Chapter 47 Glitter and Gold
Glitter and Gold
Kit/Kat
The knock on the door scares the crap out of me.
I jump about ten feet in the air, disturbing Dottie in her snoozing place above my head, and damn near fall out of the chair.
I was reading one of the books Annie gave me last night, using his really neatly printed annotations to cross-reference with my textbooks.
Keeping my mind busy helped me not be anxious about being alone in the room, when there are many shitty people on campus—both visitors and permanent residents.
I obviously didn’t let the guys know I was skittish; it would have led to fights about skipping class and the watchful eyes on us.
But yeah, my brain was taking little side quests to What-If Land, so I had to occupy it.
“Coming,” I call as I blow out a breath and slow down my heart rate before I walk to the door carefully.
The knock makes me suspicious because my caliphate knows the code; they don’t need to knock to get the damn thing open.
I pause by the reinforced wood, listening with my new sharpened hearing skills and sniffing to see if I can identify what the fuck is on the other side.
“Saltwater?” I mutter before I look at the door in confusion. “Slash, is that you?”
“Excellent job, little demon. You were cautious about opening up to someone unknown and used your new abilities to mitigate the risk.”
His rumbling praise makes my stomach flutter, but I yank the damn thing open and I glare at him, anyway. “Why are you testing how I deal with visitors? No one dares to come onto this floor. Jasper would fricassee them.”
The toothy grin also makes my body shiver, though I try to shake it off, and he arches a brow.
“Do you think those with ill-intent are going to stay away because of the prince’s temper?
If that were true, no one would ever attack you, nor would they spread rumors.
Yet, even the weakest demons take part in the gossip mill when they think we cannot hear them. ”
I frown. “If you hear them, why is it still happening?”
“I have been forbidden to eat them, and we find other ways to make them suffer. Jasper believes too many missing students would draw unwanted attention, especially this close to the Games.” Slash’s scowl tells me they disagree on that topic, and I wonder what the other guys have said about it.
Damn men and their secret meetings—it pisses me off something fierce.
“I’m a big… boy, Slash. I could be in those discussions; no, scratch that… I should be in those meetings. It’s bullshit.”
The shark demon comes into the room, shutting the door firmly before he turns to look at me seriously.
“They are not meetings, Kat. Those were random conversations held in passing when you happened to not be around. That might sound fishy, but it is true. I would not purposely exclude you with your safety, even with our new shared secrets.”
My face flushes as I step closer, looking up at the gigantic man until it almost gives me a crick in my neck.
“You’d better not. That promise about it not changing things holds even when it involves defending myself and risky shit.
I don’t want you guys to fashion me into some damsel in your heads once you know the truth.
I’ve always had to protect myself, and even more so since the incident.
I have to take care of myself or I feel helpless again. You get that, right?”
His jaw grits as he walks over to pick up Dottie and sit her on his broad shoulder.
“My instincts dislike that sentiment; I have to admit. However, my brain understands what you are saying, and I will do my best to give you the chance if need be. But you also must listen when I say that our demons and our animals will naturally want to protect you like Salem did in the Fae place. We cannot stop them from doing it. That doesn’t mean we believe you are weak, little demon.
It only means we value you greatly enough to put ourselves in harm’s way so you are safe. ”
Ugh. Why does he always have to make sense and be sweet about this shit?
“It’s not fair that you’re good at being practical when you’re also being nice,” I grumble as Dottie chitters happily from her perch up high. “And you’re a traitor, girl. You didn’t even complain that he picked you up!”
Slash chuckles as he pets her head with one finger. “She knows I mean you and her no harm. Therefore, she can trust me to carry her while you gather your things. It is time to go to the gym again for our sessions. We have a lot of time today that should not be wasted.”
“Boogers,” I grumble as I stomp toward my room to get my stuff. “I was hoping you’d hang out with me while I catch up on reading. Annie’s notes in the books are helping me make connections way better than my classes are. At least, the ones taught by assholes.”
His laugh follows me into my room, even when I close the door.
Heading to my dresser, I shed my comfortable dorm room clothes for ones that are good for moving in the gym.
I don’t know if he will want me to shift or not, but if we do light cardio, I’ll need to be in things that don’t leave me drenched in sweat.
Once I’m bound tightly, boxer’d up, and wearing the gym uniform under my sweats, I look in the mirror.
I need another haircut—apparently, one of those parts of me is encouraging it to grow like it never has before.
I won’t pass for a dude nearly as well if I don’t ask X to trim and buzz me a bit.
I hope they can keep it looking decent, but if not, we’ll have to think of a better solution going forward.
“Are you done yet?” Slash calls from the living room. “I did not think you would take longer to get ready now. Will that be normal?”
My eyes narrow, and I grab my bag, stomping out of the bedroom to see an amused-looking demon waiting for me. “You did that on purpose.”
