Their words hit me in the chest and I feel heat spread all over me as the others nod in agreement. I wasn’t prepared for this much acceptance in such a small space, and it feels like they’re all so close that I’m drowning in their giant dude-ness. My fists clench at my sides as I figure out how to respond without crying like a dumbass, and I take a few long, heavily silent moments before I work out what I’m going to say.
“Since my… thing… I haven’t really let anyone get to know me because I’m never sure that I can trust them. You guys are the first ones I’ve wanted to do the work to be able to connect with. So… thank you for saying that, even though I didn’t admit out loud that I worry you’ll tire of having to deal with my bullshit.”
Salem snorts, his hand moving to grasp my waist lightly. “Oh, Kit Kat. As if you could get rid of a bunch of spoiled assholes who always get what they want, like us. Perish the thought.”
His saucy retort makes the others laugh, even Jasper, and I lean into the panda demon slightly.
If I was gonna choose anyone to let in first, Salem Stryker might have been the best choice I could have possibly made.
Changes
Jasper
Iwon’t admit it out loud, but I’m very conflicted about this plan. It’s the most logical course of action, which is why I agreed with both the Geminis and my general when it was suggested. However, I have a leaden sensation in my gut that is making my dragonandmy demon restless despite their satisfaction at getting to decimate that orc earlier. The feeling of dread sitting deep inside of me makes me look over at the shrimp when the doors to the dungeon open.
His lack of control over his developing powers and small stature worry me like Zavida’s did many years ago.
The comparison makes me uneasy, so I cut my gaze to the darkness outside of the open doors. “Slash leads. Keep the shrimp in the middle, surrounded. Zav, be ready to illuminate if needed.”
Anticipation ripples through my caliphate; except for Kit, we’ve trained together for many years, so they know what their roles are if we’re attacked. That helps the gnawing concern a little, but not entirely. I won’t be able to call on one of them to hide the kid like we did on Faerie lands—this place might not evenhavea safe place to conceal him. More than likely, safety is the only thing not available in Gemini’s recreation of the seventh ring.
“You know, since you all revealed your demons and spoiled the whole ‘slowly get acclimated’ thing, I’m kind of hoping to yank the band-aid off the rest of the animals, too. Well, except Prince Prickface, because I saw his dragon, too.” Kit pauses for a moment as we exit the elevator and startmoving through the inky atmosphere in formation. “There’s only Zav and the big guy’s left.”
Slash chuckles softly, and I marvel at how emotive he’s become since this kid arrived. Prior to Kit’s arrival, my second-in-command rivaled the Easter Island statues for silence most of the time. Now he’s not only talking more, but laughing and smiling when he’s not about to destroy someone. It’s bizarre, and I have no idea how to handle it, either. His voice is low as he replies, “Sharks require liquid, little demon, not land. I could not fully shift here.”
Not to be outdone, I interject, “And Zav frequently has his tails out, so you’ve seen plenty of him.”
I sense the eyes on me as we stride forward, and I’m sure they’re all judging me. It takes a moment before Xerxes speaks up, their voice full of amusement. “Are you concerned with how much KK sees of us in our natural forms, Prince? It’s not as if we’re posing for nudie mags.”
The shrimp coughs and I swear, I feel the heat of his embarrassment radiating from him. My eyes narrow and for a moment, my focus wavers from our surroundings to wondering why he and several of my brothers seem to be suspiciously quiet after Xerxes’ declaration. It’s as if there’s something that happened that none of them have shared and that makes me simmer with anger. Our caliphate cannot be united if we are all hiding things from one another.
I knew this little shit would be bad for unity—and here’s my proof.
“Someone tell me what the unholy fuck is making you all?—”
Slash stops short and I almost run into the back of my huge friend because I’m distracted. He turns, and my demonic eyes flash as our gazes clash. “Do not be foolish, Jasper. Can you not sense the waves of envy flowing through this chamber?”
“That’s not it,” Zavida mutters, and if we were alone, I’d paddle his delectable ass as red as his hair for the sass.
Anton clears his throat, his voice calm as he adds, “While I would never argue with our Envy brother about the effects of the line, I believe Slash is correct in his statement about the energy in this antechamber. My bird is ruffled inside, and he’s unusually communicative with the incubus. That is causing it to be difficult to focus on the task at hand rather than what they are whispering in my mind.”
The peacock hybrid is correct, I realize. My mind has been running over things I already know and honing in on things that soothe my dragon—hoarding what’s mine to myself. Drawing in a slow breath through my nose, I close my eyes for a second while I speak to the inner monsters. Once I’ve commanded their submission, I can open my eyes and see much more clearly in the dimly lit room. Someone quite powerful embedded that little booby trap just outside of the doorway, and I bet it was to amp the newcomers up so they are simmering with emotion by the time they get to the main area.
“Fucking Gemini assholes,” I mutter as I shake my head. “Guaranteed, there are cameras hidden here so they can watch the carnage while they wank off later on.”
“Ew,” Kit says and I spin on my heel to look at the kid who fueled my earlier turmoil. “What? I don’t need to picture some random demon peeling his banana to a snuff film. It’s gross, especially because I got the heebie jeebies about these dickwhistles from the way Rogue and the twins talked about them. I’m pretty prepared for these people to act like ‘To Catch A Predator’ featured targets.”
Honestly, he’s not wrong—the elder Geminis are well known for depravity.
“Fair enough,” I sigh. The others look at me in surprise, and I shrug. “Slash is correct; if we cannot manage our emotions effectively, we will run into more surprises like this. The further in and down we go, the stronger they will be. Watching out for one another is paramount.”
Zavida peeks out from behind the tails he escaped in when I snarked at him. “Code word, Jas?”
That’s a good idea. I give him a pleased nod, and he emerges a bit more from the safety of his appendages. “Yes, Zav, I think we should have a word any of us can say to alert the others that they are being magically manipulated.”
“Like a safe word for fuckery!”
Every one of us turns to look at the shrimp and he crosses his arms over his chest as he scowls. “Stop doing that. I used the term correctly, jackasses.”
