Revelations

B y the time I get to Literature of the Dark Arts, I’m stewing in my irritation with the royal ass clown.

How dare he add me to some ridiculous group chat—without asking, mind—and then treat me like a fucking serf?

Blowing out a huff of annoyance, I stomp into the library lecture hall with Dottie chattering her agreement in my ear. I’ve been fuming since I exited the chat and despite having to take shit from every family I’ve lived with, Jasper’s attitude rankles me more. I get how the power trip of bringing a ‘meal ticket’ kid into your house goes to your head—especially since most kids in the system are so damaged they don’t fight back. But to be born with every fucking advantage and choose to act like that makes you better is foreign to me.

But for a random snip of the threads of Fate, Jasper Eversore could be me—anyone could. Nothing in life is forever and though I don’t believe the universe gives a shit about balance, at least some asswads get their due. You can’t predict if you’ll be that person. It’s stupid to build up shit on the bad side of your ledger.

Of course, I doubt anyone’s ever told the Prince of Hell he’s racking up karma demerits.

No one’s here yet and I sigh in relief. I’ve arrived early to every class today, meaning I get to choose the seat that makes me feel safest. Licking my lips slowly, I take in the room, noting exits, aisles, views, and windows. Once I find the optimal place to sit in the upper right corner, I settle in to get comfortable. Dottie climbs up on my shoulder, her little paws brushing over my head as if she’s comforting me.

“We’ve got a bunch of company in this class, girl. Hopefully, they won’t make it impossible to concentrate, but I appreciate you trying to help.” The kinkajou hugs the side of my head and her tail curls around my upper arm.

I could have been so much calmer a long time ago if anyone had let me have a damn animal for support.

My face scrunches into an even angrier expression as I open the laptop Oriel got for me. I’ve been taking notes in classes, organizing everything in folders so I have what I need to study. On my break, I downloaded a bunch of books to my reading app on my tablet after doing a deep dive into the demon layer of Google. It’s fucking weird that all these creatures have their own sub-layers of the dark web, but I guess it makes sense. They can’t have their shit getting out to humans or there’d be chaos.

If I’m going to catch up to my classmates, I need to read as much as possible—fast. I don’t want Jasper to think he’s responsible for my motivation; his ego is big enough as it is. But I’m not stupid; I have to catch up before I fall further behind. This scholarship is my chance to make a future for myself—even if it’s in Hell—and fuck if I’m going to waste that opportunity.

“Well, hey there, Kit Kat.”

Salem’s voice brings me out of my hyper-focus moment and I blink as he drops into the seat to my left. He looks exhausted, so Oriel’s comment about keeping him awake in this class checks out. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

He chuckles and shrugs. “I’m not a quiet dude. The guys say I sort of lumber… but not as much as Slash. I don’t know how you missed me, except you looked like you were totally zoned.”

“I might have been,” I mumble as my face heats. “It happens sometimes when I’m anxious. Luckily, it wasn’t a bad one or I wouldn’t have noticed you sitting down.”

His brows furrow, and he tilts his head. “That’s some serious dissociation. I’ll keep my eyes out for that look. Thanks for telling me.”

Nodding, I stare down at my screen again, not feeling comfortable saying more. I don’t share this shit with anyone; I’ve already told Salem more than I tell anyone outside of my therapist. It’s weird, but my brain keeps saying if he has to live with me, he needs to know. Finally, I swallow hard and whisper, “You’re welcome.”

“Oh, good.”

I jump, whirling my head around to see Oriel approaching from the right side of me. He frowns when he sees I’m sitting on the aisle and Salem has the seat next to me. My heart hammers for a moment and I press my hand to my chest. “Jesus, did you guys take a fucking class on creeping?”

Oriel tilts his head in a bird-like manner, his eyes glittering as he smirks. “Not that asshole, but me? Absolutely.”

Well, I asked, didn’t I?

“Scoot over, Kit Kat. I don’t want to be stuck next to some rando and you’re in charge of keeping the big guy awake.” He sweeps his hair out of his eyes as he looks at me expectantly, and I swallow hard.

Like all my new floor mates, Oriel is gorgeous in his own way. I’ve never been so impressed by anyone’s looks that I felt the need to obey mindlessly, but when his dark, liner rimmed eyes find mine, I want to comply. Wrinkling my nose, I give him a dirty look. “Don’t make a pretty face at me; it doesn’t work. I don’t… enjoy being trapped.”

Salem lays his hand on my arm and I almost jump again. “It’s okay, little dude. O won’t let anything happen—he’s the most observant person I’ve ever met. It’s in his blood.”

I lick my lips, feeling my pulse kick up and clench my fists to fight off what has to be another anxiety wave. “I just met you guys and everyone is threatening me. What about that says I should trust you when Prince Cockwaffle says I can’t trust anyone?”

A slow smile spreads over Oriel’s face, and he claps softly. “Very good, Kit Kat. That suspicion will serve you well with the rest of the fuckers in this school. But Salem is correct, too. What can I do to prove it before a bunch of idiots flood this room?”

