Page 117 of Quiet Burn

The dragon smirks, arching a brow at me. “Yes, that’s why I was so suspicious when you were assigned our floor, shrimp. Lucian’s flunkies and acolytes don’t have a way into our areas without permission. Assigning you to our floor would circumvent the intention-based magic those two placed on our private spaces.”

“You could have just fucking told me that,” I grumble bitterly. “At least, once you all decided to adopt me into your little demonic cult.”

Salem laughs, bumping my shoulder with his. “Don’t be a salty Seymour, Kit Kat. Sometimes this dick actually has good reasons for what he does, but he’s used to people following his orders. You question the fuck out of him, and we’re all here for it.”

Flushing at the praise, I move my gaze to the smug dragon again. “Then someone should explain the phones, this car… all the shitthat you seem comfy with despite telling me you don’t come to the surface much.”

Jasper growls in annoyance. “That’s far more shit than I’m willing to impart for a car ride.”

“But—”

Oriel squeezes my knee lightly and in the tight squeeze between him and Salem, I have to hold my breath to control the shiver it causes. I don’t know how these guys have managed to get such immediate responses from me without tripping any alarms, but I wish I could figure it out. Getting all squirmy and itchy is not an option in the seats—we’re squeezed in tightly and facing each other. Someone will notice me having problems if I’m not careful.

“Okay. I’ll take some of this one since our Prince won’t deign to do his damn job.” I give him an appreciative look, settling back to listen. “Zav always gets our tech first because he puts a lot of shit on the equipment that we might need someday and shit we definitely need now hardware-wise. That’s what we were doing that Jas already did for himself—switching to surface service so they work up here. He used the Suber app, which is the supernatural version of a ride share company. It’s safe for all kinds and the tech was set up by nerds who work for the Society. That’s the big wig global council up here we talked about.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I nod. So many things I don’t know, and it’s never going to end. I hate that. “I guess that’s why this car is set up weirdly inside?”

“Yep,” X says as they cross their ankles in the middle of the space between the rows. “There’s magic and tech and all sorts of shit involved, KK. Butthat’salso what Annie just did—a small,localized bubble inside the car so we can talk without the driver eavesdropping. He smells like a shifter, so he probably doesn’t have more than sensitive hearing, but caution isn’t unwarranted. Supernaturals on the surface arefarmore likely to have hybrid lineage than in Hell.”

My brain is going to explode one of these days, I fucking swear it.

“That’s a lot to take in.” I blow out a breath, wrinkling my nose as I consider what else to ask. “We’re going to the city center to find supplies and then ask around, right?”

Slash nods. “Correct.”

“How will I know what to ask? I mean, we don’t even know if I’ll be able to tell who is what and?—”

Oriel nudges me this time. “Breathe, Kit Kat. You’re not expected to do any interrogating. That would be silly since we have no idea what you can and can’t do. We’ll handle that; you just keep your eyes peeled for suspicious human things. And maybe… give us a heads-up if we’re doing something really stupid that would reveal our nature to them. That’s a big no-no if we’re not here for official reasons, obviously.”

Now I have to keep their secrets, too? Son of a bitch.

My phone vibrates on my lap and I surreptitiously unlock it again, peeking at the message through my lashes as I look down. It’s from X, so I have to be very careful who sees what they’re saying.

Flashy: I know what you’re worried about.

Kit Kat: …

Flashy: I don’t know for sure, but I THINK the doc’s potion will keep you covered for us and up here. We’ll have to test it carefully, but I’m pretty sure it will hide what it needs to from the beings here, too.

Kit Kat: K.

I can’t really answer well with O and Salem so close; that’s the best I can do. X winks at me when I look up, and I nod slightly. If they’re wrong, we’re going to get alotof attention up here when Jasper loses his fucking mind. The others will be upset or frustrated—I think—but the Prince will go right into mistrust mode because we just don’t have a foundation to build on yet. I’m simply not ready to tell anyone other than X, but now that I’m meeting all of their animals and demons, I hope that will change.

Some rando revealing this up here would fuck everything up.

Though I’m not in any way religious, I wing a prayer to the universe that Dank’s potion covers more than just Hell and demons. I could have asked if I had time, but this trip was hastily planned and organized, so I didn’t have the chance. I wonder if the demon has a cell? I need to ask him next time I go in because I definitely want to be able to ask him shit like this on the fly.

“Kit!”

The loud voice paired with the emphasis pulls me out of my head, and I blink at the peacock shifter who said it in confusion. “What?”

“You spaced out completely and we’re here.”

That makes the others chuckle and Jasper gives me another one of his assface smirks. Gathering myself, I hold the bottom of my bag to make sure Dottie is comfy. “I’m sorry. There’s just so much to take in and it never ends. I feel like I’m constantly being jacked into the Matrix and downloading shit.”

Oriel tilts his head, studying me in the avian manner that means he’s processing something. “I get that, actually. That was a fucking great metaphor.”

“It really was,” Zavida says as he follows Jasper out of the car. “I got it, too. And I see how that would be frustrating and scary at the same time. I don’t think I understood where you’re at very well until now.”

---