He stopped as soon as he saw me, his blue eyes widening exponentially. “Darkmore, what are you doing here?”
“You and I need to talk, Ashenfell.” I rolled my sleeves up my arms, spearing him with a scathing glare.
He tugged at the collar of his shirt and darted his gaze toward the students. “I’m in the middle of class; surely whateverit is can wait?—”
“Now,” I barked, my voice cracking like a whip through the air.
He visibly flinched. “I’ll dismiss the class and meet you in my office.”
Students murmured, and I knew this exchange would make the other demons gossip, but I didn’t give a shit. I demanded blood for blood because he allowed Pandora to be hurt under his watch. He allowed Pandora tobleedunder his fucking watch.
Vengeance thrummed through my veins like liquid fire, crackling around me as I stormed off to the corner of the chamber, where Ashenfell’s office was. My magic rippled forth, tossing his door open and forcing it against the stone wall with a loud bang that echoed throughout the entire stadium.
The whispers of the students increased, but I strode in and whirled around, crossing my arms as he murmured some bullshit excuse and excused the class early to meet with me.
Professionalism wasn’t on my mind in the slightest. Ashenfell was about to pay dearly.
His office was lined with high shelves that had absolutely nothing but one trophy on the top shelf. A single lamp cast a dim glow over the metal desk, and it was just a sad space. No wonder he never worked in his damn office.
Ashenfell stumbled into the room, bringing hisweird baby powder scent with him, and gently shut the door before turning to me with fear in his gaze. “What brings you here?”
“You’re a fucking professor,” I growled, my words vibrating through my chest with each syllable. “You were told about Pandora’s fear of shadow magic, and you were supposed to look out for her! But what did you do? You fucked up majorly!”
Ashenfell gulped, straightening his shoulders. “This is about pairing her with Shadowheart?”
“What else could it be about, Ashenfell?” I shouted, my magic cracking with the boom of my voice.
His gaze darted to the side, and he shrugged one shoulder. “I didn’t realize her fear of shadow magic was that bad. Besides, Shadowheart was the one who volunteered to risk his soul around her. If anyone was in danger, I figured it was him.”
“Shadowheartwas who you were worried about? You didn’t even think about how pairing them would affect her, did you?” My voice turned cold, and my power exploded outward, shackling him with fear so raw it forced his blood pressure to skyrocket and his lungs to stall. “For your idiocy, I’m going to claim vengeance for her.”
“Wait,” he choked out, holding his hands up as he felt my magic on his soul. “I didn’t know?—”
“Didn’t know or didn’t care?” I snarled, contempt and vengeance magic spilling out of me like an open wound. “There’s a price to be paid for your incompetence, and you’re paying it now.”
Vengeance struck fierce and absolute, forcing Ashenfell to his hands and knees with ragged breaths.
Mimicry shadows wrapped around his throat and sliced until he bled worse than Pandora had, and my powers didn’t relent until he was deep into a panic attack and blood pooled onto the stone below him.
My magic reserves filled to the brim with the vengeance I’d claimed on Pandora’s behalf.
My footsteps thudded on the stone as I moved around him, glancing over my shoulder. “In the future, do remember that if you ever put her in immediate danger again, I’ll make you suffer worse than this.” I opened the door with a small chuckle. “Fates, I might even kill you before Death does.”
Ashenfell’s sobs became background noise through the stadium as I strode out, my reserves filled, and my soul satisfied with knowing vengeance had been served for Pandora.
9
DEXTER
Icouldn’t shake the image of Pandora’s pretty face scrunched in agony. Why had her big red eyes widened in shock and betrayal as I lashed out at her with my shadows?
We were demons, and pain was nothing for most of us. Some demons even craved it, so why did she have such a strong reaction to it?
Fates, I really was a hypocrite.
I was a shadow demon thatloathedpain, after all. Feeling pain, I mean. I didn’t give a shit about unleashing it on someone else. Since I struggled with hurting myself, hurting others was the only way I fed. But I’d never second guessed causing pain until her.
Part of me reveled in the power I had wielded with my shadows wrapped around her delicate neck. The way her pain and paralyzing fear hadechoed through the room like a symphony of suffering had filled my magic reserves completely. It was a familiar taste, one that I had grown accustomed to over the years being an only child of the Shadowheart family.
