Page 17 of Fatality on the Field

My head turns as the demoness in question speaks to me. “You don’t have to call me that, Kat. Just Liam will do; I promise.”

Her smile is genuine as she nods. “Okay. Well, um… I wanted to ask about the Fae.”

Arching a brow, I look at her suspiciously as I reply, “What about them? That topic could fill an entire curriculum for years, I fear.”

“Oh, right. I guess I was too vague. Um… well, I know Rogue is, like, half Fae and half demon.” Kat wrinkles her nose and frowns. “She didn’t get taught about demon stuff, so she’s basically ignored it, you know.”

“Uh-huh,” I say, not sure where she’s going with this. “Connect the dots for me.”

“Well, what if the opposite happened? She knew she was half-demon because she grew up with people who told her. But what if someone grew up with no one telling them they had Fae blood? Like, how would they know?”

This took a swift turn to the left. I’m not sure how much I should say, when her demons are carefully revealing things so that she doesn’t have panic attacks.

Morgana saves me by laughing, as she pats the hand that rests on her arm. “Don’t you think that’s a heavy topic for our journey across campus to your friend’s house?”

“Maybe, but this is all theoretical, you know?” The dark-haired girl-in-boy’s-clothes gives my mate a pleading look and I’m surprised to see Morgana give in with very little fanfare.

“Okay. If it’s theoretical, I suppose.” The gargoyle hybrid’s eyes cut to mine, delivering a warning and approval at the same time, then she says, “Li might share what characteristics the Fae would possess without divulging a Faerie secret.”

I could tell the girl anything I want because I’m a fucking prince, but I know Morgana wants me to be cautious. So I ponder my first answer carefully, wondering what brought this on. “Well, magic, obviously. We all have magic, even the Fae creatures, and someone who has Fae blood would have that. Our magic differs from that of the humanoid magic users and the demons’ magic. We have skills that are uncommon for their species, and vice versa.”

“Like what?” she presses, her expression eager. “I’ve heard that some stuff is pretty rare here because of what I’d personally call genocides, but the guys call it other things. Might be because saying my word would be treason, which would be terrible for a royal caliphate member to say.”

I snort, covering my mouth for a second before I gather my wits to ask, “Aren’t you a royal caliphate member?”

Kat beams, nodding. “I am, but I’m also a dumb newbie right now. I’ll be using that grace until it runs out. But seriously, I’m not wrong, and it sucks that no one can say it.”

“Kat, almost all the rulers of the species do bad things. Even the ones in power above and in other realms are doing controversial things on a daily basis—whether they consider them such or not.” Morgana frowns, shaking her head. “I find the system for the unemerged hybrids to be outdated and ridiculous, which is why the students from the enclaves often have issues when they get to college.”

Looking at her curiously, I murmur, “How do you know that?”

“I read a study Channing sent me,” she replies. “When she first took over, I spitballed a lot of ideas that would not have been very smart to implement. Part of that was my asshole ex’s influence, but another piece was about the student body and the various shared pasts that might cause some issues. I focused on the staff first instead because of it.”

“That’s why you’re so mad about Rogue and me,” Kat says. “Our pasts aren’t the same as your students, but the people who caused them are probably the same dumbasses.”

My mate winks at her friend. “Maybe not directly, but their policies are why you were on your own until now, and why Rogue is being trained for only half of her abilities.”

“So, you want to know what kinds of magic are fairly common in Faerie?” I interrupt, hoping to keep off the subject of the Society lest there be a spy at this damn place. “Is that what I’m hearing?”

“Yep.”

I nod, considering her question for a moment. “Certainly transmutation and elemental. Natural magic is very common, obviously. We have more diviners than surface magic users or demons. It’s still uncommon, but not super rare. Healers are quite common, though skill levels vary by species and type. Potion makers are usually tied to one of these types, and of course, we have a small amount of Fae in ancient lines who can wield what I’d call… more cosmic magic?”

Both of them look at me in confusion, and I note that the peacock and the panda are pretending not to listen while carefully doing just that. Kat wrinkles her nose again, asking, “What the hell does that mean? Like a genie in a cartoon or…?”

Laughing softly, I shake my head. “No, no. Not like a djinn. They're more common in hell and their magic is not like it’s depicted in human movies. Cosmic magic is larger in scale than most abilities. Obviously, beings from the upper realms are more likely to possess it, but there are some Fae who are said to have it. They may hide a hybrid side no one knows about, mind you, but they have magic that can bend time or raise the dead or even manipulate the mind in far scarier ways than just coercion.”

“That’s crazy!” Kat says as she looks at Morgana with wide eyes. “They definitely did not teach me anything about that in our stupid Fae class.”

“It’s called Intro to Fae,” Anton says mildly. He slows down to join us, his eyes on the girl as if he’s trying to figure out how she works through some equations no one else can see. “They will not share that kind of stuff at the beginning, just the usual things.”

“They keep that damn Bone Tree thing in there,” she retorts as she gives him a pouty look. “And it did whatever the hell it did when you guys took me there, so I suppose some high-level stuff goes on in Cedar’s room.”

“Bone Tree?” Morgana interrupts, her expression curious. “What is that?”

The fussy bird hybrid nods seriously. “Bone Trees grow in various places. They detect supernaturals of higher bloodlines than the average supe—including demons. Usually, someone approaches, and there’s a bit of magical fanfare before it shows symbols of what the being has in their destiny because of bloodlines.”

Snorting, Morgana pulls the girl closer as she says, “I’m assuming my new bestie here did not have that experience when you dimwits thrust her in front of it with no warning?”