Chapter 16 Secrets
Secrets
Oriel
I’m more than stunned as I stare at the guy in front of me.
He’s giving me a look like I’m crazy, but he has no idea what this means.
If I was looking for a sign about whether I should shoot my shot with him…
this is the big flashing one I can’t ignore.
No one… and I mean no one… can see the entrances to my hoards because they’re created from my shadows and sealed with Greed line magic.
The only person who could subvert that kind of power is a fated mate, and I think I’m going to lose feathers in a few seconds.
Shit, shit, shit. Is it really possible that he’s fated to all of us?
Some supes, especially shifters, have a handful of mates, but it’s not normal for demons to have them at all, much less seven.
But KK is definitely part demon, but his origin is nebulous enough that none of us has truly landed on what we think he’s going to be.
The powers he’s shown so far—chronomancy, that weird darkness thing, and a few other quirks—don’t match up with most of the options.
The scales would lean toward a dragon, obviously, and the tattoos are…
unusual and not easily attributed to anything as far as I know.
He’s just a huge fucking question mark all around, but… he can see the goddamn doors.
“O, you’re freaking me out now,” Kit whispers. “Mostly because you’re gaping at me and not speaking, which makes me worry I’ve done something wrong. That’s probably just me, but honestly, I can’t help thinking—”
I grab his face and grin crazily at the babbling dummy I’m growing entirely too fond of. “KK, you gotta breathe. I swear, I’m going to make you put a nickel in a jar every time I have to say that, you know? It’d make for a nice little savings account for you.”
He blinks, giving me an owlish look. “Oriel, I don’t have nickels to use and um, it’s hard to breathe when you’re squishing my cheeks like that.”
Oh, fuck. That’s true.
Letting go, I suck my lower lip through my teeth, chewing on my lip ring for a second while I think. “Okay. So I’m gonna say something that will sound really weird, but.. those doors are invisible.”
“Uh, no, they’re not. Why are you yanking my chain? I can see them plain as day—all purple and spiky and sparkly like you. What the hell are you talking about?” Kit frowns, crossing his arms over his chest as his brows drop. “That’s not funny, Oriel.”
“I’m not lying, KK. But I might have been unclear, so here it goes…” I suck in a sharp breath and then blow it out. “That door is invisible to everyone but me… normally. See, it’s made from my shadows and sealed with my family magic to keep people from finding my… um, well, one of my hoards.”
His eyes widen as I feel my face get red, and I rake my hand through my hair, tugging on it a little.
Kit reaches out, pulling my hand away from the anxiety coping mechanism, then gives me a lop-sided smile.
“Well, why the hell can I see it, then? Because it’s very clear and I didn’t even know it wasn’t an actual door in the middle of this damn hallway. ”
Okay, I’m not having this discussion out in the open—not a single fucking chance of that.
“Come with me, then, and we’ll chat,” I say as I wave my free hand, making the immense door open enough for us to get inside. “I don’t want to talk about it out here.”
KK grins a bit, nodding at me as he accepts my proposal. “Alright. But I have to admit that everyone talking about these famous hoards and how you don’t share them has made me really curious about this topic. Am I sworn to secrecy?”
“Uh, yeah,” I reply quickly. “None of those dickheads are ever coming in one of my doors, thank you very much.”
“Then why me?”
I’d love to tell him, but he’s not ready for that much honesty yet—but someday, I hope.
“Don’t you want to see what’s inside the special room?” I tease gently. “We don’t have all day, you know.”
Nodding, Kit shakes his head and straightens his posture up like he’s preparing himself. “Okay, lay it on me. Open the doors, Oriel.”
I press my lips together in an amused grin, then reach out to grab the ornate handles of the doors, throwing them open as I walk in.
Sensing that he’s following, I stride deeper into the outer chamber of the Gothic-style space that fits in between the light and the dark.
It’s all shadow magic, of course, and it’s how demons like me can slip from place to place without being seen if we choose.
