Page 11 of Quiet Burn

He stabs the elevator button, starting its progress upward again with a bright grin. “I’ll make enough for everyone. Colorful, laminated, maybe with pictures… Yes, this will definitely work! We’re going to get you up to speed so fast.”

I love the enthusiasm, but the guy is delusional if he thinks their pissy prince is going to do a damn thing.

Kindervelt is a pompous asshole,but at least he treats everyone the same. His demigod half is probably from a Roman or Greek, I’ve decided, but he refuses to tell anyone. The weird ethereal glow I’m seeing around him is why I landed on the Mediterranean pantheons—he seems to glow slightly gold around the spotted skin of his shifter side. I guess a giraffe shifter isn’t any weirder than a panda, but damn, looking up at the guy makes my neck hurt.

“How was class?”

I blink at Oriel as he materializes out of nowhere. “Shit, man. You’re going to give me a heart attack.” His slow smirk makes my body tighten and I have to take a second before I answer. “Fine. Kindervelt’s an ass, but he doesn’t single me out.”

Before I know it, he’s draped an arm over my shoulders and is guiding me to the elevators. “I guess you can’t ask for more than that at a demon school. We’re not exactly known for being soft.”

I’m too busy waiting for my typical reaction to being this close to a guy to kick in to refute his statement. It doesn’t happen, just like with Salem, and we walk into the car together. People crowd in around us and I take a deep breath, causing my escort to tighten his hold by pulling me to his side. Again, it doesn’t trip my wires and I internally high-five myself. My brain might still be locked in danger mode, but my attack didn’t set me back to the beginning of therapy.

Fuck, yeah.

“Are you okay, Kit Kat?” Oriel whispers in a ridiculously low tone.

Dottie moves around in my bag, making soft sounds as she finds a spot where she can press against me through the material. My lips curve up and I look at my feet so he can’t see my goofy smile. “Yeah. All good. Thanks.”

A cough echoes in the quiet elevator—one combined with a word that isn’t any nicer in the demon world than it is in the human one. Oriel tenses next to me, and I feel a zap of dark energy fill the air. The demons around us shift uncomfortably, some of them pulling at the collars of their shirts and others digging into their book bags like they’re looking for something. The fidgeting increases as we continue to the ground floor, and I frown as the crow shifter moves me until I’m standing in front of him out of their reach.

“Shhhh…” he says with a wink.

Once I’m settled, he puts his chin on my head, and I watch the boys continue to search for things, their movements getting more frantic until the bell dings and the door opens. They spill out into the lobby, looking around the room briefly before lunging at one another.

“You stole it!”

“No, you did!”

“I’m going to kill you. Give it back!”

The shouts echo off the marble and within seconds, the entire group from our ride starts pounding one another in a pile of limbs and snarls.

“There’s a lesson here,” Oriel says as he leads me around the mass of dudes beating each other with wild abandon.

I snort. “Don’t piss Oriel off?”

“Well, yes… but a deeper one.” He grins darkly as the shitty demons keep wailing on each other even though staff members are arriving. “Greed isn’t just about physical items. Sometimes, it’s about status or power. Those who try to take others down to elevate themselves are open to more manipulation than they think.”

Ducking my head as we head out the doors to the steps, I mutter, “I didn’t care about the slur, man. Guys are idiots, especially spoiled rich ones, and calling me gay isn’t the insult that douche thought it was.”

“It’s not, but that doesn’t mean he gets away with using sexuality that way. For fuck’s sake, Kit Kat, it’s 2024. Humans might be that far behind the times, but demons aren’t.” He arches a brow as we walk towards the library building for Lit class. “He only said that shit because everyone still thinksyouare human. And that’s un-fucking-acceptable on another level entirely.”

“O, I’m not worth?—”

“Stop that sentence. You’re part of our caliphate, which means, youarespecial and theyshouldfear you. Magic or no, we don’t allow disrespect like that to stand.”

I have to swallow hard again, trying to distance myself from emotions I haven’t had in a very long time. Actually, I can’t even remember how long it’s been since I felt like someone cared enough to do that, so it’s messing with my head.

Gotta back away, Kit.

“Thanks. I’ll… try to remember that. It won’t be easy, though. Be patient with me.”

That said, I turn my gaze on the path to the library. I don’t think I can look at him right now. My heart is doing weird flip-flops and my gut is churning with anxiety. Dottie pokes her head out of the bag, waving a paw at me as she scrambles out to sit on my shoulder. The little rodent is so attuned with my emotions that I’m not even surprised anymore.

“Ooh, there’s the pretty girl…” Oriel coos and my head whips around. “What? She is. Dottie’s a pretty girl, isn’t she?”

Motherfucker, that was scary as hell—what am I going to do about this shit?

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