They glanced at each other. I had a feeling they too expected me to lie.
“You didn’t grow up knowing about this world, did you?” Declan asked.
I shook my head. “I only found out about it a little less than two years ago.”
“Yet you’ve managed to integrate quite well.”
“Ride or die.”
He gave an amused huff. “Death seems to be quite the common occurrence for us when it comes to dealings with the supernaturals.”
I couldn’t dispute that. But we weren’t exactly blameless either. “Monsters come in all different forms.”
His brow twitched. “True. I understand you were part of the foster system before being placed here. I assume it wasn’t a happy experience.”
I was glaringly aware of Nanna standing nearby doing her best to eavesdrop. “It wasn’t all flowers and cupcakes,” I said. “But I lived through it.”
“That seems to be a prevailing theme in your life,” Sam suggested. “How many life-threatening situations have you been in since you joined the Academy?”
Too many to count. I told them so.
Declan actually chuckled. “It almost feels as though you’re a magnet for bad luck.”
That’s exactly what I thought. So I gave him the explanation I had used to make peace with it. “I have Lucifer’s blood in me. Evil is drawn to it.”
They both nodded. I made the obvious comment. “Neither of you seems particularly surprised about the existence of supernatural beings.”
Declan played with a chunky gold ring on the middle finger of his left hand. “We’ve had a long time to get used to the idea. Don’t get me wrong, it still keeps me up at night knowing there are beings out there who could outmatch us with their abilities.”
“I’ve seen some of the weapons you’ve come up with to disarm them,” I bit out. “They’re very creative.”
Their expressions clouded over. “A few weapons used to fight against a small group of supernaturals isn’t even close to enough,” he said. “The only way we can ensure they don’t overwhelm us is if their presence is made known to the human population.”
So they were still going on about that. I tried to give Nora a mayday signal. She had edged a little farther away to give us space to converse. Where was everyone when I needed them to interject? Okay, I guess I was winging it then.
“Do you honestly think that most people are ready for this kind of revelation?” I said. “You’ve seen how our species reacts when they believe they’re threatened. And you didn’t see the ones who consented to demons invading their bodies.” I shuddered at the very thought. “Some of them chewed off their own arms without a second thought.”
“That is unfortunate,” Declan said. “Your experience is one that we hoped we might be able to replicate. But we concede there are some people who would take the news badly. We just can’t sit forever in the dark while the supernaturals prey on us.”
I pointed at Nora and Mani. “We are doing something about it.”
“Really?” Sam asked. He did a quick headcount. “They’ve obviously gathered all the humans in their population to parade them in front of us. It’s barely pushing mid-double digits. You were fortunate to be born with powers that will allow you to fight them if need be. What about the rest of us? We’re just ants waiting for that big magnifying glass to burn us alive.”
“Fortunate isn’t how I’d describe these powers.”
“Better to be a feared abomination than a helpless mouse.” I knew then that they weren’t concerned like the supernaturals were that I was a freak with powers way beyond what should have been possible for my species. The way Declan was watching me made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Then he asked the million-dollar question. One that the Terrans tried to get me to answer all of last semester.
“When the time comes,” Declan said, “whose side will you be on?”
I spat out a laugh that had everyone within two meters turning to look at me. “There are no sides besides us and the Hell dimension,” I said. “If and when that day comes, you’d better hope the supernaturals are enough.”
“Isn’t it enough now?” Sam asked. “Despite all you can do, it doesn’t seem like they respect your power at all. We’re never going to be anything more than a nuisance species to them. Especially if they continue to recruit our only fighters and indoctrinate them into their fold. Nora has shown us the ways of their Council. She has to negotiate everything to a fine point.”
“Isn’t that politics? Doesn’t the same thing happen in the human world?”
“Oh really?” Declan asked. There was a commotion by the doorway. Somebody cleared their throat. The throng of people moved in the direction of the entrance. Declan’s face broke out into a strange smile that was neither about amusement nor chagrin. “I think your theory is about to be put to the test.”
I couldn’t see over the crowd, but Sophie wedged her way back through it. The look of consternation on her face startled me. Before she could say a word, the voices in the room died down to a whisper. Nanna and Basil moved back to also flank me. What the heck?
I pushed my way forward. Jacqueline walked in my direction. Her lips were pressed into a thin line.
Diana had made shoving supernaturals aside seem like pushing against marshmallows. My elbows were sore by the time I reached the front of the crowd. And then I spotted the thing that had everybody else at a loss for words.
Meryl Laurent stood in front of a towering structure draped in a white silken sheet. The way the material fell made me think it was a sculpture. The damn thing was eight feet tall. The trolley it sat on groaned under the weight. Two Nephilim with more muscles than I had hairs, stood beside her.
Chanelle peeled herself from the crowd to join her mother. Tiberius and Professor Avery stood just to the right
