13. Pandora

Ialways wanted a girl best friend, but I knew with absolute certainty that Dreadful was not best friend material. Nor was she even friend material. She might have been my roommate, but I found myself not enjoying her company. I didn’t want to try to placate Dreadful’s feelings anymore. She was rude and abrasive to everyone, not to mention materialistic.

“This looks so much better on me.” She flattened the wool skirt she’d stolen from my closet over her legs as we walked across the sandy campus to Reform Hall for Ceremonial Magic. “I mean, you can’t even wear it with that nasty thigh wrap. You should really just give it to me.”

“I can still wear it,” I grumbled, flattening my flowing skirt that was just as short as the one she had on against my legs. “The wrap isn’t nasty, either.”

She’d come into our dorm last night, waking me up by being loud and complaining that everyone had been making fun of her roommate after Dex had sent me into a panic attack. She didn’t ask me if I was okay or seemed to care about me in the slightest. That was telling enough as it was. She told me that I was a soul eater, and I needed to stop pretending to be weak before I became a pariah at the academy. If that happened, she would stop hanging out with me—which, at this point, I actually wanted.

“Maybe if you hadn’t taken forever to wake up, you could’ve worn the skirt if you like it so much.” She huffed and flipped her blonde hair at me, and her birthday cake scent filled my senses. It was far too sweet. It wasn’t that I didn’t like sweet smells, but I much preferred Hunter’s sweet chocolate scent or Reed’s cotton candy scent.

“Or you could’ve not touched my closet,” I mumbled bitterly.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to share my clothes. It was more that she took clothes Daryl had bought for me without asking. She acted like he’d bought them for her. It was a matter of principle, and it upset me. Maybe it was irrational, but it did.

She gasped as we entered Reform Hall. “Rude. I’m being nice to you, Gravesend. Don’t make me regret it.” She stormed ahead of me, and I didn’t stop her as we made our way to room 219.

The classroom was illuminated by flickering orbs of light that cast dancing shadows upon the sandstone walls. There were noticeably no windows in this room. Runes and sigils adorned every surface, pulsating with magical energy that hummed through the air. At the center stood an embellished altar, the surface etched with arcane symbols.

As I stepped in behind Dreadful, hushed murmurs of the students quelled off. It was replaced by a tense silence broken only by Dreadful’s heels on the floor as she went to the middle row and sat with a few other demons, one I recognized as Nightwind, the demon who had said something about Reed hanging out with me in Demon Basics.

Eyes settled on me, and goosebumps raised the flesh on my arms. Ignoring the scrutiny of my peers, I made my way toward an empty seat near the back of the room before realizing who I had just sat next to.

I should’ve brought Nebula with me today instead of leaving him at home, but he’d insisted that he wanted some time to sleep instead of being jostled in my bag all day.

I missed him.

Sighing, the scents of spicy bourbon, vanilla, and smoke filled my senses, and I turned to meet the two sharp gazes of Hemlock and Grimshaw on my left side.

Fear riddled down my spine as I stood back up.

Grimshaw’s lips tugged into a smirk, and the pupils of his emerald eyes were blown wide. “You taste good.”

“I’m sorry,” I blurted, letting my hair fall around me and hide me from their intense stares. “I didn’t realize?—”

“That you were sitting with low-class demons?” Hemlock scowled, tapping his fingers against the desk rapidly.

“That’s not…I don’t…” I tried to explain, but the words got lost on my tongue.

“Go on then.” His black locks fell into his eyes, but he didn’t attempt to move them. “Your little friend is waiting for you.”

I glanced over to see Dreadful waving me over, her face pinched in irritation.

I wouldn’t exactly call her a friend…

Turning back to Grimshaw and Hemlock, the hair on the back of my neck stood.

“Or you can choose to sit with us, princess.” Grimshaw’s voice was husky, and it sent a stream of heat through me.

I bit down on my bottom lip.

Hemlock’s chest vibrated with a very unwelcoming growl.

“I can tell when I’m not wanted,” I murmured softly as my cheeks flushed with embarrassment. I turned on my heels and walked to where Dreadful was sitting with other nobles I hadn’t met yet. The air was cooler in this room than the rest of the building.

