“Are you ready now?” The doctor interrupts our discussion as he glides over to the group. He’s frightening and imposing, which quiets the dragon’s complaints almost immediately. “The Prince has accepted his responsibility, and I need to administer this to your non-demonic members both here and in other places. It would be tragic if someone were harmed in service of egos and bickering.”
Damn, Doc, give it to them straight—this is why the shrimp likes him so much.
“Fine,” the dragon says. “I’ll go first. If Morgana or my prince hears I allowed Slade to take it before me, they will be furious.”
Briarton rolls his eyes, muttering something about no one caring about him, and I have to swallow a chuckle. It’s obvious that he’s made his own bed, but he’s suffering while he lies in it. I can relate to that, as I did the same prior to the Big Reveal, and based on what the bear said, I’m doing it again now. I feel like I have a right to be angry now, but he had a point about ignoringwhat the universe is so clearly trying to tell me. My animal and my demon have been doing the same, and if I don’t make nice with the shrimp somehow, I fear they’re going to make my life miserable.
I’ve already made an enormously consequential error because of the distraction.
“Give it to him, and then the siren. Once it’s done, we can decide how we will deal with getting the last few surface dwellers protected.”
Dr. D nods, and I feel that odd proud sensation again when I refrain from snarking back at the suspicious bodyguard. He holds up the bowl, allowing the dragon to sip as he glares at me, and then turns to the studious-looking aquatic shifter. I’m a little surprised when Slade takes it without a word, his expression shining with the trust he’s extending. He’s clearly a lot like Zavvie, and as long as the professor has given his stamp of approval, he won’t question it.
That’swhy that idiot got so weird about the ass-tasting comment—he’s semi-embroiled with this siren and hasn’t figured out what to do about it yet. His reluctance reminds me of myself when I fell for Zavida, and I shake my head at the odd similarities between me and the two members of the college group who are on the outs with their female.
It’s sobering, and though I don’t know how to parse it entirely, it’s digging into my psyche as much as Lucas’s words.
It takes a moment for the two to swallow the rank shit down, but once they do, I turn to Anton. “What do you believe you’ve found? We searched the Keeper’s zone and some of the arena, but we found nothing. That might not be completely accurate,though, because the animals’ area of Arces’s home has a lot of spellwork cloaking the animals, and the arena is quite large.”
Anton tilts his head as if taking in my data, and then he nods. “We should probably try again tomorrow with different groups to see if the results are the same. Perhaps the entire cadre is required for the arena.”
I nod. “That was my feeling as well. Tell me about your efforts.”
“We were able to search the gym easily enough,” Salem says. “It’s not hiding anything, as far as we can tell.”
“But this building has alotof places like this where things are locked up behind various security methods. The original scan led us down here first, and a renewed effort has brought us to this door. We used a combined magic to see who it might be interesting to, and this trail tells me thatallof our alliance will want to examine what we find.”
“Hmm,” I murmur as I consider his information. “I believe I will stay here with you, and the professor can as well. If it is agreeable, the doc can take Damon, Lucas, and Kaspar to group three. They will convince the prince and the lion to take their potions and then head for the dorm.”
“Don’t forget that we promised the ladies that we would not interrupt their alone time,” Zav pipes up, and he gets glares from everyone in response. “I know that… uh… deep-seated desires probably have everyone wanting to check in, but we promised. It wouldn’t be fair to disturb them.”
I arch a brow at my lover, brushing away the irritation at his devotion to the kid despite her lies. “Fine. No one bothers them except Dr. Danckwardt. He needs to give the gorgon her potion. The shrimp will verify that he is on the level. Agreed?”
The grumbles that fill the room are enough to send me over the deep end, but I finally get confirmation from every single asshole in the hallway. Once I have it, I turn to the doc. “Have Zav text Xerxes to get their location so you can take the others there. We will work on this door.”
At least, I fucking hope we will deal with this thing so we can get back to the dorm for the night and settle in before all the supernatural sides get too antsy.
Twenty-Nine
ROGUE
The door opens, and we both start, making the kinkajou and squawky Javi cry out as well. Kat looks sheepish as she enters, her hands full with the bottles she dug up fuck knows where. My brows furrow as part of me reacts to her presence; a niggling feeling dances along my nerves and limbs that makes me wonder what the fuck happened while she was gone. It’s not a normal sensation—it just seems to want me to know that our new girlfriend has been doing more than searching for booze in her floor mate’s dorms.
I’m not sure I want to bring it up just yet, though.
“Is that more Fae wine? It looks different,” Morgana says as she squints at the bottles while the demon walks over. “Why does it look different?”
Kat smiles, and I note how relaxed she seems, although she’s nowhere near as wibbly as she was when she left. Either she burns off alcohol faster than we knew or her secret detour sobered her up right quick. “It isn’t the same, but I’m pretty sure that it’sbetterthan what we had. The damn stuff is labeled and bottled like it’s made for hoity-toity folks. I’m a bit surprisedSalem didn’t have this kind in here, but maybe he kept cheaper stuff for cooking? I don’t know.”
Tilting my head, I study her as she drops to the floor near us and puts the cache of fancy wine in the middle. “Must have been hard to find. You were gone for a while.”
She shrugs as she grabs one to open it, her eyes on the cork rather than looking at me. “I found it in Oriel’s room, and apparently, his crow has been working overtime since I was unmasked last week. I’ve been distant, and he’s been thieving as if his life depends on it. His damn dorm is so full of randomly organized piles of stuff that it was really hard to find.”
Morgana sips from the scotch before she asks, “That’s why we wanted to talk about fated stuff, Kat. His bird is pissed about being away from you, and he’s using the theft to settle it. It’s probably his demon a bit, too, given he’s from Greed, right?”
“I cannot be happier that my demons don’t seem to be affected by lineage shit as yours are,” I mutter. “That has to be a pain in the assallthe time.”
“Not so much until now,” Kat replies as she hands me the Fae wine and then frowns. “Or maybe I just didn’t notice before. I mean, sometimes I getvibesnow, and it makes me focus on why the guys are doing or saying things. Do you think that’s my demon having sensitivity to that shit?”
