The Set Up

I don’t like it one fucking bit.

This random call for the entire university to gather in the stadium on a Sunday evening is not only unprecedented, but it has that scheming son of a bitch Lucian’s name written all over it in blood. There’s no way he missed the power surge Friday, unless he slipped out of the pits to the surface again. My source in his office told me he’s been doing so frequently since last term, and the idea of him slinking around the human realm is no less disturbing than him knowing my caliphate destroyed the damn temple.

My hands grip the arms of the plush chairs in our section of the royal box, but I can’t stop my tail from twitching below. Everyone forced back our animals before we left the rooms, but there’s still an aura of power surrounding the members of my group that can’t be hidden. The little shit who still might be a spy is cowering down by O and Salem, and I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying anything.

I’ll never admit it out loud, but Slash was right; my reactions have been more harsh than warranted. Kit hasn’t displayed a damn hint of being duplicitous other than the background being wiped, and Zav seems satisfied with his explanations now. I’m not, but that’s because I know plenty of good liars with smooth words who’d risk discovery to seem innocent. He didn’t want to give up those files, although he definitely has them, and we played into his hands when the guys respected his privacy.

But why did he gamble with something so obviously dangerous to whatever he’s hiding?

“I don’t like this.”

Turning to my second-in-command, I arch a brow. “Oh, now you want my input?”

Slash rolls his eyes to the awning above us as if asking for help, then grunts. “Look, Jas. You knew you were being a dick. People tried to reason with you, and you ignored it. What the fuck was I supposed to do? I would never let you go full-on Tarron without stepping in.”

Huffing as I flick my gaze to the scrawny guy, then back to my friend, I press my lips together. I don’t get why they’re all so taken by him. He’s little, weak, and knows nothing of our world. Kit isn’t even fucking model hot like X or Anton, nor dark and brooding like Oriel. He’s not even cute like Zavvie.

What’s the draw?

“Fine,” I sigh, giving up on figuring out what the hell is happening to my only actual family for the moment. There are bigger things to focus on, and I can’t let my frustration with my newest inductee cloud my vision. “I don’t like it, either. My source tells me that the slimy fuckwit has been slipping through the void to the human realm and I don’t know why. It makes my tail twitch.”

A loud crackle comes from the enchanted speakers on either side of the screen and we both sit up taller. The answers are coming, whether we like them or not, and I don’t want to miss a thing. “Record this,” I growl at Zav on my other side.

He nods, pointing his phone at the screen and getting ready without a second thought. “On it.”

“ Good evening, faithful servants of Hell!”

I knew it. Fucking Lucian Darkstar.

“The faculty and staff of Discordia University hope you’ve had an informative first week of classes at your home for the next four years. Normally, we would allow you all more time to get settled before making any large-scale announcements, especially ones that will affect the entire campus.”

“However, we were honored to be chosen for a pilot program being implemented across the universities in our dark lands next year. Discordia University is the premier educational facility for demons and their hybrids already, but the boon bestowed upon our students was so great that we are implementing the beginning stages next week.”

“Fuck,” Slash mutters and I nod. “We were right; this is terrible.”

“No shit.”

“Tomorrow morning, you will head to class as usual, but unfortunately, all extracurricular activities will be postponed for the year so we can use the time for our new program.”

A roar of outrage fills the stadium, even in our booth. Not only did that asshat take away the fun activities demons like X love, but also the professional ones Zav and Salem take part in. Worst of all, I know this includes dueling—a fact that will cripple any player who has hopes of going pro after college.

Anton whistles softly. “That’s rough. It will not win them any favors. In fact, it might cause a?—”

The stands erupt in loud shouting, and within seconds, there is a blast of magic in the air. Anton was going to predict a riot; he wasn’t wrong. Demons in various classes are already fighting one another as loud crashes echo around the space. I squint at our booth, daring anyone in here to even consider fucking up my private space. I’ll end them without batting an eyelash.

“Enough!” The voice booms through the stadium loudly enough to make all our ears ring and the fights stop as demons clutch their heads. “You will sit down and listen or you will be sent to the pits for a month!”

“Is that bad? It sounds bad,” Kit whispers to Oriel.

What a na?ve little shit—it’s the pits of hell, of course it’s bad.

“You don’t want to know.”

I roll my eyes at O’s sugarcoating and focus on the screen, looking at Lucian and the other staff. The professors, including the one I work for, look nervous as fuck. Not one appears to be happy about this situation, and that does not bode well for any demon at Discordia. This change is not something they’re part of—no, they’re props.

“By his most royal decree and the agreement of the seven families, with the approval of Discordia University, this year will mark the first Caliphate Games in two millennia! Congratulations on being selected for this most prestigious honor, demons of Discordia. You will all make us proud—or you won’t make it at all.”