Dreadful’s lips curved into a condescending smile as I took the seat next to her. “What in Kalista were you thinking sitting by those losers?”

“Who cares?” Nightwind smirked, switching to the open seat on my other side. His scent was like marshmallows, and like Dreadful’s, it was too sweet for me. “She’s with us now.”

I forced a shy smile. “Thanks.”

“Too bad she wants to fuck Grimshaw and Hemlock,” Dreadful sneered. “Do they not want to fuck you back?”

I flinched at the acidic tone dripping from her lips. “I don’t want that.”

Nightwind tossed an arm over the back of my chair, and I straightened as I realized how close he was. “That’s shitty, Dreadful. Don’t make up lies about Gravesend. If she wanted to fuck…” He dropped his lips next to my ear. “I’d happily offer my services. No way she’d be interested in those two.”

A disgusted chill zipped through me, and I visibly recoiled. “No. I’m not interested in anyone but my fated.”

“Fated?” Nightwind chuckled but removed his arm. “I like that.”

The other nobles around us exchanged uncomfortable glances.

“Fated or not, you should try not to associate with the bottom-feeders.” Dreadful’s manicured nails tapped against the desk. “It”s bad for your reputation.”

Reputation.What a trivial thing that was when I knew how precious life was. It was far too special to worry about status quos.

I shrugged, trying to look unfazed, but I could feel Grimshaw and Hemlock’s gazes on me. I didn’t know how I knew it was them, but it was like they were staring deep into my soul and prying out all of my secrets.

My fingertips glided across the dressing on my thigh to make sure it was still in place, and it was. A small breath of relief escaped me before a strangled scream caught in my throat.

Darkness swirled over my desk as an eight-legged spider crawled forth and scurried over the top of my hand, leaving pain in its wake. Many green eyes blinked up at me as it stared.

I jerked my hand side to the side until it fell off, then jumped to my feet, knocking the chair out from underneath me as I stumbled back.

“Oh, shit!” Nightwind yelped, flying away from me and toward the other side of the room.

Dreadful’s scream started a symphony of fearful screeches in the room from all the other demons, and with each one, the spider grew in size from where it fell on my desk.

Terror froze me to the spot as I maintained eye contact with it. Its limbs moved around like shadow tendrils coming for me.

The scream in my throat only came out as a pathetic squeak.

More chaos ensued in the class as everyone screamed in fear.

“Fucking smoke,” Hemlock growled somewhere behind me. “You’re pouring out fears.”

“Grimshaw,” a sharp masculine voice scolded as they entered the room. “My classroom is not a fear buffet for you.”

“You’re all such wimps.” Grimshaw’s laugh might have sounded menacing and psychotic to everyone else, but even as I stared into the eyes of the scariest shadow spider I’d ever seen, I knew the sound was self-deprecating.

“Oh, Fates, no! Mommy, Daddy, I’ll behave, I promise!” Dreadful was crawling on her hands and knees with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Please don’t take it away!”

It was then that I realized every demon in the room was seeing their own fears.

I forced out the air from my lungs before inhaling fresh oxygen.

It wasn’t real.

Grimshaw snorted. “Noble girl wants to keep her status and money. Boring. Gravesend’s fear, however…”

The spider’s dripping shadows reached for me again, and my muscles spasmed painfully from freezing further.

“Get out until you can control your fear magic. You reek of it,” the man snarled.

I heard Grimshaw muttering curse words under his breath and his footsteps stomping out before the paralyzing fear lost its grip on my soul, and the illusion of the shadow tendril-wielding spider dissipated into thin air.

A whooshed breath fell out of me as I scrambled for my chair and put it back where I needed it to sit down. I slumped over the desk and counted my breaths as everyone else took their seats, too.

Nobody said a word, though, including Dreadful.

The man who had kicked out Grimshaw held an air of confidence as he strode back and forth in the center of the room. “I’m Ironwood, your fear demon professor for Introduction to Ceremonial Magic.”

