Fuck. The bushy-tailed gamer is right.
“Okay, fine. Sorry that I snapped a little when you were making a minor effort.”
Slash gives me a toothy grin of approval. “Excellent, little demon. Now eat while we get our dinner, so we can finally discuss the trip and the fruits of our labor.”
I should tell him to fuck right off, but strangely? I don’t want to. The more I get to know my caliphate and understand why they behave as they do, the less I want to defy every single command simply to be ornery. Sometimes, it’s because they are used to speaking a certain way and it isn’t about controlling me. Other times, it’s about gentle reminders that are firm, but also not trying to force me. And I don’t mind that as much as I did when I first arrived. The care they show me is like a warm blanket wrapped tightly to help me feel safe and supported—something I haven’t ever had in the past. So I let things go and the reactions I get from them make me feel ridiculously happy.
There has to be a name for that and the only person I can ask without feeling stupid is X.
Making a mental note to talk to them about my newfound emotion later, I nod at Slash so he’ll go get his own food. After he goes, the others rise from their chairs and I dig into my plate hungrily. The food Salem and I made is delicious, and I marvel again at the fact that he never uses a recipe or looks a damn thing up. Salem’s style is all vibes and on-the-spot decisions that never seem to have negative consequences. It’s not to do with his demon magic—his stuff is all dreams—nor his lazy panda. I don’t know where the cooking instincts come from in his line, but damn, the dude should have his own fucking restaurant.
“Taste good, KK?”
My head lifts as Oriel chuckles, then Anton and X follow suit. “Um, yeah? Why?”
“Because you’re makinginsanenoises and obviously don’t even realize it,” X says smugly. They pile roast on their plate as their eyes sparkle merrily at me. “They’re porn noises again, if you’re wondering.”
Damn it, how do I stop that?!
“Doesn’t bother me in the slightest,” Salem announces as he pulls a bottle of the Fae wine from the cabinet for the others. “I think it’s almost musical.”
“You would,” X shoots back as they take the bottle, pop a fang, and uncork it. My eyes widen because I haven’t seen them do shit like that yet, and their tone is much less laid back than it was before.
Wondering what happened to the laid back cobra from a moment ago, I pause eating so I can study their face. The fang has receded as they pour, but there’s a dark flashing in their eyes that I recognize from the snake form. For some reason, X’s cobra is an unhappy nope rope and I have no idea what changed so abruptly. I lick my lips as I fret internally, hoping I haven’t messed something up big time without realizing it.
“Everything okay, Xerxes?” I murmur softly.
Salem snickers, shaking his head as he ignores the dig. “They’re just fine, KK. Don’t worry your little mop-head. Sometimes, our animals get temperamental and it’s hard to explain why.”
“No, it’s not,” Jasper says as he grabs the wine to pour his glass. “Don’t be dense, Salem. The animals are motivated by the four ‘F’ words, mostly. Other emotions they feel all boil down to the basics in the end. They’re animals, after all.”
Gee, thanks, Prince Fuckface—there’s two ‘fs’ for you.
This time, I keep my sarcasm inside, though, because the prince is trying to be helpful, I think. Zav turns and gives me a thumbs up, which tells me that my assessment was correct. “Fear, flight, feeding, and um…”
“Fucking.” Salem grins wickedly as he says it.
Xerxes hisses under their breath, taking their plate and glass to the living area without comment. Scales shimmer in a few places on them, and I fret again as they drop into their chair. Anton ambles over not long after, joining them in the same chair and arranging their bodies so they can share the space. The bird demon is also frowning as he looks at his mate, so I’m not sure that he knows why X is being weird, either.
“Don’t be crass, Salem,” Slash says as he bumps the panda. “You’ll make the little demon uncomfortable while he eats. That will not help our objective.”
“It’s okay,” I say with a small smile. “I’m getting used to it. I promise I’ll say something if it’s really bothering me, but… I have to get used to some of this stuff so the other competitors can’t use it against me. And um… I think I’m doing well.”
“Yes, yes, you’re amazing. For fuck’s sake,” Jasper grumbles as he joins us in the living room with Zav on his tail. “Will you all get your shit together so we can debrief?”
Slash heads for his chair, settling in, and waits until O and Salem bring up the rear. “Now we can begin, Prince. Where would you like to start?”
“Telling me orcs exist would have been helpful,” I mutter before I take another bite of my potatoes.
That makes the shark grin, and he shrugs. “There is no possible way for us to communicate how many supernaturals, hybrids, and other variationscouldexist, especially given that ones in the realms other than the surface are very tight-lipped about numbers and species proliferation. It’s a hold-out from before the Society banded everyone together; no one wants to share their true kingdom statistics in case there’s war.”
“Great.” I take a drink, then frown. “I’ll never know what the hell I might run into anywhere, then?”
“No different from the rest of us, shrimp,” Jasper shoots back. “I was surprised by the fucking thing, too. I didn’t think Faerie had a lot of giant-sized shit like that hidden, but now I’m reconsidering that assumption.”
“Think the Prince will share with us?” Oriel asks suddenly. “He and his little family seem fairly decent. Not trustworthy yet, obviously, but I got a good vibe from them.”
“Slash and I will continue working with that new channel to see what it brings,” Jasper replies as he scratches his chin. “And perhaps the shrimp will make friends with the gargoyle hybrid.”
