Page 70 of Quiet Burn

Nodding dumbly, I amble into the room, heading for my locker like a zombie. I keep my eyes on the ground as I move, hoping the heat spreading over my limbs isn’t as obvious as it feels. My stomach is in knots as I open my lock, toss my things in, and grab the athletic gear quickly. Dottie is hugging me tightly and I almost chuckle—she’s determined to help me stay level and this situation is a challenge. Without a word, I scurry over to the bathroom, winging a prayer to the universe that they’re all covered by the time I emerge.

Once I close the door to the bathroom, I lean against it, breathing hard. “What the fuck is with me? I’ve never been this weird around guys, other than the fear. I don’t get why they affect me so fucking much. It’s becoming really inconvenient.”

Dottie chitters as she scrambles to the floor, then up to stand on the sink. Her big eyes look at me in concern as I shakily pull off my uniform and fold the pieces. I wish she could talk—even in my head would be helpful at this point, but that’s a pipe dream.

“You have to get your shit together, Kat,” I mutter as I jerk the sweatpants up and tie them tightly. “Who knows what’s going to happen in this stupid class. You can’t be drooling over tattoos and muscles and all that… girly shit.”

If only my body would listen to my pleas, I might have a chance of surviving without making an idiot of myself.

“Everyone line up!”

I look around the field, noting the demons I want to avoid at costs—like Roquefort, Chilton, Hoebert, and Furon—and my hands ball into fists at my waist. Salem is on one side of me and X is on the other, while Oriel is stubbornly posted behind me. Anton and Zavida are at the other end of our group, but they, too, look suspicious as the Prince yells. I feel like the energy zipping around inside of me is almost noticeable, but I know that can’t be the case. It’s just my normal bullshit making me feel like every part of my body is tingling. I had to leave Dottie on the bench because I was worried that we’d be actively sparring or something.

I don’t know what I’d do if she got hurt or worse; I think I’d lose my shit.

“What’s going on?” Salem whispers and all the guys shrug. Apparently, Jasper didn’t tell anyone what the hell is going on—again—and that doesn’t bode well.

“The gentlemen coming out of the tunnel are bringing you two Games uniforms. These were assigned based on the information the college store has for you, so if something doesn’t fit, you get to deal with it yourselves. You may need replacements during the training or during the trials; that will be assessed by visiting the store to present what is left of the previous uniform forinspection. If it disintegrated, you will need to note that at the time of loss.”

I swallow hard, considering what the hell I’m going to do if they reveal who I really am in the middle of this bullshit. That would beverybad and I’m going to have trouble sleeping for days now that I’ve got that image planted in my skull.

“Hey, Kit Kat. You okay?” X whispers out of the side of their mouth. “I felt a spike.”

Nodding quickly, I keep my eyes on the grumpy looking dragon in front of us. I don’t want him to focus on me when he’s in this kind of shit mood. But no, I’mnotokay, and I don’t know when I will be.

“There will be events where your normal uniform is required, as well as formal events requiring specific types of dress. You should contact home to have your family’s preferred clothiers on the ready, especially since some events may not be decided until close to the occasion.”

Like, is hetryingto make me have a fucking panic attack? I don’t have a goddamned clothier.

“Calm down, KK. I can do most of our stuff, but if it’s tight, one of us will hit up our family tailors,” X says softly.

“Mine will definitely help.” Salem looks down at me with a confident smile and my blood pressure decreases slightly. “Don’t get twisted. This is normal crap for our world—at least, at this level.”

“Yeah, I forgot you’re all rich, spoiled assholes,” I mutter, trying to work some of the anxiety out by shooting a retort at them. “My bad.”

“Don’t be salty,” Oriel says as he leans forward to wink at me. “Our spoiled asshole selves will take care of you. It’s our job now.”

“It absolutely isnot,” I retort stubbornly. “You guys don’t own me and I’m not a dress-up Ken doll. But… Thank you for helping.”

I have to add the last part because I’m grateful for their help, but I struggle with feeling like a kept pet. Being a burden to foster parents for years has made me stupidly independent and so much here is outside of my control or purview. It rankles when I can’t take care of myself, and I haven’t figured out a way to address the inequality in a way that suits me.

“Accepting help from people who are part of your life isn't a weakness,” Anton says mildly. “You shouldn’t feel bad about it.”

Easy to say when none of you need help all the fucking time, man.

“I’m trying,” I grit out.“Give me time to adjust. My former life is still pretty fresh.”

“Would the six of you like to share with thewholeclass?”

I blink, my head swiveling to see an angry dragon striding towards us. Resisting the urge to shrink back, I stick my chin out. “No, thank you. Please excuse our rudeness, Professor.”

That’s about as contrite as I can be; we weren’t the only ones whispering, but he picked on our caliphate.

“Mmm. I’m sure you are, freshman.” Jasper’s eyes flash as they cut over the rest of the guys, then he looks at the line of demons with a narrowed gaze. “Take your Games uniforms when yourname is called. These students will have theirs placed on the bench, while they run laps for the rest of class.”

I groan inwardly, knowing this is our punishment, but it’s also something I need. I was simply hoping not to leave this damn class aching like I’m going to keel over, but alas, it’s not in the cards. I’ll be dying during Supe Law afterward with Zav and Slash. The former will share my pain, but the latter will definitely remind me that I need to work on endurance anyway.

God fucking dammit.

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