“Towels?” I repeat in confusion. Kat nods, and suddenly, I notice the energy in the air change. It gets heavier as the scent coming off of our newly revealed girl changes. “Like, in the bathroom?”
“Uh-huh. That’s where I see the most, even when I try not to look cuz it feels sneaky.” Her lashes flutter as she looks down, and when she raises her eyes, I suck in a deep breath, trying to calm the riot now going on inside of me. “But I do see things, and Isaw things when people shifted and… I don’t know exactly what to do with how it makes me feel. It scares me, but… I also…want things.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…
“Like what?” I croak. Obviously, I can’t go to Hell for this—I’m already here—so I guess there’s a pit warming up somewhere for me letting her chat so freely. She’s barely spoken to us in a week, though, and my supernatural sides are so damn needy for even a drop of attention. Even the non-supe parts of me have been feeling like something was missing, and she’s so damnopenright now. “I mean… uh. If you want to tell me, that is.”
Her hand swats my chest as she grins, and I swallow hard.
Are those… fangs?
“Don’t be silly, of course Iwantto tell you. I just can’t ever find the words, and when I can, they won’t come out.” Kat pouts, and my demon practically throws himself against the bars of his cage, making me grunt. “I mean, you kissed me, and it was so tingly, and Ilikedit so much. Salem did, too, and even Slash. I have so many tasty men, you know.”
I chuckle again, raising my hand to run it over her hair carefully. The touch helps me back off the clamoring beings pushing against my control a little. “I’m aware, KK, though I didn’t know the big guy took his shot.”
“Yep! Rogue says his dick is probably huge and I’ll walk funny for a week. That sounds silly and can’t be right. What do you think?”
“Of Slash’s dick?” I snort, covering my mouth with my free hand. “Uh, I don’t think about it much, little shadow.”
“No!” She stomps her foot, her face screwing up as she grabs my shirt to yank me down closer. “Imean, about the walking funny thing. I don’t think that’s how it works. I mean, thatwasn’thow it worked, even though it hurt a lot and I was sore. But none of that was good, and it makes me worried that nothingis good and everyone is just lying to me.”
“Oh, shit,” I whisper as the fury inside of me floods my being before I can stop it. The demon and the bird work together to push me aside—something that rarely happens—and my hand moves to grip her chin as I growl darkly.
Kat’s eyes flash that damn red again, and it makes the demon fuckingpurrinside me. “Oooh! I see your bad boys. They’re peeking out at me!”
Before she can say anything else, I’m kissing her deeply. I doubt she knows that my tongue is forked, nor that my feathery tail is swishing around below my wings as the demon rejoices happily. The minute her tongue touches mine, a jolt of power travels from her to me. I feel it in every cell in my body and corner of my soul like she’s trying to crawl into me. Her scent and mine mingle in the air, and when we break to breathe, I can’t stop myself from saying, “No one lied to you, little shadow. Somanythings feel good, and I want to show you, but I can’t.”
Her irises go dark, the red spiked with black as she grasps my shirt hard. “Youwillshow me. I demand it.”
Blinking, I look at the unusually aggressive woman with all my pieces paused in shock. Even my demon is intrigued, but surprised at the command in her tone. I shake my head, hoping I can clear it, but neither he nor the crow has any intention of handing the reins back to me. In fact, the demon isveryinterested in her sudden switch in behavior; he might even allow it to go unchallenged.
Unfortunately,that is both a fucking terrible and wonderful take that I have absolutely no control over.
Twenty
LUCAS
I’d feel smug about getting an ancient demon royal and an older, stodgy-ass professor to question their behavior, but it’s hard to ride that prideful wave at the moment. Since the prof made his admission, Arces took his leave to go do… whatever a demon animal guy does… and we’ve been wandering around his visually barren field looking for clues. I have no ideawhatwe’re looking for or even what I’ve been bumping into occasionally, so my current state of being is more Scooby-Dumb than Velma. Luckily, I’m not the only one who isn’t having much luck, or I’d be shriveled up like a damn prune in embarrassment.
The Prince and his ginger lover aren’t finding shit, nor is the Gemini, which is the saving gracefor my ego.
“I believe we may have exhausted all the options out here, Jasper.”
Relief floods me as Angelo calls out to the stubborn dragon from his corner of the vast animal pen. We searched the stable-type building first and found squat, then moved to this open field for follow-up. Not a single one of us has felt or seen a thing thatmight lead to a discovery in the nebulous amount of time we’ve been here, and I’m glad someone besides me is calling it.
“I agree with him,” Iggy yells from his area. “I’ve bumped into things, but nothing has responded to my magic or even tweaked my spells from your searches. We need to move on.”
Zavida waves from where he’s been searching in Kitsune form, obviously shifted back and in his clothes. “They’re probably correct, Jas. I’m getting zero response to shifter or demonic efforts down here.”
The prince finally growls in irritation, running his hand through his hair as he looks around. “This seemed like a perfect place to hide shit. I don’t get it.”
“Maybe Arces was right about his security?” I venture carefully. “I don’t know dick about demons and their magic beyond the little I’ve seen recently, but… he seems capable.”
Jasper snorts, shaking his head. “Arces ismorethan capable, but demons are also sneaky, good at subterfuge, and the people who might be involved are old enough to know what they need to circumvent. Plus, it’s easy to get complacent spending decades and centuries being feared and isolated. We’re all vulnerable to our own egos; isn’t that what you posited earlier?”
I blink, my face turning red as I kick what I think is dirt. “Yeah, I suppose so. But we’ve tried everything, right?”
Iggy walks over, nodding sagely. “Yes, we have. Everyone used magic or shifts or demonic forms and more magic..we’ve even walked in normal forms, feeling around like fools. This area is either free of hidden clues or we don’t have the right things needed to unlock it.”
