28. Pandora

28

PANDORA

T he flickering light from the enchanted glow orbs cast dancing shadows on the walls, and an overwhelming scent of incense filled the classroom for Ceremonial Magic Theory. I ran a hand through my silky black hair, and instead of letting it fall like a protective veil over me, I pushed it behind my shoulders. Shifting in my seat, I didn’t even mind my skirt hiking up to show Hunter’s mark on my thigh.

Jenni leaned in with an excited glint in her eye. “So, tell me about your night with Reed,” she whispered eagerly. Her fingers traced the outline of the purple star on my temple. “Reed's mark is so pretty.”

I smiled softly, but my gaze flicked to my left where Skel and Hemlock were sitting. Was it even okay for me to talk about this in front of them? When I’d mated Hunter, it was different…somehow.

Skel’s green eyes met mine with understanding, but there was a flicker of sadness in the depths. Hemlock’s red eyes were filled with the same self-deprecation I’d seen since he found out I was his mate.

But Reed was my fated mate, and their feelings about that, while valid, shouldn’t make me hide what Reed and I have.

“It was amazing,” I admitted, turning back to face her. I pressed my hand to my mouth to hide my smile. “He’s so romantic. He made everything feel special.”

“And the sex? How was it?” she prodded, her blue-green eyes twinkling with curiosity.

I bit down on my lip as heat bloomed over my face. “He's sweet and caring. He’s not shy about what he wants to do… and he’s really good at doing it. I love him, and I love Hunter, too.”

Jenni’s tail flicked back and forth wildly. “How are they different in bed?”

“Jenni!” I hissed, glancing around the room.

“Oh, come on, we’re all demons. It happens.” She pouted out her bottom lip. “Plus, I’m dying to know! You totally ditched the virgin club.”

I sighed and tapped my finger on my chin as I thought about it. I could almost feel their phantom touches all over me as I did. Heat seared low in my abdomen, and I crossed my legs. “Reed is tender and considerate, always making sure I'm comfortable. Hunter, on the other hand, is very commanding. He knows exactly what I need without me having to say a word. It’s...exhilarating.”

Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of dread hit me, dousing the arousal I felt.

There was something off. A soul in this class wanted to cause harm—specifically to me.

Before I could use my powers to figure out what I was feeling or who it was, Nightwind turned around where he was sitting to face us. He’d clearly been eavesdropping. A smug grin was plastered on his face. "So, you’re fucking two men, huh? Why not add me to the list?”

“You’re such a fucking pig, Nightwind.” Jenni scowled, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

Ah, so it was him.

Fates, he’d really hidden his true self around me last term. I couldn’t believe I’d once thought him a decent demon.

“Oh, don’t be like that, Inferno. I've always wanted to fuck you too." He ran a hand through his blond hair. “You could join.”

“Ew.” Jenni slapped a hand over her mouth and gagged. “Who would fuck you?”

“Plenty of demons. Usually nobles, but I don’t mind dipping into lower class demon pussy every once in a while…for charity.” He smirked, sliding his gaze back to me. “I do prefer noble pussy, though.”

Before I could retort, Dex emerged from the shadows beside Nightwind.

His presence was dark and menacing, and he grabbed Nightwind by the collar, slamming him against his desk. “Stop talking to Pandora and her friend. Now .”

Nightwind sputtered, straining against Dex’s hold. “Let go of me, you freak.”

“He’s not a freak,” I snapped, anger welling up inside me at him insulting my mate.

“Aw, thanks, trouble. But we can let him spit his insults. It’s all he can do.” Shadow tendrils wrapped around Nightwind, binding him to the desk as Dex let him go and wiped his hand on his pants like he had touched something disgusting, which he did.

Skel’s magic leaked out, heading straight for Nightwind to conjure his worst fear. I wished I could see what his fear was because the murderous expression on Skel’s face made me think it was something interesting.

Nightwind’s eyes widened in terror, and a dark stain spread across his pants as he pissed himself. “Oh, fuck . No! Not my dick!”

Hemlock’s fist slammed down on the desk he sat at. “Pandora is ours . She’s our fated mate. She’s mine, Skel’s, Dex’s, Darkmore’s, and Nyx’s. Back the fuck away from her.”

“She shouldn't be talking about fucking them in public then,” he spat out, his eyes squeezed shut so he didn't have to see Skel’s illusion. I didn’t miss his hands cupping between his legs, where he’d peed himself.

Gross.

“Why the fuck not?” Dex taunted him.

“She can talk about fucking any of her mates in public because they… we are her fated mates,” Hemlock snarled.

