Page 185 of Psycho Devils: Aran's Story 2

Cobra’s snakes emitted a painful poison. It was supposedly debilitating.

For a second, the air around the shrieking student also sparkled black, and his ruddy skin turned unnaturally pale.

The darkness disappeared when I blinked. I must have imagined it.

After a few moments, the other students became bored with watching the man scream. They turned back to their meals.

We did the same.

Sadie planned our next shopping trip in extreme detail, and even the men joined in on the conversation.

Ascher wanted a new phone, Jax wanted a different nose ring, Cobra had his eye on a comic book (who knew he had hobbies?), and Xerxes wanted a new supercar.

Sadie said Xerxes was being ridiculous and that she just wanted a new book.

Yet again, her aversion to spending money was extremely creepy and not relatable.

I aspired to spend all the fae palace gold. Nothing would make me happier than bankrupting the realm.

When I told Sadie this, she said I was greedy.

I didn’t see the problem.

Even as I argued with my friend about her acting like a peasant, the student’s screams made me uncomfortable.

Someone else was in pain because of me.

It was stupid because realistically I didn’t give a single shit about the man. Still, I couldn’t help feeling like darkness clung to me.

I was corrupted.

Evil.

Soulless.

When the dinner finally ended, students grabbed the screaming man and dragged him across the floor out the door.

There was a black scorch mark across the crotch of his pants.

From the way Malum was smirking at the other table, Cobra wasn’t the only one who’d intervened.

I inhaled enchanted smoke.

Exhaled with a long drag.

For a second, I’d forgotten I wasn’t a member of the functional, loving shifter legion.

I was a part of the academy legion: psychotic devils, ornery demons, a depressed fae queen, and a happy-go-lucky human.

We were the definition of dysfunctional.

I gave Sadie and Jax a hug, bumped fists with Ascher and Xerxes, made a face at Cobra, and flipped off Jinx, who mouthed, “Do the right thing.”

When I joined my teammates, I still couldn’t look John in the eyes, and I pretended I didn’t see the kings staring at me.

The demons raised their brows when I walked beside them in the halls.

“We’re not friends,” Zenith muttered angrily under his breath. “Stay away from us.”

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