Sugar We’re Going Down

K indervelt is a pain in the ass, but at least Demon Lineage is over. It’s one of the classes I have with none of my brothers in it, and to make it worse, I found myself piqued. I didn't have the new kid in it, either. It made focusing on the lesson easier, but surviving a two-hour lecture from that jackass harder.

But it’s lunchtime now and hopefully, one of those dicks brings him with them to our table.

Squinting as I cross the quad, I try to remember who shares their free period and lunch for this block. Today it should be Kit, Slash, X, and his royal dickface-ness. It’s not the best combo I could imagine, but Jasper has his TA time afterward, so maybe he’ll order lunch at his office.

“What am I saying? Of course he won’t. He won’t miss a chance to clash with Kit again.”

Rolling my eyes, I consider how all the chips are falling. Slash’s declaration yesterday has whispers floating around the school, but it’s unlikely someone will approach Kit directly until they figure out what it will cost them to do so. Saving face for their families is paramount, so lower tier demons should steer clear. Unfortunately, morons like Bastion who have always thought they should be included in our circle are going to gang up together.

Hell is rife with politics, even at this level.

“O! Wait up.” The deep growl makes me pause, and I turn to find the shark himself ambling toward me. “You move too fast.”

I arch a brow at him. “I’m part crow, dude. We zip around as quickly as possible to snatch what we desire.”

“You’re going to lunch, not a job,” he huffs. “Or is there some reason you’re in a hurry?”

Waving off his obvious attempt to gather info for Jas, I slow down so he can get even with me. “Hungry. Didn’t eat a lot at breakfast. Too much bullshit.”

He grunts, matching my gait as we climb the steps to the Triclinium . “You’re too easily thrown off. I don’t know how you do the shit you do when you’re so sensitive.”

“Slash, thieving is in my blood. It’s like the air I breathe—sort of like battling is for you. I don’t get thrown off breathing. See what I mean?” I look at him hopefully, thinking he might understand this time.

“Nope. I just do what’s necessary. No deviation.”

Satan, save me from the single-minded focus of sharks.

He’s not wrong about how he works; Slash is a machine with no off switch when he’s set to task, just like his animal. That’s why he’s such an excellent weapon for Jasper and a perfect team member for the Magic Battles. Absolutely nothing stops him once he’s on the trail. “Fine. But to answer your unasked question, I am curious to see how Kit’s last class went. He seemed to have it rough yesterday before you… said things.”

“Hmmph.”

The big dude also clamps his mouth shut like a vice—figuratively and literally—when he doesn’t want to discuss things. Now is one of those times because he opens the door for me with a narrow-eyed glare that would make lesser demons shiver. I wink at him playfully and he rolls his eyes as we head for the royal table, only to find Kit and X already waiting for their food.

Kit’s familiar is sitting on the table between them, munching from a small bundle of food that reeks of Salem. It makes my lips tip up, glad he’s taken to our new member so easily. He’s a good dude, but his food obsession and panda-style narcolepsy make people get angry with him for no reason. So far, he’s done better with the raven-haired guy beside my colorful friend than anyone in the past.

“How was Mythology?” I ask as I plop down on the other side of the small, frumpy guy. “Make any new enemies since we saw you last?”

Xerxes snorts, and Kit groans as he buries his face in his hands. “Our teacher is on sabbatical.”

“So? A substitute will be a much easier grader.” Slash sits in the seat next to Jasper’s favorite one carefully. The furniture here isn’t made for a demon quite his size, so he has to make sure we don’t have a repeat of the elementary school incident.

Let’s just say he’s not allowed on any aquatic teams after he got his revenge and leave it at that.

“You’d think, right?” Kit mutters in irritation. His hand reaches out to pet the kinkajou and I realize he’s using it to calm his nerves, so I don’t comment.

X lifts one sparkling, fingerless gloved hand lazily as they hold up a finger. “Unless the sub is the Anti-Christ himself.”

My eyes widen, and I shoot a concerned look at Slash, who pretends not to care. Huffing, I turn back to Kit and my glittery friend. “Lucian? Lucian Darkstar, the Headmaster of this college, is teaching an intro level Mythology course for a semester?”

“I didn’t stutter, Oriel, darling. The man himself is our teacher, and it’s absolutely wretched.” X wrinkles their nose as they look at themself. “He gave me demerits for ‘altering the uniform unsuitably,’ which is ridiculous.”

Kit looks like he’s going to chuckle as we both examine the rips, bedazzling, and alterations X made to their uniform today. The changes today are as striking as the ones yesterday, and I doubt it will get better as the semester rolls along. This will definitely be an issue going forward. Jasper will lose his shit if our caliphate falls behind in points or grades, so it has to be rectified quickly.

“What did you say to him?” I ask curiously. “Did you refute the validity?”

“Nope.”

Before I can ask why, Kit elbows me in the ribs. “I did. Fuck that guy and his arbitrary rules. I saw at least ten guys in the hall with modified uniforms and theirs have to do with bullshit, not identity. A group of…” he pauses and thinks for a moment. “…wolf hybrids, I think, were roaming with shredded shirts to show off some stupid tattoos. So I told the Headmaster he would have to apply the rules equally or not at all—anything else could be challenged in student government or something.”

I blink, impressed as hell. “I think you’re right, but how did you know that?”

