Page 97 of Zero Spark
Snorting, I look away as the others clamor to give their congratulations.They get a few moments to greet him before I turn back around and growl, “What did I say aboutfocus?”
Dark brown eyes narrow at me as the newly emerged shifter crosses his arms over his chest. “What crawled up your ass and died, Jasper?”
Counting to ten… remembering painful injuries… thinking of horrid things…
“Nothing. I would like to get rid of the body you left for us to deal with so none of us end up in the royal dungeon with scheduled executions.” I arch a brow and shrug. “Though honestly, I’m not sureeveryonewould end up that way considering their parents.”
“Rich asshole,” Kit mutters, and I’m surprised to hear the crusty old bird-doctor chuckle behind him. “Just because you have a pedigree doesn’t make you any less a part of this—what happened to all that brotherhood and chanting shit?”
Zavida leaves his spot studying the Major, his tails flicking happily as he walks over. “He’s just worried, KK. This is a big deal, and we’ve had a hard time thinking of a way to fix it without either getting caught or leaving a trail that points to us. Usually, we’re able to accomplish stuff like this without a lot of effort.”
“Perhaps it is because you were incomplete until now,” the doctor says as flaming feathers float off of him. “If you have completed the caliphate ritual, your group efforts will need to be coordinated together to succeed.”
I give the old demon a disbelieving look. “Are you saying we won’t be able to think on our own anymore? I don’t recall ever hearing that a caliphate bonding caused that.”
“Nae, Prince. The doctor means that your teamwork will fail if you don’t work together—and right now, you’re not functioning as one.” The burly bestiary demon looks at my brothers, then me, and finally, Kit. “There’s a storm brewing, and you’re fractured. Cracked foundations won’t hold up under pressure.”
“We’re not cracked,” Salem says with a frown. “In fact, we had a really good bonding time the other night. It’s getting better.”
Dr. D laughs again, flames flaring on his cloak as he shakes his head. “Do not be obtuse, young Stryker. It is quite apparent that whatever happened here today has caused this rift, and if you do not resolve it, I fear we are all going to share the darkest level of the palace torture chamber together—eventhe haughty prince.”
“For fuck’s sake,what?!” Kit stomps over and pokes me hard, knocking me off balance a little. “It has to be you, so… tell me what it is. Are you feeling less special because poor, parentless, non-royal me is a dragon, too? Have I hurt your pride because I didn’t struggle to fly with you or whatever? Out with it, Jasper! Tell me why you’re acting like a fucking prick again!”
My eyes darken as I look at the newest member of our group, the fury inside me fighting with my demon and my dragon as I say, “Because you lied to me… you lied to everyone! When were you going to tell us you’rea fucking girl… whatever your name is!”
Everything goes still as my words leave my mouth, and when I look around, I’m horrified to see the results of my outburst. They all knew… at least,mostof them. Zavvie is blinking in confusion, and Anton looks taken aback, but the rest of my brothersandthese damn ‘helpers’ know. None of them warned me, nor did they insist that this faker give up the secret.
I’m surrounded by people who betrayed me, including my inner beast and my demon, and I have no idea how I’m going to survive this.
OH NO!
