The Devils You Know
Levi
I’m itching to get my hands on some books about the Princes of Hell. Funny enough, our curriculum doesn’t cover it in the demon course in our upcoming classes, or else I would have already known the information. I’ve spent plenty of time down here, but never have I been introduced to the darker sides of Hell or what the “lesser” demons are.
As I walk into the library, I take in the stacks as Knots steps up next to me. “So, what’s your best guess on how to tackle this?”
I sigh and fix my cufflinks Rez made for me in the shape of scales. “We each take a section and look for anything that references Demons, Princes, Legions, and Fallen.”
“Okay. Simple enough.”
I turn and take in his profile and find him leaning against a shelf. To anyone else, he might look like he’s comfortable and just taking in the room, but the fine lines around his eyes and the tension radiating off of him say otherwise. He no longer looks pale as a ghost, but it’s obvious he’s not one hundred percent as he gives me a weak smile.
“Are you doing okay? Are you getting stronger?” My curiosity gets the best of me. Plus, I know how much Rez worries about him.
“Being here helps. I don’t feel the weight of the world crushing me anymore, so that’s a plus. But I know we can’t stay.” Sadness seeps out of him, and I grab his shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
“If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know,” I offer, and he nods before pushing off and going to the last shelf in the corner to browse.
I move to the other side of the fireplace to start my search, and I’m immediately rewarded with a book on Legions and Origins. Pulling that and another book on Factions, I sit down and start searching. A few moments later, Lynx joins me on the sofa with his own book.
“So you’re the leader of our group, huh?” he says, opening up the spine of his book.
“I’m just more logically minded than the others,” I reply, not sure if I would name myself the leader. It seems like Rez is more our leader than anyone else.
“Yep, and that’s why I said leader,” he says, flipping pages until he reaches toward the back of his book.
It’s the first time I’ve actually had a chance to sit down with the Storm Shifter, so I might as well take advantage as I browse the index of the first book in my stack.
“Does it bother you?” I ask, not at all talking about the subject he threw out but the deeper meaning behind his words.
Lynx peeks at me as a small smile plays on his lips. “Not at all.”
“You know I love her, right?” I say, keeping my voice down, hoping not to disturb everyone else’s search.
Lynx chuckles. “Everyone in our group loves Rez. What’s there not to love? Even Chester loves her, but he thinks of heras a sister that makes his woman happy.” He turns and places his knee on the sofa to face me fully. “To be completely honest, I hated the idea at first. Rezzi has always been mine. We have been an inseparable pair from day one when we first met. But being here”—he waves his hand around to indicate the room—“I realize I can’t take care of her by myself, and maybe I wasn’t meant to.”
The emotions I pick up from him aren’t anger or animosity but relief. As if he needed to get this off his chest.
“I’m just glad that if I have to share my amazing best friend with anyone, it would be with you, your worthless brothers, and the doorknob.” Lynx winks.
I nod and give him a smirk before looking down at my book. “They are pretty worthless,” I tease back, and Lynx laughs before digging into his book.
A few moments later, I find some information that we might find useful and jot it down before JP and Knots join us by the fireplace with books that look to be dog-eared.
“Got anything good?” Lynx nods in their direction.
“Yep, but I might as well wait for everyone so I don’t need to repeat everything,” JP suggests, getting comfortable in the seating he was in last night. Zeke strolls over with his own book, his finger holding his spot, and nestles in next to JP, giving him a kiss.
Ryker walks into the library with a smug look on his face and his eyes glowing like he has been plugged into a light socket. No need to guess where he and Rez were while we were working. Surprisingly, I don’t feel any insecurities or jealousy. I’m just glad both Ryker and Rez are taken care of. He walks past JP and does a double take at the book in his lap before backing up with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.
“What the hell,” Ryker shouts, grabbing JP’s book. “That’s the equivalent of raping the damn book, you monster!” heshouts, opening the book and smoothing out the page that was bent. He glares and would probably shoot daggers at JP if he could but simply shakes his head before reluctantly giving back the book to him.
Knots silently corrects his own mistake while Ryker is distracted and shoots a warning look at Lynx when the Storm Shifter just smirks. I can only imagine what their dialogue is saying right now.
“Where’s Rez?” I ask, scooting over to give Ryker a spot to sit.
“She was changing clothes,” he says with a straight face. “Got anything good?”
