21. Pandora

21

PANDORA

A nimated dolls creeped me out, but animated dummies the size of a demon? Way creepier.

The sweltering sun streamed through the top windows of Serpentine Stadium, casting long shadows on the sand-covered floor. The red mats were neatly aligned for once, with practice dummies slumped over each one.

They all had artificial souls inside of them.

Jenni spotted me as I walked in, and her eyes widened as they zeroed in on my thigh. A squeal of delight escaped her lips as she ran over to me. “Pandora, oh, my Fates! Is that a mate mark?” she exclaimed, her voice carrying across the chamber.

Heat flooded my cheeks as I nodded. “Yeah, Hunter and I...we marked each other. This is where he decided to mark me. Over my scars.”

“So, no more wrap?” She grinned, leaning in and sniffing my hair. “I love this so much. Did you and Darkmore fuck, too? You smell sweeter. ”

“I, um, yes. We did.” I smiled, and not even the stares of the other demons around us could dampen my mood.

Shadeberry glared at me with her arms crossed. “After you almost killed Voidfire, you went and fucked an academy counselor, wow, Gravesend. Great job.”

“I didn’t almost kill her.” I rolled my eyes before bumping Jenni’s shoulder. “I wanted to, but I didn’t.”

Her face turned red immediately. “You bitch?—”

“What Pandora does is literally not your business, Shadeberry,” Jenni snapped. “I’m happy for her!”

“I’m disgusted for Darkmore.” Shadeberry shivered. “He probably only mated Gravesend because he’s scared of her daddy. I mean, her naked body is just covered in scars. Who would honestly think?—”

Slap!

The sound of Jenni’s palm connecting with Shadeberry’s cheek echoed through the stadium.

Shadeberry whirled her head back toward Jenni with her mouth open in shock.

“Shut the fuck up,” Jenni seethed. “You’ve only ever been a bully, and now, you’re trying to mess with a demon who could literally kill you in two seconds. Just because Pandora’s nice doesn’t mean you can treat her like this.”

“What’s this got anything to do with you?” Shadeberry rubbed her cheek. “You’re just as pathetic as she is.”

“Pandora mated Darkmore and has four other mates. The Fates blessed her, and that’s more than they did for you.” Jenni’s tail swished behind her wildly. “You’re just a waste of space.”

The entire class overheard the exchange, and a mixture of reactions rippled through them. Surprise, disgust, and irritation were just a few.

I instinctively hid behind my hair, but my gaze was heated with anger as I stared at Shadeberry. “Didn’t Dex leave you with scars the last time you messed with me?”

The color drained from her face as her gaze widened. She lowered her head in a bow. “H-How did you…”

“He sent me a picture of you afterward.” I scrunched my nose, running my fingertips over my thigh. “Seems like you have scars too, now. At least some of mine are covered by a mate mark.”

Ashenfell stepped in. “Shadeberry, leave my classroom before I make you,” he commanded.

She pressed her lips into a thin line and flicked her gaze around the chamber before storming out.

Ashenfell turned to me, his eyes softening. “Congratulations, Gravesend. That explains why Darkmore has been so protective of you,” he mumbled the last part.

“Thank you.” Warmth crept up my neck to my ears as my fingers continued to graze the mark and scars on my thigh.

“We’re going to be practicing self defense while relying on our instincts.” Ashenfell’s voice boomed through the room as he walked over to one of the mats with a dummy slumped on it. “These dummies are magically animated. All dummies have an artificial soul within it to power it. It’s going to try and land a blow on you that would be fatal to a human. Listen to your instincts and don’t get wounded. I’ll be watching.”

Jenni squeezed my arm encouragingly as we picked a couple of mats close together.

Fester, the other new classmate this term, snagged the mat on the other side of me. He waved at me hesitantly. “Gravesend, can you tell me about the mate mark?”

“What do you want to know?” My magic swirled in my gut, but Fester smiled politely.

“What did it feel like to be marked?”

I smiled thinking about Hunter. “ Perfect . The matebond is an undeniable connection. Once the bond is in place, it urges your soul to connect with theirs. It’s hard to describe, but it felt like my soul is now one step closer to being complete. Probably because I have four other bonds established but not sealed.”

“Wow.” His eyes lit up before they flickered toward another demon in class. “I’d love to have a mate.”

It was odd to have someone I didn’t know or talk to come up and ask me a personal question, like mating, but his soul didn’t want to hurt me or anyone else. I snuck a peek at my ring, just in case, and it was white.

So why had my powers tried to explore him the other day?

“I’m activating the dummies,” Ashenfell warned us. “Trust your instincts and protect yourselves!”

The animated dummies sprang to life.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins as my instincts kicked in. As my dummy came at me with a fatal strike, I unleashed my death smoke. It billowed forth and into the plastic, draining its fake soul completely.

The room fell silent as my dummy hit the mat a second later. I could feel the stares, but they didn’t last long since they also had to fight their dummies.

I’d taken that dummy out in two seconds flat.

Ashenfell nodded at me before bringing another dummy my way.

It happened again, and my magic started to wane as I continued using my magic to protect myself.

Instincts were powerful, and I was coming to realize my magic was very instinctual.

After class was over, and I’d destroyed a few more dummies, Jenni practically bounced over to me. “I’m so happy for you and Darkmore!”

“Thanks.” I grinned as we grabbed our stuff and left for Reform Hall. “I am, too.”

We talked about the mating, and it was a very foreign feeling to have someone as excited for me as I was.

Jenni was a treasure . I was so happy I’d met her this term.

As we sat down at a table in the cafeteria with our food, Dex, Hemlock, and Skel approached us with a mixture of pain and jealousy etched in their expressions. I should’ve been expecting them to react to my mating, but I hadn’t been. For some reason, I didn’t think they’d even care. I knew that wasn’t the case, but they’d drilled that into my head last term. It was hard to shake off.

