Page 97 of Quiet Burn

“What. Did. They. Say?” Oriel snarls as he and Salem come back from refilling the drinks.

Even Jasper gives him a surprised look, and I grin to myself. Kit Kat has even the most lackadaisical of my caliphate up in arms at the merest slight; I’m going to enjoy watching these emotionally stunted royals figure out how the fuck to deal with their shit without fucking this up.

“Stupid shit about why you guys picked me as your ‘boyfriend’ and how excited the dumbass was to fuck me up.” Kit rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair when the room fills with growls. “It’s what every dumbass motherfucker says when they come for me, by the way, and very much like what human asswipes say when they’re about to violate you in some way. I’m definitely used to that attitude, but this shithead seemed to also think he’d get rewarded for ending me. Very Bond villain monologue stuff.”

Jasper’s eyes flash with his dragon and for a second, I hold my breath. That’s never a good sign and the Prince already lost his grip once today. I clear my throat, hoping to distract his animal. “You think he meant Lucian?”

She almost shrugs, but seems to remember at the last second that she has an injured shoulder. “I mean, I guess? I was so… overwrought that he didn’t get a chance to elaborate. I sort of… threw the knife things and then…”

“Then what?” Slash asks, his expression unreadable. “What happened next, little demon?”

Swallowing hard, Kit pauses before answering. “Well, they hit him with more accuracy than I expected and… I don’t know. His eyes got scared as whatever magic they were infused with took hold. He was definitely screaming in agony and the more he did, the happier this part of me got.”

We’re all quiet as that sinks in, but only Salem is brave enough to ask, “What part? What do you mean, Kit Kat? Is this a new thing?”

“I…” Her head dips and the kinkajou moves from its post above Kit’s head to snuggle into her neck. That seems to help and when she finally looks up, there’s a guilty expression on her features. “I’ve had a darkness in me since I was young. There’s this small piece of me that wasalwaysangry about my life and how everyone—the system and the adults—treated me. Until the incident, I mostly squashed it because human kids are taught that kind of anger is a bad thing. Admitting to it would definitely keep you in group homes, not foster placements. Both suck, but the former is much worse.”

Oriel walks over, kneeling next to her chair as he shakes his head. “Humans are dumb, KK. Anger is healthy; it’s how you deal with it that’s good or bad.”

“Well, I know thatnow. All the damned therapy after the… thing… taught me the difference. But I also struggled with that fury and white-hot rage alotmore once I was violated. It was a louder voice in my mind, and a darker joy in my gut when I saw people get what I felt they deserved. The sense of justice and vengeance was so deep that it worried me. I kept my big yap shut to the therapists and learned to shove it as deep as I could—until today.”

Slash grunts, crossing his arms over his chest before his toothy grin spreads. “Your demon.”

Glad I’m not the one who said it.

Kit’s eyes widen as she looks at each of us in turn, seeking confirmation of her simple declaration. “Seriously? I’m not secretly a psychopath?”

Jasper bursts out laughing, earning himself a haughty glare. It doesn’t bother him, though, because he knows something she doesn’t and it’s makinghispetty side happy. “Shrimp, you’re no more a psychopath than I’m a pretty princess.”

Now everyone is laughing and Kit is burrowing further into her blankets with a bright red face, so I step in. “All jokes aside, Kit Kat—Jasper’s right. Your basic knowledge of things from therapy probably made you do internet research and well, you just assumed incorrectly because you didn’t have all the information possible.”

Zavida finally pops out from behind his tails at the Prince’s feet, nodding eagerly. “Guaranteed, X. The human internet isstuffedwith bullshit about psychology that is referencing very common supernatural behaviors. It’s why they try to gather up lost ones of the different species and drop them in enclaves so they don’t get misdiagnosed and imprisoned like theX-Men.”

“Ohhhhh,” Kit says, understanding filling her gaze. “I mean, that’s probably notallof the bad people up there, but that definitely makes some shit make sense.”

Zavida smiles shyly. “You’d be amazed how many exceptional or evil humans weren’t humans at all. Between the Society and all the leaders of various realms, things are kept as tightly guarded as possible. But shit slips and then… a lot of retconning has to happen to provide logical excuses for them.”

She holds her hand before he can continue. “Okay, okay. Not yet. I have to take things a little bit at a time, Zav. I’m already reeling from the new spin on mythology, this place’s existence, and now I have magic. I mean… I really can’t take more world rocking at the moment.”

There’s an odd glint to her eyes as she looks at each of us in turn and I wonder what’s behind that. Are our real personalities versus the images we project also causing her to have dissonance? Perhaps so, but she has to get to know the real us for a multitude of reasons. That, I can’t soften for our new member, as it will build trust over time. Kit will have to process that on her own, unfortunately.

But that doesn’t seem like everything and I can’t put my finger on it—yet.

“Okay. So this ‘darkness’ has always been your demon trying to communicate with you, but you didn’t know it. What else,shrimp? What happened when the demon was able to wrest control?”

“I’m getting there, Jasper. Calm down,” she snaps. He frowns, then Kit sighs. “Sorry. You asked like a normal person, but that tidbit you guys just dropped is making my anxiety spike. I shouldn’t have been shitty.”

“Holy fuck, that’s both of them. It reallyis a Satanicmiracle,” Oriel mutters.

“Not helpful,” I chide the crow shifter weakly. “Don’t ruffle their feathers or they’ll start taking chunks out of each other again.”

Dottie moves from Kit’s neck, shaking a tiny fist and chittering loudly. That makes O chuckle and he holds up his hands defensively. “Okay, bitty brawler. I get it. Don’t tease him right now. Message received.”

“I cannotbelieveyou guys talk to that rat,” Jasper grumbles. “It’s insane.”

Zavida clears his throat, his face pained as he looks up at the Prince. “Not really, Jas. Familiars are very intelligent; they often have the ability to understand their companion perfectly. It’s possible being in the caliphate means that extends to us as well. I’d have to do more research but…”

Kit curses under her breath, then mutters, “Iknewshe could understand me! I thought I was nuts at first.”

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