17. Pandora

17

PANDORA

W arm and fuzzy magic simmered in my chest and slithered down the bonds of my five mates.

My soul craved theirs.

Our matebonds thrummed in a constant buzz, but I would only get glimpses into their souls periodically. When I did, three of those bonds were still riddled with grief and regret.

It was impossible to ignore it because it hurt . It hurt that it took the bonds snapping in place for them to see me as someone other than a spoiled noble.

I’d always wanted a fated mate, and I never expected for the Fates to bless me with five. Part of me just wanted to give into the bonds due to the fact that the Fates deemed them worthy, but another part couldn’t. I was still hurt by their actions and words. It didn’t matter how sorry they were—they still hurt me, and they did it with intent to do so. The only reason that changed was because I was their fated mate.

I hated that they had felt something between us before the bonds, and they chose to torment me because of it. Unlike Hunter and Reed who always made me feel safe and cared for.

It wasn’t something I could just forgive.

I stood in the back of Serpentine Stadium in Demon Instincts with Jenni at my side. Classes were beginning to feel less intimidating with her in them. It had been a full week since term two started, and Jenni was already a dependable friend. She was the type of friend I’d prayed to the Fates for when I was locked up in that cellar.

Nebula was my best friend, of course. But it was different having another demon that was a woman like me around. Him being a manifested kitten soul attached to his skull made it slightly difficult for us to relate to one another—but it didn’t mean I loved him any less for it.

From beneath the dark curtain of my hair, I scanned over the demons around us. I sensed their souls like second nature. My powers were becoming a part of me, just like my demonic senses were. Sensing souls had become as easy to me as breathing—just like Daryl had told me it would. He’d told me that he’d given me the ring on my finger to sense danger, but he’d also explained that I wouldn’t need it once I gained control over this power.

He was right; I could sense any soul wanting to cause harm, not just to me but to anyone, in my proximity.

But I also loved the ring. It was the first gift I’d ever received, and it was from my dad. I was keeping it.

I’d grown in my powers, and triumph pulsated through me at the thought. Things would’ve been different had I known what I was sooner.

My fingers traced the scars hidden beneath the wrap on my thigh. I still couldn’t believe my mates had seen them. They were proof of my past, a reminder of the cellar's cold, encroaching darkness, and the sharp, searing pain of Mother’s shadows.

It was my secret, my shame. Telling Reed and Hunter didn’t upset me because they had been nothing but accepting of me, but the other three? They had made fun of the wrap—of me.

Yet they were my fated mates.

I let out a shaky breath as I tried to focus on Ashenfell’s lecture about fated mates without thinking too much about mine.

As usual, he stood at the front of the room, hands moving as he spoke.

“I’d kill to be Death’s mate,” Jenni giggled.

I flinched as her voice broke through my thoughts.

Her blue-green eyes met mine and sparkled with interest. “You okay?”

I groaned softly, my cheeks heating. “I’m fine. Just thinking about my mates.”

Shadeberry turned around, completely ignoring me as she smirked at Jenni. “Oh, come on, Inferno. As if Death would want anything to do with a little virgin succubus that happens to be friends with his daughter.”

I frowned, placing my hand on Jenni’s shoulder. “Ignore her.”

Jenni stuck her tongue out at Shadeberry before shooting me an innocent look. “Now, I can ignore her.”

Shadeberry huffed and turned back around. “I don’t even believe Gravesend has found a mate. I mean, she doesn’t even have mate marks.”

Ashenfell narrowed his gaze at her. “Not all fated mates seal the bond immediately. Especially those whose bond takes a moment to form.”

My heart twisted at the thought of sealing my matebonds.

Because of what I was, I could sense their heightened emotions without being bonded, but it was random. Every now and then, my soul snapped to theirs as if to check on them. That was how I could tell how they were, but I couldn’t always do it on my own whims.

Most of the time, the bonds felt disconnected. Not having the bonds sealed with them was a feeling that made my soul rot from the inside.

“The instinctual desire to mate varies among demons. Each subspecies of demon has a unique way of sealing the bond,” Ashenfell continued.

My skin prickled as he began describing the mating rituals, but I couldn’t stop myself from listening intently.

“Shadow demons use their tongues to transfer a tendril of their shadow into their mate,” he explained. “Where they do so is up to them.”

The thought made my stomach churn. Not because of Dex or his pierced tongue…but the idea of having shadow magic inserted beneath my skin. The concept of me wielding a shadow tendril was abhorrent, and a reminder only of my mother’s cruelty. I never wanted to be like her, and I didn’t want to wield the same magic she did.

