Oakman stilled.
“We’re not entirely sure what happened to the kitsunes, Miss Blackstone. It’s possible there are a few of them still out there, likely unregistered.” His expression hardened. “If you hear about any unregistered kitsunes, we would expect you to do your duty as alaw-abiding witch and report them to the Mage Council.” An oily smile followed. “I’m happy to be your liaison if that helps, my dear.”
“I wasn’t aware I had to register my familiar?”
“Oh yes. It’s required so we can keep track of the more powerful creatures and assist inexperienced witches when needed. After all, the safety of the human population is our priority, as I’m sure you understand, given your experience prior to arriving at Starfall Academy.”
Was he referring to the small fire I accidentally started? What an asshole! Nobody died!
“Okay, I’ve heard enough.” Kenji sprang into action and launched himself at Angelica. The cat screeched furiously when Kenji bit her tail, yanking her off the filing cabinet. Cat and kitsune tumbled to the floor in a chaotic mass of pained yowling, flying fur, gnashing teeth, and vicious claws.
“Stop that immediately!” Oakman tried to intervene, only to sustain a vicious scratch across his hand. A wobbly pile of textbooks slid off his desk when he bumped them with his hip, followed by a stack of unmarked papers. He tried to cast water magic at my familiar but ended up soaking Angelica instead.
Taking advantage of the distraction created by Kenji, I grabbed my bag and shot the hell away from Professor Oakman and his highly intrusive questions.
I made it back to the dorm with seconds to spare, and just as a pair of mages wearing uniforms and carrying guns bore down on me. Would Oakman have spoken up for me if the mage guards had taken me into custody for violating the new rules?
Before the door had even half opened, my vampire prince pulled me inside.
“We were about to come searching for you.”
“It’s a good thing you didn’t because there are mage guards outside.” My pulse rate sped up as a vision of Rasmus under arrest and unmasked as the last surviving vampire popped into my head.
My mental shield must have dropped because he chuckled. “That wouldn’t happen, my darling.”
“Are you alright?” Kai frowned. Water dripped from his hair on the floor. “There are mage guards everywhere. Two of them stopped and searched me on the way back from the pool.”
“That can’t have taken long,” Zane commented with a smirk as he gestured at Kai’s shorts. As usual, my merman wore nothing else. Not even shoes. How he didn’t lose toes and fingers to frostbite baffled me.
I shivered at the thought of walking through the snow wearing nothing but a pair of panties.
“Keep thinking that, pet. I’m picturing your hard little nipples, and it’s delicious.”
Damn incubus.He turned everything into a sexual fantasy!
“The Mage Council has sent more guards in the last day,” Maverick told us from the kitchen doorway. A deliciously spicy scent wafted out, and my stomach growled so loud I wondered if the entire campus had heard it. “The demon attack in Crescent City has caused mass hysteria. Over one hundred magicals died, and several humans. The Supernatural Council is struggling to contain the media fallout.”
“Demon attack?” I blanched. As well as the curfews, the school was on a news lockdown too. Students could call home, but only on select days and only from the admin office, which meant the staff monitored the calls.
Starfall was beginning to feel more like a prison camp than a school.
I chewed over the news. Maverick’s comments explained why everyone seemed subdued today. The wolf shifters anyway.
Crescent City had a large wolf shifter population, and if that many magicals died, I’d wager most of them were shifters.
“The humans must be terrified.” At least we magicals had some protection against demons. We could cast magic, run super-fast, or even teleport. Humans had nothing but guns, and they were ineffective against demons with thick, scaly hides.
“They are. Their government is in a state of panic.”
“What’s Alaric’s father doing?”
Maverick’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “Not much as far as I can tell.”
No wonder Alaric had been scarce around campus. I’d seen him once in the last week, but only from a distance. I wasn’t sure whether he was avoiding me or just busy. Probably the former.
Maverick threw the dishcloth in his hand back into the kitchen before moving to sandwich me between him and Rasmus.
“You don’t need to worry about demons, little mate. You have four of us to protect you.” The others hummed in agreement.
