You have no fuckingidea, Zavida.
“I know. This is going to fuck with him enough as it is. He doesn’t need to slide into an episode about that, too.” I give the Kitsune a nod as we moveaside as Jasper leaps over the railing and lands on the floor with a thud. “Plus, this is going to get ugly. Let’s get out of his way.”
“Should we stop him?” Zav whispers as he pushes his glasses up. “He could start something very bad if we let the dragon lead.”
My lips curve into an evil smirk. “Honestly? I gave that motherfucker and his little minions a chance several times before KK lost his shit. Jasper can do whatever the hell he wants. That kind of disrespect can’t be tolerated; his father will agree.”
Zavida nods and we move in unison, climbing a set of stairs to be out of the blast radius enough that I feel comfortable. Jasper is stalking over to Bastion with murderous intent now, and the hangers-on look as though they might run. I could tell them that’s a bad idea because Jasper’s dragonlovesto chase, and there’s nowhere they can hide that he won’t find them. His hunting skills are goddamn top-tier.
“I believe I’ve made it clear that the ‘shit’ in question is under the protection of the Royal Caliphate.” His head turns as he looks around the room, probably memorizing the faces of the demons present. “Was I unclear about that declaration? Did it not reach every corner of this fucking place within hours?”
The crowd murmurs, and people avert their eyes. We all know that it did because people started whispering about Kit fucking us. Rumors and gossip move as quickly here as anywhere else in hell or the other realms. His question isn’t meant to be answered, especially because not a single one of these cowards stepped forward to correct Bastion and his off-brand boy band.
“Was I unclear?!”
Shock runs through the room and suddenly, a lot of murmured ‘no, Prince Jasper’ responses create a fearful chorus. I chuckle, keeping Kit close as I watch the chaos descend into Jasper’s favorite emotion. He’s likely gorging himself on the terror, so he’ll be charged up demon-wise for days. Zav should get himself hyped up before tonight and keep it going or he’s going to limp for the rest of the week. The Prince’s appetites will be multiplied by a bazillion after this shit.
Jasper’s wings flare out around him menacingly as he growls, “Then why did I find a crowd of you scumbags watching a mid-tier demon threaten two of my brothers? Did you mistake Bastion Queznar for a royal? Were you more concerned about his approval than mywrath?!”
Clutching Kit tighter, I brace myself as the prince lets out a wave of wrath strong enough to bring every demon in the room other than Zav and me to their knees. He didn’t even need totouchthem—only send the power of his birth line into the universe—and they’re all howling in pain as they tear into themselves. I hear his breath heave as he stalks up to Bastion himself, and I know he’s grinning through his fangs as he watches the dumbass scratching through his uniform to get to his skin.
“And you…” Jasper pauses as he spits on the ground and a fire starts at his feet. The effect is terrifying to people who don’t know him because it will crawl over his entire body, yet not harm him a bit. Fire scares everyone in Hell, because its power is linked most deeply to our realm and our creators. “Youdareto ignore my commands, and flaunt it in the face of a royal? Where did you gather up the audacity to believe you’d survive hurting anyone that belongs to me? Hmm?”
Bastion is trying vainly to think of an answer, but Jasper blows a stream of fire at him that sets his hair on fire. Once it’s flaming, his screams take the place of any response, and not a single being in the room can fight the control Jasper’s wrath has over them. I feel the prince’s glee at the scene, his glee at their suffering, and I know this is going to get much worse before it gets better. We might lose him to his dragon and his demon if we don’t intervene.
“Jas, I think you’ve made your point,” I say as I turn KK away from him just in case.
Our leader spins around, looking at me through his slitted eyes and half-transformed features. “They deserve worse.”
“Agreed, Sir,” Zavida replies as he peeks around me. “But this will only bring trouble when there’s trouble enough visiting right now.”
The mention of the Major makes Jasper sneer in derision, and I realize that Slash’s daddefinitelydid some shitty stuff to our friend when he was a kid. I’m guessing he helped beat the shit out of the mouthy royal and that hatred has festered all these years. Zav was doing the right thing by bringing it up, but Jasper’s fucking tight-lipped behavior about his past has led us to step in an even bigger pile of shit. The dragon-demon whirls back around, his size growing as scales crop up on his bare chest.
Big mistake. Huge.
“How are we going to keep him from going whole lizard and destroying the dorm?” Zavida asks worriedly.
“Ithink we need to wake KK up,” I whisper back to him. “If the dragon was worried Bastion would hurt him, maybe seeing him conscious will help back the cranky fucker down.”
It would probably work for me—I think—so I’m willing to try it. We have to be very careful about it, but I don’t have any other ideas. Unless Zav has a stroke of brilliance, she’s the best we’ve got.
“Maybe? I can’t confirm that his dragon is fond of Kit, but… Jasper doesn’t talk about emotions very much other than anger. It took forever to get him to discuss our relationship outside of sex. He’s so terrified of being hurt by people he cares about that it bottles everything good inside of him up.”
Grimacing, I shake my head. “I’m going to move closer, but I need you to be ready to zip off to find more of the guys if this doesn’t work. Slash would be best, but fucking anyone would help. Got it, Zav?”
He nods, and I hold on to Kat tight enough to bruise as I make my way down the stairs slowly. Jasper is playing with his food, so to speak, making Bastion and his friends harm themselves badly enough that they will definitely need the infirmary. His power hits me by the time I get to the bottom, and I grit my teeth against it. The Prince could control any of us if he chose, but his intent when he did this was only towards the people who took part in the bullying.
When I get close enough that I think he’ll pay attention, I look down at Kat and turn away from the crowd. Leaning in, I tap her cheek with my palm lightly, hoping it would work. “KK. Little shadow. Wake up. We need you. If you don’t wake up, Jasper might burn the damn dorm down. Show us who’s really in charge.”
Her lashes flutter, but she doesn’t wake up, and I groan as I rack my brain for another way to get her to come out of the ‘post-first-shift’ coma early. I know from experience that it doesn’t happen this quickly, but there has to besomethingthat will get her conscious. An idea hits me, and I snort at my own corny bullshit as it runs through my brain. It’s stupid and definitely risky, but what the hell? It can’t make anything worse, right?
My head drops, and I press my lips against hers lightly, giving her the less creepySleeping Beautytreatment. Suddenly her eyes pop open, and I feel her entire body tense like a goddamn statue. Before she launches into a panic, I pull back and look down at Kat seriously, murmuring low. “This is probably confusing, and you’re going to feel you should have an attack. I can’t tell you everything right now because weneedyou to do your ‘ass-kicking’ thing to Jasper. Something happened after Bastion taunted us. He showed up, andwe’re getting ready to lose him to his demon and dragon. He might take everyone here but us down, and the building, too.”
Kat looks at me wide-eyed and trembling, then nods without speaking.
“I’m going to carry you over because you’re weak and dressed only in my damn uniform. That’s not for a nefarious reason, but again, the explanation has to come later. Youhaveto convince Jas that you are okay and he’s done enough to punish these fuckers. Got it?” I blurt.
Licking her lips, Kat nods, then whispers, “Did anyone… do they know?”
