Page 96 of Quiet Burn

That’s the rub, isn’t it? I can’t get a damn second alone with the slithery demon and now I need one even more.

***

Now that I’m curled up in this truly elaborate set-up Slash built, I see why Oriel found it so charming. I don’t know where he got all of the extra blankets and pillows, but every part of me is warm and supported. He made sure there’s a table on either side of it with food and drinks on one side and creature comforts on the other. Dottie has a little space of her own just above my head, and my feet are up as I look at the guys in their own spaces around the room.

“Thank you,” I mumble, pushing my hair out of my face as I try not to panic that I’m going to let everyone down as usual. “This is really comfortable. Oriel said you did it, big guy?”

The shark shifter gives me a proud smile, nodding once. “I did.”

He won’t be as talkative in this environment, so I’ll have to thank him again later when he’ll really communicate.

“I made the food.”

My eyes cut over to Salem, who’s no longer the bear, and half-dressed in his university sweats again. I have to swallow hard before I respond, because these guys completely fuck up my focus when they swan about so damn undressed. “Thank you, too. I’m going to eat some as soon as my stomach settles; I promise.”

His smile is bright, but I see the strain at the corners of his eyes. The amount of energy he burned during that rage fest reallymust have him struggling. I haven’t seen Salem look so wiped out since I arrived, and that’s saying a lot. “I’m always happy to feed you, KK. You know that.”

I sort of do, but I have no idea how to handle that. So I pull the blankets a little higher as I smile at my roomie, then look over at the glowering Prince. “You wanted this big slumber party, so I assume you’re going to…. debrief us or something?”

Multiple expressions dance over his aquiline features, but he finally settles on looking annoyed. “Unfortunately, I wasindisposedduring the big event, so I require information from all of you. I need to know how people were injured, what exactly you did, and what I might need to spin tomorrow morning.”

“Indisposed is a fancy way of saying your dragon went apeshit and you couldn’t stop it, right?” I arch my brow at him as the corner of my lips curls up.

Jasper inhales deeply, then gives his second a sharp look. Slash shrugs, and glaring at the others doesn’t help his cause. In fact, all of them seem to be on my side, which makes the butterflies in my stomach dance again in happiness. “Yes. Fine. That’s what it means. The rage burst tapped into the emotions my dragon often struggles with due to my own issues.”

“It’s a Devil’s Night miracle,” Zav mutters and I have to smother a giggle.

Yes, Zavida, yes, it is.

Stuck in the Middle with You

Xerxes

Ifeel like a wrung-out dish rag—and that’s being kind. Whatever the fuck Kit Kat did in the arena was powerful enough that trying to counter the effects while battling totally blasted my reserves. I don’t think anything like this has happened since I was a hatchling; my powers are typically far beyond the scope of my peers.

And she doesn’t even know the extent of her abilities yet, which is terrifying and hot at the same time.

I’ve started referring to KK in the feminine in my brain to help myself adjust to my confirmed suspicions. It’s partially because I know she’ll have to spill the beans to everyone eventually and partially because I haven’t been interested in a femme-presenting being so far. In fact, Annie’s the only one I’ve ever given a shit about, so despite everyone assuming I’m gay, I’ve always suspected I was more demi than anything else. But I hate labels that aren’t on clothing, so I often allow people to choke on their own misconceptions rather than correct them.

Educating people isn’t my fucking job, and I’m not giving away emotional labor for free. Unlike Kit, I haven’t been forced tospend a great deal of my life explaining how I work in order to get what I need. That shit is exhausting and I don’t blame her for putting up walls a million miles high to keep assholes out. My brothers have always accepted me for exactly who and how I am, without question, so I’ve been lucky in that respect. My family is a different story, but I stopped giving a shit about their bullshit a long time ago unless it directly impacted me.

Annie has a similar relationship to his bio donors, and we’re aligned in that respect.

Attraction to KK, though? That’s a different story altogether. He definitely believes he’s one thing, and this is going to rock him a bit. I feel bad not telling him, but it’snotmy story to share and I won’t push Kit into doing so before she’s ready. I will subtly nudge my love to open up to her, though, and perhaps she will do the same. Playing matchmaker is one of my fortes, despite not practicing the skill often because I worry about abusing my powers. I don’t like allowing the Lust lineage to cross lines I believe should be negotiated before they’re crossed.

Licking my lips, I wait for my new secret obsession to continue her tale after besting Jasper in a verbal spar about his lack of control in the arena. She looks worried, so I give her an encouraging smile, weak as it may be. The expression she gives me is grateful, and my chest tightens.

Damn, I like when she looks at me like that.

“Okay. Jasper was off-the-rails; we’re in agreement.” Kit pauses and winks at the growly Prince, which only makes his scowl deeper. “The group was split up across the field by the opponent list, and on the far right, my group was closest to Salem’s and X’s. Annie was on the other side and Oriel was toward the middle with Zavida.”

“That sounds accurate,” Annie muses. “Being all the way at the other end made me concerned about the reach of the spell, but we didn’t have options. That much was obvious in your tone, Jas.”

The dragon nods sharply. “I could not deviate; that is true.”

Another fucking geas, it seems. Darkstar needs to be tortured until he cries like a baby.

Kit sucks in a breath, then lets it out slowly. “I was doing the best I could against the idiots using magic. But it amped up as the battle went on, so I did what Anton told me to. That felt like it… fizzled out? And the more I tried, the harder it got to keep up with the fuckers coming for me. They definitely weren’t treating this as training and their bullshit trash talk confirmed it.”

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