Dreadful snickered from the other side of the room. “Mated to four low-class demons. How pathetic for a noble demon.”

Jenni chuckled humorlessly. “You’re no longer nobility yourself, Dreadful. Maybe you should keep your mouth shut about her mates.”

The tension in the room was shattered by Professor Ironwood’s booming voice. “Enough! Everyone, sit down.” He glared at Hemlock, singling him out. “Hemlock, you’re disrupting the class.”

Dex’s brow raised, but he and his shadows disappeared, letting Nightwind go. Nightwind fell to the floor in a heap.

“Class hasn’t even started yet.” Hemlock rolled his eyes but leaned back in his chair, gesturing for him to start his lesson.

Ironwood’s eye twitched, but he started his lecture, theorizing the differences between demonic curses and ceremonial magic. He kept sending Hemlock side-eye glares as he spoke. It was weird, and it made me wonder if Hemlock did something to piss him off.

My soul reached for Hemlock’s, and I caught a glimpse of the bond flaring with anxiety. I leaned back and met his gaze. “Are you okay?” I whispered.

“No.” His eyes darkened, and his jaw twitched. “I want to talk to you about it, but I don’t know how.”

“You—”

A blur of darkness shot across the room as a classmate I didn’t recognize launched himself at me before anyone noticed.

“Gravesend!” Hemlock’s panicked voice filled my ears.

The demon’s nails elongated into claws and dug into my arms, pulling me to my feet and staring into my eyes with zero emotion. “Pretty dark Bones needs to accept her fate,” he snarled.

Blood welled and poured from the wounds on my arms and dripped audibly on the stone floor as everyone in class screamed.

The demon wasn’t fully infected…but his soul was bad. He was evil, and I knew it.

I could’ve removed the dark magic and let him live, but it went against instincts I didn’t know I had.

He needed to die.

A dark cloud of death smoke spilled from my lips, entering my attacker. I absorbed his soul, feeling my magic reserves fill. Nausea rolled through me as I consumed the traces of dark magic, but I held it at bay as my power returned to me.

The demon fell lifelessly to the ground, and I stumbled backward.

“Pandora!” Jenni screamed, catching me by my arm. “Are you okay?”

I glanced at her and nodded. She had a haunted look in her eyes as she stared at the demon. “Are you ?”

She shook her head. “I need a minute. Clearly, only one of us can be a badass, and that’s you.”

Skel, Dex, and Hemlock rushed to my side.

“Are you okay?” Hemlock asked.

“Fuck. I left only for a moment,” Dex cursed. “You okay, trouble?”

“Come here, princess.” Skel held his arms open for me, and I glanced at Jenni with a soft nod.

She let me go, and I fell into Skel’s chest.

His arms banded around me, and he pressed a kiss against my forehead. My skin tingled from the contact. “You’re stronger than anyone gives you credit for. Good job taking care of yourself.”

I let myself lean heavily on Skel, my breath shaky. “Thanks, Skel.”

“Everyone out,” Ironwood barked, his hands on his hips as he stared down at the dead demon with irritation etched on his features. “ Scram! I have to deal with this shit now.” The dead demon broke down into ash, and he exhaled loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Now, I need a broom…”

“Let’s get you out of here,” Jenni said softly. “Shadowheart, can you do that shadow thing?”

Dex didn’t bother to reply as he shadow-traveled us to my room. “You going to be okay, trouble?”

I nodded, still in Skel’s arms. Our matebond skittered across my skin, and I craved a mating with him from just touching.

I might not have been ready for it, but our bond sure was.

“You’re trembling,” he murmured, his breath fanning over my neck.

“I—ah—” Heat uncurled in my abdomen, and I took a sharp breath. “That’s not because of what happened.”

“What’s got you trembling, princess?” His lips grazed my neck, and desire flamed wildly in my core.

Hemlock’s gaze burned into me, searing my skin as he looked me over. Then, he sniffed the air. “You’re aroused,” he blurted.

“Fuck,” Dex moaned. “Yes, she is.”

“Dude!” Jenni cackled, holding her stomach at his obliviousness. “She doesn’t need everyone to know!”

“We all smell it, though.” Hemlock blinked as if he was confused.

My cheeks flamed red hot, and I ducked out of Skel’s arms. I was so cold when I moved away from him, but I knew if I didn’t, I’d listen to my soul and mate with him in front of all of them.

Dex’s shadow whacked Hemlock in the back of the head. “Really, dude?”

He groaned, reaching back and rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry.”

“It is a sweet smell, though.” Dex’s lip curled into a smirk as his gray eyes bore into me.

