Page 49

49

REED

F inals were almost over—this was the last one.

I shifted in my seat, the rigid wood of the lecture hall bench pressing into my back as Professor Respa swept her gaze over the class. Her bright yellow eyes gleamed with anticipation.

“Supernatural Ethics ends today,” she announced excitedly, “For finals, you must defend your subspecies as we’ve discussed. Welcome to your mock debate.”

A murmur ran through the class—some excited, some tense. Either way, I knew it was going to be dramatic because it always got heated in this class.

“Each demonic species will argue for the ethical necessity of their powers. Choose your best speaker. Make your case as a whole. Other subspecies may argue your stance, and we will argue until we are all satisfied with our points. And remember—convince yourselves .”

The class grouped into our subspecies, and my heart ached as Pandora sat by herself while the groups spoke.

The first to stand was an incubus. He ran a hand through his jet-black hair, flashing a smirk at the class. “Charm and manipulation are not sins,” he claimed. “They are survival tools. What demon hasn’t used a little influence to get ahead? We just do it better.”

“So, you admit to deceit?” A drude scoffed from the other side of the room. “That’s unethical!”

Jenni leaned forward. “ That’s not the whole picture. Yeah, we have the power to push a little too far, but think about it this way—a woman stuck in an abusive relationship could use a succubus’ powers to make her captor let her go. A starving orphan could charm someone into sharing a meal. Should we abandon our nature because some misuse it?”

A few nods from the other demons.

Her argument had more merit than the other incubus’.

Chaos demons came next, led by a wiry demon with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Disrupting society in general fosters evolution,” he stated. “Order stagnates. Chaos forces adaptation. Without chaos, demons would be stuck in an endless loop of complacency. That’s not unethical.”

A chuckle came from one of the fear demons. “That’s a nice way of saying you like breaking rules.”

“If rules were worth keeping, they wouldn’t break so easily,” the chaos demon shot back with a grin.

Then, it was Pandora’s turn as the only soul eater at the academy.

A hush fell as she stood. “Soul eaters could be unethical, but when being ethical, we don’t consume the innocent,” she said quietly. “We eat the souls of those who have committed wrongdoings. Some beg us to free them. We are a mercy to some. We also do not have to consume an entire soul, we can eat partial shreds of souls without killing others. We can even target parts of the soul that have been hurt. That’s pretty ethical.”

Gasps and whispers rang out, but nobody else argued her point. It could’ve been because they agreed or because they were a little scared. I wasn’t sure which.

“Dream demons,” Respa prompted.

I rose, meeting Respa’s gaze, then the class’s. “Dream demons can be ethical as well. We can explore dreams, plant the seeds, and provide outlets. Sure, we can also cause nightmares, but I’ll let the drudes argue that standpoint.”

A drude stood up from their group. “We challenge others with their fears. We force growth through suffering. Without nightmares, they would never awaken to the strength inside them, and you can’t tell me that’s not ethical.”

“Terror doesn’t always build strength,” Pandora said, speaking up. “Sometimes it just breaks people.”

The drude narrowed his eyes. “Some need breaking before they can be rebuilt.”

“That’s actually valid,” she rasped, and they nodded in agreement.

The tension in the room thickened.

Fear demons followed, claiming their power was a protective force. “Fear isn’t just unethical, it’s necessary,” their representative argued. “It warns against danger, guides instincts, and even starts revolutions. We are the whisper in the dark that keeps them from stepping off the cliff.”

Finally, it was the vengeance demons’ turn. Their speaker stood. “We’re the most ethical in my opinion. We’re not chaos. We are not cruelty. We’re justice. When others inevitably cause harm, we balance the scales for those harmed. We do what must be done.”

Another drude leaned forward, her voice cutting through the room like a blade. “You call it justice, but what happens when vengeance spirals? When you punish too harshly? Who judges you?”

The noble demons, the ones from powerful bloodlines, bristled. The speaker for the vengeance demons was a noble. “Our class matters, too,” he muttered. “I doubt nobility would be judged as harshly.”

Pandora spoke up, “All of us justify our powers,” she said. “We say we serve a purpose. That we help society, that we act in the best interest. But do we really ? Or do we just serve ourselves? All demons of all classes hoard power, using it selfishly. Demons don’t usually care about ethics. They care about control, and the Demon Council keeps us in check. Society needs laws that treat all of us equally—nobility or not.”

A shocked hush fell over the class before whispers broke out and turned into outright arguments.

I was so damn proud of her.

Respa let the chaos simmer for a moment, then clapped her hands. “Enough. You’ve all made your cases.” Her lips twitched. “All of you pass…aside from you.” She pointed toward the noble who brought class into it, and he groaned.

Exhales of relief swept through the rest of the class.

At the end, Fester shuffled over to where Jenni, Pandora, and I stood together to leave.

“Congrats, guys,” he muttered with a small smile.

Jenni and Pandora exchanged a glance before engaging him in conversation, while I kept my distance as usual. Fester didn’t seem evil, but he was definitely misled growing up in a cult.

It was difficult to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I would try to do that for Pandora’s sake…once the cult was destroyed, that is.

A few minutes later, his friend came to retrieve him. Fester blushed and left with him.

“I think they should be a thing,” Jenni stated.

“I think so, too,” Pandora agreed with a grin before lacing her fingers in mine and tugging me out of the classroom behind her.