“Why so quiet, big guy?”
I look at Oriel with narrowed eyes as we walk the group of visitors around the back perimeter of the buildings. Our goal is to keep their very noticeable appearance off the radar, so we do not get seen by our various enemies—staff and competitors alike. We do not know how spies are embedded in the campus by Jasper’s father, Darkstar, and or any other undesirable entity. I’d prefer this to be as quiet as possible until we’re ready for others to know.
“Oriel, you are a thief. Do not be dense.”
The crow demon grins, shrugging as he cuts his gaze to the Gemini twins, their mate, and the tall blond shifter. “You know, that guy is a lion shifter. He might have some tips…”
My glare shuts him up; I don’t want them to overhear about Kat’s shifts just yet. If she tells them, that is her right, but we are not spilling secrets we do not have permission to share. “I think their missing member and the reborn bird are taking up their time at the moment.”
“I’ve never seen a phoenix regrowing.” Turning to Zavida, I wait for him to expound. “I mean, mythicals have common, uncommon, rare, ultra rare, and extinct species, right? Phoenixes are uncommon down here and downright rare up there. So they don’t blow themselves up very often, and I’m curious about the rebirth process.”
“You and me both, buddy,” the pink-haired Fae says as she grins at Zav. “I didn’t even know he could fucking do it. The blast knocked us all for a goddamn loop, and we’re lucky no one died.”
Interesting. I wonder how they recovered so quickly.
“We knew,” the lion shifter says with a grimace. “I mean, the guys and I did. We’d neverseenit, of course, and the aftermath was gnarly AF. But we knew and kind of fucked up by not telling Rogue sooner. She gave us a good ass-kicking for that, though Reb hasn’t gotten his yet.”
Anton looks at their group. “Having one of your members missing prior to finishing the bond must be very difficult.”
“You havenoidea,” Rogue scoffs, and then shakes her head. “Sorry. Rebel and I fought this thing between us for a very long time for stupid reasons, and once we were almost ready to let it happen… Well, this bullshit comes to screw it all up. I feel foolish for waiting and giving up the time I had, especially since the future is nebulous now.”
My eyes flick to the prince, hoping that he’s listening as he walks alongside the Gemini twins. Jasper is damaged, stubborn, and emotionally stunted on a good day; when he’s been harmed he’s worse. I don’t want his unresolved shit to fuck this up for all of us or to hurt the little demon more than it already has. I haven’t intervened yet; Zavida wanted time to see if he could turn it around.
But if my oldest friend doesn’t get his shit together soon, I will step in and set him straight in an extremely unpleasant fashion.
“You were acting on human mores,” Jasper finally says as he looks at her. “That’s why most demons prefer to commute to the surface for their work rather than live there. Supernaturals who spend that much time hiding their true selves from the meat bags there pick up their twisted shit.”
Angelo snorts. “He’s not wrong about that. When D and I were coming back and forth for school, it was so fucking hard to readjust, especially with the time slippage. They really impose a lot of inconsequential things on our communities that we don’t even realize.”
“Like giving a shit that you’re crushing on a stepbrother who isn’t your blood or even your adoptive parents’ blood relation?” The brightly colored Fae throws her hands up and sighs in resignation. “No shit, guys. I’ve always thought I was pretty free-spirited and not oppressed by weird expectations. I guess I wasn’t aware of some of the deeply buried shit.”
Oriel stops, and we all pause as he listens for something—what, I’m not sure. “This is a tricky spot. I want to take us in through a concealed entrance to the lowest floor of Canto IV. However, if we’re not extremely quiet and careful, students with lower-level windows facing this side might notice us.”
“There’s nothing to see here, so they’d only look if they heard noises. Clever,” the bespectacled Gemini says.
“Exactly. So shut it and follow me, one by one. This is super stealth mode shit, so don’t fuck it up,” O replies as he ducks under a tree.
Stealth on land is not my strong suit, but here we go.
Shockingly,Oriel’s secret passage idea worked. He led us out of the entrance and down a hallway tinged with the vague scent of smoke. Jasper snarls as we pass a door that has a particularlystrong burnt aroma, and I arch a brow at him. He just turns away, gritting his jaw as if he wants to crack his fucking teeth.
That must be where he rescued the little demon what seems like eons ago.
I sigh quietly as we head up the stairs, ascending to the main common areas of the dorm. There aren’t many students here because of exams. That’s convenient for us, because there’s no fucking way we’ll all fit in that damn elevator together. Zavida pushes the button, his tails swishing nervously as he looks at our visitors.
“This isn’t big enough for everyone, so we’ll split into two groups.”
The Fae gives him a soft smile, and I notice Jasper grinding his jaw more. He really is a jealous dipshit sometimes, and I’m curious to see what happens when this woman is kind and friendly with Kat. “Who’s riding with us, then?”
“I will,” X says with a brilliant grin. “I like your style, and we might actually chat instead of getting stuck with the silent brigade again.”
Her eyes dance as she takes them in. “I’d love it. Do you design your own uniform? I can’t imagine this dick fest of a school has anything so nonconforming lying around.”
“I do!”
Anton actually smiles as X chatters with the sparkly woman, and I feel a little bit of relief flow through me. He’s not upset like Jasper, but he has been even less expressive than usual, and I don’t like it. Knowing the prideful bird, he probably just needs a conversation and an apology from Kat because he felt left out.Once that happens, his head will be clear and he will be able to focus again.
Maybe someone should recommend the little demon start there?