“Princess, I—” Skel murmured, but he was cut off by Jenni.

“Okay, you all have to leave.” Jenni started to push them out of the room. “I’m sorry for this, I am. But I need some best friend time. I promise to take care of Pandora. Okay, bye!”

“W-Wait!” Hemlock crouched down and left a skull and a paper in the midst of Jenni pushing them. “Take these!”

“This, too!” Skel dropped a photo that floated lazily to the ground.

“Come on, Inferno!” Dex groaned as she gave them one last push and shut the door in their faces.

Brushing her palms together, she glanced at me with an innocent expression. “Sorry, girl, but I didn’t think you were ready for group sex with them.”

My mouth fell open. “What’re you talking about?”

“Their sexual energy and yours was off the charts. My reserves are filled, and nobody even had sex.” She waved her hand around as she talked. “If that continued, you’d have been riding dick, sucking dick, and pumping dick.”

My mouth fell open before I groaned. I was almost controlled by my desire for them. Was ignoring the matebond the reason for that? “Sorry about that.”

“No worries, I get it. They are your mates, and you’re fighting the matebond. I just didn’t think you were ready for that step with them.” She bent down and handed me the photo Skel dropped. “Here.”

“You’re right.” I took the photo from her and glanced down at it. “I’m not ready for that yet.” It was a photo of a gray kitten with its tongue out and green eyes sparkling mischievously. What was even cooler was that I remembered that kitten from Rapture Cavern. Flipping it to the back, I read:

I’m so thankful for your forgiveness, but I’m not finished earning it yet. I am so fucking sorry, princess. Reed’s mark looks beautiful on your temple.

—your mate, Skel

“How sweet!” Jenni squealed at the cuteness. “I get why you forgave that one.”

My heart swelled at the message he’d written as I grabbed the photo album off my shelf that I kept Skel’s photos in. I flipped to an empty spot and slipped the new cat photo into the clear sleeve so the apology was on the backside of each kitten picture. “I do love Skel’s way of apologizing. Cat photos always make me feel better.”

“As they should. Cats are superior.” Jenni blinked and nodded thoughtfully.

Putting the photo album back, I moved over and picked up Hemlock’s gift from the ground.

I placed the mouse skull on the shelf next to my raccoon skull. “What do you think?”

“Interesting.” Jenni gave me two thumbs up in her attempt to be supportive. “ Super interesting!”

Nebula manifested, his soul spilling from his eye sockets. “I’m still your best skull,” he declared.

I giggled, walking over and running a finger down his bone. “Of course you are.”

He de-manifested a second later.

Jenni’s brows furrowed as she asked, “Who are you talking to?”

I smiled. “Nebula. Nobody but me and now my mates can see or hear him, but he’s here. His soul oozed out and spoke with me.”

“A soul eater thing?” She tilted her head, and her dark hair fell into her face.

I shrugged. “Daryl can’t see him, but he does sense something. I’m not entirely sure.”

“Sounds like a familiar,” she murmured, eying Nebula. “Familiars can only speak to their witches or warlocks and their mates.”

I glanced at Nebula. “But I’m not a witch.”

“And he isn’t a familiar, or if he was, he wouldn’t be yours since familiars are reserved for witches and warlocks.” She bent down and picked up the poem from the ground and handed it to me. “Hemlock’s poem.”

I held it between my trembling hands and read:

I'm sorry for the scars I inflicted,

Though, not physical, they were just as painful,

And you didn’t deserve any of it.

I’m not worthy of you,

But my soul craves yours in a way I can’t explain.

I’ve never been enough in my life,

But for you, I’d like to at least try.

My eyes welled up with tears, and my fingers traced the words. “He’s acknowledged it, and I know he’s trying.”

Jenni placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “He is, and you deserve all the love they’re giving you.”

I nodded, blinking away my tears and moving over to the shelf to grab the scrapbook I’d started using for Hemlock’s poems. “I never thought Hemlock was any kind of romantic.” I opened it up and grabbed the decorative tape on my shelf, taping the poem onto a blank page. “I love the side of him that writes the poetry. I wish he could be like that all of the time.”

“Maybe one day he will be,” she murmured, watching me grab a pen and write down what kind of skull he’d given me with this poem.

“Yeah, maybe.” I put the pen up and shut the scrapbook, placing it beside the photo album. “Let’s talk about something else. I need a distraction.”

“How about I tell you why I got freaked out today.” Jenni took a deep breath, her eyes clouding with a mix of sorrow and resolve as she sat on the edge of my bed.

“Only if you’re ready to talk about it, Jenni.”

