by Callie Rose
“No coffee in the underworld, man,” Xero deadpanned.
“Well, there’s no broccoli either, and I don’t see them rationing that.”
“The man has a point.” I scrunched up my face. “Besides, don’t they just magically create our supplies? I never saw them pop out real quick to go grocery shopping on Mönkh Saridag.”
“I don’t know,” Xero said with a shrug. “I just know when I got to the underworld the first time, I spent six solid months looking for coffee. Even manifestors couldn’t get it for me.”
“Fan-damn-tastic,” I groaned. “Sorry in advance, then.”
Of course, the guys never seemed to mind all that much when I got bitchy and restless. Jayce thought it was cute, Kingston just fired it back at me, and Xero was endlessly patient. The combination basically took the wind out of my bitch sails.
Eventually, Vesper called our names and gave us our class assignments, and we went to breakfast to compare notes.
“Anybody else got Hiding in Plain Sight first period?” I asked as I looked over my paper. I had drunk my coffee way too fast, and it was gone before I even had the chance to enjoy it.
Jayce shook his head. “I have Maintaining Inner Light.”
“Me too.” Xero slid his coffee cup in front of me as he read over his paper. I grabbed at it with both hands and looked up at him with a grateful smile.
He shrugged. “Selfish decision, honestly. I like you better when you’re fully caffeinated.”
“Oh, shut up, you like me regardless.”
He just grinned.
“Kingston? What about you?” I glanced over at the dragon shifter.
“Guerrilla Warfare.” He made a face. “Gym first thing in the morning? Who do they think I am, Rambo?”
“I have Magic: Personal Protection,” Hannah said. “Sorry, Piper, looks like you’re on your own.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I looked across the cafeteria where Kai sat scowling at his class assignments. “Or maybe I’ll get to pester Kai.”
“I wouldn’t bother,” Xero murmured, following my gaze. “He’s on a whole ’nother level of nope these days.”
God, don’t I know it.
I shrugged, trying to hide how much that hurt. But honestly, my crap mood was only partially due to the coffee shortage. Some of it was the dank feeling of hopelessness and evil that permeated the air in the underworld, seeping into the school—but most of it was Kai. I wanted him with me. By the end of our first year, he’d finally integrated into the group. He and I had finally had a bonding moment—one so intense I couldn’t stop thinking about it—and now he’d just turned his back on all of that without even telling me why.
It sucked. Hardcore, deep throat, full-on-gagging sucked.
As it turned out, he was in my first period class, though I didn’t see him right away. His red tunic was the exact color of the wall, and his toffee skin and black hair were a near perfect match for the patterns that were painted on it. I shifted my appearance until I was utterly unexceptional and completely average, then sauntered over to the seat beside him. He didn’t even look at me.
“Trying to be teacher’s pet already?” I asked him.
“Excuse me?”
“You blend right in with the wall. This is the Hiding in Plain sight class, right?”
“Yes,” he muttered, shifting uncomfortably. “Coincidence, I assure you. Unlike your attempt, which was clearly deliberate.”
“What do you mean?” I asked innocently.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “You know what I mean, Piper.”
I scowled and shifted back into my usual shape. “Oh, fine. How did you know?”
“My mark itches when you get too close.”
“Does not.”
“It does.”
“Then why hasn’t anybody else told me this?”
“Because they enjoy the sensation.” He looked pointedly away from me. “Oh, look, a seat just opened up all the way over there.”
“Kai, stop.”
“Class is starting.” He stood in a preternaturally smooth motion and picked up his satchel. He didn’t even look at me as he walked across the room. The seat he chose was two rows in front of where I was, so he would literally never have to see me unless he was deliberately looking. I took the hint, but I didn’t like it.
Toland hadn’t been kidding about the classes changing. It seemed every class I went to was solely focused on life in the underworld. Nobody even mentioned how the skills they were teaching us could be used back on earth, though I could see the applications for myself.
