Page 17 of Demon Reform Academy, Term 3

17

PANDORA

“ W hat’s that?” Reed yawned, stretching his arms over his head as he woke up.

I furrowed my brows as I picked up a black stone necklace that was on my nightstand. The weight of the stones was a surprise as I looked at it in my palm. There was a note underneath the necklace with a name scrawled on it:

Bram.

“That’s weird,” Reed muttered as he moved up to sit next to me. “Bram doesn’t usually sign any letters.”

“Plus, it’s not a poem.” I frowned. I touched one of the black stones, and a buzz jolted from it, making my stomach turn. “Huh. How’d he get in?”

“I don’t scent him. Maybe he had Dex drop it by?” Reed pressed a kiss to my temple. “It’s not…uh, very common. He sure has a weird taste for jewelry.”

I scowled at him. “It’s not that bad.”

“Dream girl, I’d never lie to you.” A deep chuckle vibrated his chest. “Bram may be able to write poems, but he can’t pick out jewelry for the life of him.”

He wasn’t wrong. The necklace was ugly, but it was from him.

“Put it on for me?” I put it around my neck.

His fingers replaced mine as he clasped it, but he trembled as he pulled away.

A wave of weakness slipped over me, and I fell back against his chest. “I—I want to start forgiving him.”

“Pandora, come here. Let me take it off. There’s something wrong with it.” His fingers were unclasping it the next moment, and the weakness lifted. “I know you want to forgive him, but let’s see what this necklace is even about first. Okay?”

“Okay.” I nodded, slipping my legs out of the bed and tossing the necklace into my bag. “I just hate that he hid being infected by dark magic from you all. He suffered with it when Dad had access to that relic.”

“I’m sure dark magic clouded his thinking, dream girl.” Reed’s violet eyes pierced me.

“You’re probably right.” I frowned. “I need to pee.”

“We slept in, so we have class in like thirty minutes.” Reed tossed the covers off him and grabbed a pair of sweat shorts and a t-shirt before grinning.

My eyes widened as I went to the closet and haphazardly changed into a simple black dress with a bow between the breasts. I turned around and faced Reed’s muscular chest. “Oh.”

“You have no idea what you do to me, dream girl,” Reed murmured, his fingers coming under my chin and tilting my head back.

His lips sealed over mine, and I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck, pressing myself closer. His erection dug into my lower stomach as I kissed him, but then, the incessant need to pee ruined the moment as my bladder throbbed.

“Mmmf.” I pulled back with a heavy breath. “I need to go to the bathroom, and we can’t be late the second week of classes.”

He pouted but kissed my lips once more before stepping back and adjusting himself. “Let’s head out.”

“Pandora, wait,” Nebula hissed as he manifested from his stand beside my bed. “I sense something… malevolent . Be careful.”

“I’ll be fine,” I promised. “I’ll keep an eye out.”

“So will I,” Reed added with a small frown.

Nebula had been extra protective since I’d gotten back. It was sweet, but he was really on edge. Each day that ticked by, he got more anxious. More so than he’d ever been—which was saying a lot considering how much we’d been through together. But it was almost like he knew something I didn’t.

“You should consider moving into Hunter’s room for good,” Nebula advised.

“It would be nice to have easy access to a bathroom,” Reed agreed with a slight implication in his tone.

“That’s true.” I grabbed my bag from the floor and slipped on my shoes. “I’ll talk to Hunter about it.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Reed ran a hand through his hair. “He’s been begging us to move into his suite for the last few weeks.”

I nibbled my bottom lip. “I just don’t want him to get in trouble for it. He is still a faculty member.”

“Also a Demon Council member,” he pointed out. “Nobody’s going to care.”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right about that.” I glanced around my room.

It was the first space I was able to call mine . Only mine, until Reed moved in. But Reed was my mate. I didn’t mind him being in my space. I was just reluctant to move out of it. But maybe I should’ve. If Nebula was that concerned, it might’ve been a good idea.

“Demon Capital History starts in twenty minutes,” Reed told me. “Ready?”

I nodded, adjusting the strap of my bag on my shoulder. “I’m ready. See you later, Nebula.”

“Stay safe and be aware,” he hissed before de-manifesting.

