Thirteen
JASPER
Nothing about this sits right with my dragon, but then, he’s pissed as fuck at me. His pouting for the past few days has been worse than when I was a wee demon and didn’t use my recent shifts to fix the problems in the world simply because I could. Obviously, that was a young dragon’s estimation, and even as a new demon, I realized that wasn’t as easy as it sounded. But then, unlike the few other shadow-wielding dragons I know well in my line, my beast has a sharply honed sense of morality. It’shismorality, not what most demons or supes would subscribe to, but it’s impossible to ignore without consequences.
None of my roles—prince, shifter, demon, heir, lover, brother—is as basic as they sound on the surface, and it’s so fucking exhausting.
“Jas?”
I look at Zav as the group Anton assigned me skulks through the back stairway behind the other two. Oriel insisted we leave the way we came to help avoid detection, and if I let Anton calculate all the group dynamics, I have to let our thief guidethe way for our movements as we split up. My brothers have different yet useful skill sets that complement my own, and if I do not use them, I am a shit-poor leader. My father often dismisses the opinions and suggestions of his fellow Court and Council advisors to feed his ego or cover up some scheme he has working. It never ends well, and he takes zero responsibility for the failure. I believe there was a time hedidvalue the advice of his caliphate, but that has long passed since they gained control of Hell.
“What?” I say with a sigh as our group finally exits into the waning light of the day. “Did you sense something?”
Zavvie shakes his head, pausing for a brief second like he’s regathering his words. “I think we should not discount what the others offer. It would be foolish to go into the arena and the magical enclave without allowing for fresh magic and senses to give us perspective.”
I didn’t expect that; Zavida is normally less direct when we’re not alone.
“You do, hmm?” I reply as I eye the Gemini, the polar bear, and the mage. “Only one of them is a demon. How are they supposed to truly aid us in a realm not their own?”
The mage stops, turning to look at me with an amused smirk. Of everyone, I didn’t expect the one who’s basically human with an upgrade to respond. “Prince Jasper, not to be offensive, but you don’t have acluewhat magic users from centuries-old magic families can do. You barely have a clue what goes on up where we all live because you don’t deign to rise above the crust very often. That alone conveys a hubris that puts you in the position of not knowing that your Headmaster is conspiring with a fuckton of baddies to take over.”
“He’s got us there,” Zav whispers. “We knew Lucian was bad, but not that he was in with Gemini or the whole mystery alliance of realm traitors.”
“To be fair,” Angelo cuts in with a sigh. “My brother and Ialsodidn’t know, nor did Rogue and her Guardian handlers, nor your precious Society masters, Briarton. This shit has been getting handled in one-offs, blamed on convenient suspects, and none of it has been tied together, even by the Sibbies.”
I frown. “Sibbies?”
“Supernatural Bureau of Investigation,” the professor replies with a dismissive wave. “I wouldn’t expect them to know, Angelo. Normal supes talk of them fearfully, as if they’re the highest law, but in my time in the shadows of the wealthy non-shifter, non-other realm supes? They’re considered puppets of the agents and Guardians of the Society. A day-to-day cop force that can override the locals when needed, butnotanyone to be concerned about.”
The bear grimaces. “He’s right. Even the wealthy shifters, especially Society-connected ones, aren’t really worried about them. I’m a good case in point; when they accused me of murder, the Sibbies should have swooped in and stolen that high-profile, multinational suspect case, but they didn’t. Why didn’t they?”
Zavida’s tails swish as he perks up to say, “They’re… what’s that saying? Um… all hat and no cattle? Did I get it right?”
I snort, but the blond athlete smiles broadly. “That’s exactly it, little dude. You nailed it. Is your girl introducing you to our stuff? That sounds like something you’d pick up in a movie.”
“Yeah. Kit… um, Kat, I guess…” Zav frowns for a second then shrugs and goes on, “Kat has been watching movies with usafter study time to help us learn your stuff, too. Plus, it’s sort of amusing in a technical sense to see how wrong the humans get everything.”
“No shit,” the professor says as he shakes his head ruefully. “Welivethere and have to watch it being fucked up. It’s surreal.”
“Perhapsthatis why we choose not to visit your realm?” I interject with a smug grin. “It’s far too hidden in the supernatural closet to deal with. We had to change ourselves simply to walk down the street.”
“Do you always run around half-shifted?” the bear asks. “I can’t even imagine it because it’s so odd compared to our place.”
“Always,” I reply as my tail flicks back and forth. “Hell does not demand anyone retain any form as a matter of law. It is common for school-aged demons of lower, secondary, and upper ages to remain mostly humanoid in classes to prevent issues. However, in the cities, you see very different behavior. Demons, supes, and hybrids might be fully shifted, fully demon, half and half… It may shock some of your members.” I look at Gemini pointedly because they have the goal of going further into Hell than the university family.
The elder twin blinks and nods sharply. “Thank you for reminding me, Your Highness.”
I roll my eyes, sighing again as I realize that having these people refer to me as if we’re at the Court is going to get very old, very quickly. “You can knock off the Prince and Your Highness shit. You have my permission. I… don’t force that on people who are close to my caliphate, and as long as you are here working with us, it’s fine.”
That earns me a shocked look from the others and a pleased grin from my Kitsune. Zavida looks at them, his tail swishing happily as he confirms my statement. “It’s true. We only use it when we’re in public or trying to piss him off.”
I could have done withoutthatclarification.
“Got it—only to twist his scaly knickers,” the bear says, and I have to bite back a groan because he reminds me of Salem.
“Can we get a move on?” I grumble instead. “This is never getting done if we stand here all damn night.”
“Which area should we go to first?” the Gemini says. “Your second assigned us the arena, the magical enclave, and the area where the Beastiary is. I’ve never been out there; D and I didn’t have familiars, so we never got permission to go.”