“Tell me something real ,” I counter as I look at one demon, then the other. “Something risky. I’ve shared far too much with strangers in the past two days and I shudder to think what the hell Jasper has Zavida doing to prove I’m some sort of spy.”

He looks surprised, but he nods. “Fine. This stays between the three of us, yes?”

“Fuck yeah. Jasper is already annoying enough right now. His control freak shit is making my tail twitch,” Salem says.

His what?

I shouldn’t be surprised since he’s a demon and a shifter, but when I look down, there’s a long black and white tail curled around his leg. “But didn’t you say… he’s a panda? Pandas don’t have tails like that. In fact, they eat bamboo and Salem eats?—”

“Everything?” Oriel snorts. “He does. This is the demon form. You’ll learn about that as you go through Intro to Supes, man. Demon hybrids are weird as fuck—you should see what happens when he multi-shifts because he’s horny.”

My eyes pop open and my face turns bright; I know it. “That… Too much information, Oriel!”

Salem chuckles and bumps my shoulder with his playfully. “It stays like this but gets furry and poofy like a fucking panda poodle. The guys give me hell over it, so now you have my something real.”

I have no idea what to do with that, except now I have the strongest urge to look up panda… equipment.

Argh!

Oriel winks at me, and I swear to fuck he knows what’s going through my mind. “Then my secret is I sort of lied to Jas and Zav about your computer shit. I know a little about tech, too, because of my skill set, so after he planted all his spyware, I turned a few levers off. Not enough to raise suspicion—he’d know if he couldn’t track you, for instance. But you should be able to surf the supe web without worrying if they're laughing at you.”

“You did? Won’t His Royal Assface be furious if he finds out?” I pretend it’s no big deal, but getting a modicum of my privacy back is huge . Oriel has no idea what that means to a kid who lived in homes that didn’t belong to them under rules that kept them from having any secrets.

“He will if he finds out.” The dark-haired boy shrugs, his lips curving a bit. “But Jasper Eversore isn’t the king yet, and he needs to quit acting like he is. I’m no simpering courtier, and I never will be. I have my code.”

Salem grins and holds his fist up for a bump. “Word, dude. Zav and Slash might be jammed up his ass, but the rest of us are mostly free agents. Although, I feel Zav is struggling with that with you, Kitten.”

I bristle, glaring at him. “Kitten is not a nickname for a guy. Kit Kat is bad enough.”

His eyes roll back and he rises, looking down at me with his hand held out. “I’ll think of a better one then. Can’t have the same one O’s using, right? Now, will you let that bastard sit before this becomes a public scene, please?”

Pursing my lips, I war internally. Salem’s adorable with his enormous frame, ruffled hair, and that interesting tail. Plus, they shared things with me as promised. So maybe… I huff, picking up my shit and let him tug me to the seat he was in. Once I sit, he plops into the open one on my left and Oriel does the same in my vacated chair.

“Much better. The caliphate always sits together in shared classes—or we did this summer at the orientation and Jasper says that’s how it always is. You’ll see other groups who are always together, by the way. Lesser caliphates and all. Watch them.”

I frown for a second. “Aren’t you guys sophomores? I thought by the way you talked…”

Salem shakes his head. “Jasper is three years older than us. He graduated last year and got this TA thing so he can be here while we go through school and take grad classes. It means he doesn’t have to go home to the palace without his caliphate—a good thing, trust me—but also gives us time to cement that bond before we all have to get royal positions.”

“While he was here, we were on campus a lot. But we also came here for summer classes so we could get settled into our dorms. That’s why it seems like we know what we’re doing more than other freshmen,” Oriel explains as people file into the classroom in loud groups. “Anton, X, and Zav took the most classes, so they have higher level stuff this semester. Slash spent the summer taking a few intros and training for Fireball next semester, plus Magic Battles this one.”

Shit. The extracurriculars Jasper mentioned.

“Um… Jasper said I have to do… all the activities this semester to see what I’m good at?” I bite my lip, knowing I have to give them another truth. “I don’t exactly have any experience with those. My last foster brothers played football, but um… I worked and studied, that’s all.”

“Did you ever go to their games? Fireball is a bit like football on magical steroids,” Salem replies as he digs for his book, then yawns. “I doubt they’d put you on the field ‘cause you’re scrawny. No offense.”

I shake my head. “No, they didn’t want me there. Trust me, that wasn’t a bad thing, nor is hearing I’m too small to get fielded for a contact sport with magic. I don’t have any and um…”

“You will, Kit Kat. But I’m sorry to say he’s going to make you come to Magic Battles and that will get painful until yours emerges. You’ll have to be tough or Slash will give you hell. No one can stop that fucker but Jas, and he won’t lift a finger.”

Drawing in a slow, steadying breath, I nod at Oriel. “Tough. Okay. That’s not at all terrifying. Got it.”

His hand covers mine and he squeezes. “You can do it. I have faith in you.”

Thank fuck someone does.