A Demon's Wings: Vice College For Young Demons: Year Three

by Marie Mistry

  The moment she left, Kain reappeared with the rest of my mates. They swarmed the bed in a group, touching me where they could reach. But it was Aeron who grabbed my chin and pulled my eyes to him.

  “Poison?” he demanded, the raw fury in his voice unmistakeable. “How in the hell did they get to her after you were so certain her food was fine?” he growled the last part over my head at Blaze.

  My Wrath answered him but I didn't hear it because Jin had caught my attention, his thumb tracing a soft line over my knuckles as he waited for me to look at him.

  “Are you doing okay, Pet?”

  I nodded, though inside I was still reeling. “I feel much better, I promise.”

  “But not cured.” Bane's eyes were fixed to the floor, the anguish he was feeling written all over his face.

  “I did everything we discussed, Assassin!” Blaze roared, their quiet argument exploding all at once.

  “Well clearly, you missed something!” Enzo growled back.

  “Don't take it out on Blaze because you were too busy hoarding gold to realise something was wrong with our girl,” Aeron snapped.

  Enzo's eyes flashed dangerously. “Oh, like you knew either!”

  I looked between the three of them, feeling my headache return just at the idea of trying to break this up.

  But it was Daron, not me, who silenced them, and he didn't even need to raise his voice to do it. “If you're all done acting macho to cover up the fact that you're just as scared shitless as the rest of us, our mate is suffering.”

  Jin, Kain and Bane didn't say anything but they were also staring disapprovingly at my three eldest mates.

  It was amazing how fast their expressions went from furious to sheepish, and soon, instead of three angry men around my bed, I had three awkward, apologetic grimaces levelled at me.

  “Apologies, Pretty Darling.” Enzo placed a gentle hand on my leg as he spoke, rubbing soothing circles on the bare skin. “Let me take a look. I might be able to get any damage the healer missed.”

  He closed his eyes in concentration and I tried not to think too much about him rearranging the cells inside my own body whilst I was awake. Instead, I turned my focus to Aeron.

  He just shook his head. “How are you so calm?” he asked, pacing like a trapped lion at the foot of the bed.

  I couldn't explain the curious numbness that had seeped into my bones without worrying them more than I already was. So, I merely shrugged. “I'm still processing, I guess.”

  I was saved from delving any deeper into my feelings by the touch of Blaze's forefinger and thumb on my chin, turning my face towards his.

  “I won't lose you,” he vowed, his eyes burning with so much fire that for a second, I forgot about his grandmother's words and believed him. “I'm the one who is going to die. I've made my peace with you living a long, happy life with your other mates.” He leaned down and nipped gently at my lower lip. “Take power from me, then I'm going to go and hunt down whatever bastard did this to you.”

  “Ajax and Delaroza are too well-guarded,” I objected.

  “Not for me,” Enzo retorted, eyes lighting up with the idea. Before I could say anything, he'd flashed through the shadow realm to my side and elbowed Blaze out of the way. “Take from me. When you've taken everything you need, I will find a way to slaughter them both.”

  He didn't give me a chance to reply because his firm lips were on mine almost as soon as he'd stopped speaking. My power jumped for his and I didn't have the strength to resist when my inner Succubus reared her head and demanded I take what he was offering.

  Power poured into me like a cool glass of water, only to be shut off suddenly as Blaze grabbed Enzo and tore him away from me. My irritation at the pettiness of their squabbling set off my already hangry Succubus and a pulse of angry power shot out of me, sealing onto the nearest sources available and dragging the energy to me.

  Unfortunately, Blaze and Enzo were the closest.

  “Fuck!” Blaze cursed, falling to his knees.

  No! Not again! I pleaded with my inner Succubus, as I wrestled against the need for more.

  Enzo grunted, his grip on the bed rail turning white.

  Stop, stop, stop! I screamed internally.

  “What the hell?” Aeron grabbed Blaze and tried to tug him further away, but the draw continued.