Glowing illumination showed that he was probably in his early thirties with curly auburn hair and brown eyes. I noted a faint banana berry scent around him as he walked.

“Since Grimshaw has already taken up precious time and traumatized the majority of the class, we will skip straight to the lesson,” he said with no room for argument. “Does anyone know what ceremonial magic is?”

Dreadful’s hand shot up. “It’s used to amplify magical intent.”

He smiled at her, and I swore she blushed. “Very good. It’s most commonly used by witches and warlocks, but any supernatural can use the technique.”

Clearly, she was over the fear that had overtaken her just minutes ago.

I wasn’t as lucky. My heart was still pounding relentlessly against my rib cage.

“I’ve heard rumors that ceremonial magic can be used to summon dark magic,” some demon in the front spoke out.

Ironwood’s lips thinned into a frown. “That’s correct. Dark magic can be summoned ceremonially by any supernatural, but it doesn’t work every time. And only witches and warlocks can wield dark magic in some capacity without infection.”

“I thought dark magic had been wielded by other supernaturals in the past,” I murmured.

Ironwood’s gaze cut to me with a nod. “There is only one instance I know of with a supernatural other than a witch or warlock being infected and using it, and it was due to a matebond being broken. That supernatural was an arctic wolf, and it’s commonly thought that the rejected bond itself was bestowed because the Fates made a mistake with the pairing. However, the dark magic ritual used to break the bond had a fatal side effect. Do you know what that was?”

“The first mate to reject the bond became infected with dark magic,” I answered. “It rotted his soul and body from the inside out.”

He nodded gravely. “That was about fifty years ago and was documented because it happened during Kalista’s Second War.”

“Have there been any other cases where dark magic became tangible inside of a supernatural like that before?” Nightwind asked, shoving his fingers through his dark blond curls.

“Only one other instance where the supernatural didn’t die immediately,” he told us. “It was two warlocks fighting over a relic. One used a dark magic ritual to curse the other, but it turned on him. The warlock who performed the ritual became a darker being. He, like the wolf from the war, was able to shift into any animal with his dark magic in the form of dark tar. He could teleport. His regeneration ability was off the charts. He ended up murdering the man he feuded with and stole the relic. Both he and the relic disappeared. That was one hundred years ago, but there have only been rumored occurrences since the wolf’s infection.”

“What’s dark magic look like?” Dreadful asked with a hint of unease shaking her voice.

“It’s obsidian in color and tar-like in texture and sight, and it drips like acid.” Ironwood glanced away at the wall for a few moments, and my heartbeat picked up again. “That’s only when it takes tangible form. Witches and warlocks used to use dark magic without it becoming tangible all of the time. Nobody knows what makes it so chaotic, but that is why, after the war, it became a forbidden magic.”

“What makes it so bad?” another asked.

Sweat beaded on my forehead as I mulled over what dark magic was supposed to look like.

Dark, tar-like substance…essentially like goo—or dripping shadow tendrils.

My blood froze in my veins as images of my mother’s dripping shadows burrowed into my gut countless times.

Dark magic or shadow magic?

I squeezed my fists together in an attempt to stop the panic swelling in my chest.

What if it was both?

Ironwood’s gaze snapped to the demon who had asked, and he grimaced. “Dark magic is unbalanced, and it can’t be destroyed.”

“What happens to it then?”

“There’s a relic that the Supernatural Council has that can absorb dark magic and contain it.” His gaze flickered over me as his brows furrowed. “Dark magic is a crime in not just the Demon Capital but all of Kalista. The punishment is execution.”

Sweat layered a sheen over my skin as my heart pounded in my chest. I was stuck in my memories of my mother’s shadows that dripped and seared into my flesh.

Oh, Fates. I needed to talk to Daryl.

Maybe I was paranoid, or maybe Mother, Penny Bones—a name I only recently learned—was involved in dark magic. Either way, I needed to speak with Daryl about it.

“Let’s focus on ceremonial magic,” Ironwood stated, clapping his hands. “There are different ways to perform ceremonial magic. The most common are magic circles or on altars…”

I tried to focus, but my thoughts were filled with pain-inducing memories of my mother and her dark shadows.

