Page 44 of In Prey We Trust

“Don’t be an ass, bro,” I mutter as I scoop some more pasta on her plate. “Our girl likes a big helping of meat on her plate, and I’m not complaining.”

My twin blinks, then actually laughs, making everyone else follow suit. Man, I really love how he’s opening up. Felix has been punishing himself for so long that I can barely remember how much fun he was before the weight of unrealized expectations crushed him. His eyes dance as he watches Dolly dig in with gusto and he twirls a wineglass in his fingers. He’s enjoying himself without the aid of a hefty tipple of scotch and it’s fucking beautiful.

“I suppose you’re right, Fitz.” Felix turns to Chess and claps him on the back. “Good job, bro.”

I’m about to add my tidbit of wisdom when I get distracted by the swipe of a pink tongue over pouty lips. Fuck. My eyes narrow as I watch her closer, scenting the change in the room greedily. If we can clean this shit up quickly, we can probably work in some naked time before—

“Calm down, Fitz,” Aubrey says, bringing me out of my trance. “We still haven’t discussed what happened after snack size’s morning classes.”

Dolly growls under her breath and wrinkles her nose. “Ugh. I was trying to avoid that garbage. Fine, I’ll spill. But everyone needs to put down their pointy objects. Capiche?”

The others share a concerned look, then they glare at me when I shrug. “She’s right. You don’t want to have a weapon in hand.”

“I am a weapon,” the dragon snarls as he leans back in his chair. “But I’ll try to keep it cool.”

How do you argue with that shit? The motherfucker burnt down the Library of Alexandria as a child. He’s not wrong.

“Go ahead, Princess,” Felix says as he puts down his fork. “Tell us what the hell has you on edge and Fitz scrambling to cover.”

“Shifter History was… as expected. Blitzen is a dickwaffle, and he embarrassed me at every turn. He didn’t take any sides or let either group of mean girls pick on me as much as force me to look stupid. I’ll have to study my cottontail off to get ahead, so he can’t do it every day all year.” Her brows knit as she looks down at her napkin, clearly frustrated with herself.

“You aren’t to blame for that, ma petite. Even your friends agree that your mother purposefully kept you ignorant to control you,” Renard says softly. “Flames and I will work with you to get you up to speed.”

“Ugh, I know, but I hate feeling dumb. It’s just another thing they can point at and say I’m unworthy. As much as I know it’s not true, I can’t help but get upset. I don’t know how this asshat knew what button to push, but it fucking sucked.” Dolly flops back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling with a long sigh.

“I get that,” I interject. “People have always treated me like an idiot because they didn’t know how to handle me. But you did, Baby Girl, and now my head’s clearer than it’s ever been. Sometimes smarts aren’t just in books, you know.”

She smiles softly, getting up from her spot to walk over and plop down on my lap. One hand brushes over my hair, pushing it out of my face before she leans in nose to nose. “Fitzgerald Khan, you are not, nor have you ever been, stupid. Anyone who thinks so will die before they finish saying the words. Cross my heart.”

“Awwwww,” Aubrey says, his voice laced with playful sarcasm. “Look how cute our family psychos are. It’s adorable.”

My brow arches as I point a finger in his direction. “You, Flaming Fartknocker, better be nice or I’ll spill the tea about your antics. We lost a lot of shit before the beautiful bunny bounced into our lair.”

He snorts, blowing a smoke ring in annoyance, and I know I got him. “Fine. Be body part collecting weirdos all you want. It’s perfectly normal and not at all worrisome. Carry on.”

“Tell them the rest, Baby Girl,” I say as I turn back to her. “They need to know why you hit the distress button.”

She makes a huffing sound, but leans back into my arms as she complies. “That cunt cheer coach called me into her office to tell me she’d had reports of my ‘delusions’ from last year from other students. Then, in her infinite wisdom, she called Lucille, who sold me up the river, and they decided I have to get ‘counseling’ from her twice a week until she feels I’m cured.”

“What?!” Chess blurts out, toppling his chair as he stands. “No way. You can’t.”

“I have to,” Dolly replies glumly. “She’s made it part of my schedule and run it up the flagpole. I could get banned from shit like the Pred Games and performances if I don’t do what she’s ordering. Lucille signed off on it, too, so I can’t even work that angle.”

“Guys, there’s something really wrong with this woman,” I cut in. “Her office looks like a unicorn barfed in it and she has all these posters…”

Dolly groans. “Her office is this giant shrine to her books—and based on the color scheme plus her poking at Chess, we can guess what that is. The posters are full of generic ally slogans and she’s got a bunch of authors I recognize on the bottom shelf where there are books that aren’t hers.”

I didn’t get that part and now I’m ready to boil over. How fucking dare she try to—

“Fitz, calm down,” Felix booms as he stares at me. “Princess, tell us why you hit the button. This is all bullshit, but it’s not why you panicked.”

She nods, dropping her gaze to look at her hands. “She called me a narcissistic nymphomaniac and implied I’d have to discuss my decline into that life in great detail to work through it. The look in her eye was so predatory that I knew something wasn’t right. When I tried to leave, she started talking about control and her sway, but I could feel the hunger radiating from her. Not to attack me, but… to force me to talk.”

The gargoyle’s wings pop out, and he flexes them with an agitated look. “Ma petite, we will work on getting this woman’s edict reversed, but I cannot stress enough how little you can reveal to her. No matter how emotional she gets you, no matter what she uses to prod your wounds… do not tell your story.”

I frown, wrapping my arms around her tightly as I stare at the broody shifter. “Why is that, Rock Man? What’s got your tail in a knot now?”

“I was worried when Chester mentioned all the questions, but I thought perhaps I was overreacting. Now that Dolly has had a similar experience, I can express my fears.” He throws his napkin down and paces across the room. “Many years ago, I took up residence in Italy. This was after my exile and before I came to Apex, of course. I met a writer, and we became friends… Suffice to say, they stole my story as inspiration and I’ve had to watch it echo through time, reopening my wounds every time I see the blasted tale.”

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