  A new mouth descended on mine, switching my power's focus as it eagerly let go of the others in search of the new source of energy waiting for me.

  My eyes met Bane's as his tongue gently pressed against the seam of my lips. It must have hurt because my power was still dragging every spark of energy it could reach from him, but he kissed me like we had all the time in the world. His tongue stroked mine reverently and whenever he pulled back slightly for breath, his teeth nipped gently against my lower lip and his hands cradled my face.

  Even when I managed to wrestle my power under control, he didn't stop kissing me and for a second, my eyes slipped closed and I let myself just revel in the feeling of being the centre of my Greed mate's attention.

  When Bane pulled back, Jin was there to take his place. “Take more. Heal.” His eyes were earnest and even though I was careful about letting my power out again, it didn't lunge for him.

  I didn't come up for air again until he, Daron, Aeron and Kain had all taken their turns. Power hummed beneath my skin but now that Rezinax had pointed it out, I could feel the slow drain. It felt oddly like the power was evaporating as I focused on it but I didn't dwell on it. Instead I turned my attention to where Enzo, Blaze and Bane were all hunched over, looking pale.

  “Sorry!” I gasped.

  “Lesson learned. Don't try and get between a Succubus and power,” Blaze said, as he gave me a wry grin. “It's nothing, Sweetness.”

  “Serves them both right for being assholes.” Kain was grinning.

  “Bane wasn't an asshole,” I mumbled.

  My Greed mate shrugged, then winced. “Just an idiot, apparently.”

  Blaze and Enzo were both staring at my Rebel with evaluating looks that disappeared as soon as they noticed I was watching them.

  “A brave one,” I whispered.

  “The line between bravery and idiocy is very fine,” Blaze grumbled, but even he looked a little bit grateful before his gaze hardened. “The Assassin and I will work on getting to Ajax and Delaroza. We're the only two who won't be missed. The others can focus on keeping you well.”

  “Your grandmother—”

  “Is not infallible.” He shut down my sentence before I could say it.

  “She's never been wrong before,” I argued. “And the others deserve to know.”

  Enzo raised a brow. “Pray tell, what does the world's greatest, craziest seer have to say about this?”

  Blaze shook his head silently but I ignored him. “She said it could only be slowed to buy me time until I fulfilled my purpose.”

  None of them spoke but the rush of denial and pain that came at me from every single mating bond said it all for them. It hit me straight in the gut, how much these beautiful men cared. I opened my heart back, letting them feel my determination and how much I adored them. It was an unexpectedly intimate moment for eight people to share and the fact that it didn't feel weird or wrong to feel like this about seven different men struck me speechless for a second.

  When we'd stopped our psychic embrace, Blaze was the one to speak first.

  “She never explicitly said you would die. Stay here, do as the healer tells you and get better.” He turned to Enzo. “Where do we start?”

  I expected Enzo to make some comeback about working alone but he merely cast his eyes over me, nodded once, and they both disappeared.

  Daron sighed and perched on the edge of my bed, carelessly pushing his glasses up his nose. “Now that most of the testosterone-driven older males of your harem have disappeared, perhaps we can get some logical work done.”

  Bane chuckled. “But Aeron's still here.”

  “I said most.” Dar
on's lip quirked and Aeron gave his brother a half-hearted punch to the shoulder. “We need a better plan than trying to take Ajax and Delaroza head on. They're incredibly powerful men and we can assume that they're beyond even Enzo's reach, or he would have killed them already.”

  “So, what's your plan?” Kain asked.

  “As far as I'm aware, neither Ajax nor Delaroza were directly responsible for the poisoning,” Daron began. “You said it was the Grand Master who targeted you?”

  “And they seemed to think it was a done deal ages ago…”

  “Logically speaking, it is a slow-acting poison that's been affecting you in very subtle ways for months. They could have poisoned you at any point in the past and so all of Blaze's protective measures would have been implemented too late anyway.” Daron switched his tablet on and scrolled through the glass. “Hannibal and Ajax likely aren't even involved.”