“Jesus. It’s like they’ve given up hope of ever getting home,” I griped to the guys later that day. We’d all met up in the library after classes had finished and were lounging around in a loose group.
“Maybe they’re just being practical,” Kingston said absently. He had a book up to his face like he was reading, but he hadn’t turned a page in over ten minutes.
“I don’t think so.” Jayce heaved a sigh. “I think you’re right, Piper. They aren’t just trying to help us stay hidden in the castle temporarily. They’re teaching us like they expect us to graduate here.”
“I think they do,” Xero said, his voice carefully neutral. “They’re teaching us how to win a war from behind enemy lines.”
“Is this the only school of its kind?” Hannah asked, twisting her blond hair around her fingers.
“As far as I know, yes.” Xero glanced at her, his dark eyes serious.
“Oh, shit,” she breathed. “Then Gavriel already has the edge. If we can’t get more recruits for our side on earth, then we’re stuck with just what we have right now.”
“Not necessarily,” he said. “If the school admins were careful about it, they could recruit from right here.”
Her large eyes widened. “But wouldn’t that be dangerous? Everybody’s full demon here!”
Xero looked annoyed, and Hannah slapped a hand over her mouth.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re the exception though, aren’t you? That was why they were always so suspicious about you. They said this place—the atmosphere alone—is enough to change people. That’s why they have all those classes about protecting your inner light and whatever.”
He shook his head, pursing his full lips. “I don’t think it’s as straightforward as they want you to believe it is. We’ve been here five weeks. Do you feel any more evil than you did when we got here?”
“Of course not, but the wards on the school probably keep most of the atmosphere out. We’re protected in here,” she said confidently.
“Let’s go outside.” I sat up a little straighter as a sudden burst of restlessness hit me.
“Outside of the castle?” Kingston actually put his book down to stare at me like I’d grown an extra head.
“Just to the courtyard,” I said. “It’s protected too, right? The wards are connected to the walls, and the walls go around the courtyard. Please? I’m suffocating in here.”
Kingston, Jayce, and Hannah exchanged concerned looks. Xero gazed at me thoughtfully.
“You want to see for yourself if the air is bad, don’t you?”
“I do,” I said firmly. “But I also want to get out of here. You know how many pub nights we’ve missed?”
“Maybe one?” Jayce answered.
“Better than none!” I stood up. “I’m going. Come if you want to.”
I headed for the library exit, and as I’d expected, they all followed me. I wasn’t the only one going stir-crazy around here; I was just the most vocal about it. We avoided students and teachers as we made our way to the front door. I knew it wasn’t totally forbidden—I’d seen the advanced students come outside to do something to the wards—but it probably wasn’t encouraged, either.
Outside wasn’t much better than inside, though at least there were different things to look at.
“Holy shit. We got lucky,” Kingston said, nodding upward. “I bet we could touch the top of the cave
if we went to the roof. We could have appeared inside a wall.”
“Yeah, I don’t think it was luck.” Hannah shook her head, gazing around with trepidation. “We’ve been learning about the various wards and protections on the school. Shrinking to suit our confines isn’t outside the realm of possibility. Neither is altering our course slightly to ensure we don’t end up inside a wall.”
Kingston huffed a short laugh. “That’s some creepy foresight. Who decided to protect the school from random travel through alternate planes?”
“Someone I am forever indebted to,” Jayce said, looking a little pale. “Is there a way out of here? Out of this cave?”
“There’s at least one giant hole to the east—or whichever direction the sun rises from down here.” I scrambled up onto a large rock to get a better view into the distance. It was hard to see over the wall that surrounded the school. “I can see it from my window. But it leads out to a bog full of bony trees, so I wouldn’t suggest it for a nature walk.”
Xero frowned. “Bony trees?”
“Yeah. I think they’re trees anyway. They’re white and smooth, they look like exposed ribs or fused fingers or something.”