I stiffened as their scents overwhelmed me, and three parts of my soul tugged painfully toward them before opening up for a glimpse of their feelings.

Agony and jealousy.

“You fucked Darkmore, didn’t you?” Hemlock blurted, but his voice cracked. His tone wasn’t as brutal as the question itself. “I can smell it.”

“He did not just say that,” Jenni mumbled, shaking her head.

“It was more than that,” I whispered, playing with my ring that was stark white even with their emotional turmoil.

“More than sex?” Dex was frozen.

“Because you were a virgin, right?” Skel took a hit off his pipe and blew his rainbow smoke the other direction.

My heart hammered my rib cage, and their pained expressions didn’t budge. “It was more than sex because it was with my fated mate, and yes, I was a virgin.”

Their expressions somehow cracked into deeper agony.

“Pandora!” Reed’s voice filled my ears as he came over, sending cautious looks at the guys as he slipped into the seat on my other side. He kissed my cheek tenderly. “Congratulations on sealing your matebond with Hunter.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled, cheeks heating as I stared into his violet, kind eyes. “We didn’t plan to, but?—”

He leaned in and kissed my lips, stopping me from finishing my sentence before pulling back. “You don’t have to explain it to me, dream girl. I’m happy you’re happy. Can I see the mark?”

I nodded, scooting back on the chair and moving my flowing dress up my thigh to reveal Hunter’s mate mark. The bougainvillea with vibrant pink flowers and spiky little thorns was etched into the marred skin of my thigh, wrapping around the scars instead of hiding them.

It thrummed with vengeance magic in a way that was comforting.

Reed’s fingers glided gently over it. “It’s beautiful, dream girl.” His voice quivered.

“Thank you, Reed,” I said softly.

Hemlock was frozen, his red eyes taking in the full view of the mark. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I’m sorry, Gravesend. For getting drunk and being pathetic in front of you…you deserved so much better than that.”

“I know,” I murmured before meeting Dex’s fog gray eyes.

“You’re happy?” he asked in a raspy voice.

I nodded. “I’m happy.”

“Good.” A tear escaped down his cheek.

Skel’s gaze didn’t leave Hunter’s mark as he smoked his pipe. “Congratulations on your mating with Darkmore.”

The bond opened up to them again, and the weight of their grief hit hard, knocking the wind out of me.

Tension hung in the air, but a sudden scurry of movement broke the silence. Something ran over Dex's feet.

“Oh, fuck!” He jumped back in a rush of shadows. “ Scorpion !”

“What?” Reed let out a shrill scream, jumping up on the chair and pulling me up on his with him. “Kill it!”

“ You kill it!” Dex shouted, only his face visible through the darkness.

“You have shadow magic! Smash it!” Reed reminded him in a panicked tone, squeezing me tightly.

“I’m not touching it with my magic!” Dex yelped as the scorpion scurried his way again before rushing out of the cafeteria.

I met Jenni’s gaze as our group fell into a stark silence, and we both burst into fits of giggles.

“Oh, my Fates!” She hid her mouth as she laughed. “Well, at least those two have something in common.”

“Have you ever been stung by a scorpion?” Dex and Reed shrieked simultaneously before glaring at each other. “You’re scared of them, too?”

Skel smoked his pipe. “Your fear is ridiculous for such a little creature.”

Their faces were pale with genuine terror. “They’re not little, they’re huge!” Reed protested, his voice higher than usual.

“Don’t forget about their venom and the fact that they’ve fucking killed other supernaturals,” Dex muttered under his breath.

“But no record of them killing a demon,” Skel told him.

Reed’s foot slipped out from underneath him. “Shit!” He held me tighter as we fell back, positioning himself underneath me to take the brunt of the impact.

Before we hit the ground, a dark blanket of shadows cocooned around us before moving us back to the ground on our feet then fading out.

“Careful with our mate,” Dex murmured, calling his shadows back to himself.

“Thanks.” Reed nodded before checking me over, his hands gliding over my body in an attempt to ensure himself I was okay. All it did was turn me on. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. I promise,” I assured him, trying to focus on not getting aroused in the middle of the cafeteria. “It was an accident.”

I noticed both Dex and Reed still shooting wary glances at the floor.

“Pandora,” Skel murmured between puffs of his pipe. “I’d like to put it out there that we know we have no right to be jealous of you and Darkmore mating.”

“But it isn’t exactly something easy for us to deal with because of how badly we fucked up,” Hemlock muttered. “Even though we know we don’t deserve it…”

“All we want is to be able to mate with you, too,” Dex mumbled, his gaze still on the floor like Reed’s was.

“I know,” I murmured.

“Hey, don’t make her feel bad about sealing the matebond with her fated mate that has been nothing but good to her,” Jenni said, sipping her lemonade. “I get being jealous and hurt that she’s been with him, but you guys hurt her. You don’t have the right to make her feel guilty for prioritizing her happiness.”

“That’s not what we wanted to do,” Skel protested, shaking his head. His knuckles were white as he held onto his pipe.

“But you are,” she snapped.

“Are we?” Dex searched my gaze.

I glanced down at my feet. They did make me feel slightly guilty. Jenni had a point.

“That was an answer,” Reed said. “Maybe you guys should go.”

“Right.” Hemlock’s voice broke. “We’ll give you some more space.”

“Space is what I need,” I told them, flicking my gaze back to theirs. “I’m not trying to punish you, but I’m still processing everything. The three of you really hurt me.”

Their breaths hitched, but they nodded in sync.

“We’re sorry,” they said before turning and leaving the cafeteria all together in a swoop of Dex’s shadow magic.