22. Dexter

22

DEXTER

“ I have to be honest with you, Shadowheart. I’m surprised you’re here.” Darkmore steepled his fingers together and tapped his fingertips against his lips.

“Really?” I tilted my head, and a blond piece of hair fell into my eye. “It’s not like this is my scheduled time or anything.”

He rolled his eyes. “You haven’t been to see me this term, even though it’s mandatory.”

The scent of sweet chocolate mingled with caramel—a definite proof of their mating, and it was currently suffocating me.

“What’re you going to do, report me? I’m here now.” I darted my gaze toward the map behind him. More red Xs were marked around the academy, and I didn’t miss the red X over my family home. Maybe the Demon Council wasn’t as stupid as I’d thought.

“Of course not, but it’s been almost a month since term two started.” His white eyes bore into me, and my breath hitched. Surely, he hadn’t contacted my parents over it. Darkmore was ruthless, but I doubted even he would do that. “How have you been coping with Pandora and your matebond?”

My skin prickled with heat at the mention of her. “It hurts knowing I tormented my fated mate to the point she wants nothing to do with me.”

“She hasn’t rejected you, Shadowheart.” He scoffed, leaning back in his chair. “If she had, then that would mean she wants nothing to do with you. But she hasn’t.”

“I’m not sure why she hasn’t,” I murmured, images of her beautiful red eyes, long black hair, and her rosy cheeks flashing in my mind. But then the memory of her limp, cold body underneath me while I performed CPR slammed into me, causing full body pain.

“Me either,” Darkmore muttered under his breath, disguising it as a cough—as if I didn’t have demonic hearing.

“I’m obviously fucking thankful that she hasn’t rejected me,” I bit out. “Even just looking at her soothes my soul in a way I never thought I could feel. Fates, the last thing I want is for this to end in a rejection.”

“You got yourself into this situation on your own, Shadowheart.” He let out a heavy breath as he grabbed his coffee cup and took a sip before setting it back down. “I tried to help you last year by explaining to you that Pandora was not and is not a possession. She’s her own being, and you needed to respect her last term. You didn’t do that, and you are reaping what you sowed.”

“I know that now. Once she… ate …the dark magic inside me, I could process things better.” I squeezed my eyes shut and shoved the heels of my palms into them until little spots danced behind my lids. “I do respect her. I respect her more than I’ve ever respected anyone.”

“You’re going to have to prove that to her,” he said. “The damage you’ve done is inflicted, and if she decides she doesn’t want to complete the bond with you because of it, you have to accept that.”

Fuck.

My heart shattered in my chest cavity, and it felt like the shards lodged into my lungs with each painful breath I took. I dropped my hands back to my lap. “I know.”

“The first step in attempting to gain Pandora’s forgiveness is by being a better demon.” He picked his tablet up and tapped the screen a few times.

“A better demon?” Pushing off his sofa, I started to pace the length of his office. A deranged chuckle bubbled from my throat. “That’s fucking impossible if you look at who I came from.”

“Poppy and Rod Shadowheart,” Darkmore stated with disdain. “They’re the definition of evil for what they did to your sister.”

“You…” I stopped pacing and whipped my head toward him as my heartbeat pounded in my skull. “You believe me?”

He nodded once. “My dad did, too. He told me about the incident recently. I happen to agree with his assessment.”

“Then why didn’t anyone help me?” My voice cracked. My legs gave out, and I sat my ass on the sofa. “I told the council what happened.”

I’d been trapped—at my parents’ mercy for so long. I didn’t think the council believed a word I’d said. They believed theirs. My parents told the council they just found her decapitated. It was a complete bullshit excuse, but it got them off.

The council ruled it a murder, and the case went cold without thorough investigation. Why didn’t the council look into it more after I’d ratted them out? I’d gotten my fucking head lopped off again after telling the truth, but it was worth it to try and get justice for my sister.

