Page 6 of Demon Reform Academy, Term 3

6

HUNTER

V engeance magic crackled under my skin as I sucked in a sharp, jagged breath.

We’d all been so overcome with despair and grief at not being able to find Pandora that we didn’t realize Bram had become infected with dark magic.

How blind had we become?

Did Dark Veil count on that?

Did we almost lose him? A literal part of Pandora’s soul?

We hadn’t even noticed that Inferno had been taken.

My heart pounded painfully against my chest. The heavy scent of damp stone mingled with the lingering traces of sulfur and dark magic that had been suffocating this place before my mate no doubt destroyed it.

But now, my fated mate and my best friend were both alive and here.

They were okay— she was okay.

Pandora was wrapped in Bram’s arms. Her eyes were shut, and the remnants of her ordeal was etched on her sleeping face. Around them, Reed, Skel, and Dexter formed a protective circle.

I held Joel up as he swayed on unsteady legs.

Death cradled a sleeping Inferno in his arms, but his gaze was locked on his daughter. I could read the conflict in his eyes. He didn’t know which one to comfort most. Pandora was surrounded by her mates, all of us. But Inferno? Inferno was Death’s mate. All of her ramblings about him made sense, now, though. I supposed she wasn’t as delusional as I’d thought she was.

Relief washed over me knowing everyone was alive, but it was quickly tainted by a seething anger that surged through me.

"You shouldn’t have infiltrated the cult,” I hissed at Joel. The cult had found him out, and the thought of what he had endured twisted in my gut like a knife. I couldn’t bring myself to imagine the horrors my mate and Dexter had been through either.

“Someone’s gotta do the hard jobs, Hunt,” Joel replied, forcing a grin that quickly turned into a grimace. “Sybil Shaw saw through my enchantment. Blackthistle ended up being the mole. Bastard sent his raven after me.”

Anger flooded me.

Blackthistle’s chaos manifestation was a raven, and it liked to peck flesh, but it loved eyes. Joel still had both of his, surprisingly.

“How’d you keep your eyes?” I dared to ask.

He winced. “I didn’t. They regenerated more times than I could count thanks to the dark magic in my soul. Without that, I’d be blind.”

My heart dropped into my gut.

Fuck.

“Sybil is involved then?” Death muttered, a dark realization dawning on him.

We’d expected as much, but it didn’t lessen the impact of verifying it.

Sybil Shaw was a wanted witch. A fucking scary story witches and warlocks told their kids so they wouldn’t mess with dark magic. She was a monster for all intents and purposes.

After her behind-the-scenes involvement with dark magic in Kalista’s Second War, she was sent to Apex Penitentiary where she ended up escaping and going on the run. She wasn’t someone we wanted anything to do with, but we didn’t have a choice if she was part of Dark Veil.

We had to involve the Supernatural Council as soon as we fucking could. This was much worse than we’d expected it to be.

“We know about Blackthistle, unfortunately,” I confirmed.

“Pandora saved me,” Joel whispered with a tremor in his voice. “I’d all but accepted death, but she saved my life. My magic, though…my magical essence seemed to be tainted by the dark magic. I can’t use my pheromones or any of my powers. My healing isn’t working well, either.”

“Joel,” I croaked.

“Oh, and Rod Shadowheart, my fucking father?” Dex spat, interjecting as his shadows stroked Pandora’s finger ever so discreetly. She wouldn’t have loved that, but I’d let it go since she wasn’t conscious to realize it. He needed her just as badly as we did. “He was also Pandora’s mother’s fated mate. They rejected each other and went crazy, apparently. Rejected each other the way they tried to make us do.”

Death’s eyes widened. “What?”

“They tried to make you reject each other?” I blurted, my gaze heating as I narrowed it at Dexter. I remembered her desperation and fear that shot down the bond for the briefest moment. “We felt Pandora’s panic attack and a few fleeting feelings. But the tourmalyke muted the bond. There was a moment of soul deep pain, though. What did…what did you do?”

Dex flinched.

“Dexter, did you… reject my daughter?” Death’s voice was eerily calm, but I could feel the immense power vibrating through him.

Dexter was only a few seconds away from losing his soul.

“Explain, now!” I shouted at Dexter.

“They cut off my head and infected me with dark magic. I had to reject her or they were going to kill her,” Dex choked out the truth, looking down in shame. “But I rescinded it the moment I broke that fucking collar around her neck. I would never reject her out of my own free will.”

“You were decapitated again?” Skel croaked.

“In front of her?” Reed gasped.

“What collar?” Death asked, and I could sense the rage simmering just below the surface. The only reason he hadn’t become violent was because of his mate in his arms.

Thank you, Inferno.

“Tourmalyke,” Dexter answered, tears falling from him to the ground below. “They put it around her neck because she fought back with her powers. It made her unable to access her magic. She was completely at their mercy. I couldn’t let them hurt her because of me, and that’s exactly what they would’ve done.”

“What the fuck ?” My voice boomed through the chasm.

“You did the right thing,” Skel said sharply.

“Yeah, you did,” Bram agreed.

The rest of us glared at them both for trying to justify a rejection .

“You don’t understand Dex’s parents. They would’ve killed Pandora to spite him if he hadn’t done what they said,” Skel explained, pain lacing his tone.

