Disruption

W hen X struts up with their proposal, everything in my gut tightens. This new kid is a distraction we don’t need, and it’s eating at my Prince. His focus is shot because of a scrawny little shit who doesn’t even have magic. If anyone thought that asshole Lucian was neutral in the silent battle for the future of Hell, they were wrong.

This just proves it.

Our parents have ruled for far too long; they’ve become corrupted by their own wealth and fame. Jasper’s father has been in place for a millennium—a testament to how long our kind lives because our demon side doesn’t hit school age until we’re a century old. I bet telling this new kid that despite appearing to be what humans would gauge as nineteen, we’re older than the country he came from. Time moves differently down here, of course, but this is part of why we stay separated from the supe community. Their petty squabbles are mere blips on our radar. We live long enough for them to consider us immortal, like the Fae or the deities.

But that doesn’t matter when the ruling families have fallen so far. The longer it goes on, the worse shape Hell is in and it’s ripe for some terra dwelling fuckheads to return to the fold specifically to take over. There are plenty of gangs, covenants, and criminal enterprises in Kit’s homeland that would love to make a run for the crown down here. The only reason demons like that leave is so they can find a power vacuum where they can conquer. My caliphate has been biding our time as we finish schooling. Then we’ll wrest control of our kingdom from the generation of leaders who are currently failing.

That’s why I’m going to make certain this kid doesn’t fuck up hundreds of years of hard work and sacrifice.

“…so we need to induct Kit formally or he’ll never truly be part of the group. I think it might goose his magic, too. That’d be a good thing since he has to join Slash in Dueling later in the week. Magic battles will be a bitch with nothing in the tank, even if he can fight.”

My eyes narrow as I watch the expressions of my caliphate. I need to judge their response to this carefully. As the second to the Prince, keeping my eye on the pulse of our group falls to me. If someone is faltering or struggling, it opens us up to danger. I don’t want to believe any of them would betray us; however, it’s not intelligent to assume any demon is swayable in the right circumstances.

“I agree,” Oriel says as he holds up his hand. “It would help him learn about our ways, too. That will help with his catch-up.”

Soft as an old shoe, the crow is. I need to watch him.

Salem plucks a fried thing off his plate with an irritated expression, then shrugs. “I think so as well.”

“Me, too,” Zavida adds as he pushes up his glasses. He looks at the Prince fearfully, but Jasper wouldn’t deny him anything. He pretends otherwise to appear hard assed and big Dom vibes, but he’s wrapped around the Kitsuné’s finger.

Anton shrugs. “I trust you guys. No offense, Kit.”

The kid in question is glaring at the entire table as if we’ve offended his ancestors. His arms are crossed over his chest as he seethes in place quietly. I have no fucking clue why he’s mad, but it’s amusing. He doesn’t reply to Anton, only keeps his narrow-eyed gaze on Jasper. It’s hard to take it seriously because of his size and the cute monkey on his shoulder, but he doesn’t know that.

That means the decision is down to the Prince and me.

Jasper sighs, rolling his eyes to the ceiling as if he’s exhausted by the entire conversation. When he finally looks at our caliphate again, I feel the tension radiating from the dragon inside of him. “I assume you’re giving me a dirty look because you think I’m going to forbid it?”

Kit snorts. “Wrong again, Inspector Clouseau.”

That gets a snicker from Anton. He loves mysteries, so even if he was on the fence about Kit before, he’s probably in now. Satan help us, they’re all so damn easy to convince of shit.

“Then why do you keep staring at me like I pissed on the carpet?” Jasper roars. I grunt, jerking my chin at the room and the Prince cools down a little. “I’m unaccustomed to being treated like a naughty puppy, Kit Camponella. You’d be wise to remember who is in charge here.”

The kid waves his hand dismissively, which almost makes me laugh. He seriously has no instinct for self-preservation. “I’d get right with Jesus, then, Prince. I will not follow anyone blindly and you deserve my disdain. Not one of you fuckers has asked if I want or am willing to be inducted, much less explained the process of significance. My body, my choice, assholes.”

I’d intercede, but I honestly want to see where this goes.

X blinks. “We discussed it in class, Baby Demon. I thought we were a go.”

“I said I’d trust you with it. I didn’t give explicit consent to do it. You just assumed,” he says with a shrug. “I also didn’t think you’d be advocating for some mysterious magic bullshit that you’re going to do before Thursday.”

The cobra demon hybrid looks aghast, grabbing Kit’s arm. “I am so sorry . You’re right. I did not mean to cross your boundaries.”

“It’s okay.” The new kid looks a little green and I’m not sure why, but he doesn’t elaborate on what’s causing it. “I know you didn’t mean to. Everyone else here is guilty AF, though.”

They all look at one another for a second, then a flurry of apologies starts. Jasper pinches the bridge of his nose, looking like he wants to teleport to the furthest region in Hell to let his dragon rage out. That’s not a bad idea, actually, and I’ll suggest we go after dinner. The rest of them have homework and the thorn in our side will accompany O to his Thieves Guild meeting. No one will question our absence, so he won’t look affected by the human.