“Vengeance demons dig their shifted claws into their mate, pushing a sliver of their magical essence into them. The mate mark for a vengeance demon is a bougainvillea tattoo,” he said, bringing me out of my thoughts. “It’s actually quite pretty.”

My heart skipped a beat as I thought of Hunter marking me. Warmth bloomed from my lower abdomen. I hated pain, but I had a feeling that him marking me wouldn’t hurt.

“What is a bougainvillea?” Fester, the other new demon in our class, asked.

Ashenfell ran a hand through his hair with a soft smile. “A beautiful pink flower with spiky thorns. Now, incubi and succubi use their tails inside their mate to transfer their pheromones. It can be done vaginally, anally, or orally. No mate mark is visible for this, but their scent takes on a strong odor of their mate.”

Jenni pouted, bumping her shoulder against mine. “Scent is great and all, but I wish we had a visible mark.”

“Scent is a mark,” I assured her. “That scent is even stronger than their other mates.”

“True.” She hummed.

“Dream demons rest their foreheads against each other as their magic intertwines with their mate’s and they fall asleep, taking them both into their dreamscape,” Ashenfell explained. “Their souls bond and a mate mark of a star appears on their mate’s temple. That mark gives their mate access to their dreamscape whenever they want. It also gives them nightmare protection against drudes or other dream demons.”

My heart fluttered.

Reed. His dreamscape was truly beautiful, and I wanted to go back desperately. The thought of it being our dreamscape made my heart skip a beat.

“Drudes are similar, holding their mates as they fall asleep. It gives their mate nightmare protection from other demons, and their mate mark is a cloud in the center of their forehead.” He paused to clear his throat. “Fear demons cut their mates with the tip of their horn. This gives their mate a sliver of fear magic to wield. They can only summon the feeling of fear in others but no illusions. The mate mark is the horn’s scar from wherever they marked their mate.”

An icy chill zipped down my spine as Skel popped into my mind. His horns were a beautiful black with white swirling around them. The memory of his fingertips gliding over my chest while I straddled him that night flashed in my mind, and I sucked in a shaky breath.

Fates, what was wrong with me?

“Chaos demons mate by wrapping their tail around their mate wherever they choose, and a small amount of their chaos magic leaks into them from glands on their tail. It brands them with a mate mark. The mark is a magical tattoo that is usually connected to their mate’s chaos manifestation. It allows their mate to manifest one small illusion of chaos magic, and it’s the same thing every time. Usually, again, connected to whatever their chaos manifestation is,” he explained, pacing the length of the stadium.

Hemlock’s red eyes appeared as I closed mine, and pain swelled inside me. I wanted so badly to understand him, but I didn’t trust him. Thick sorrow of what we could’ve had flooded my chest.

“Soul eaters mark their mate by placing their hand over their mate’s heart and sear their souls together. The mark is called a soul burn. A shape of their heart over their mate’s. This gives their mate the ability to sense when a soul has evil or good intentions.”

“You’re thinking of completing the bonds with your mates, aren’t you?” Jenni teased, her voice a whisper.

My face bloomed with heat, and I nodded. “I wish they hadn’t treated me that way last term. It would’ve made this completely different.”

“Reed and Darkmore haven’t done anything wrong,” she whispered. “You can always bond with them.”

My heart sped up, and a soft smile spread across my lips. “Yeah, I can. I plan to.”

Ashenfell’s voice boomed again. “Fated mates aren’t as common as they were fifty years ago, which is why every five years, the council puts out a registration feeler for matings. The most recent study has come out this month from the Supernatural Council. Demons have officially surpassed harpies and gargoyles on the statistics of fated mate registration percentages.”

Whispers spread through the stadium.

“This means demons are now the twelfth most likely out of the twenty-one species in Kalista to find our mates,” he announced. “Which is why we’re talking about fated mates today. Listen to your instincts. Our magic will guide us to our fated. You’re dismissed.”

The other students erupted in chatter as we grabbed all our things, and Jenni and I stepped out of the enchanted cool air and into the oppressive heat of the sun.

“It’s sweltering,” I groaned, feeling sweat bead on the back of my neck almost immediately.

“It’s always sweltering in the Demon Capital,” Jenni pointed out.

I rummaged through my bag and grabbed the enchanted bottle as we descended the steps and made our way to Reform Hall. The cool crystal soothed my hands as I screwed off the round blue top and drank the icy water.