“It wouldn’t matter what her purpose was for the bigger picture. His parents are fixated on causing him pain,” Bram added solemnly.

Silence hung thick between us.

They were right. From what I knew about them, they wouldn’t have had any issue hurting or killing my mate if it got to their son.

Vengeance burned through my veins. I wanted to kill them all.

“The Shadowhearts killed my dad. Poppy’s dead, but I want Rod dead, too,” Inferno croaked. Her fist wrapped into Death’s shirt as if trying to draw strength from her mate. I didn’t know when she’d woken up, but Death looked to be utterly enamored by her every word.

“He’s mine,” Dexter snarled, wrapping his hand around his throat as if he were trying to remind himself that his head was attached again.

What the fuck had they gone through, truly?

Death growled lowly at him. “ My mate.”

Inferno stared at him in awe. “You are totally protective. I knew it.”

“Rod’s mine.” Dexter lifted his gray eyes from the ground with pure malice. “He killed my sister and put me through so much fucking shit. He stared at Pandora when she was locked in that cage…the look he had…His life is mine to claim.”

“He did what?” Death growled.

Inferno sniffled, her gaze shifting to me then back to Death. I could sense the wild, desperate thirst for vengeance simmering beneath her surface, but Dexter’s was burning hotter.

She seemed to realize it, too. Compassion for Dex seemed to win out, and I was glad to see it.

Rod’s life was Dexter’s to claim.

She glanced back at Dexter. “Please. When you end him, make it hurt.”

“I promise.” He shot her a feral grin. “He deserves nothing less than agony.”

Vengeance swelled inside of me again, seeping out like magma beneath a fragile crust. The cavern’s chamber was suffocating with so many of the demons in my vicinity needing vengeance sought on their behalf.

The need for it clawed through my flesh.

It was as if the very walls were closing in on us.

“Get out!” I roared, my voice reverberating off the stone like thunder, the sound echoing through the chamber.

“What the fuck, Hunter?” Bram winced.

“He’s losing control.” Skel inhaled sharply. “I know the signs better than anyone. Fear magic is bad enough, but vengeance magic?”

“We need to get out of here,” Joel stated, pushing away from me and stumbling into Reed, who caught him easily.

“Let’s go.” Reed met my gaze and gave me a slight nod.

I hadn’t lost control of my magic to this degree in years. It was uncontrollable, yearning for me to extract vengeance for what happened here.

“Dexter, can you shadow-travel?” Death asked, holding Inferno even tighter against him as he moved over to my mate. “We’re too deep in the cavern to escape it before Hunter destroys it.”

Dexter nodded, glancing hesitantly at me. “Yeah. I can manage it.”

“Do it, now!” I shouted.

Magic flared around me, a storm of raw energy that crackled through the air. I could feel it slipping from my grasp.

They needed to get Pandora out of here.

“Leave! Now!” I screamed, my voice reverberating, resonating with the vengeance coursing through me. “Get our mate out of here!”

The very essence of my magic surged, expanding and thrumming with my rage and desperation.

Dexter’s shadows flickered but engulfed everyone else in a quick swoop, leaving me alone.

Then, I let go.

Vengeance-fueled energy erupted from me like a supernova, a wave of destructive force that shattered the stalactites above and sent them crashing down. The place that had hidden my mate from me had to face retribution.

The cavern roared in response. Sounds of stone splintering and collapsing filled the air.

Vengeance lashed out for Dexter, his sister, Inferno, and most importantly, for my starlight . I incinerated Poppy Shadowheart’s body into nothing at all, effectively wiping her body’s stain from Kalista.

The walls trembled, cracks spider-webbing across their surface. The cavern itself groaned under the weight of my magic.

I walked through the cavern, headed toward the mouth of the cave as my magic exploded. The ground trembled beneath me as everything crumbled away. My power tore at the cavern as I stormed out of it.

After my power raged for over an hour, I reached the exit. My magic gave one final pulse of energy, and the cavern split open completely.

Rapture Cavern, where my fated mate had been locked away and hurt, was gone. Dark Veil could no longer use it for whatever insidious purpose they wanted to—and I prayed to the Fates we’d fucked something up for them by doing so.

“What about the cats?” Skel mumbled to himself, his voice a faint whisper as he stood with Dex’s arm around his shoulders.

Dex swayed, and he could barely keep his eyes open.

I glanced back at the ruins of Rapture Cavern. “They’ll be fine. I didn’t see any cats.”

“Cats are smart,” Reed murmured, practically throwing an unsteady Joel to me as I came closer. “They wouldn’t linger where dark magic dwelled. They’re clever enough to flee.”

“Yeah.” Skel nodded, his gaze lingering on Pandora, who was still snug in Bram’s arms. “You’re right. At least it’s gone now. Dark Veil won’t be able to use it anymore.”

“Thank Fates for that,” Death muttered, snuggling Inferno against his chest. She’d fallen asleep again. “For now, let’s get those who were hurt all rested.”

“Good plan.” Joel grinned weakly, and Death rolled his eyes.

Rapture Cavern lay in ruins behind us. I could feel the weight of claimed vengeance settling deep within my soul. There was still the lingering hunger for justice gnawing in my gut, but right now, what mattered the most was getting my mate away from here.