Page 122 of In Prey We Trust

That stops everyone and we all just stare at the hyper twin incredulously. Felix cracks first, putting his hands on his knees and damn near crumbling with laughter. Chess snickers next and before long, we’re all hooting with amusement as Fitz shoots us glares of disapproval. He jumps on a chair, looking down as he poses.

“I’m not joking, assholes. If you make our girl pissy, I’ll pull out some D’Artagnian and go revolution on your asses.”

When she catches her breath, Dolly pops out of my lap, wiping her eyes as she walks over to him. “Fitzy, people just do not give you enough credit for making everything lighter. Get down here and give me a kiss, you loon.”

He hops down with a goofy grin, putting his arms around her and dipping her almost to the floor before kissing her. They straighten after a few polite coughs, and he winks at us. “Make her laugh, make her come, and bring her body parts—that’s why I’m the favorite.”

Felix elbows him, stealing Dolly away to dip her next. “Train her, fuck her, and wear the dress she made you—that’s why I’m the favorite.”

A squeak escapes as Chess grabs her, twirling her before he imitates his brothers. “No, no. Feed her, fuck her, and treat her wounds—that’s why I’m the favorite.”

I look at Aubrey with a devilish grin, leaping from my seat at the same time as him. He dips her, then spins her back to me, her blue eyes glazed as she looks at us. I shake my head at the others. “Non, mes amis. Hunt her, fuck her mid-air, and then take her to a library. That’s why we’re the favorites.”

“Guys…” Dolly groans as she tries to hide her face in her hands.

“Wait. Fuck her mid-air?!” Fitz roars as he stomps his foot. “You sons of bitches!”

“Now look at what you did,” Dolly hisses at me. “We’re never hearing the end of this.”

As long as she’s smiling like she is now, I don’t think I care.

Best Friend

Delores

In the wake of the missing students, Cappie has gone on full lockdown again.

They have brought in another contingent of beefy guards to patrol the grounds and it’s feeling like a damn police state. The past week has been a flurry of rushed coursework and professors getting flustered as their lesson plans seem to drift further from our actual courses to focusing on things related to the Treaty. Rakoto and Blitzen are shoving enough work at us to float a barge of whale sharks and I almost have to hold my nose to complete it. It’s obvious the Council is pushing the academies to get the students to drink the tasty juice before an all-out skirmish begins.

“Do you think they’ll cancel Yule Break?” Cori asks as she snatches a vegan egg roll from the special plate Chess left her. “I’m supposed to go skiing with Giselle’s family in the Alps. I haven’t been to Europe since I was a kid and I’m going to be pissed if we miss it.”

Shrugging, I nibble on my taco potato skin. “I don’t know. Aubrey said some of his friends at the museum are being told visas to leave the country for research are getting held up. For all we know, there could be a total travel ban by New Year’s.”

“Anyone else really uncomfortable that no one has brought in the Sibbies yet?” Rufus yawns and scratches Jinx’s head. “It’s fucking weird, even Farley says so. He’s convinced there’s a conspiracy to take away our freedom or something, but I haven’t told him about all our magical shit, so… Conspiracy theories are all the normal folks have at the moment.”

“The Council is keeping this shit locked down until they feel like they have the upper hand. Not publicizing all the missing people is part of their massive cover-up. That’s why we’re all suddenly learning a bunch of lies about the time before the War and the Treaty.” I grumble as I hold up my tablet with a presentation on it. “I mean, who the fuck believes the Fae were murdering shifters in the middle of the street unprovoked? No one, that’s who. You’d have to be an idiot to believe this shit.”

My polar bear friend turns bright red. “Giselle’s family is very Council oriented. She’s really buying this stuff, and it’s hard not to tell her what I know.”

“Oh shit, Coco!” Rufus rolls over and gives her a hug. “Damn, girl, a Loyalist? What the hell are you gonna do if this all goes boom?”

“I don’t know,” she admits. “I can’t stay with her if she spouts false news and random bullshit the Council feeds us from the media. I just thought she was different; those people aren’t usually the kind that date shifters like me and…”

I hand her a cupcake off the dessert plate with a sympathetic smile. “If it makes you feel better, my parents and all my enemies will be screaming that shit. So will the twins’ dad.”

“For sure, a lot of my family members will latch onto it,” Rufus says with a sigh. “It’ll be up to me and Memaw to set them straight, which is something I’m never a fan of.”

“Rufus!” I smack him with a pillow, groaning at his terrible joke. “Behave. Cori’s upset.”

He sighs, raking a hand through his hair. “Look, Coco. In times like this, we find out who people really are. Maybe Giselle will figure out it’s all crap, and maybe she won’t. The only thing you can do is decide what you’ll tolerate and what you won’t. That’s really the important thing because if she’s presented with the truth and refuses to see it, you won’t have a choice but to accept her as is or cut bait.”

“Agreed.” I scroll through the text on my presentation, wrinkling my nose at the rhetoric I’ll have to agree with to keep my grades where they have to be. “For now, I’m playing the game by pretending to accept the Council’s version of events. It sucks, but given the more dangerous things on my plate, I don’t want to battle with professors over marks.”

Cori looks worried, but she nods. She’s about to add something when my phone walks across our pile of materials as it vibrates. Her eyes widen when she sees the name on the screen, covering her mouth as she points at it. I peer at the device, groaning loudly when I see Lucille’s picture glaring at me.

“Just fucking perfect,” I mutter as I reach for it. I look at my friends, putting a finger to my lips as I swipe to answer. My finger hits ‘speaker’ so they can hear, then I speak. “Good evening, Lucille.”

“Delores Drew, I have been trying to reach you since that wretched video got plastered all over the Prednet!”

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