But that’s not a surprise so much as confirmation for me. I certainly knew from a young age that I wasn’t like my parents, Aegon and Anastasia, nor were my siblings—Achille, Adara, Asse and Alkemene—anything like me. I was the odd man out in every conceivable way, yet the traditions forced my summoners to accept me as the heir or find a way to get rid of me without being caught. I’m surprised they didn’t manage the second, but I think my divergence wasn’t as clear until I was old enough that it would be noticed if I went missing. Once I was entrenched with the prince and the other heirs, we looked out for one another, foiling any pissed parent’s schemes to activate succession.
Jasper was very clever in his ways of helping those of us who weren’t physically difficult to handle, avoid as much harm as possible. As much as I know he’s imperfect, he was born to lead, and that has been obvious since we were quite small. He and Slash took up the mantle of protectors, even when it cost them dearly at home. I suppose that’s why we never once complained when Jasper was being a jackass to everyone; we all owed him our lives in some form or fashion.
However,nowit’s like that burden has lifted and everyone has found a purpose bigger than gratitude. Kit Kat appeared andpoof!The veil lifted, and all of my brothers realized we’d been hindering the prince’s development by letting him treat us poorly. His sharp tongue and quick wit were matched well by the new guy, and no one else had the stones to consistently get in Jasper’s face to call him out. Given that Kit is small and powerless but stood his ground, it felt weird not to do so myself. I guarantee the others experienced that epiphany as well because no one, not even Zav, lets the shadow dragon be cruel in our circle anymore.
We sort of owe an enormous debt to KK for that alone, but in watching, I think there’s more.
I look at my work, tilting my head as I realize what I’d done. The building I’ve been designing for my architecture portfolio is based on the fantastical drawing I’ve been doing for the semester here. Not that I’ve told anyone—even X—but this is the compound I want to build for my caliphate someday. Obviously, we will have to live in the palace at some point in time, but none of us believed it would happen right after we finished Discordia. We believed it would take many years to get to the point where we had enough resources and support to challenge our parents’ rule, and we’d need a home base away from them as a haven.
So I’ve been designing our future home as part of my classwork. By the time I graduate from Discordia, the plans should be perfected. However, while I was thinking about how my caliphate had changed, my hand changed the sketch on its own. The middle of the compound is expanded now, and the wings dedicated to everyone’s pursuits now ring that section like spokes on a wheel. It’s almost as if the various amenities—professional kitchen, art studio, gym, tech center, etc—are orbiting the center structure.
I think I just reorganized our future home to include Kit without thinking about it.
“Huh,” I murmur as I look at the drawing with discerning eyes. “That could actually work.”
Biting my lip, I sketch out a few other additions, including a room to build an interactive playroom for Dottie. Kit’s relationship with the small rodent is important, and if I’m making a space for him in our future, there needs to be a place for her as well. My brows furrow as I consider how helpful the kinkajou is to him, especially with regulating his moods. Perhaps on the next trip to visit The Keeper, I should query him on how I might find out if I am an acceptable demon for such a thing. It might be useful, even if I’d need to adjust to having someone that depends on me for continued survival.
“Keeping things clean, too.”
“Did you have a question, Mr. Aldaric?Quelle surprise.”
Shit. I said that too loudly and got the attention of Professor Landis. She’s half Muse and half drude, which means she’s a great art professor, but if you piss her off, your dreams are where you’ll pay. Salem and Xerxes can fight that shit off, but I hate conflict that cannot be resolved quickly. Landis is petty enough to keep trying to get in until she feels vindicated. Sleep is hard with the way my brain works, and I’m not willing to risk it for a hollow victory when she’s being snarky.
“I do not, Professor.” I look up from my sketch, meeting her gaze with as little emotion as possible.
If I don’t pique her interest further, she’ll fuck off to help the more effusive students, and I can go back to focusing. Drawing is a required course for my studies, and despite my experience and title, the fuckers in admissions wouldn’t let me skip it anymore than they did my brothers and their entry-level courses. It’s a waste of time for us to be taking many of the ‘101’ courses, but here we are. I’m sure Darkstar had a hand in that decision, and if I could kick his ass for it, I absolutely would.
Luckily, there’s only a few more hours of class until I can head back to the dorm and decompress with my brothers.
Of course, wanting to decompress with other beings present isn’t something I did before KK arrived, either, but it’s definitely what I want to do now.
Pink Pony Club
Kit/Kat
Imake a frustrated noise and stomp my front feet hard, hoping he gets my point; I don’t know what the fuck that is. It’s not a lioness, but it has four legs and a tail and… I think about my body for a moment. Wings?! Holy fuck, I have wings. Is… Am I like a pegasus? Maybe, but if I was, he would have just said that, right? I wonder?—
“Little demon, alicorns have been extremely rare since the human medieval ages. The species they combine—a pegasus and a unicorn—has never been plentiful. Many myths speak of their powers, so they have always had to elude humansandsupernaturals, though for different reasons.”
I’m a unicorn-pegasus?! That’s why I had those insane cutie mark tattoos pop up; it makes perfect sense now.
Moving around a bit again, I stomp my feet and feel the wings flap. I’m terrified of figuring out how to fly, and I guarantee I’m going to screw up shit with this head weapon. I huff a breath again, the sound of my horsey frustration registering with my ears now. Now that I know why everything differs from how I felt when I was a lion, I’m not sure how or why I got this response to my request to shift. The guys already thought I was a target for getting the invite without my demon, having more than one shift, and being part of their caliphate. Adding the layer of a super rare shift just ices the danger cake, man.
Slash frowns as I prance around the room, fluffing the wings and tossing my head. He walks over and carefully puts his big hand gently on my muzzle.I lean into his palm, making a calmer sound as it helps me stop wigging out in my head. “I would like for you to try something, Kat. It is not something that everyone can do. In fact, I cannot, nor canmostof our caliphate. Jasper and Oriel are the only ones who have the necessary power and genetics needed for it to be possible.”
I have no idea how to frown as a horse, so I just do my best and then press against his hand.
“I want you to take all the thinking in your head—the voice you hear that I do not—and focus on pushing it through the barrier to your animal. That sounds quite stupid, I understand, but since you have so many rare gifts, I am curious to see if you would fall in this designation as well.”
He wants me to talk as a pretty pony shifter?
My ears twitch as I give his request a try anyway, though. Slash is patient with me during these sessions, and if he thinks it’s possible, I have to listen. Picturing a barrier between the colors that represent all the new stuff emerging inside me, I jabber in my mind and push it gently. It doesn’t work at first, so I flare my nostrils and shove the words harder. An odd sensation ripples through me, and suddenly, a perky high voice says, “I don’t think it’s working, Slash.”
The shark shifter blinks at me in surprise, then his hand moves from my muzzle to clap over his mouth. Snickers escape anyway, rough and deep as he looks down at me. I try to horsey-frown at him, but I still don’t know if it’s working. He laughs and removes his hand, shaking his head with a soft look in his icy eyes. “You seem to be wrong, little demon. Though in this form, you soundmuchmore like your feminine self. It’s probably normal for this species—though Anton may confirm my supposition.”
“Annie didn’t give me anything about alicorns.”
Slash looks down, his lips quirking at my high-pitched, silly voice. “He wouldn’t have focused on things that are near extinction. You won’t see them on the Games teams nor as challenges or obstacles. No one risks getting themselves killed in this sort of event. Unicorns charge incredibly high prices for their various powers and spell ingredients.”
