Page 12 of Fatality on the Field

This fucking guy… He’s most certainly his own worst enemy—even more so than Iggy or Kaspar.

“I’m requesting a friend give Kat access to books from our realm. She’s curious about things that would help her understand how both demons and the shifters are taught. Plus, a few other things that are between her, Rogue, and me. Do you have a problem with that, Your Highness?”

Jasper knows I’m being sarcastic; no one could miss the dripping snark in my tone as I answer. I’m not scared of him and nothing he does will make me—not after the shit I’ve done. He pauses the tasks his fox gave him to glare at me, but when I don’t back down, he finally sighs. “Fine. Make it happen, Zav. It’s not like the shrimp will keep it secret; her rules prevent that.”

Uh, she’s not gonna share weird dick, smutty romance with you, but keep dreaming, asshat.

“Right,” I say with a nod. I don’t owe him my friend’s secrets, and if he wants in on them, he needs to fix their shit. That’s all on him, in my opinion. “Thank you, Zavida. I believe the folks in Rogue’s family will need your help as well if they’re heading out into the demon capital.”

Angelo smirks. “D and I will be fine, but if Rogue and Archie can get your help, I’d be extremely grateful.”

His admission makes Rogue give him a death stare, but the twin just shrugs at her. I guess she had no idea their phones could function in this realm, and to be honest, I’m not sure anyone else did either. It was smart to keep that in his pocket until he knew it was safe to admit; I suppose. From what I gather, his father and the royals haven’t been on the same side for a long time, and he had to make certain the caliphate wasn’t pretending to ally with us.

“What are we going to do to render the book safe? Does anyone have any ideas yet?” Damon changes the subject quickly, and I chuckle.

I’ve known my share of twins, and there’s always one with the temperament of a Minotaur and one who is much less difficult. Obviously, he’s the reasonable one, and he’s spent his life smoothing over the shit his brother fucks up with his brash overconfidence. However, his question is valid, so I swing my gaze to the demons expectantly. “I’d love to know as well. Magic isn’t really my thing, but I’m sure Iggy and Slade will help if they can.”

“Your boy was wild yesterday, so I vote he tries it with X and Anton,” the cooking panda says as he waves a knife. “I didn’t know any of that Atlantis shit, and he was fucking badass.”

Atlantis shit?

“Slade’s family is an aquatic gang, so they have contact with the shifters who live in the apparently real Atlantis,” Zavida says as he holds his hand out for my phone.

Pulling it out, I give it to the small redhead, making certain it’s unlocked so he can work on it. “Holy fuck. How is this the first time we’re hearing about it, Slade?”

My siren turns pink, his eyes pleading as he says, “I didn’t realize everyone didn’t know it’s real. I mean, think about it—they’re seldom on the surface versus underwater, but we dealt with the shifters and demis down there enough that I had no clue even supes thought it was a myth. I honestly haven’t ever heard anyone not of the human persuasion discuss it. But the stuff we found had their language on it, and their magical signature in the spells. It’s just lucky Axel and Azul have worked with citizens of their land, or maybe I wouldn’t have been able to help.”

“I doubt it’s luck,” the big shark shifter rumbles. “Despite the aversion demons have to the three sisters, it seems likely that much of this timeline has not been a coincidence. You being here in Hell when such a skill was needed is far too specific to blame on entropy.”

Very astute for the muscle of the group—Prince Jasper is a damn good judge of skills.

Iggy nods at him, wiping his hands off. “I agree, Slash. All of us being together and the spells requiring a little bit of everything speaks of a larger plan only those women could manage. The centuries and millennia it would take to put this together are mind-boggling; that makes the breadth of the possible evil we’re looking into even more sobering.”

“I’m so fucking tired of fighting all these low-level idiots,” Rogue mutters. “You guys have no idea what kind of dumb shits we’re working to clear out back home, so we can focus on this big stuff. I have a shitty ex-best friend screwing with me via the internet like a psycho, and a two-bit shifter mafia full of goons backing her all the way. Like who even cares about her childish insults and shit when the world is on fire, you know? Find a new hobby so I can move out of your head where you’ve got me living rent-free, bitch.”

The demons all stop what they’re doing to look at the pink-haired Fae incredulously. None of them seem to know how to deal with her outburst, and I have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing in their face. If Kat’s been pretending to be a guy this whole time, not a single one has had to deal with anything resembling ‘girl bullshit’. Luckily, they won’t have to in an all-boys school, but at some point, their favorite emerging demon is going to run into a female who is unevolved emotionally, and it’s going to blow them away.

“Rogue, I have a college full of men and women who are loyal to a dead dragon, risking their jobs to give me shit at every turn. That’s not even a blip on the radar compared to the ‘master plan’ for the universe we’re uncovering, yet I can’t ignore it.” My heavy sigh makes her chuckle ruefully, and she slaps her palm on the counter.

“How are men the fucking worst, and yet somehow, women want to vie for the title? It’s such a goddamn buzzkill,” she grumbles. “Down with the patriarchy and that shit.”

The fourteen men in the room stay frozen as their eyes dart between us. I’m pretty sure they’re scared to both protest weakly or to weigh in supportively. It’s a smart plan to stay quiet with two volatile women expressing their anger, and I’m actually proud that even the problem dudes haven’t stuck their feet in their mouths yet. The room is quiet for a long moment, and then it’s my darling polar bear who breaks it.

“Sucks ass, ladies. I’d offer to beat people up but… you know, girls. However, I’d happily chow down on ice cream and watch Miss Congeniality while you bitch sometime. I’m not worried about anti-guy stuff; we do suck sometimes.”

That boy is in the running for the best blowjob of his life after this trip, I swear to mother Medusa’s state collection.

Rogue beams, rushing to high-five the bear. “Man, he’s a keeper, M. Now I see why Archie likes him so much. They’re like brothers from another mother or something.”

“Pro-tip: they love when you let them do makeovers on you. I have sisters with mean friends and bad boyfriends. You were almost there, but the alcohol and toenail polish always help. Oh, and junk food… lots of junk food. But you’re dead on with the movie, bro.” The lion winks at Lucas and they exchange a dude grin that makes me believe they’re definitely going to keep in contact once we’re back on the surface.

“I’m not the makeover type, but you’re probably not wrong,” I add. “I will take booze and junk food, though.”

“Is this… normal?”

Everyone turns to look at the prince, who muttered that to his big second-in-command in a misguided attempt not to be heard. I arch a brow, waiting to hear what the very testosterone-laced demons in his bond group are going to say before I interject. Their answers will tell me a lot about how steep the hill is that Kat will have to climb to get them into shape.

“Jasper, respectfully, do not be a fool.”