Some of my kind prefer to always travel this way, but I use it when it’s necessary and avoid being here when it’s not.
I’ve always felt like too much time in a liminal space like this drains the ‘humanity’ out of my fellow demons, and we have less than other supes to start with.
“I see nothing but a fancy entryway, O. So far, mildly impressive, but not a five-star experience worth hiding.”
Turning to face him, I sigh. “You know, I miss when the magic stuff filled you with wonder, KK. You’re getting jaded.”
He chuckles and shrugs. “Bound to happen, I suppose. I mean, if I’m always gaping, I’m not ready to fight, and that’s no good, right?”
Fair point.
“Come on, then. This is the more exciting part,” I say as I offer my hand. Kit takes it, and my bird caws with happiness inside as his warm palm meets mine.
Leading him to the smaller set of doors ahead, I press my free hand to the surface and they open, revealing a room filled to the brim with pilfered treasures of every conceivable kind.
Crows aren’t picky, truthfully, so this room is not only stuffed with actual gems and artifacts, but also treasured items from random demons I’ve encountered throughout my life.
The Greed part of me is why I have several hoards—I can’t stop myself from stealing things everywhere I land to hide away—but the animal portion of me enjoys loot that fits a myriad of definitions.
It doesn’t have to be monetarily valuable for the crow to see value in it, which is why I had the tee-shirt I gave KK when we went to the surface.
“Holy fuck, O. This is… enormous.” Kit looks up at me with wide eyes. “You have more of these?”
“Quite a few,” I admit with a sheepish expression. “Between the heritage and the bird, this is probably my biggest fixation. The others have their own foibles like this, you know. It’s not just me—though, I’m definitely better at hiding mine than the rest. It’s part of our blood, you know?”
“Mmm. Yours is greed, they’ve said, so this makes sense.” Kit lets go of my hand to walk over to a section that is a giant pile of precious stones and metals of every type imaginable. “I am impressed that you seem to have organized your sinful desires.”
If only he knew…
“Makes it easier to find shit when I want it,” I mumble. “Sometimes, I give things up to get things I want more, like at the Fae booth.”
His hands fly to the collar he hasn’t removed since we were caught in the Orc-fest. “I remember. You gave up something for me, and it looked stupid valuable. Why?”
I can’t very well say because I’ve just been proven right about you being my damn mate, so I chew on my lip ring for a moment to buy time.
His eyes track it, which makes me want to preen, and I have to smack my brain back into focus to find words.
“Because our little family is that important, Kit Kat. You’re important, and that was a trinket in comparison. Don’t fret about it.”
His brows furrow as he turns away from the glittering pile to face me, then steps closer so we’re inches apart.
“I am? I mean, yes, I get that most of you guys have accepted me, especially since that stupid ceremony, but… I guess it’s the BS from my past that keeps me questioning why I’m even a blip on your radar.
That’s not fishing, so don’t feel you have to compliment me so I don’t shatter or anything. I’m just musing out loud, really, and—”
Before he can finish, I reach out and grab his arms gently, pulling him against me.
I don’t even have a second to process the move before my animal brain takes over and I dip my head to kiss the babbling guy I’ve been dancing around for weeks.
Our lips meet, and I wait just a second until he goes pliant, then slip my tongue into his mouth to explore.
Even the impatient bird inside of me knew Kit had to give his permission to make this okay, and now that he has, it’s open season.
I feel his hands move to my shirt, grabbing it to hold on, and every part of me practically sings in happiness.
This is what my demon and my animal have wanted, which means they’re in an unusual harmony.
Taking advantage of the calm within, I let go of Kit’s arms to wrap mine around him as our kiss deepens.
He’s hesitant, but I sense the spark of brattiness when he suckles my tongue for just a brief second before letting go.
When we break for air, his face is adorably flushed, and he bites his swollen lower lip shyly.