His frown deepened. “I don’t remember ever seeing anything like that.”
“How big is the underworld?” Jayce wondered out loud.
“Big enough to get lost in.” The fire demon’s dark features pulled tight with worry. “I don’t know those trees.”
For the first time since we’d arrived, a new kind of fear trickled down my spine. Some part of me had sort of assumed that if we did end up having to stay here for a long time, Xero would be able to show us the ropes. But if we had been deposited somewhere that was unfamiliar to even him, what chance did we have?
“They should have a cartography class,” Kingston said. “If we’re going to be living here, we should at least know where here is.”
I craned my neck, looking over the wall at the dark, jagged landscape and uneven terrain, at the blackened stone teeth and bubbling rivers of lava. I inhaled deeply, tasting the atmosphere, which had permeated Xero so deeply that I could hardly pinpoint him except by his mark.
“I don’t think we’re in as much danger of turning evil as they say we are,” I murmured, taking another deep breath through my nose.
“Why?” Hannah glanced up at me.
I nodded at Xero. “Because he isn’t heartless. He’s saturated with underworld vibes, but he’s the sweetest person I know.”
“Hey!” Jayce gave me a hurt puppy look.
“One of the sweetest people I know,” I amended with a smile. “No, I think they’re getting ahead of themselves here. We’re going to be okay. And you never know. After a while, this place might actually start to feel normal.”
I didn’t really believe my own words—but as it turned out, I was right.
As we settled into our daily routine over the next month and a half, the novelty and terror of being in the underworld wore off completely. The sun rose and set whenever the hell it wanted to, so we lived by the clock. Certain foods and beverages were hard to come by, so we adjusted to what we had. I, of all people, developed a taste for spiced black tea. It did the job almost as well as coffee, even if the taste took some getting used to.
But getting used to the routine didn’t help my restlessness one bit. I’d taken to wandering the forgotten secret hallways after class just to occupy my mind, but after a month and a half of prowling around the school, I’d found them all. All of them that I could get to anyway. Every sub-basement had been magically sealed with heavy protective wards, which was a move I couldn’t really argue with.
I had also started deliberately practicing my guy-dar. With Xero melting into the atmosphere and Kai closing his feelings off behind a giant wall, I spent entirely too much time feeling lost, unable to reach them with my sense like I was accustomed to. Determined to overcome that untethered sensation, I would go to a private, distant corner of the school and search for them with my feelings alone. Eventually, I got to be really good at it, but once I conquered that challenge, boredom set in again.
“Ugh. What I wouldn’t do for a pint at the pub right now,” I groaned one Friday afternoon.
“Yeah, I could definitely go for some of that crazy music right now.” Jayce looked up with a grin.
He, Kingston, Xero, and I were all hanging out in our secret alcove above the library. I’d pinged Kai—he was nearish, probably in the library downstairs—but he was still avoiding us like we all carried a deadly disease.
“And the dancing.” Xero glanced over at me, his voice wistful as heat flickered in his eyes.
There had been no shortage of sex between us since we’d come to the underworld. Either he or Jayce, or sometimes both, found their way into my bed—or an empty classroom, storage closet, or abandoned stairwell—on a regular basis. But I agreed with him that dancing had been a particularly fun form of foreplay.
“I’d love to get away from the school and nosey teachers for a while,” Kingston said with a heavy sigh.
“I just wish something would happen. I’m so bored I want to crawl out of my own skin.” I scratched absently at my arm until Jayce stopped my hand, resting his larger one over mine.
Maybe it was because I’d just been thinking about sex and had somehow implanted the thought in his brain too, but his pupils were dilated, making the sky-blue of his irises look darker and impossibly beautiful.
“You know… there are ways we could entertain ourselves right here,” he said.
“Oh?” A grin tilted my lips. I might be bored of being stuck in the underworld, but there were some things I’d never get tired of. “Like what?”