Note to self: Insist the Prince find an outlet that is private and not Zav’s ass for this irritation.

“Enough!” I say in a commanding tone. My fist hits the table as I issue the order, and every head swivels to face me. “Your Prince has not yet weighed in, so any personal slights should be tabled until he extends his decision.”

“Excuse me?” Kit says as he stands and puts his palms on the table to lean forward. “No one died and made you General of my emotions. You can fuck right off if you think his decision means anything to me if I say ‘no.’ We already had the consent discussion and I’m not in the habit of doing emotional labor for free multiple times.”

I hate when people go to fucking shrinks.

“You will respect the edict of your Prince or?—”

“Slash.”

I turn to Jasper, giving him a quizzical look. He never stops me when I’m disciplining the troops. “Yes, Your Highness?”

“Knock off the formal, man.” He sighs and leans back in his chair as he watches our problem child. “It’s hard to decide whether I’m more furious at you for the disrespect or glad to see you have a backbone. Slash intimidates damn near everyone and his input usually makes lesser demons crumble. He isn’t called the Annihilator on the field for nothing.”

The harsh snort from Kit makes my gut clench again. “So? I’ve dealt with bullies and abusers before; I’ll do it again if you force me to. Maybe you win, maybe I survive… either way, it fucks up your little boy band image, right?”

Shit, fuck, damn… he’s figured it out.

“I mean, you could have done what human jerks in your position would have done. Rejected me, beat me up, spread rumors, sent other students after me… all of that would be par for the course in this kind of situation at home. But you didn’t, and there has to be a reason. Whatever it is, it’s more important than your stupid royalty flex.”

Oriel’s eyes widen as he turns to look at Jasper and when I survey the table, the others are failing miserably at hiding their own shock. “Well, fuck, Jas. Now the shit has hit, eh?”

“Shut up, Oriel,” I growl as I send a targeted stream of water magic to hit the bird in the face. “You don’t have permission to chitter chatter.”

Kit looks even more irritated now. “You can torture the others if you want, but they didn’t tell me, nor are they disobeying you when they speak up. Stop being a dictator, Jasper Eversore. It’s tired.”

“You think so, hmm?” The Prince grabs his glass, sipping at the batberry wine I brought him calmly. What Kit doesn’t know is that calm Jasper is much more frightening than raging Jas. His dragon is hot-headed and passionate—that can be handled. His detached sociopath demon protected him from his father’s behavior his entire life. And that is the scary motherfucker—even to me.

“Everyone does, man. Rich royal bullies being dicks to the new poor kid? I mean, it’s like some dumb movie from the 90s. Be more original than that.”

Zavida chuckles and I sigh internally. Now this little shit has him on board—at least for this conversation. He loves human movies and is likely planning an entire marathon in his head.

Fuck.

“For the love of crunchy crab puffs, J, just ask him if he wants to do this!” Salem stands, looking more awake than he has the entire meal. “If your plan was to approve this, then you’re being a stubborn shithead for no reason. I’m going for dessert, but this better be done when I get back. Ire fucks with my digestion, and I’ll make you all suffer with me if you don’t calm down.”

“His digestion?” Kit whispers to X.

They grin and whisper back, “The panda side. He’ll nuclear fart us out of the entire floor if he doesn’t digest correctly. Honestly, speaking from a solely evolutionary standpoint, it’s amazing that pandas and their shifter counterparts haven’t gone extinct. Everything about them is delicate, with no care for preservation on their own.”

A soft chittering sound distracts us and I’m surprised to see the rodent familiar jump from Kit’s shoulder, skitter across the table, and sit at Salem’s spot as if waiting. Kit tilts his head, a small smile playing about his lips as he takes note. I’m not sure what that means, but I doubt it’s good.

This fighting is a threat to good order, and our recent addition is the cause. Jasper and I have to get it under control. If fear and our normal tactics won’t make him fall in line, maybe X is right about the induction. Magic has a way of corralling us to its will, and the ceremony certainly focuses on group cohesion.

No one speaks until Salem ambles over with three plates full of sweets balanced on his arm. He puts them down, then smiles in his sleepy way at the animal waiting for him. “Hey, girl. I didn’t forget about you.”

When he pulls the baggie of fruit out, Jasper growls. “Don’t feed that rodent at the table.”

Oriel glares at him. “Her name is Dottie, and she’s Kit’s familiar, Jasper. You know how that works; don’t pretend to be dense.”

“I don’t care what its name is,” the Prince says, waving his hand. “But I suppose Xerxes has a point. If Kit is this perceptive, it makes him even more dangerous to us. We should induct him as soon as possible. Since you’re so keen, O, you can explain to Kit what it entails while you’re at the Guild tonight and get his consent .”

I don’t think that word has ever sounded so disdainful as it does coming from my angry Prince.