“My dad and Blackthistle were the two assigned to the case,” he told me with a wince. “Blackthistle made it nearly impossible for my dad to do anything. Dad even handed the case over to Malice once, and Malice was in full agreement with Dad. Somehow, Blackthistle drove the case cold. There wasn’t any solid evidence, and when Dad and Malice tried investigating, there wasn’t anything to investigate. Blackthistle had collected and studied the evidence himself, and the evidence was all lost. Your parents wouldn’t let anyone talk to you anymore after your statement.”

“My parents paid me a visit at the beginning of this term.” I ran my hands down my face, and dread punched a hole in my gut. It was now or never. “They want to initiate me into Dark Veil, and they wanted to pair me with some demon named Vane. I told them I had already found my mate, but they had these sick fucking smiles on their faces when I told them that, and then they left that topic alone.”

“What do you know about Dark Veil?” His shoulders tensed, and his white eyes glowed.

“I’ve known about Dark Veil my entire life. My parents are high up in the society, but I don’t know who else is involved. Other than the Vane’s, apparently. I just know what the overall goal is: which is to make a superior demonic race with dark magic running through their veins. I was their test demon just like my sister was.” A violent chill slid down my spine. “Apparently, they want to get me officially involved now instead of just using me as an experiment.”

Darkmore typed aggressively on his tablet. “What do you plan on doing?”

“I don’t know what to fucking do,” I blurted out hysterically, jumping to my feet and pacing again. “My parents use pain compliance with me. It works because I’m so scared of pain. I know it’s fucking stupid, okay?” I stopped in front of his desk and snatched up his coffee cup, looking at the colorful liquid. “I’m a shadow demon, but I’ve experienced agony for so long. I had to watch Selene—my sister —go through enough torment that it eventually led to her death. Then I took her place as their experimental rat, and there was nothing I could do about any of it!”

“Shadowheart…”

I took a swig of his coffee, and fae magic slithered down my throat and through my veins in an instant. Scrunching my face up, I set it back on his desk. “Fuck. That’s foul. You’re supposed to have fucking coffee in a coffee cup...” I tasted the caramel on my tongue and groaned. “Caramel’s a nice touch for fae wine, though.”

“ Shadowheart ,” he repeated as he glared at me. “What do your parents want you to do?”

“Can you just call me Dex or Dexter?” I winced, my shadows creeping over my skin. “Shadowheart belongs to my family, and even though I’m one too, I’d rather my mate’s mate not call me that.”

“Dexter,” he stated, and relief flooded me at the simple usage of my first name. “What do your parents want you to do?”

“They ordered me to perform a shadow ritual…a dark ritual…on campus to infect more students,” I spat.

“What?” He froze.

“They told me to perform it on Sunstone Revive.” All of my energy seeped out as I collapsed on his fucking couch again. “I don’t want to do it, Darkmore. I’m tired of having to bend to their will. I want to be better for Pandora.”

Darkmore’s gaze widened. “Dexter?—”

Shadows whipped around my hands erratically. “I don’t want to do it!”

Dark tendrils crept outward, but Darkmore remained completely calm. “Dexter, it’s okay. You won’t do it. You don’t have to listen to them.”

“If I don’t listen, they’ll cut my head off again, and who knows how that’ll affect Pandora!” Shadows surged, filling the room with an oppressive darkness. Darkmore was nothing but a silhouette against my magic. “When you used your fucking vengeance magic on us, she was hurt! What would a decapitation do to her?”

“Listen to me,” Darkmore barked. “You have the power to break free from them. You’re stronger than your parents.”

“I can’t do it alone!” I crumbled against the sofa. “I…I need help to do that.”

“And you’ll have it,” he promised. “We’re going to figure this out without them hurting you again, okay?”

My shadow magic pulled back, retreating to its dormant state within the dark. I took a shuddering breath, looking up at him.

His gaze burned through me. He was in full demon form now, just like I was. His vengeance magic was like static electricity pulsating through the air. “I’ll get vengeance for you and your sister.”

“ Help me avenge my sister,” I corrected him. “I need to be the one to do it. I couldn’t do anything back then.”