She always kept me chained inside of the cellar, and my only escape from it was from the books she’d given me.

There had been more dark magic-focused books than anything else, and at the time, I hadn’t thought much about it. But I also hadn’t known it was a forbidden magic. All I remembered about it was that it was the ultimate form of magic without consequence, and Mother had spoken highly of it.

There was no way that was a coincidence.

“Coming?” Dreadful tugged at my arm.

“Where?” I blinked a few times before realizing that the lesson was over. Ironwood had dismissed us. I couldn’t help but take a peek behind me to see that Hemlock was already gone.

“We’re going to eat.” She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, that’s okay. I’m really not that hungry.”

“You’re coming.” She tightened her grip on my arm. “I want to introduce everyone to my new friend.”

I had little time to snatch my tablet and stuff it into my bag before she pulled me along with her and the group of nobles toward the cafeteria.

“There aren’t many nobles at this academy,” she told me as we ascended the stairs of Reform Hall. “But this is our group. The rest of the demons here are scum. Literally not worth even a second thought.”

“I don’t think that’s fair,” I mumbled more to myself since none of them were listening.

“Oh, you must not know about their families, then,” Nightwind chuckled, bumping my shoulder with his.

I didn’t think their families mattered much. I cared more about who the individuals were rather than the actual families. If I were to be judged based on who my mother was, I would be regarded terribly, I was sure. I didn’t want to do that to someone else. The only reason they were being so kind to me was because of who my father was—not because of who I was.

Demonic society was tedious.

The cafeteria entrance loomed ahead, the double doors ajar, revealing glimpses of bustling activity within. Chatter of other students filled the air, accompanied by the clinking of cutlery and occasional burst of laughter.

As Dreadful yanked at my arm, I followed her but kept tripping over my own feet.

The transition from the classroom of Introduction to Ceremonial Magic to the cafeteria felt like stepping into a different building altogether. Tantalizing aromas of food drifted through the air, a blend of savory spices and sweet pastries. It reminded me of the smells I’d been introduced to back at Daryl’s manor. His chef always cooked a variety of meals, and I had a suspicion Daryl had asked him to do so when he had found out I’d only ever eaten bread and carrots.

Before I knew it, I found myself amidst a group of nobles, their voices echoing around me. Dreadful settled beside me, with Nightwind on my other side.

The chatter around me was overwhelming and exhausting.

“This is my roommate and new bestie, Gravesend.” Dreadful gestured to me like she was showing off a toy.

I frowned as everyone started asking about Daryl and how they hadn’t heard of him having a daughter until I was enrolled. I managed to avoid all of the sensitive questions, thankfully.

“I’m Voidfire!” A demon with red hair cut in a bob like Dreadful’s smiled fakely at me. “I’m Dreadful’s best friend, and I’m a fear demon.”

“Oh, that’s cool.” I forced my lips to curl into a smile.

Her brown eyes narrowed accusingly at me. “Yes, it is! We’ve been best friends forever. I was here first, you know.” She giggled enthusiastically, but I caught the underlying message.

Dreadful was her best friend. Not mine. Not that I cared in any way about that. Dreadful wasn’t very nice, but Voidfire seemed just as rude. They made a good pair, in my opinion.

I ate a few bites of the pasta on my plate before scanning the room and spotting Dex, Hemlock, and Grimshaw seated by themselves at a table in the back corner. Part of me wanted to be isolated like that instead of forcing small talk with nobles who thought they were better than anyone else here.

“Oh, my Fates! Do you see those three delinquents over there?” Voidfire gushed. “That’s Hemlock, Grimshaw, and Shadowheart…”

“Who doesn’t know about those three?” Dreadful laughed. “They’re outcasts in the Demon Capital.”

The other nobles with us began to gossip about them, their words cutting through the air like daggers.

Discomfort gnawed at me, the weight of their disdain weighing on me. It felt like I was being tainted just by associating with them, and maybe I was since I hadn’t said anything to stop it.

