I reach up to find two horns pointing up and backward from my head that have several spiked ridges and split into a fork of two points at the ends. My hand moves downward over myskull, and there are two more, smaller horns on each side of my temple above my ears that are long and pointed like a goddamn Fae. My breath comes faster, but before I start the panicked mantras, the darkness thatmustbe the demon in me squashes it flat within. With the equivalent of a feral grin inside my mind, it takes control of my body again to arch up to Oriel and damn nearpreenin the mirror.
That’s when I stop being freaked out by the horns to notice that my skin is an iridescent onyx color with various colors infusing the damn cutie marks all over my body. They’ve increased in number and sizes over what I can see, stopping at the base of my head and extending in what feels like a purposeful suit of the ridiculous tattoos integrated with markings that I believe are in the demonic language and something else I don’t recognize.
Can nothing I do ever be simple? Ten fucking dollars says this tells the guysnothingabout what kind of demon I am.
The scales I can see are blended into the tattoo work, and I lift one hand to see that my fingers are longer and have sparkling long claw-like nails. I blink, wondering if they break like humanoid nails and if so, I’m screwed because I’ve never been able to keep that kind of girly shit even when I wasn’t pretending to be a boy. This is going to drive me fucking crazy, and I’ll look so stupid. I have no idea how I’ll deal with that.
“You’re a bit scary, KK, and that’s really hot. Is the demon talking to you yet?”
I shake my head, noticing how off-balance my head feels. “No, but the animals don’t talk, either. It’s more of a … feeling thing. They listen to me a little in practice with Slash, though.”
He grins, eyes dancing as he looks to the other side of the bed from where he grabbed the mirror to pick something up and show it to me.
Oh, fuckbuckets, it’s another damned tail.
“This is alotlike?—”
“Shut. Up.”
Chuckling as I make a pouty face, he rises from between my legs to stretch his ridiculously sexy frame. “Okay, my little shadow. You need to have a chat with your demon, while I find something to clean us up. We’ve been here long enough that if we aren’t careful, people will come looking. Focus on that for now.”
I feel a flush heat my cheeks, but I doubt it’s visible. That’s a pleasant side benefit, but it has to go, so no one knows exactly what I’ve been doing with Oriel in his hoard-filled room. “Um, I will, but… why is your room packed to the gills with stolen shit? Are your hiding spots full? That can’t be.”
The crow demon laughs as he gets off the bed and heads for his dresser to rummage through the things piled on it. “No, I just… It’s been hard staying away from you, and I wanted to give you the space you needed. My crow wasn’t happy about it, so going a bit bonkers with stealing was how I managed it.”
Blinking in surprise, I duck my head and fall quiet, not wanting to admit how that affects me. Instead, I close my eyes and do what he said before—I try to talk to my demon so she backs off and I turn back. The animals are prowling as well, eyeing one another suspiciously, and I wonder if some of the urges I was feeling were because of them or if it wasallthe demon. I have no idea, and I think I probably need to know which one of them isdemanding what so I can control it better. Yelling into the void isn’t helping much.
“How’s it going over there?” Oriel asks as he tosses things aside in his quest for whatever. “Getting through to her? It might be a little different from the animals, you know. You need to be as dominant and aggressive with the demon as it was being with me. That’s not always true, but I’m pretty sure it is for you.”
I didn’t think about that, so I dive back into my mind and take a deep breath. Being commanding isn’t in my typical nature, but if I can get past my trauma to have this moment with O, then I can do this. I put all of my fury and indignation into a big push within me that is aimed right at the demonic colors swirling around angrily. It balks for a moment, trying to fight me, and I grit my teeth as we battle internally. The demon wants me to let her stay free, but I can’t anymore than I could any of the animals. I have to keep them under wraps until the Games start or we’ll lose our edge—or worse.
After a few moments, my hands tingle, and I’m fairly certain the long fingers and claws are receding. Pain radiates through me as the other parts do the same, and I focus all my energy on forcing the supernatural throwing a tantrum into the back of my consciousness. The strain makes me pant, and by the time I think I’ve got full control again, I open my eyes to find Oriel walking over with a towel that looks like it’s wet.
“Ew, no! If that’s been lying around wet in here, it’ll be so gross. Why are boyslikethis?” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
Oriel laughs as he kneels on the bed, his expression amused. “It’s not a dirty, moldy rag. Xerxes enchanted them when we were young demons because, uh… well, as you said, boys are gross.”He gives me a sheepish look, and when it hits me, my hand flies to my mouth.
“Ohhhhh. Okay. I get it now.” My face is definitely red now, but I look up at him through my lashes. “You didn’t have to admit that.”
“Why not?” he shrugs. “Sex isnotthe secretive, shameful stuff the humans taught you before the thing happened. We can talk about it, we can compare things… Hell, little shadow, we can even do it together. Trust me, it will not be so hard on you once you’re able to enjoy everything as much as you did this little tryst.”
Before I can respond, he’s parting my legs and running the cloth over me gently. It’s so careful that I feel softness rise in my chest, squeezing my heart like a vise. Oriel cleans every bit of me without a second thought, his eyes darting up to check on me every so often until he’s done. Then, with a regretful sigh, he moves off of the bed to drop his sweats. My jaw drops as the rest of him is revealed, but I can’t tear my gaze from the sight. He’s not as large as Jas or Slash, but definitely in the next tier, and his tattoos are everywhere—including places thathad to hurt. It’s too dark to see piercings very well, but there are bars in his nipples and on his dick.
Dark hair falls over his eyes as he smirks at me. “Interested in what you can see, are you?”
“I-I-I…” I clear my throat, forcing myself to look him in the eye with the intensity he offers me. “Yes. I mean, you’re beautiful. Well, not beautiful, but um… hot? Your tatts are gorgeous and, uh, I can see that your face isn’t the only?—”
That’s where I falter, and it earns me a husky chuckle as he cleans himself off slower than I believe is necessary. “Yes, I have quite a few fun bits, as do the others, KK. Does that bother you?”
I shake my head quickly before saying, “No! No, of course not. I don’t know… what to do about that, but it’s not bad. I just… it will take me time to acclimate to the basics before I can level up.”
Snorting, Oriel turns to get a new pair of pants from the dresser. The move flashes his amazing ass, and I swallow hard as I work to maintain my composure. “You’re hanging around Zav too much, little shadow. But yes, I expect you will move slowly unless something inside of you gives you a shove as it did just now. However, I’m fine with that as I’m not a player nor do I lack control of my urges.”
I’m suddenlyveryaware of my disarray, and I scramble to get my shirt and pants back into place. Once I’m covered, I feel more confident because I won’t have to explain anything on this form that I’m not ready to. I scoot to the edge of the bed and bite my lip as O turns back to smile at me fondly. This interlude was definitely made possible by the slight lubrication of the alcohol—as Morgana called it—but I don’t have the feeling of being taken advantage of as I did in my shitty past. In fact, I have this welling emotion that I think is pride in my ability to move on that’s helping me stay calm.
“You were very good to me, and I wasn’t scared of you. That’s a big deal, you know.”
The demon walks over, leaning down to tip my chin up and look into my eyes. “Little shadow, making you happy and keeping you safe has rocketed up the charts of importance in my mind. I will do anything you need; all you have to do is ask.”
