The elevator dings, and I sigh in relief when it’s empty. I’d prefer not to deal with any hyped-up, under-rested assholes who live here when they see our guests. Unfortunately, this is the only fucking lift in the building, and the stairs are murder, even for me. I give the entire gaggle of supes a look, and the first car of people pile in, leaving me to watch over X, the Fae, and the lion shifter. I squint at the baby phoenix he’s holding, impressed that he’s kept it quiet.
“You have great skill with it,” I say as I nod at the carrier. “It’s impressive.”
The lion laughs softly and shakes his head. “You’re, like, the eleventy billionth person to say that. I guess most of us weren’t raised with siblings you had to take care of because you’re rich or you have craptastic parents. My mom and dads are all cat shifters, and since my mom’s the lioness, she rules the whole pride. I was expected to help out with the younger ones all the time; it’s pretty second nature.”
Shuddering as I think about that, I reply, “The General did not summon other children once I proved to be a suitable heir. At least, not ones anyone knows about. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were bastards somewhere, though. Most of our families have them sprinkled all over Hell as spares.”
His eyes widen, and he wrinkles his nose. “Man, that wouldsuck. How the fuck would you know if you were accidentally fucking orkilling someone you were related to? Very daytime TV shit, right there. Damn.”
I blink, never having considered that before. “They aren’t likely to run in royal or elite circles, so I believe we didn’t consider it.”
As the bell dings again, they head inside the car, and I join at the end. The lion is still chuckling as he asks, “You guys absolutelynever, not even once, went slumming or whatever as teens? Can’t be.”
“I do not believe that interacting with less wealthy demons is slumming personally, though I can understand why you would assume that.”
X stops babbling to their woman and looks at the blond supe. “You know, I’d be interested in finding out how thefuckyou’re getting him to talk so much. The only person who can do that so easily is KK. Usually, it’s like pulling teeth from… well, a shark.”
“Archie is extremely sociable,” the Fae says with a fond smile. “Out of all my men, he and Angelo are usually the most extroverted, followed by Javi. Since he’s stuck in ugly bird-form, that just leaves those two to help us all get around without stabbing people.”
I arch a brow, wondering if she’s serious about that. When she looks at me with a mischievous grin, I realize that she definitely isnotkidding about her method of dealing with problems. I might actually like her, and that bodes well for her being a suitable friend for the little demon. “I prefer to eat my difficulties away, but I understand the urge.”
Xerxes huffs, flipping their hair over their shoulder. “Eating is so barbaric. Poison is more fun.”
“I have that, too. That’s why I never bring my wings out unless it’s serious,” she says as she winks at them. “You’d love that show, but I don’t know if you’d be affected or not. My mates aren’t, and Reb always took a special tincture when we worked together to make sure he didn’t inhale the bad shit.”
Watching her face fall, I think about how angry I would be if my prospective mate were missing, and I had absolutely no idea where to look. I don’t think I would be able to function on a higher brain level like Rogue, and that is also quite impressive. She’s in control of her rage and sorrow so perfectly that I only catch random glimpses of the emotion that must be roiling within.
After all, the Fae are one of the most emotional species out there, and she’s locked down like an ice sculpture.
Eight
ANGELO
We’re taking a pretty big chance letting these demons split us up after they found us breaking into an area of the school we shouldn’t have been in. But Rogue and Archie seem to be okay with them, and my twin isn’t fidgeting like he would be if he were nervous. Damon doesn’t know he has a specific twitch that gives him away, and I’ve never told him, not even when we were kids. It helped me recognize when he’s upset and when his emotions are worrisome. I used it to drag him away from our parents before there’s a big issue then and now. I’m using it to gauge how stupid I was to let our group be halved by an elevator.
I’m pretty sure it’s fine.
The door opens onto a huge hallway, and I shake my head. D and I weren’t inCanto IVwhen we attended Discordia. Luca’s obscenely wealthy, but it’s on the surface, not in Hell. We were given a suite inCanto III, which is a step down from the rich fuckers who live in this building. Everyone here is tied to the courts in some way or another, and the top floor is theswankiest of all. The caliphate’s suites are likely three times the size of rooms below this floor, and I’d bet they’re basically fancy goddamn apartments.
“Right this way, gentlemen,” the crow demon says as he smirks. “We’ll convene in Salem’s room because that’s where Kit lives and is comfortable.”
I arch a brow. These dudes are impossible to figure out. At the Apalachin, it was clear as day that most of them were enamored with the smallest, unemerged guy. My Princess liked him, too, and his moxie was impressive. But now it sounds like they’ve found out that dude is a girl, and some of them seem fine with it while others? Not so much. Rogue didn’t seem shocked, though, so I guess she had some sort of… female intuition about it?
This kind of shit is why I hate Hell… politics and intrigue constantly.
Though, I guess I can’t really say it’s less at home at the moment. I sigh as we all exit the elevator and it heads back down. Damon pushes his glasses, a sign that he’s getting a tad more restless than before. “What’s wrong, bro?”
He looks at our hosts opening the dorm room door via some security panel, and then back at me. “I’m not going in until Rogue and Archie are up here. No offense, guys.”
The Prince snorts, inclining his head at D. “While we don’t have any intention of holding you hostage, I understand the instinct. Come, Zav. We’ll get comfortable while the others wait with our guests.”
Squinting at the smaller demon hybrid, I consider the facts. I’ve observed behavior that says the fashionable one and the pride heir are involved, and now the prince and this nerdy vulpine.There’s a rift within some of the group about the new guy/girl’s revelation, but the ones whodon’tseem mad definitely still like her. This is fascinating, as it’s so different from how my best friends, my twin, and the girl we’ve been in love with forever came together as a family. We were all able to share with minor issues, other than Rebel fighting his feelings. None of these demons have their shit together enough to be ready to claim a mate—yet I’d be willing to bet it’s the only thing in the universe that would make them share.
Especially the prickly, pouty, prima donna Prince of Hell.
I look over at the demons remaining with me and shrug. “Guess you guys get the babysitting duty.”
The emo-bird hybrid just laughs softly. “Jas is under a lot of stress at the moment. Zavida’s the only one who can keep the edge off, and they’re probably telling KK and Salem that guests are inbound. Trust me, you’d rather be out here if you knew the deets, too.”