  “All very interesting,” Aeron grumbled. “But how does it help us?”

  “Because the poisoning could have happened as far back as the end of year ball,” Daron explained. “When Lilith danced with a famous toxikinetic.”

  “Prime Craven.” God, how could I have been so stupid! “You think he's the Grand Master of the Syndicate?”

  “No, because he's in a maximum-security prison and has not received visits from any known Syndicate associates.” Daron held up the tablet to flash a visitor log around the room. “His only visitor is his lawyer.”

  “So how does that help us?” Kain was getting as exasperated as Aeron.

  “We know from Rina's vision that Saxon and Craven are in league with each other. Craven might have created the poison for the Grand Master and he might have been the one who delivered it. But Enzo screwed up whatever the rest of the plan was when he poisoned Abrosiax and framed Craven for it. It's likely that Craven has left some loose ends or maybe even an antidote, or formula, in his private residence. Through searching his financial records, we may even find out who the Grand Master is.”

  Bane's cocky, trademark grin had been slowly returning to his face as Daron spoke. “Sounds like you need someone who's skilled at breaking and entering to go and find it. Someone sneaky and undetectable.”

  I frowned. “It will be dangerous.”

  Bane winked. “I live for danger and breaking into the houses of rich old codgers.”

  “Regardless, you will need a well-planned strategy, if you plan to keep the Syndicate unaware of our actions,” Daron interrupted. “This isn't something you can afford to mess up with your cockiness.”

  Bane pressed a hand to his chest. “Me? Cocky? My heart bleeds.”

  I rolled my eyes but I felt the heavy stone that had settled in my gut that morning slowly start to disappear. We could do this.

  And it was going to be a team effort. I wasn't being left out. “I want to go too.”

  I braced myself for the disagreement but Bane just shrugged. “I told you if I ever took you on a date, it would be memorable and illegal, so why not? Aeron will come too and Daron can be our eyes and ears. When Enzo and Blaze get their heads out of their asses, we'll have muscle in case something goes wrong.”

  “What about us?” Jin interrupted, gesturing between himself and Kain. “You can't leave us out of this.”

  Bane smirked. “You two will have the most important role of all.” The other two leaned toward him and I almost laughed at how eager they seemed. “You need to cause chaos. Give us a distraction if we need to get out of there fast.”

  Their identical grins gave me a confidence boost as I looked around the room, locking eyes with each of my mates as I did so.

  Finally, we had a plan. And that was enough to make Rezinax's return with news that the haemokinetics couldn't help me more bearable.

  Chapter 25

  The next few days passed in a sort of strange denial with the same routine as before. I went to class, talked with people and studied as usual.

  It wasn't until Tuesday morning that things changed.

  I'd just pulled on my combat class uniform when the letter slid under my door, the one informing me that I'd been excused from all practical lessons for the remainder of the school year and that I was expected to use the time to perfect my theoretical knowledge of combat and healing. An hour later, a second note informed me that Rezinax had booked weekly appointments for me into the space where my healing class had once been.

  I sat on the bed as it sank in.

  I was dying.

  I had less than a year to live.

  Shit.

  I pushed off the bed and changed out of the combat clothes and into my uniform. I may be dying but staring at my bedroom wall, thinking about it, was going to send me insane well before I got there.

  I strode out of the Carnal Tower and straight into Viv.

  “Sorry!” she stammered, once we'd both caught ourselves.

  I latched on to the distraction. “No problem. What's the hurry?”

  She shuffled awkwardly on the spot. “I was coming to find you, actually.”

  I smiled and gestured towards the path. “Walk with me?”

  She nodded, falling into step with me. “I'm aurumkinetic,” she blurted.

  “Oh.” My brow furrowed as I tried to recall what that meant. “Gold manipulation, right?”

  She nodded. “Morph is too. I'm sure Reece is proud.”

  “Do siblings normally have the same gift?”