We left the room and walked down the hallway until we came to the common bathrooms.

“I’ll wait here. Let me know if you need me.” Worry lines creased his forehead as he grabbed my bag for me.

None of my mates were fans of me going to the bathroom unless it was in Hunter’s room. All because of what had happened the last time I showered and my scars ended up on display for Dreadful, Shadeberry, and Voidfire. Though, they hadn’t bothered me at all since we’d been back.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll be right back,” I promised, slipping through the door.

Inside, my flats made dull thumps against the stone floor as I hurried to a stall. Relief washed over me as I emptied my bladder, the tension easing from my body.

I probably should’ve taken Hunter up on his offer of moving to his room. It would be nice not to have to walk down the hall to pee in the mornings. I got up and fixed my dress before leaving the stall and washing my hands.

As I turned to leave, every muscle in my body froze.

A tall, imposing figure materialized in between me and the door.

She wasn’t a demon; she was a witch.

And she was terrifying —her eyes were pools of endless black, her hair was a wild tangle of black longer than my own. Her skin was ashen gray, scarred by three jagged dark lines running down her angular face. She reeked of sulfur, and her presence filled the bathroom with a dark energy.

She had dark magic running through her veins, and she had for a long time.

“Hello, Pandora,” she purred, her voice smooth and unsettling. It made the hair stand on the back of my neck and sent a violent shiver down my spine. “Such a pretty little demon. Probably for the best that you got your looks from your dad.”

“Who are you?” I rasped, reaching up and wrapping my fingers around my throat.

“I’m Sybil. I do apologize that I wasn’t able to meet with you when Poppy was taking care of you and her son. Poppy wasn’t as welcoming to you as I would’ve liked, so I’ve come to remedy her failure. You were right in killing her. Rod mentioned that you were a powerful asset, but you killing Poppy surprised me.”

I flinched. “Sybil…Shaw?”

“I must say, you’ve done quite well with Nebula.” She smiled, revealing rows of black teeth.

My mind raced. What did she have to do with Nebula? “What are you talking about?”

She cackled, the sound echoing off the sandstone. “I’d just come to check on you and Penny that day, but my familiar wandered toward you. Penny had my permission to kill him, of course, for stepping out of line. I cast a dark spell that sealed his soul to that skull, but you two seem to get along famously . I’m rather jealous.”

Confusion settled over me, thick and suffocating. Flashes of when Mother killed Nebula in my arms slammed into me.

Horror washed over me just as a bolt of magic struck me, sending me crashing to the sandstone floor. Pain rippled through my tendons as I fought the tremors.

Reed should’ve been able to feel this pain. Where was he?

“Don’t worry. I’ve set up a bubble. Your little mates won’t feel any of your distress or hear us in here.” She clicked her tongue as she crouched next to me. The silver dress she wore was torn, but it pooled under her. “Join us, or die.”

“I will never join Dark Veil.” I pushed the pain from my mind as my magic surged, exploding outward. Dark smoke fled my lips and slinked down her throat. There was so much dark magic within her. It was almost like her soul was dark magic.

Sybil’s eyes widened, locking on my neck with a look of realization dawning on her.

I consumed all the parts of her soul I could distinguish from the darkness, and then, I started eating away at the dark magic, too.

“You’re not as scary as everyone makes you seem,” I rasped, planting my palms against the rough stone and lifting myself up to glare at her.

I would never be weak enough to not fight back—never again.

“You’re destroying it,” Sybil gasped, horror lacing her words. Black goo oozed from her eyes. “You’re not a savior. You’re our biggest threat .”

With that, Sybil vanished, escaping just before my magic could consume her soul and darkness completely.

I pushed off the ground, power coursing through my veins in a way that was stronger than ever before. Sybil Shaw’s dark magic had failed to taint me even though I’d consumed so much of it.

Taking a steadying breath, I walked over and pushed the door open.

Reed and Dex leaned against the wall, waiting on me.

“Good morning, trouble.” Dex grinned, pushing off the wall and pulling me into his chest. He pulled back a moment later. “What’s wrong?”

“Your bond is flooding with panic,” Reed muttered, coming over and touching my arm. “What happened?”

I met their gazes carefully. “I just met Sybil Shaw.”