It was important that they learned that their advantages didn’t mean shit if they didn’t know how to use their basic fucking senses in the dark. Most of the bastards hadn’t even attempted to try to track him. HE HAD BEEN WALKING! No concealment with shadows whatsoever, and yet…they’d failed instantly.
He felt like hucking something at them… Maybe he should get a throwing stick. Something to throw at the morons who were too dumb to be here. No…Cyrus would yell at him again. He had already been deemed the demon teacher that everyone prayed they didn’t end up with. Sucks for them that they didn’t get to pick!
I do though, Severo thought evilly. Because, lucky for him, two months into his new role, the Executive Director of the Program transferred and, oh look, a pay rise for the taking. And take it, he did.
Not that the rest wanted it. Most were retired agents, and didn’t really want to deal with the added headache of running the entire program. He honestly tried his best to put the people he thought needed the most amount of work with himself. Mostly, as while he did trust the other instructors, and they were well qualified, they’d still likely end up dead if he didn’t.
Some people really came in here thinking this job would be easy because they were Cryptids. Like fucking newsflash, the criminals were Cryptids too!
Severo walked around normally, getting near enough to cause real harm to his students, if he wanted to, until the last person failed. It had taken less than five minutes.
He loudly cleared his throat. Most turned in his direction, but a few didn’t—fucking idiots…
“You all failed the test,” he growled in disgust. “Every single one of you fuckers would be dead if I meant you harm. Most of you aren’t even taking this seriously.”
“You’re a Shadow Dweller in the dark! Of course, we are going to fail?!” Norm cried indigently. The man happened to be one of the ones who hadn’t even tried.
“Hey, dipshit! I was walking around normally. I didn’t hide a thing. If you opened your damn ears, you all would have been able to follow me. Really, this test told me that none of you use them much.
“In your case, Norm, it’s your brain that you don’t use. Disregard my instructions one more fucking time and I’ll kick you out of the program. Same goes for the other five of you who didn’t do a damn thing. This is not a joke, people. This is life or death. The Cryptids you face will try to kill you. And they WILL kill you if this is the best you can do.”
Someone cleared their throat loudly, and he was about to ream whoever it was, when he realized it wasn’t one of them. He spun. A smile broke out on his face on seeing Seri standing there with Skya in one arm, and what was likely their lunch hanging off the other…in the middle of the dark room. The sight of the man’s smile—bright, even in the darkness—was almost enough to make him cry—almost.
He laughed on realizing that Skya was dressed like a gummy bear. It was nothing he had bought, so it meant that Seri had.
Severo moved towards them, thinking the fuckers behind him could kneel there for as long as it took him to have lunch, as far as he was concerned.
“PAW PAW!” Skya squealed.
He almost tripped as his jaw dropped. Eyes wide, Severo’s gaze flicked to Skya and then Seri.
The Nymph smiled and set Skya down.
“PAW PAW!!” she yelled again, sprinting towards him.
He managed to keep a straight face, up until the moment he crouched and wrapped his arms around her. Nothing on the Earth’s surface and beyond would have stopped his tears at that moment. Pulling her into his arms, tears streaming down his face, he met Seri’s eyes again.
“Softy,” Seri mouthed with a teasing smile.
He laughed, before breaking down into full blown sobs as he cradled his daughter to his chest. Seri walked further into the darkness, knelt down, and began to wipe his tears away.
The action…did nothing to staunch the waterworks. If anything, it made it worse.
As his lover continued to giggle and tease, he promised that for as long as he remained, he’d always be there by Seri and Skya’s side, for whatever dragons they chose to face in the future. Over a year ago, he’d set out to capture a Water Nymph, but in the end, the only one captured was him.
Preston glaredat the fools in front of him, seeming excited to be lining up for the slop they called food. All of them were morons. He glanced around, his anger flaring.
He’d get out of here. They thought they had won. They hadn’t. He’d get out. He’d take back all he’d lost. Starting with that whore. They’d see. They all would.
Preston chuckled to himself. He’d kill that other Dweller too. Severo…the man would pay. It was his doing. All of this. The bastard had also been the one who twisted Seri’s head against him.
Preston hissed, spinning around when someone bumped into him. “You dare touch me.” He glared at the man in disgust.
The guy smirked, showing crooked teeth. “You Preston?”
“I’m your better. Filth like you don’t even have a right to use my name.”
“Oh, good, I have the right former rich guy.”