“You were a child, Dexter.” His gaze softened. “Let me talk with the council. But for now…” He rummaged through his desk drawer and pulled out a simple gold chain bracelet with an X charm on it, tossing it to me.

“What’s this?” I slipped my wrist through it and felt the magic ripple over my skin.

“A charm that’ll hide you from your parents,” he explained. “It’s enchanted. You’re not the only reform student with abusive parents. I keep these for this kind of situation. However, you and Skel will have to move rooms today. I’ll make the arrangements when your session is over, and you can start moving tonight.”

“Thank you,” I croaked, totally fucking stunned that he was doing so much to help me. “I know it’s your job, but?—”

“Protecting you isn’t just my job,” he cut me off. “You’re Pandora’s mate, too. When she bonds with you, you’ll be my family.”

My heart flipped in my fucking chest. I couldn’t process the kindness he was throwing at me.

Family.

Pandora would be my family…but so would her mates. Two of which were my closest friends. That was what they were to me. Friends. It was an odd concept to swallow for me, but I found myself craving it.

The rest of the session was figuring out where to go from here.

After the session ended, Darkmore excused himself to assign Dex and I into a new room.

I found myself moving through the shadows, trying to distract myself from everything. What better way to do that than feed off pain?

I’d heard that Shadeberry decided to try and bully my fated mate again, even after I’d taught her a lesson. I wasn’t necessarily attached to keeping her alive, but I also wasn’t sure how Pandora would take me killing for her when she was still upset with me. I’d let the Fates decide her fate. It was their job, after all. Not mine.

The desert sky bloomed with purple and pinks as the sun dipped low. Bound Dormitory loomed in the distance, casting shadows on the sand. That was where I’d found her.

Shadeberry stood at the edge of the dorms with her back to me. For a shadow demon, she was completely oblivious to my presence. Her focus was on something no doubt trivial as she tapped away on her tablet.

The corner of my mouth twitched into a smirk. My life might have been shit right now, but a little retribution for my mate would always perk me up.

The sand shifted beneath my feet as I stepped out of the darkness. “Shadeberry.” My voice whispered against the wind.

She turned instantly, her tablet flying out of her hand as she smacked a palm against her chest. “What the fuck do you want?”

“I want you to pay,” I grinned. “For fucking with Pandora, again. What did I tell you last time, hmm?”

Her face drained of blood, and her eyes widened. “Sh—Shadowheart, I didn’t?—”

“You did ,” I corrected her, lifting my hand up in the shape of a gun. I pressed my thumb down. Bullets of darkness shot from my index finger and hurled toward her. “You talked about her scars in front of everyone, but guess what?”

Each one struck, ripping through her flesh and cracking through the bone. Her body moved back until she hit the sand, cries of pain hitting the air.

“Stop!” She lifted her hand, and the smallest tendril snaked out at me, but I held her magic down with my own.

“ No .” The onslaught of shadow bullets tore through her body, leaving gaping holes that bled into the sand. “Pandora’s beautiful, scars and all. Can’t say the same for you.”

A whimper tore from her throat before her eyes rolled back into her head.

When I lowered my hand to my side, she wasn’t conscious anymore. “I’ll leave your survival to the Fates,” I muttered, sticking my hand through the shadows and pulling my tablet out.

Moving closer, I snapped a photo of her bloodied, un-healing form. With a few swift taps of the screen, I sent it to Pandora with another apology attached to it.

Dexter Shadowheart

*Image of Shadowberry bleeding*

She didn’t listen to me. I’ve made her pay for fucking with you again.

I had a session with Darkmore today, and I’m going to be a better demon for you.

I’m sorry I’ve hurt you.

I’m jealous of you and Darkmore. I won’t lie about that, but your mate mark is beautiful. So were your scars.

I hope I get a chance to mark you, too.

This time, she replied.

Pandora Gravesend

Thank you.

I glanced down at Shadeberry’s broken form with a genuine smile and melted back into the darkness.