He smiled sinfully. “Oh, I have a few thoughts.”
Chapter Seven
“Will this be a private party, or can anyone join?”
Kingston leaned back in his seat, his gaze bouncing back and forth between Jayce and me as we eye-fucked each other so hard it was a good goddamn thing I couldn’t get pregnant.
The warmth that’d been building in my core flared even hotter as I wrenched my attention away from the sexy blond hellhound to the dragon shifter. Kingston and I’d had a hot as fuck moment in the locker room, and once, he’d almost gotten into a four-way with me, Jayce, and Xero before he’d bailed for mysterious reasons. I could tell he was still wary of the bond between us, still hesitant to seal it completely and give in to the pull that drew us together.
But the interest flashing in his eyes was undeniable.
Oh, holy fuck, yes.
“The more the merrier, I say,” I murmured, trying to keep my voice low and seductive instead of squeaking with glee. My clit was aching, and my entire lower body felt flushed and swollen. It took all my willpower not to slip my hand between my legs and get the party started a little early.
Breathing a little harder, I looked over at Xero. The fire demon was watching me with glittering dark eyes, and he didn’t even have to ask his question out loud.
“You too, Xero.”
I stood from my seat, holding out my hands to Jayce and Kingston, who’d been lounging beside me. Their larger hands enfolded mine, and all three men rose smoothly and followed me toward the abandoned stacks where the entrance to our little secret room was hidden.
The staircase was narrow, and we had to walk single-file, so I took the lead. I could feel three sets of eyes watching my every move, three gazes devouring the sight of my ass swaying gently side to side with each step I took. My clit throbbed harder, my whole body already desperate and hungry for more than their looks.
I wanted their hands.
Their mouths.
Their cocks.
I wanted all three of them, in every combination imaginable.
The little room wasn’t that high up, just on the second floor, but it seemed to take forever to get there. By the time I stepped inside, I was so turned on I could barely think straight.
And I obviously wasn’t the only one.
The second the others joined me in the room, our bodies came together like magnets. The three men surrounded me, Jayce claiming my lips in a hot and dirty kiss that made my toes curl as Xero wrapped his arms around me from behind, grinding his cock against my ass as he slid his hands under my tunic to squeeze and massage my breasts. Kingston’s mouth found my neck, his lips and teeth torturing the sensitive flesh as he worked his way down from just under my earlobe to the top of my shoulder.
I shuddered, trying to angle my head to give Kingston better access without breaking my kiss with Jayce. But it turned out not to be necessary. Two seconds later, the dragon shifter made an impatient noise in his throat and pulled away from me, breathing hard.
“Help me undress her.”
His words were a command, and the other two men didn’t even hesitate—although I didn’t think they were so much obeying his order as going along with what they clearly thought was a very good idea.
Hands found the hem of my tunic and lifted it. I raised my arms and broke my kiss with Jayce just long enough for the bunched up fabric to pass between us. Then we were kissing again, lost in each other’s ravenous lips as the men worked together to shove my leggings down. Kingston took over when they reached my knees, yanking my boots off before sliding the leggings down over my feet. He tossed them aside and nudged Jayce out of the way.
The hellhound made a noise of protest but shifted around to my left side, palming my cheek and turning my head to keep from breaking our kiss. Xero was behind me again, his cock a steel rod against my lower back as he wrapped his arms around me, dipping his head to kiss along my jaw as he rolled one of my nipples between his thumb and forefinger.
I gasped at the shock of pleasure that zipped through my body, and then cried out into Jayce’s mouth as Kingston grabbed my hips in a firm hold and ran his tongue all the way up my slit, lapping up the wetness that had already gathered there.
My knees buckled when the tip of his tongue found my clit, and Kingston let out a noise like a growl.
“Hold her up. Keep her still.”
Command resonated in his voice, and once again, the other two men moved without question, the three of them working like a well-oiled machine as they took complete control of my body.
