“What is that? Is that an eel?” Wilder asks in a low voice. “Why is he giving her an eel?”
I lift it to my nose, inhaling the briny stench. Delicious. I open my mouth to bite into it and then remember that the asshole who gave it to me isn’t a Siren. I toss it at the Grim and laugh when I hear him gagging and spitting in rage.
The dragon growls and stomps away. I cock my head when another green blur of magic bursts into my mind. It shimmers in the shape of a cat before it fades. I reach out and find myself touching fur.
“Kit,” the dragon growls. “This is my…Kit.”
His voice is deep and dark, like a voice in a thousand caverns. He’s ancient and wise, dark and deadly. A voice that ripples with power.
“Kit?”
Another eel is pressed into my free hand. I grumble while I continue patting the cat. I’m hungry.
Really hungry.
Before anyone can stop me or I can think about it, I toss the eel straight at Ronit’s face, enjoying the wet slap.
Leaf leaps after his eel, slamming Ronit into another wall, by the sounds of it.
“You are enjoying this too much,” Becky says in a warning tone.
“The enemy of my enemy is my ally today,” I singsong.
Leaf comes back, huffing and growling, and puts the eel back in my hand. I shudder. I already have five…what’s one more?
I bite into the raw eel and moan in bliss.
Someone retches, and I think the Grim is losing his mind. He keeps screaming about the foulness, the poison, his poor pretty eyes. The noise almost ruins my dinner. Almost.
I keep eating, not caring about the mess, warily listening to everyone around me losing their minds, while the dragon stands guard over me, humming in pleasure.
I try really hard to pretend he’s not there, but it’s impossible not to notice him. He just takes up room.
“All right, all right.” Diablos says as he paces around. “We’re doing the boot camp.”
“I’m out. We need to go save the world,” Wilder says firmly.
“No, I need you-”
“Saving the world,” Becky says, and I swear, I can hear laughter in her voice.
I toss the remains of the eel straight into Puppy’s face, who has been steadily closing the distance between us.
“Stop sneaking up on me, Grim!” I snap.
He snarls. I snarl back. Leaf roars, the sound rattling the windows. He takes a massive step towards the Grim. Oh, hell, I guess I better break it up. I lazily trace a rune in the air.
Fire explodes straight up between us, trapping the dragon on my side and the Grim on the other. I giggle into the heat that slaps me in the face.
“WHOA!” Frost snaps. “Enough, you two.”
A gust of icy air hits me, and the fire goes out, but Becky has dragged her feral Grim away from us.
“You all need to learn to play nicely. This isn’t a playground. It’s not a school. It’s a place where people live and go about their lives. They are vulnerable and weaker than we are. You must not go out and do any of that!” Diablos snaps. He huffs and stomps a foot, making the house shake.
“I thought you were looking for omegas,” Canto says calmly.
I had almost forgotten they were here. They were staying so silent and unobtrusive, but sadly, I tricked myself.
