Taking off from my perch, I fly out of the arena and once I’m clear, I shift into a bigger, faster version of my crow. My wings flap hard, pushing me away from the main campus area towards the edge of the lands where the Wastes begin and The Keeper makes his home. I need to get to my phone and ask Zavida to do the thing he keeps under his hat so Kat is hustled back to safety before those people leave the arena. I won’t know where they are then, and that makes both of my sides furious.
Can’t things be quiet for one fucking day?
It feelslike it takes forever to get to the small home at the edge of campus, but as soon as I land, I pull on my clothes. Reaching into my pocket, I grab my phone and shoot a text to our non-KK group chat.
Thief: We have visitors on campus.
Chef: What kind of visitors? More assholes from home?
Thief: No. From the surface.
Enforcer: Danger level?
Thief: Unknown, big guy.
Prince: Stop dicking around and tell us what’s going on, Oriel.
Thief: *tongue out emoji*
Hacker: Come on, O. Jas isn’t wrong for asking for details.
Spy: There’s a first for everything.
Prince: Enough!
Designer: It’s true that we cannot plan if we do not know what the issue is.
Thief: I need Zav to come to Keeper-ville. I want to bring KK back where she’s safe before we address it.
Prince: …
Chef: That’s smart, O. Zav, go help them.
Prince: Until he tells us who it is, I think it’s overkill.
Thief: *angryemoji* Get fucked, Jasper. Whatever your problems, we’re supposed to make sure everyone in this group is safe.
Enforcer: Agreed. Oriel is being cautious, as we have discussed many times. Zavida should go.
Hacker: Just tell us who it is, and he’ll agree. Don’t be a pain in the ass.
Thief: I’ll tell you in person, and if you don’t come to help, you’re enabling him. I’m out.
Growling in frustration, I tuck my phone away and open the door to the house. Kat looks up from her spot at the table, and the Keeper arches a brow at me.
“Early, aren’t you?”
I nod, crossing the room quickly. “Yes, but there’s a reason. My flights around campus were uninteresting until I saw a flash. When I investigated, there were unexpected visitors on the field in the arena. I don’t believe they are threats, but we haven’t fully vetted these people, nor did we invite them to visit. I want to get Kat back to the dorms, where we’ve got security in place, while we investigate it.”
The big, bearded man eyes me for a moment and then nods. “Better safe than dead, I always say. We’ve worked enough for today, I think. What say you, protégé?”
Kat’s face flushes at the term, and my chest aches. She hasn’t looked that happy since the dragon snafu, and I wish I’d been the one to get that smile out of her. But she’s barely talking to us, and I can’t force something to move at my speed if I want it to last—not with her. “Yes, Arces. I think we’ve made Dottie and Rook do their thing for long enough. I’ll practice with her before our next meeting.”
My frown deepens as I look at them curiously, dying to know what she and Dottie worked on. If Jasper hadn’t been such a jackass, she might be showing off her new techniques to me right now. This sucks balls, and I want to steal something really big to bleed off the frustration of being in the cold. “Okay, then. We’re staying right here until Zav?—”
A knock sounds at the door and we all spin around in surprise. Stalking over to the heavy reinforced wood, I look out the peephole before pulling it open to reveal the demon I was talking about. He waves shyly, his tails swishing as he looks into the house. Zav has it worse than everyone, I think, because he’s caught in the middle of Jasper’s fury and Kat’s hurt. He doesn’t seem mad about the secret in the slightest; no, he’s just fretting constantly about how to dance amongst the flames between those two without getting burned.
“I’m here. I, uh, decided coming wouldn’t make anything worse, so…” He shrugs and I clap my hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “Thanks, man.”