“Perhaps,” he says with a shrug. “But you are here now and we can get moving.”
“In a minute,” I mutter petulantly. Ignoring his chuckles, I head into the kitchen to tuck snacks for Dottie and me, a bottle of the water treated with Dank’s meds, and reluctantly, one of Slash’s granola bars as well into my bag.
“I promised Salem I would keep extra food on me. He’s convinced that I’m going to hit like…
a magical growth spurt or something because the lion appeared? ”
Slash nods in approval, his expression solemn.
“The panda is right. You will, and it will get more intense as other things continue to develop. Put two more of your snacks in the bag, just in case the practice drains you. While I don’t mind carrying you, I do not believe you’d enjoy it happening as we cross campus in broad daylight. ”
“Gee, what made you think that?” I mumble. Slash gives me a reproachful look, so I do as he asked and stuff some more of Salem’s pre-made goodies in my bag. “Is that good enough?”
He tilts his head, then shakes it. “No. Two more waters as well. I want to make sure you are staying hydrated. Not just because I am being a pain, but because I’d rather you have it and not need it than be ill.”
It’s hard to argue with such no-nonsense caution, and he damn well knows it. Bastard.
“Fine, fine,” I huff as I shove more into the bag. “Are we good now?”
“Yes, thank you.” That said, he turns, heading for the door to open it, and I follow along, caught between feeling girly and cared for while also being annoyed that I didn’t think of it all myself.
Being hyper-independent around these dudes is a real pain in my ass.
“Okay, little demon. The door is locked, and I have made certain it cannot be opened without going through me. Time to show me the big cat.”
I’m standing in my boxers and the makeshift gauze binding glaring at Slash.
Obviously, I can’t rip up my damn binder over and over, but I’ve been assured the boxer briefs are easily replaceable.
There's a lot of skin on display, which makes me itchy and nervous, but it’s also something I’m not good at yet, which makes that feeling worse.
Luckily, the shark is patient as fuck with me—something I fear Jasper won’t be—and he’s not staring at all the pieces of me that are normally covered.
He really is a kind man, and he hides it so well that it’s a shame.
“So I have to close my eyes and think of her, focusing on that color inside me where I think she came from…”
“If that is how it happens, yes. The colors metaphor confuses me slightly, as that is not something I experienced when I first shifted.” Slash frowns as he studies me for a moment, obviously waiting for the change. “You can begin whenever you are ready.”
“I’m trying,” I grit out as I squeeze my eyes closed and picture what he said in my mind. “This is what happened in my head, but… I don’t know why I can’t always get it.”
I feel him coming closer; the air getting colder and warmer simultaneously.
His voice is deep and rumbly as he says quietly, “Your first shift came when you were overcome with emotion. That part is not uncommon, I believe. You could do it with me in the pool area because there were also a lot of feelings. That is what is missing—you have to summon her with all of those things, until you are so good at calling that she comes every time.”
Sighing, I nod, and then delve back into my mind.
Nervousness is a feeling, and it’s definitely flowing through me while he’s this close and I’m this undressed.
So I follow that thread, letting my brain meander along that trail until I hit the colors swirling inside of me.
They’re not red and black today, though, and I don’t know what to make of that.
I don’t want to fail at shifter practice, so I embrace the other colors, pairing with an internal plea to help me figure this out.
That’s when I feel the change begin, and my body sparkles with excitement.
I open my mouth to say something, forgetting that I sure as hell don’t have enough knowledge of how this works to talk as an animal. The only thing that comes out is a big huff, but it doesn’t sound right. Moving my legs, I make sure there are four, but it still doesn’t feel right.
What the fuck is going on now?!
“Little demon…” Slash says, his voice full of awe. “You….”
My inability to ask him what the hell I did is frustrating, and I hear another huff as my legs stomp. Finally, I give up and open my eyes to a room full of goddamn rainbows and glittery sparkles that seem to fall from the fucking sky.
Am I high? Did my water have secret crunkleberries in it? I’ll kill Salem…
“You shifted.” Slash shakes his head and then rubs the back of his neck as he stares in shock. “But this is not your lioness, Kat. This is… magical.”
Stomping again in irritation, I note that I definitely have a tail. It’s swishing as I throw a tantrum, the only way I can in this form.
“They’re so rare. You’re so rare.” His eyes narrow, and my big guy looks even more worried than he did when I got hurt. “We cannot allow people to know, little demon. They will hunt you, drain you, and leave you for dead. This changes everything.”
He keeps dancing around it, so I stomp over and huff at him nearby, hoping he gets the damn point. When I step back, his expression is sheepish. “I should have known by the tattoos, but we didn’t… you weren’t a girl in our heads then.”
I’m going to lose it if he doesn’t say it soon.
“Kat, you’re an alicorn.”