Slash and Xerxes nod, heading into the tunnel with their devices to do as I asked. Salem chuckles as the two of us walk across the field to the prone demon, giving me a smirk.
“Really weird for you to be in charge, eh?”
I scowl at him as I work to keep my tails from twitching. “Yes, but it’s not like I don’t have the capability. You’re not exactly the usual ‘hero’ either.”
He grins, shrugging as we reach the big-ass body. “True, but I’m ass over end about my KK, and I’m not shy about anyone knowing it, man. You and Prince Pissypants have been much less vocal. See, I honestly don’t give a single, solitaryfuckabout disposing of this asshat if it keeps Kit safe. Hell, I’d dispose of afleetof bodies to make sure of it. You, however, are most concerned about the person least likely to take the blame for anything, Z-man. Jasper won’t be punished if he killed this dude—at least, not in any lasting way. But if it was KitKat? Off with his head wouldn’t come close to what would be in store.”
Frowning, I stomp up to him, looking up with fiery eyes. “That’s not true, Salem Stryker. Of course I care about my mate getting in trouble, but I amexceedinglyaware that Jasper’s untouchable aura doesn’t extend to us and especially not to Kit. Why the fuck do you think I’m involving outsiders? This cover has to beperfectbecause if we fuck up one single thing, we might earn Kit a death sentence—something I don’t thinkanyonein our caliphate could handle. In fact, I think it would damn near kill us. So… back off, asshole!”
Salem’s eyes widen, and he just stares at me for a moment. My entire body is vibrating with anger, and when his lips curl up, I want to punch him in thedick as hard as I can. But I don’t, because he claps me on the shoulder with a chuckle.
“Now that’s what I needed to hear, man. Let’s get to work.”
I have no clue why that worked, but now that we’re aligned, he’s right—we have serious work to do.
Secrets
Kit/Kat
Ihave no idea what in the actualfuckis going on right now.
Okay, that’s not true; I know fully that I’m flying through the air in a giant body that apparently belongs to me.
However, the ability to control what I’m doing has been taken away by the infuriated lizard that popped out of me earlier. The dragon was so blindingly enraged at the Major’s abusive tactics that this girl came rushing out in a flood of fury and weird black fiery power. Before I could process what happened, she grabbed the son of a bitch and squeezed the life out of him. That’s when we took off into the sky, and Jasper shifted to follow us as we circled the stadium.
I thought we were going to crash and die, but instead, his dragon coasted alongside us until our wings steadied. The absolutejoythat filtered through my dragon as we soared through the air, chasing one another and shooting shadows playfully was indescribable. I’ve truly felt nothing like this; it’s beyond any positive emotion I’ve ever felt.
But I don’t know how to take back control or what to do if I manage it.
Ducking a shadowy warning as it passes by me, we flap our wings hard, then bank left to avoid the next turn his dragon executes. We don’t have his precision movements down yet; in fact, I’m pretty pleased we’re still in the air and in the game. The dragon tosses our head, making a huffing sound as wedo a loop-de-loop so our body ends behind his. I suspect the prince is going easy on us, but every time we pass near one another, I feel his dragon’s happiness like a wave of energy pushing toward me.
A movement on the ground catches our attention out of the corner of our eye, and I realize that the rest of the guys have arrived. Looking around, I see Oriel and Anton in the air, monitoring the boundaries of the arena as we dart around. They’re watching for other demons, and I suppose that’s to keep anyone from discovering the body I left down there before taking to the skies.
Probably not the brightest move, but I didn’t have a choice in the matter.
“Jasper, for fuck’s sake, man! You gotta land. We need you, not the lizard, and KK has to shift back. C’mon, dude!”
I think our face smiles as Oriel pleads with the prince. His dragon huffs, stubbornly leading mine away from the half-shifted crow demon. Jasper’s dragon doesn’t get allowed much time here, I remember the guys saying, and now that it’s found a friend? It’s not letting go just because O asked nicely. My dragon is of a similar mind, it seems, because we’re just following him happily. My internal pleas are ignored as I try to reason with her, and I wish I could speak so I could say something Jasper might hear inside.
“Prince, we must land. Get your dragon under control and do what you know is necessary.”
That’s Anton this time, and he’s using logic—something that isn’t surprising, but also isn’t what Jasper’s dragon gives a shit about. I wheedle with the enormous beast controlling my form, asking nicely and demanding. It’s not working because she’s eager as fuck about getting loose, just like Jasper’s beast, and together, we’re being led by the reptilian equivalent of dangerous, excited puppies.
I have no idea what the fuck we’re going to do; neither of us seems capable of stopping this display.
“Ab antiquis usque ad bestias, vobis impero ut audiatis et oboediatis!?1”
The booming words aren’t in a language I know, though Ithinkit might be Latin. However, for the first time since I shifted, my dragon is paying attention. It’s like her ears perk up inside of me and everything stops—including both of our enormous, scaly bodies. She turns her head, looking down at the field curiously, and Dragon Jasper does the same.
“Tempus tuum hic finitum est, bestia fidelis. Transforma te et iterumdormi.?2”
Feelingthe immediate change in my body, I panic. We’re high enough in the air that we willdefinitelydie if we shift and hit the ground. I have no idea what to do, and my dragon doesn’t listen to me yet. Our head whips around to gaze at the bigger onyx dragon, and he bobs his head at the field before tucking his wings to head downward. My panic subsides as she follows Jasper in the dive, taking us to the grass a lot more elegantly than I would have expected.
When our feet touch the grass, the change begins without a second to spare, and I scream as my body reshapes itself into a form that isn’t big enough to crush a house. Panting as it finishes, I’ve barely opened my eyes when I feel a cloak drape over my shoulders, covering me from all the eyes staring down at me in shock. I clutch the sides, pulling it around me as I shiver. I think I’m recovering from the warmth that the dragon body provided—something I didn’t even realize until it was gone.
“H-h-h-holy…. f-f-f-f-fuckkkkk,” I stutter around my thick tongue.
“Don’t rush it, Master Kit. I am here, and we will discuss everything you need to know.”
