Xerxes gives me a weird look, and I frown. Why does he look like he wants to snicker? I’m not lying to Jasper; I really have to read people a lot. Turning to Anton, I notice he seems perfectly normal—albeit worried—but not smug like his lover. The dichotomy irritates me, so I turn to Salem and note that he, too, looks a bit amused by my declarations.
What the fuck is with my brothers today?
“Regardless of your experience, Oriel, I dislike putting our brothersorour futures in the hands of unknowns. But I did not see another solution to wandering this wanna-be hellhole for longer than I prefer.” The Prince growls softly and crosses his arms over his chest as he struggles to push back his animal. “And the reward may well outweigh the risks, but…”
His words trail off when Slash stomps out of the large tent with an annoyed look on his face. The hooked nosed Rakshasa is following the enforcer as he approaches us. “Jas, it is your turn to bear the burden of this turd’s company.”
I blink, biting my lip to keep from bursting into laughter. Slash’s description makes the hybrid tremble again, but I assume this time it’s from anger, not fear. “I guess it didn’t go so well, huh?”
“Come, leader of demons.”
Jasper looks furious as his eyes cut from me to Slash, then back to thehooded seer. “Fine. Then Slash is in charge while I’m inside. Donottake your eyes off the tents.”
Slash gives him a sharp nod, but he immediately focuses on the small tent where our newest member is still consulting with the chubby demon. “Understood.”
Hopefully, Jasper’s session doesn’t go worse than the big guy’s.
Jasper,like Kit, stays in his tent for what feels like forever. By the time he comes out, the rest of us have followed the small female acolyte into her abode and come back out. His jaw is tight as fuck as he stomps over to us, and I know he’s been holding himself back so he didn’t piss off Rakshasa. The first thing he does is walk over to Zav and check in, then he turns to the rest of us with an assessing look.
“Have you gone? Where is the shrimp?”
I sigh, knowing this will not help. “Still with the bald dude.”
“Zaesil,” the female says with a decisive nod. “He is the elder of our group. His readings last much longer and he chooses those who have much to discuss. It is not surprising that we have finished with the rest of your group before he is done.”
That’s just fucking fabulous—the kid has enough shit to agonize over.
“When will they be done?” Salem asks as he paces behind me. “It’s been a very long time.”
Slash frowns as he eyes the tent. “I do not like this.”
Jasper comes over to glare down at Batar menacingly. “If any of you break the pacts that comprise our bargains, I will?—”
“Now, now, young royal. We are not aligned with any players in schemes that can affect the cosmos.” Batar shakes her fluffy head as she chides him. “We know far too much about too many things to tempt the wrath of those who are more powerful. The weavers would not allow us to remain if we did not comply with the ethos of their children.”
Anton’s head whips around when he hears her statement. He steps closer, studying the round demoness carefully. “I should hope not. There’s not a demonin Hell who would chance the three who hold the threads of reality for all the realms.”
“Indeed.” Rakshasa bobs his head, the hood moving with him. “Not a crown, nor a pauper, a human, nor a god, not even a magical ancestor, may cross their boundaries without fear. The songs and poems stretch across the divides between to warn those who might try to defy the core of the universe.”
Bullshit like this is why I despise all the oracle types; everything they say is so vague that no one can accurately understand what they mean—and it’s by design.
“Demons can always find a way around things,” I mutter as I run my hand through my hair.
My ‘prophecy’ wasn’t very impressive, but it wasn’t surprising, either. For all of this fanfare, Batar decreed I have secret feelings for someone in the group, my line will have a major disruption that will force me to take action, and that I am headed for tough decisions in the coming competition. All of those things were cloaked in a bunch of fancy fuckery and mystical mojo, but it’s the gist of her reading. I offered nothing I couldn’t handle—I will receive a message to retrieve an object stolen from the acolytes a century ago.
It could be something ridiculous or something that I’ll have to bust my tail feathers to get my hands on, but once I realized she absolutely knows who the caliphate is, I couldn’t say no. If the heir to Greed cannot find and return their object, it will reflect badly on the entire court. She’s a crafty little shit, and I’m sure she used that with the others as well. It makes me wonder what Rakshasa and the friar demon got out of the others. I sense Batar is the least powerful of the three, despite looking the oldest in her humanoid form.
“They can if they are not practitioners of the divinatory arts,” Rakshasa says sternly. “We must adhere to the rules or we will lose our ability to access our gifts. You may verify that however you choose when you leave this place, but you will find we are being truthful.”
“Fine,” Jasper growls as he looks at the two demons. “I accept your words for now. When will your leader be finished with our brother?”
Now all of us are looking at the breakable acolytes with determined gazes. They don’t shrink back—I have to give them credit for bravery. The silence hangs for a few moments until, finally, Batar clears her throat nervously.
“Zaesil cannot be rushed. Your friend will be out when heis?—”
The sound of footsteps pries our attention away from her and as Kit walks out of the tent, the tension among us lessens slightly. He doesn’t appear to be harmed, nor having a complete freak out, but his shoulders are slumped as he moves toward us. The demon he met steps out, his hand folded at his waist as he stands quietly.
“KK, are you okay?”