I sucked in a deep inhale before interjecting, “Isn’t this kind of gossip wholly unproductive?”

Dreadful was quick to respond. “I’m sorry, what? I can’t hear you.”

“It’s her voice,” Voidfire giggled. “What the Blezen is up with that?”

Laughter rang out around the table as they noticed my raspy voice and seized the opportunity to mock me.

“Grow up, Voidfire,” Nightwind stated with a roll of his eyes. “Her voice is raspy and different. What’s wrong with that?”

“It sounds so gross!”

My ears started to ring as my gaze clung to a man leaving the cafeteria.

“Now she’s checking out the demon with a human mother?” Voidfire howled with mirth as the rest sneered at him. “You sure know how to pick them, don’t you, Nightwind?”

Voidfire”s mocking laughter reverberated around the table, and the weight of their words felt like Mother’s shadows shoved down my throat, closing off air from my lungs. It wasn”t just the mockery of my voice that stung—it was their cruel taunts directed at Reed. He didn’t deserve a single bad word about him.

Rage surged through me, and I pushed to my feet. “Shut up!” The words burst from my lips, cracking through the laughter like a whip.

Silence fell over the table, shocked faces turning toward me, their expressions a mix of surprise, disdain, and fear.

Taking a deep breath, I clutched the side of the table to steady myself. ”Do you have any idea how privileged you all are to sit here and mock others for things they have no control over? It”s messed up.”

Voidfire”s mocking smirk faltered, replaced by a dark flicker of hatred. “I don’t like your roommate,” she told Dreadful.

Dreadful’s face turned red as she glared at me. “I invited you to sit with us because you’re a Gravesend. You’re a fucking soul eater. But you’re bitching at us over some bottom-feeding dick?”

“Fates, Dreadful!” I exclaimed, tossing my hands up in exasperation. Irritation and anger rolled off me in waves, and I knew any shadow demon in a mile radius had to be getting their fill of it. “There is more to life than sex! I know you’re a succubus, but not everyone thinks that way. I don’t. I’m not standing up for them because I want to sleep with them. I’m being nice to them because I don’t think they’re beneath me. This high and mighty behavior this group of nobles is spouting, though? That is beneath me.”

The atmosphere grew tense, and with a final glance around the table, I adjusted my bag over my shoulder, turned on my heels, and strode out of the cafeteria. I was happy to leave behind the stifling table of judgment and ridicule, and I refused to glance back as a pit grew in my stomach.

All of the demons in the cafeteria stared at me as I stormed out, but as I stepped into the hallway, the anger started to ebb away. It probably wasn’t smart to stand up to an entire group of noble demons, but it was the right thing to do. I wondered if Reed had heard all of that before he’d left, but then I realized there was no way he hadn’t heard it.

Lost in my thoughts, I descended the stairs and rounded a corner to the lobby before almost colliding with Reed.

His strong hands clamped over my shoulders to keep me steady, and his violet gaze scanned over me as if to check for injuries. I had no doubt that he took note of my flushed cheeks and clenched fists. “Hey, are you okay?”

“No…No. Not really,” I stammered, my voice raspy and tinged with frustration. ”Just...some drama with the other nobles.”

Reed nodded, a soft smile on his lips as he let go of my shoulders. “I was actually coming back to check on you. Do you always hang out with demons like that?”

I shook my head, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of my lips. ”No, not really. I mean, I”ve never really hung out with anyone until the academy,” I admitted, feeling a pang of loneliness similar to the one that used to haunt me in that cellar. “Even if I’m a noble because of Daryl, my dad, I mean…I do not condone their behavior. I don”t think anyone”s beneath me.”

A flicker of understanding crossed Reed”s face, and he nodded slowly. ”I get it. You did the right thing, standing up to them.”

His assuring words washed over me like a soothing balm, easing the tension in my muscles and quieting the turmoil in my mind in a way nobody had been able to do before. Hunter had managed to talk me through a panic attack, and now Reed was able to assure me with a single sentence.

It was a stark difference from the way Nebula was able to help me. Though, his presence was more than needed as well.

