a thing.
Wait, do I want it to be a thing? Am I actually entertaining a seven guy dating situation for real?
With these ridiculously hot, patient, and mostly kind demons?
My heart thumps in my chest as I swallow to get the dryness in my mouth to fade.
I sort of ignored that idea because it was so incredibly silly to me previously.
How can I avoid thinking about it now when a second dude is maybe probably sort of flirting with me as we walk down a dimly lit secret passage to his secret surprise?
“KK, you’re white as a ghostie, man. What is going on in your head? Is it too… tight down here? Do you have claustrophobia and I didn’t know? Or maybe you didn’t know until now?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. He’s such a decent guy under the dark makeup and cutting sarcasm.
“No, no… Oriel, I’m fine. I’m not claustrophobic.” I think for a second, then add, “At least, not if I’m not already in an episode? I get panicky when closed in if I’m mid-attack. I think that’s because of the incident. But it’s okay now. You don’t make me panic.”
His brow arches. “Your pulse says differently, Kit Kat. I can feel it racing against my arm, you know.”
“Well, fuck,” I mutter. “Okay, I’m a little nervous, but that’s not the hallway, it’s just surprises. I trust it won’t be bad in my head, but I’m working on knee-jerk reactions, as you know.”
A huge set of doors appear in front of us and he stops just before we get to them. His smile is gentle as he looks down at me. “I’m thrilled to hear that you’re just working through an involuntary reaction, not worried about me. And the trust thing is… uh, really cool.”
I watch him rub the back of his neck, waiting for him to address the ornate purple doors. When he doesn’t, I wrinkle my nose as I squint at the intricate designs on them, then turn back to ask, “Are you going to tell me what the hell these open up to? I’m dying here.”
His eyes widen, and the look on his face is priceless as he gapes at me. “You…. You can… see them?”
Uh-oh. I get the feeling I’m not supposed to—and it’s a huge deal.