“I am.” She took a deep breath. “The reason dark magic messes with me so much is because of my dad.”

“Your dad?” I frowned, going over and sitting next to her. I folded my hands in my lap as I listened intently.

“He was stabbed and infected by dark magic earlier this year,” Jenni choked out. “My parents and I had always been close, and I love them both very much.” She closed her eyes, and tears fell from the motion.

“Stabbed? Dark magic?” My heart skipped a beat. “Oh, Jenni, I’m so sorry.”

“Ironically, he was obsessed with understanding demonic magic, but he decided to investigate the dark magic plague for a cure.” She sniffled, tears flooding down her cheeks.

“A cure?” I’d never heard anything about a cure for dark magic before. Not even a theory for it. Granted, I hadn’t taken it upon myself to research it.

“A way to purify it without using a magic relic,” she sobbed. “I don’t know how anything like that works, but Dad did. He was stabbed in the heart by an enchanted sword filled with dark magic.”

“Jenni…oh my Fates. I’m so sorry.” My heart ached for her. I couldn’t imagine something happening to Daryl, and we weren’t as close as Jenni and her dad were.

“Me too,” she croaked. “I wasn’t there when it happened, but Mom was. She told me that the dark magic infected him completely the moment the sword went into his heart. She doesn’t know who or how he was stabbed. He came home from work like that…with the sword sticking out of his chest and him being infected by dark magic. He tried to kill my mom.” A loud sob tore from her throat as she shook.

I reached out and wrapped my arms around her, and she fell against me as she cried. Her soul was in pain, and I could sense just how deep it ran.

“Death saved my mom.” Her voice cracked as she pulled back. “It was his black clove scent that calmed me when Mom told me what happened when I came home, but he was long gone by then.”

“Daryl did?” I murmured. “I see.”

“Your dad saved my mom and my dad by setting him free of dark magic. I’ll never love anyone but him. This is more than just a crush, Pandora. Your dad is my hero, and even though it’s silly, I am in love with him.”

“I know,” I assured her. I knew there was something deeper for her feelings for him, and I never doubted her sincerity in the slightest. “Do you know who killed him?”

“No.” She shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. “But I can’t shake the feeling that Dad’s murder has to do with his research. He had a relic that could break wards, and it’s been stolen.”

Dark Veil had to be a part of this somehow. I wasn’t sure how, but maybe I could ask Hunter to help.

“I asked your mate, Darkmore, to open a vengeance case for me,” she admitted. “I just…I need to know who did this to him. I need them dead.”

“Good. Hunter will be able to get vengeance for you. I know he will.” I reached out and squeezed Jenni’s hand. “I’m so sorry that happened to your family. It must have been so hard for you, but I am so happy that my dad was able to stop him from killing your mom.”

She nodded, her eyes glistening. Her nose was so red as she calmed her breaths. “I am, too. It was so, so hard. But I have my mom, and I have you. That helps.”

My tablet buzzed on the bed next to us, and we both glanced down at it as I opened the message.

Dexter Shadowheart

*Image of Nightwind bleeding and missing an eyeball*

Consider him dealt with, trouble.

Jenni and I exchanged a glance before bursting into laughter. “Well, I guess that’s one way to handle it,” she said, a hint of relief in her voice.

I didn’t bother to hide the smile playing on my lips. “Dex can be a bit extreme, but I’m grateful for his intent.”

Her expression softened, and she wiped her tears away. “Maybe he’s not so bad after all.”

The tablet dinged again.

Dexter Shadowheart

You’re safe with all of your fated mates, but I will personally maim anyone who fucks with you. I’m so sorry I fucked with you last term, but I will spend the rest of our lives making up for it.

My heart swelled with warmth again. “He’s protective, I’ll give him that.”

She sighed wistfully. “I wonder if Death has that kind of protective streak. Wait, what am I saying? Of course he does. ”

I giggled, bumping her shoulder with mine. “I just want you and Daryl happy, and if somehow you do end up together, I’ll be all for it.”

Jenni leaned in, giving me a tight hug. “Thanks, Pandora. You’re the best friend I could ever ask for.”

I hugged her back, feeling the friendship between us strengthen. “And you’re my best friend, Jenni. Thanks for being here for me.”

As we pulled away, I looked around my dorm room feeling a sense of peace settle over me. Despite the chaos and pain of my past, I was surrounded by love and friendship. That was more than I could’ve ever asked for. So if Dark Veil had a purpose for me, they could shove it. I was more than content with the purpose the Fates had for me…even if I didn’t understand some of my fated mates at first.