The small animal chitters, making a gesture like it’s rubbing its eyes and Kit laughs. “Dottie’s right. I stayed up late reading stuff online about all these stupid activities. I’m so far behind in studies, but catching up on the rules of all your outside things was easier than decades of classwork.”

I’ll be damned. That dude is a smart little son of a bitch.

“What the hell is going on here?”

The first half of our lunch/free period is almost over when Prince Eversore shows. I’m not sure if he did his teacher shit, but he’s obviously had a shower. His hair is wet, and he’s got on a fresh uniform as he stalks to his spot by Slash. His eyes rake over the group, zeroing in on Kit as he stifles the laughter from our previous conversation.

“What’s so damn funny?” Jasper presses when no one answers quickly enough.

The new kid rolls his eyes, slouching in the chair as he shrugs. “Nothing. You had to be there.”

Jasper’s eyes flare with anger, lightning dancing around his pupils as he grits his jaw. “Enlighten me. Perhaps I can enjoy the revelry despite not being present.”

He’s being such a tool, and I don’t think he even knows why. It’s going to be hysterical when he gets his head out of his ass.

“Fine….” Kit sits up and looks directly at the pissy dragon. “So yesterday in Lit, the guys said I had to keep Salem awake. But that’s like… fucking impossible at five p.m. To make it worse, O was getting fidgety after sitting so long and the professor hates me. So I kept moving back and forth between them with the invisible orb to get them back on track.”

“Invisible orb?” Jasper parrots as he frowns. “You don’t have magic. Or did that change and you forgot to inform me?”

“He does not have magic,” I confirm with an innocent grin. That’s not true, but none of us need Jasper having a tantrum in the cafeteria in front of all these eyes. Besides, I’m not sure if Kit even knows he froze everyone the other night when he was upset.

“Then what the hell is the invisible orb?”

Flipping his dark hair off his face, the new kid holds up his hands like he’s framing a crystal ball at the top and bottom, then moves them around like it’s forming and reforming between his palms. “This is the invisible orb. A shrink taught it to me because I had a foster sister who couldn’t focus long enough not to get her ass kicked by her drunken dad. I asked for something to use to capture attention without words or props so I could help her.”

The Prince makes a face like it’s the dumbest thing he’s ever seen, but I’m transfixed by Kit’s hands moving. Once he stops, I shake my head and grin at the rest of the table. “Stupidly simple, but it seems to work. I get focused on his hands and the movement, which pries me away from whatever I’m hyper-focused on. Salem sort of wakes up to pay attention.”

Kit shrugs as he picks up a berry and hands it to his familiar. “I didn’t know it would work on demons, too, but I guess it makes sense. The funny part is that I did it in Mythology today and X kept swaying with my hands like I was playing a pungi .”

Xerxes snorts again, shaking their head. “Trust me, I was less than thrilled, but I couldn’t stop. Annie says he has to remember it for… reasons.”

The cobra shifter gives us a sultry eyebrow bob and Kit elbows them again. “Don’t be gross at the table.”

That’s when I see Jasper’s eyes glow for a second, as if he’s just had an idea. He sniffs, tilting his head as he studies Kit. “Well, it is funny, I suppose. X is a good dancer and I imagine it was very novel for a human.”

“It was novel for anyone, you asshole.” Kit rolls his eyes and stabs a piece of lettuce with his fork. “Leave it to you to ruin a good time.”

Our leader’s smirk only deepens, and I sigh internally. Whatever he’s going to do now will be shitty, and he thinks it’s brilliant. I’m not sure what will happen after he lashes out, but I doubt it will be pretty. “I doubt his dancing was as exciting as the dance I got from the visiting auditor for the weapons cache. She was… delectable.”

Tilting my head back to look at the ceiling as he licks his lips lasciviously, I consider whether I should just grab Kit’s arm and ask him to head to the library to study with me. We both have an extra long free time today. I doubt he’ll waste it screwing around; the kid is fucking dedicated as shit.

“Jasper,” Xerxes says reprovingly. “You’re too old to wave your conquests in people’s faces. Button it up, man. Kit just asked us not to be sexy at the fucking table two seconds ago.”

“Why? Is he some kind of prude? We’re all guys here. I’m sure you’ll find my story just as amusing as his little tale, unless you’re some ridiculous virgin. She was a pleasure demon, and I know how much Slash loves their kind.”

“You know what?” Kit pushes to his feet, slinging his bag over his shoulder in a blink. The kinkajou scrambles up his arm as he shrugs. “Please continue with your tale of male prowess. I have years of knowledge to catch up on, and I don’t need to dampen the fun for the rest of you. I’m out of here.”

Even Slash looks a little chagrined as he stomps across the cafeteria towards the doors. I whip around, giving Jasper a murderous look. “Not cool, man.”

His pleased expression doesn’t quell my anger. “If he can’t take the heat, he shouldn’t jump into the fire so often.”

“You’re being a grade-A knob, Jasper Eversore. I will not remind you again that behaving like your father doesn’t make you him, but it makes people dislike you as much as him.” X pushes to their feet and tilts their head at me. “Coming, Oriel? I think we should check on our new friend to make sure he’s not being cornered by some dumb fuck.”

“I’m game.”

Stew in that, Prince Fuckknuckle.