“Oriel, that—”
“Was perfect, KK.” I squeeze him in my embrace, hoping to let him know that he’s safe and I will not push him somewhere he isn’t ready for.
It’s going to fucking kill me if I have to let go, and I’m going to need to find something to shield the raging hard-on I’m sporting, but I’ll do it so I don’t fuck up this chance.
“I’ve kinda been waiting to do that for a while. ”
“Really?” His eyes widen and he blinks. “That’s what Salem said, too.”
Oh, that bi-colored son of a bitch—I’m going to thrash him for hiding that he got to our KK first.
“Did he now?” I smile gently, making sure the kid knows we will not fight over him or make him choose.
That’s important, especially because humans, unlike demons, are not prone to poly family units.
Kit has to feel secure in exploring his feelings for all of us or he’ll run for the hills, so he doesn’t get hurt.
It helps that it’s true that we’ll accept his decisions about who he wants, but it doesn’t mean I’m not kicking that furry ass for hiding shit.
“Well, I’m not surprised. While some of our bros are outspoken, others are more… introspective about their emotions.”
“That’s me, too,” he whispers. “Not because it’s a normal state—though I’m not sure about that because I just don’t know what I could have been, you know? But because of the other stuff.”
My hand raises to cup his face, and I look down at him with a soft expression. “Yeah, I know. And I know why you always have to bring it up—you’ve been made to excuse your behavior for so long that you don’t even think about it, right?”
He nods and I sigh. This damn guy may not have been totally physically abused—I don’t know what the scars X mentioned are, so I’m not ruling it out—but he’s definitely been emotionally abused so badly that he doesn’t know what end is up.
What he doesn’t know is how fucked up our backgrounds are because demons are taught to channel it into our demonic nature and keep our mouths shut, especially those in the royal court.
I’m going to do something perilous, but since he’s definitely my mate, it doesn’t technically break any laws.
“So I’m going to tell you something about my shit, and um…
you can’t repeat anything about it if we’re not in one of these hoard rooms. Got it?
” I look at him seriously and he swallows hard, but nods.
“The Greed line, like all the others, has existed since Hell was created. My father is a direct descendant of the line, and my mother is a hybrid—though she will deny it with her dying breath. Greed needs hybrids, of course, because breeding with animals and supes who are prone to that kind of proclivity strengthens the demonic inclination of our line. However, they hate it with a passion because hybrids are considered ‘lower’.”
Kit frowns. “How come all the heirs are hybrids, then?”
“Because we’re all the strongest progeny, including bastards, that our respective families have produced.
We were all powerful individually, but once we bonded as a caliphate, no siblings could touch the raw power we have.
It’s a bone of contention, and it lead to a lot of bad shit in our pasts.
” I pause for a moment, then murmur, “Some of us had it worse than others, of course, and my parents’ mildly abusive shit isn’t really as bad compared to theirs.
But those are their stories to tell, so don’t ask me. ”
“I wouldn’t!” The kid in my grasp looks horrified at the thought, and I have to suppress a smile. He really is a good fucking person, and I hate that all this shit is falling on his head like a piano in a cartoon.
“Okay, well… I spent most of my childhood proving myself—my thieving mettle, I guess—in very dangerous situations, trying to earn my parents’ respect.
Failure wasn’t an option, but if it was a reality…
the reactions weren’t good.” I cough, looking away as I shrug.
“The tats cover a lot, especially because they’re old.
But my old man is not someone you want to disappoint, and I paid for it until Jasper brought me into the fold when I was eight. ”
“I’m sorry, Oriel,” Kit whispers. “But, um, I promise—just like you did—that you’re safe with me. And your secrets, of course. That, too.” He blushes, and I smile softly at the adorableness of his shy behavior. “But I… I like this. Seeing the hoard and um… the kiss… and um…”
Damn it, if he doesn’t stop that, we’re going to be in real trouble because I will not be responsible for how I react.