“I’m so jealous that you have one of those. I need one with—”“Passion fruit lemonade?” I guessed, putting the lid back on and depositing my bottle into my bag.

“You know me so well,” she giggled, opening the door to Reform Hall for me.

The enchanted cool air washed over us as we entered, and we made our way to Ceremonial Magic Theory.

My soul tugged behind me, and I knew Hemlock and Skel were there without looking. I straightened my spine and kept walking.

Jenni’s gaze slid over her shoulder and back to me, but I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk to them right now.

When we reached the wide-open door of the classroom, Jenni and I froze.

“But last term worked so well.” Dreadful’s palm was splayed on Ironwood’s desk as she bent over. Her blonde bob moved forward with her, and the sickening sweet scent of birthday cake wafted through the room. Her pheromones flooded the place. “You loved it.”

“And this term, you’ll work for your grade like everyone else,” Ironwood hissed, running a hand through his curly auburn hair as his brown eyes cut into her with disgust.

“You fucked me before and loved it, Ironwood,” she purred, but it took on a whiney tone. “I can do it the same way.”

He leaned back in his chair to put distance between them and waved his hand as if he were waving her scent from him. “I don’t want you, Dreadful. You or your gross nub.”

“Gross?” she gasped, reeling back in shock. “I…”

Ironwood’s head snapped to the door where Jenni and I stood frozen, and I could feel the heat of my mates standing close behind me.

Hemlock and Skel.

I smelled the spicy bourbon and vanilla and smoke scents. It made my mouth water being so close to them, but I tried to push that out of my mind for now.

“Please disregard anything you’ve just heard,” Ironwood drawled lazily, getting to his feet and walking toward the other side of the classroom.

“Uh, sure,” I muttered.

“Totally,” Jenni agreed.

Dreadful spun on her heels and glowered at me with her bright blue eyes filled with tears. “You don’t have horns or a tail, and the wrap on your thigh is as ugly as your voice! So, think twice before making fun of my missing hand.”

I sucked in a sharp gasp, moving my hand over my wrap. “I?—”

“If you’d rather not lose your other hand, I’d think carefully about making fun of my mate,” Skel growled, fear magic slithering forth.

“Mate?” Dreadful asked, brows furrowing, before terror shone in her expression.

Fear clawed up my throat as dark wisps tunneled my vision, reaching for Dreadful.

“ Our mate. Better yet, I’m sure Dex wouldn’t mind making you eat your tongue this time,” Hemlock stated lazily. “For messing with our mate and all.”

Chaos magic leapt from him, landing in front of me in the form of the same wolf that snarled at me last term.

“Oh, shit,” Dreadful cursed.

It hackled and growled viciously at her before it turned its large head and looked at me with bright red eyes. It lowered its head in submission as it moved closer to me.

A squeak escaped me as I stared at it, and it grew. Tripling in size, it stood my height, and its red eyes were level with mine.

“Oh, my Fates,” Jenni uttered in a forced whisper.

“Chaos,” Hemlock said in warning. “Easy.”

The large wolf glanced behind me at its master before moving its gaze back to mine, and it licked me across my face.

My chest clenched, but then, it tilted its head playfully—like a dog. It was a lot like a dog, actually, rather than a scary chaos manifestation.

I found myself smiling as my soul urged me toward it, and I reached out and pet it on the head.

“Did she just pet Chaos?” Skel whispered.

“She did,” Hemlock confirmed. “And…he’s a part of me.”

Chaos’s tongue lolled out, and he wagged his tail before licking my cheek again.

A giggle escaped me. “Good boy.”

He barked before dissipating into the air.

“Dex…you three took her hand?” I croaked, turning to look at them in surprise. “After they beat me last term?”

Skel’s green eyes darted to the side. “They had to pay, and Dex knows exactly how to make someone pay.”

Hemlock’s chin dipped down as he met my gaze. “You never deserved to be hurt like that.”

They did that before the matebonds had snapped into place. Did they actually start caring for me before they knew I was their mate?

“Dreadful, back off, or you’ll fail this course,” Ironwood snapped, nodding at Hemlock with an odd smile. “Hemlock, please go take your seat with your friends and mate.”

He nodded, and I ended up sitting next to Jenni and Hemlock with Skel on his other side.

For the entire class, all I could do was inhale the scents of my mates. I didn’t hear a word that came out of Ironwood’s mouth for the entire lecture.