It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who that is, and if Jasper thinks it’s disappointing, he’s a fool.
Bury Me Face Down
Jasper
This morning, I’m feelingextremelypleased despite the upset yesterday. When the rest of my caliphate trickled into Salem’s dorm for dinner, the shrimp was doing better and his mood was stable. That alone meant my brothers were happy, and Zavvie was very grateful for my beneficence when we retired to my room for the night. All that good vibes shit allowed me to wake up with less weight on my shoulders, even though I realize this bubble won’t last.
Between the crown, the games, and Darkstar, the world will go to shit again soon enough.
However, for the moment, I’m showered, sexed, and fed, which makes my entire cadre of beings inside calm. Our caliphate meeting after we ate last night went more smoothly than usual, and we could come up with an amenable schedule for us to keep tabs on the resting kid in his dorm. Zav is staying with him to eat and get dressed for the first two hours, but Kit will be alone with Dottie and his phone for the next class session. I didn’t like that idea, but Oriel insisted he might need some time to himself, and when the others agreed, I was outvoted. Normally, that would piss me off, but the look on the shrimp’s face made me back down and consent.
I look over at my brothers as they finish their meals, asking. “At lunch Oriel will join him until the full block is over. Correct?”
The crow demon nods, wiping his mouth. “Yep. I’ll bring him some snacks from the store as well, though I doubt Salem’s cabinets and fridge are empty.”
“As if, birdbrain,” Salem retorts as he smirks. “KK has plenty of food and drink to make sure he’s feeding that expanded hunger from shifting.”
I nod, pleased with his efforts. “Good. Anton will take over for the next block since O has a free period, and that will give him time to snoop in his crow form. He can check out our recent visitor and our old enemy.”
“I plan to dig until I find the dirt; trust me.” Oriel grimaces as he pushes his tray back. “There are definitely things we need to know that we haven’t located yet, and I intend to find them.”
“The next slot is mine,” Slash interjects firmly. “The little demon is recovering, but since many of the first-year students will be in your Weapons class, I will guide him to the gym to work on strength and shift. It will not be as fast as you wish, I believe, but Iwillget him trained, Prince.”
The forceful way he says that makes me believe, but there’s more to Slash’s insistence; I just don’t know what.
“Excellent,” I murmur as I watch him closely. “Anton and Oriel will escort him back to the dorm for dinner since they are free in the next block of time. They will await our return there, and we will make sure the shrimpy has his make-up work for the study session. Anything he finishes, we will divvy up to turn in the next day. Got it?”
Salem frowns, grumbling into his coffee. “I hate that this is two of my packed days and I don’t get a shift, but I know we have to maintain a presence here at lunch to make sure no one oversteps.”
Chuckling, Slash claps him on the back. “You share a room with Kit, old friend. That gives you plenty of time to catch up if need be. Do not fret about being left out.”
I give my second an odd look, then shake my head. He’s so fucking weird about Kit. “Right. Plus, we’ll all have dinner and study time before bed. We can break up Friday’s shifts then as well.”
“I don’t get a shift, either,” Xerxes says as they shrug. “Life is rarely fair, but we will survive.”
He doesn’tlooklike he’s fine with it, but his words say differently.
“Everyone needs to switch off their ‘worry for the injured’ bullshit and switchonthe suspicion of everything lever,” I say firmly as I stare at them from the head of the table. “Without Kit in the mix, we willallbe able to listen, watch, and learn as much as possible during the day. There’s no limitto what we can glean when we are laser-focused on the task; I expect results when we reconvene at lunch and dinner. Got it?”
X sighs heavily, flicking their long hair over their shoulder in irritation. “Yes, Your Highness. Weliveto serve.”
I frown, narrowing my eyes at the cobra demon. “Snark is unhelpful. If we want to survive the Games and keep the shrimp safe, this is not only important, butnecessary. Use powers or strategies you would normally reserve for emergencies only if you must.”
Anton arches a brow as he stands, picking up his tray as he looks at me seriously. “You’d like us to tap into the lineage abilities? For recon and surveillance? Is that not overkill?”
“The Major was chuffed yesterday because he humiliated Lucian. He will be less easy to control in other situations. It is warranted, especially if he fixates on the little demon.” Slash’s expression is full of suppressed anger, and expressing it here and now is not normal for him. He wants us all to know that wemustdo things that are not usually our modus operandi in day-to-day life.
“Kit will be unhappy with that,” X says softly. Of all of us, their hidden gifts are the most intrusive and boundary-crossing. They will have to explain the use of those powers to our injured brother, and it will not be fun. “He might not mind Jasper, Slash, Oriel, or Salem’s skills. However, Zav, Annie, and I have more… emotionally manipulative gifts that will leave marks on our prey.”
I nod, understanding their concern, but before I can respond, Anton cuts me off. “Yes, love, that is true, but he will understand that we need to do it to protect him and each other. Our enemies are vaster than we assumed at the start of this year, and the schemes have crossed borders to other realms. It is simply foolish to waste our most coveted abilities when we are trying to ensure the safety of our caliphate, Hell, and the rest of the realms.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself—it’s bigger than a handful of demons being coerced, especially if we want to stay ahead of the bad guys.
Once we partedways outside theTriclinium, I headed straight for the arena. Tuesdays and Thursdays are a mix of various-level Weaponsclasses with a few graduate-level classes of my own. They’re packed tightly, and like Xerxes, I have no room to go back to check on the shrimp either. I’m not sure why that bothers me, but I suppose it’s because I prefer everything within my sphere of control. Kit in his room, injured and occasionally on his own, feels like a risk. I don’t like it, but I also cannot skip anything with that motherfucker from the court on campus. Yesterday was bad enough, but at least he determined that we were victorious.
That report should keep my father from lashing out from his gilded throne room—I think.
The quad is busy despite the early hour, and I attribute it to the Major’s presence. Every demon is rushing to their classes, not dawdling for fear of being late when the ancient soldier or his minions show up. There are always a few poor souls who end up being made an example of, and I’m sure there will be a bloody scene in that vein soon. The Major lives to strike fear in the hearts of his men, and he can’t strut around campus if he doesn’t put his money where his mouth is.