“Thank you,” I murmured, tucking my hair behind my ear. “I needed to hear that.”

“That’s bullshit,” a rough voice barked from behind me.

I jolted forward into Reed’s chest, and his arm slid behind me in a protective hold as I whipped my head around and saw Dex, Hemlock, and Grimshaw standing in front of us.

“All Gravesend is is a spoiled brat just like the nobles she was sitting with.” Hemlock crossed his arms, glaring his red eyes at me. “I’m not falling for this act.”

Dex and Grimshaw flanked him with matching smirks on their lips.

Fear spiked through my chest, but I untangled from Reed and took a step forward. “No. I’m not like them.”

“Oh?” Grimshaw quirked a brow up.

“Your daddy is a noble and on the council,” Hemlock drew out the words slowly. “You’re a noble, too.”

“Fucking fates,” Dex and Grimshaw moaned at the same time.

The sound made my blood hot, and I trembled.

“What the fuck is wrong with you two?” Hemlock looked back and forth between his friends.

“I’m getting drunk off her.” Grimshaw’s shoulders sagged as he inhaled deeply. His green eyes glowed, and I could feel him eating the fear I was emanating.

“Not just her fear…something more than that.” Dex moaned again, and his shadows whipped around him like the branches of gnarled trees.

“Stop it,” I rasped.

“Speak up, brat,” Hemlock purred. “I can’t hear you.”

Dex prowled forward, and I backpedaled until my back was flushed against the sandstone wall. The shadows cast by Dex”s demonic form danced with a life of their own, twisting and contorting in the dim light of the lobby.

My heart hammered in my chest, and primal fear coursed through my veins as I felt his shadowy presence looming over me.

“I said, stop it!” I choked out, my voice raspy and shredded sounding.

Dex’s fog gray gaze pierced through me with an intensity that sent shivers down my spine. His tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip as he planted his forearm on the wall above my head and leaned closer. “Why do I scare you so damn much, trouble?”

Tears pricked hot in my eyes, blurring my vision as panic threatened to consume me.

“Fates, you taste so fucking sweet...that flavor is definitely more than fear or pain.” His shadow tendrils glided softly over my cheek and arm, a welcomed difference from clawing at me harshly. But it was also more unsettling because it seemed like they were searching the depths of my soul for answers I wasn”t ready to give anyone.

A hand grasped Dex’s shoulder and pulled him off of me before Reed’s face came into focus. His kind gaze and familiar features calmed my frazzled brain. Without a word, he turned and positioned himself between Dex and me.

“Who do you think you are to get between a shadow demon and their prey?” Dex’s voice was hard, deep, and almost disembodied.

“Dex, dude, chill,” Grimshaw told him.

“Let him do whatever he wants,” Hemlock grunted at Grimshaw.

“Yeah, let me do what I want,” Dex begged enthusiastically.

By the grace of the Fates, Hunter’s voice cut through the air like a knife. ”Get the fuck away from her!”

“Of course a noble comes to the rescue,” Grimshaw muttered under his breath before walking away.

“Told you she was like them,” Hemlock added unhelpfully as he strode beside his friend.

I peered out from behind Reed and locked eyes with Dex.

“She’s not like those bitches at all,” Dex decided with a knowing smirk, and his shadows coiled around him before he disappeared into them completely.

Why had that statement given me butterflies?

“Oh, Fates.” Reed deflated, the tension draining from his shoulders as he let out a weary sigh. “That was intense.”

We both took a collective breath as Hunter made his way to us.

“What in Kalista happened?” He directed the question toward Reed with genuine concern.

“Pandora argued with some nobles in the cafeteria, then followed me out here. Those three followed and cornered her,” he explained. “They have some weird obsession with her. I don’t like it.”

“I don’t either, but you did good standing up for her.” Hunter turned to me, and his white eyes softened. ”Come with me,” he murmured.

I nodded, offering Reed a small, appreciative smile. “Thank you for stepping in.”

“Thank you for doing the same,” he said, and his fingers twitched before he balled them into a fist.

With one last glance back at Reed, I followed Hunter out of the lobby and to his office.