  “It's rare and much more common in twins but it's not exactly normal for almost everyone in the class to get a gift either.” She gave me a pointed look. “I heard Professor Saxon—the evil one—is trying her best to have the other first years from around the whole of Europe assembled for you to turn by the solstice.”

  I rolled my eyes. “She can try.” It was doubtful I'd live that long anyway.

  “I was thinking, about what you said, about Babette…”

  I met her eyes and held them. “Will you help me take your father down?”

  “My father's biggest weakness is his paranoia and his arrogance,” she replied. “His home is impenetrable. A fortress of gold which he controls absolutely. He only leaves it when he absolutely has to or when he has the opportunity to crush his enemies. When he does leave, he wears long-johns woven with gold threads under his clothes in addition to the gold you can see. He can turn those threads into a solid armour with a click of his fingers.”

  I nodded. “So, we have to surprise him?”

  “You won't manage it,” she insisted. “Did you know our bodies contain trace amounts of gold? Milligrams at most, but it's enough that he can sense anyone's presence within a few hundred yards.”

  “So, you have turned traitor.” Both of us whirled around to find Morpheus standing right behind us.

  How the hell did we not hear him?

  “Difficult to turn traitor on someone who's tried to have you assassinated twice,” I retorted.

  “Three times,” Viv whispered. “That advice on getting rid of bodies was really useful.”

  I grimaced but shelved the information for a later time. “Regardless, it's difficult to turn traitor against a man who is systematically trying to get rid of his family.”

  “He will come after you next,” Viv pleaded and the look Morpheus gave her told me they'd had this argument over and over again. “Despite his best efforts, Babette and I are still alive. Will you be so lucky when he starts to worry that you're too powerful?”

  Morpheus shook his head. “I'm not going to betray the Ajax name.”

  “No, you're just going to stay on the side of the person systematically killing off anyone with the Ajax name,” Viv hissed. “I'm surprised you haven't been banned from talking to your own sister yet.”

  The slow reddening of Morpheus' ears made it clear that she had hit a little too close to home and Viv clearly sensed this, because she softened her tone. “You will always be my brother, Morph. If you ever decide that a sister that loves you is more valuable than a father who views you as an insurance p
olicy, you'd better hope I'm still alive to hear your apology.”

  With that, she flicked her hair out of her face and strode off, leaving me to try and catch up.

  “He'll go straight to Father with everything I just said,” she muttered.

  I glanced back over my shoulder to where Morpheus was standing, his shoulders sagging and his eyes on Viv's retreating back. “I wouldn't be so sure…”

  I spent the rest of the day so distracted by what Viv had told me that I didn't even notice Professor Saxon's snippier than usual mood in Politics class.

  How on earth could we kill someone with a set of golden armour and the ability to detect our presence? Why was I so cavalier and accepting of the fact that Ajax was going to die? Was it a good thing or a bad thing?

  The questions taunted me through dinner. I only snapped out of my thoughts as I was leaving the Great Hall, when a pair of hands darted out from behind a familiar gargoyle, one arm catching around my waist at the same time as a hand covering my mouth.

  I wasn't the same weakling as I once was. My elbow instantly went back into the belly of my attacker, only to be caught. I tried to dig my heel into his foot but a familiar chuckle stopped me.

  “Good, Baby Girl. But you still need to be faster.”

  Aeron spun me in his arms, pressing my back against the wall as he easily inserted himself between my thighs. He pressed into me, grinning. “What's your next move?”

  I grinned back because this was exactly what I needed. “Why don't you tell me … Professor?”

  His sexy smirk made things within me twist in anticipation. I hadn't had my Lust mate in weeks and the heady arousal weaving between us felt like a homecoming.

  I reached up, craning my neck so that I could take his lips. Aeron's warm, hard lips parted slightly in welcome and he let me play, twining our tongues together as he ground into me. His tongue worshipped mine as his hand found its way into my hair and tugged lightly.

  “I want to fuck you on my desk,” he whispered once I pulled back. “All I've been able to think about since I got the damned thing is how good you'll look spread out on it.”