“Your knowledge about your own powers andthe Demon Capital,” he explained, stopping in front of his office and gesturing me inside first.
I made a bee-line toward the plushy chair in front of his large stone desk. “I know some.”
“Thanks to reading what you had access to, yes.” He nodded, circling around and taking his seat. He picked up a small white band from the desk and sighed. “Even with the basics, your knowledge is textbook-based only. You have no real-world experience at no fault of your own.”
I shifted in my seat as I crossed my ankles, and I placed a hand over the raised white and pink scars covering my right thigh. They reminded me of the way my mother’s shadows had sliced into my skin like it was butter. I’d found that other demons quickly took note of my scars, including those who worked under my father. I knew it was unusual for a demon to scar, but the long stares made me uncomfortable.
I loathed it.
“I know,” I murmured.
He rolled the ring in his fingers, staring at me with a pensive expression. “How would you feel about attending an academy to learn how to be a functional demon?”
“An academy?” A surge of excitement washed over me. I’d read all about the different academic institutions in Kalista. “I’ve always wanted to attend one. Any education I have comes fromreading alone, like you said. I’d like to learn even more and gain real-life experience.”
A small smile spread across his lips before he placed the white band on the edge of his desk toward me. “This is for you.”
Before him, I’d never been given anything but pain. He’d supplied me with more than enough. Why was he giving me a ring on top of everything else?
I reached for it, carefully holding it in my hands and staring at the sparkling white band of some type of crystal. “It’s so pretty.”
“It’s enchanted,” he explained as I slipped it over my ring finger on my right hand. “It will turn black when someone around you wishes to cause you harm.”
“That’s incredible,” I murmured, staring at how pretty and sparkling it was as it stayed white. “Thank you so much, Daryl.”
It would’ve turned black had my mother been here. She loved to cause me harm—but I’d stopped her for good. She couldn’t hurt me anymore.
“You’re my daughter.” He shrugged as if it explained everything. “All supernaturals are predatory, but demons are ruthless. Not as much as dragons, drakes, or basilisks, but they’re right after. If a demon senses weakness, they enjoy tormenting.”
“And I’m weak?” My breath caught, and I glanced down at my scarred thigh. It looked awful.
“The opposite, actually,” he chuckled lowly. “You’re a soul eater. We’re considered stronger than any other supernatural in Kalista, including drakes since we can literally eat someone’s soul without any prep.”
Shock rippled through me as I jerked my head back up. I’d never been told I was anything but weak. He’d been telling me the opposite since he’d found me, but I couldn’t shake the unfamiliarity. “Thank you, but why are you warning me about demonic nature?”
His lips curled up in an impressed smile. “Demon Reform Academy is an academy built for demons who need to hone their magical abilities. Most demons sent there have done something to be qualified in being reformed…”
“And I—” My throat seized, and I curled my fingers around my neck. “I killedher.”
Was he sending me to a reformatory to be reformed due to murdering my mother?
“You saved yourself.” His response was instant and full of vigor, obliterating my worries. “Nothing more to it, and I don’t want you to see it any other way. The only reason I want you to go is so you have the opportunity to learn. You’ve grown up utterly isolated. You’re malnourished ofmagic and have been for some time. You need to learn how to properly feed. This academy will help you do that and more.”
“Okay,” I rasped, pulling my hand from my neck and forcing my hands together in my lap. “I’ll go.”
His shoulders dropped slightly as he nodded. “You don’t have to go if you don’t wish to, but I do believe it’s the best choice for you. Every student at the academy has mandated counseling, but I know one of the counselors.”
I let my hair fall around me like a blanket as I took in a deep breath. “Who?”
“Councilman Darkmore,” he stated, and a ripple of sparks spread through me. “He’s the vengeance demon representative on the Demon Council. You’ll find him to be very empathetic.”
“Darkmore,” I whispered, loving the feeling of that name on my tongue. “Is that his first or last name?”
“Last, of course.” Daryl crossed his arms and leaned back against his chair. “Demons refer to each other by last name unless family or close friends or more. Nobles tend to call each other by their last names, and the council members do as well.”
I twisted the ring on my finger, loving the comforting white it stayed. “I remember reading that.”
“Remember that you’re a Gravesend now, and we are nobility. Hold your head up high.”