Oh, shit.

“Caliphate Games? What’s that?” our new member asks curiously. Salem and Oriel shrug, then they all look up at me.

I’m sure I’m as white as a fucking soul spirit, but I clear my throat to answer. Only Slash and I know how absolutely fucking horrifying this announcement is—the last time the games were a yearly occurrence was before my father and his cohorts made a play for the throne. They used four years of team efforts to weed out the competition and train so they could wage war on the throne after graduation. It almost decimated the houses within the current royal lines.

Not to mention it’s eerily similar to my plan to unseat my dickhead birther.

“The Caliphate Games were a yearly tradition at all the universities in Hell before… the war,” I say, hoping my voice is as strong as I’m trying to project. “They were played through the entire year amongst all levels of demons and groups in the school to weed out the weak. At the end of the year, every school had more than a quarter of their campus gone. Then they’d recruit new first years and start again.”

Kit’s eyes widen, and I almost feel his panic rising.

“Anyone who survived all four years of it became royalty after they instigated the coup that put my father on the throne.”

The rest of my guys suddenly understand that I’m saying their older relatives are the survivors of games at various schools. Obviously, the court now is packed to the brim with former competitors, but that’s not why I’m concerned. The King and The General orchestrated their treason while their caliphate played in the games all those years ago.

Why the fuck would they start this shit up again?

“Jasper…”

My gaze flicks from Slash to Zavida, then down to the others. I don’t have promising information for them; this caught me off guard despite all the spies I have in every corner of the campus. It’s an intel failure and I’ll handle that, but for now, I can’t reassure them. I know they want it, but it’s just not possible.

The dark-haired thorn in my side heaves a sigh before he speaks. “So this shit is atomic bomb level bad, huh? You didn’t know it was coming, which is probably pissing you the fuck off. But maybe the question we really need answered is why? Why this, right now, and whose idea was it?”

Slash grins. “On the nose, little demon.”

“For fuck’s sake…” I growl in irritation, but rein myself in when I remember what my best friend said. “ Yes , that’s the key question we have to ferret out. They’ve angered every student in this damn place, and most of them won’t understand how dangerous this announcement is. Notice the other royals in this place have cleared out while we were talking.”

A quick glance confirms I’m telling the truth, and for once, the human doesn’t shoot back at me with a poisonous barb. “They’re scared.”

“They should be,” Slash rumbles. “Jasper wasn’t lying when he said the schools lost much of their student body every year. Demons are hard to kill for other supes and humans, but less so for other demons. These trials—because they are trials, not games—are designed to kill and maim those who shouldn’t be here.”

“You think your father had something to do with this,” Kit says as he fidgets with a spinning ring on his thumb. “That’s why you’re grimacing so much.”

“Bingo was his name-o, Kit Kat,” Salem sing-songs. “Tarron and the other advisors—that would be our parents and some other staff fucks—would have to approve something this dramatic. More so at Discordia than any other school because so many demons from their houses go here.”

I watch the kid take in that response, biting his lower lip as he thinks. Once he’s ready, his eyes meet mine and the intensity in his gaze shocks the shit out of me. “It’s not me they’re aiming for, then; it’s you.”

Damn, he’s smarter than I thought.

“Possibly,” I say casually, shrugging as if it doesn’t matter that my father might try to get me killed. “They might also try to take out as many caliphates as possible to solidify their reign for longer.”

“That would be a shit idea if we got invaded,” Slash grumbles. “Our enemies aren’t just down here, and we all know it. The damn Society wants us to join them for that reason. If some rogue supes want to take on most species, they have to take on them as well. Your father won’t play nice, so if vampires or some shit made a play, we’d only have ourselves. Thinning the ranks would make for a small goddamn army.”

Nodding in agreement, I tap my fingertips on my chair. “Unless that’s exactly what Lucian and whoever he’s aligned with wants. It wouldn’t be beyond his wheelhouse to have people working on the surface to form an alliance with other rebel groups. If they help him take Hell, he could grant them anything from trade rights to alliances in wars against others.”

“Wait. Wait.” We turn to look at Kit, who is frowning darkly. “Are you saying that pompous ass who brought me to you is trying to take over Hell with secret forces after these games take the powerful out?”

Xerxes leans forward, looking at me seriously. “Should we just… let them take your dad out? Two birds, one stone.”

“That won’t work. Lucian and whoever is helping him plot will be far worse than Tarron and the families.” I look at Zavida, noting the fear on his face for the first time. His parents suck a lot and he’s not worried about them being murdered as much as the alternative. “Jasper, we can’t let his scheme succeed. You know the only demons and supes up there who would be interested in Hell wouldn’t stop with this realm.”

He’s right; no one wants Hell for the sauna, they want it for the army of demons and hybrids with ancient powers.