Page 130 of Quiet Burn

The others are crowded around me in a circle in a blink, and I shake my head as I meet their gazes. “I don’t know why, but as soon as we got close to these two big tent things, both the new collarandmy magic started going haywire. Something in this area is important… or a problem… or I don’t know. It’s just telling me to wait.”

“Do not be afraid,” Slash rumbles. He turns to face away from me, his broad back and fin blocking my view as he moves to scan the crowd. “I will make certain no one comes near you.”

“Good thing you’re worried about me,” Jasper drawls sarcastically. His words are sharp, but with my senses heightened, I feel the concern he doesn’t want to voice. The dragon is a lot of things and many of them suck, but I know he doesn’t want his family harmed and now I’m included in that roster.

I know he’s seen something he doesn’t like when a low, frustrated growl escapes him. His posture stiffens and he speaks to us in a soft, measured tone. “Everyone stay calm and follow my lead. It appears the shrimp may be right. I have no fucking clue if this is an ambush or not, so watch your words and zipit if you aren’t a thousand percent sure you’ve got your shit together.”

The big demons move apart, revealing a group of five men and a determined looking woman walking towards us. They’re a mixed group, I think, as their scents are confusing my nose, but I believe one of them has to be a dragon based on size alone. That one is walking in a manner reminiscent of Slash, so I think he might be a guard—and he looks quite unhappy. I can’t tell if the anger is directed at the universe or us, but he’s sticking pretty close to the very handsome man with dark hair.

“Get ready for bullshit in three… two… one…” X whispers to me as they step closer.

The angry looking bodyguard stops short as they get within a few feet, jerking his chin up at Jasper. “Prince Eversore. What a surprise to see you above the surface and on our lands.”

“Yourlands?” Jasper says, his voice full of amusement. “No matter who you serve, this ground does not belong to you, Lieutenant.”

Does he know these fucking people? A little info would be great right now.

“Kaspar, don’t taunt the Prince of Hell. It’s gauche,” the handsome man chides as he steps into the gap and holds his hand out to Jasper. “My second is as diplomatic as most dragons, Your Highness, but I am not so prickly.”

“But he is,” I mutter and Salem snickers beside me.

“Who was that? Ilikethem,” the tall woman says. Her eyes are delighted as she joins the mysterious hot guy and the praisemakes my skin tingle pleasantly. “Show yourself, whichever one of you is actually honest.”

Licking my lips, I look at the panda, who shrugs, then pull him along with me as I do as she asked. “It was me. I’m sort of the problem child. My name is Kit, but I’m sorry to say I’m not sure who any of you are, so you’ll have to forgive me if I’m fucking up some official secret handshake or greeting.”

The pretty guy laughs, turning to look at the tall blond, then the other two with an amused expression. “Don’t worry, Kit. Morgana is similarly inclined to speak plainly, which is why she was excited to see who would scoff at the second most powerful demon in Hell without fear.”

I shrug, my face heating as I try to ignore all the spiking power and energy inside of me clashing with my own serotonin and adrenaline. “You didn’t answer my question, though. She’s Morgana—thanks for that— but who are you all and how do you know Jasper?”

“Watch it, demon,” the dragon says as sparks jump on his frame. “You are not a friend and speaking to the Prince of the Daybreak Court requires respect.”

Now we havetwoof them to swing their dicks around—there are fucking rich, royal assholes everywhere I look.

Xerxes saves me by showing their face, all smiles and diplomacy as they steal the attention from me. “Oh,you’rePrince Liam then. I really thought I’d recognize you; I follow all the court fashions and you’re always impeccably dressed.”

Morgana snorts, covering her mouth for a moment before she shakes her head. “Guess that whole ‘magic will disguise us’ thing works unless it’s another royal pain in the ass, huh, Li?”

The tall blond hunk grins, socking the Fae prince on the shoulder. “Your brilliant plan hit a four-oh-four error, man. Sucks to be us.”

“For fuck’s sake,” the bodyguard says as he growls. “The plan worked fine, though I suppose we should forget it now that you’re all revealing it to everyone. We didn’t expect another dragon to appear, especially one as powerful as Hell’s royal family. Of course he can see me, and I’m well known in supernatural circles. My father and I are the face of the Daybreak army.”

Oriel tilts his head, nudging my shoulder. “Looks like we accidentally foiled our planandtheirs.”

“That’s what happens when you think Jedi mind tricks are going to protect you,” I say softly and the crow demon laughs. “Something always goes wrong and if you don’t have a million variations on your plan, you’re screwed.”

“A very wise statement,” Morgana replies as she grins broadly. “But truly, we mean you no harm. We did not want to draw a crowd, but that’s the only reason Liam and Kaspar were disguised. I assume your… group…is also looking to fly under the radar?”

“Yes,” Jasper growls. “We were hoping to make our way to the exit without fanfare so we can get to our next appointment. It’s a quirk of fate that I happened to identify one of my kind and then conclude who it was.”

“Perhaps we can agree to stay quiet as a mini-detente?”

The suggestion is made by the delicate looking man holding Morgana’s hand. He looks shy and studious, not made for battle like the dragon or brash like the blond. I believe he’s somethingaquatic by the smell, and the bulky blond is a shifter. That leaves the fancy pants dude next to the shy guy and everything about him screams money and arrogance. I have no idea what he is, but I know he’d piss me off.

“Agreed, siren.” Slash folds his arms over his chest, his posture radiating tension as he watches the group. It’s his job to keep us safe and he clearly doesn’t know how he feels about this encounter yet.

“Prince?” The sparking dragon says in response.

Jasper nods. “My caliphate will stay silent about your presence if you do the same. I accept those terms.”

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