Page 126 of In Prey We Trust

“Only if there're margaritas,” Fitz mumbles. “Margaritas and tacos are like me and my Baby Girl—inseparable.”

Aubrey snorts, pulling out his phone. “I’ll text Chess and Rennie for their orders, then we can have it brought in. I hate the idea of those muscle bound twits at the gates touching our food to inspect it, but I don’t think any of us need to cook tonight.”

Exhaustion creeps in as I flick through the menus on the PredDash app. “We’re all tapped out. It’s been a long seven days and the next seven won’t be any better.”

At least we’re safe here, curled together and getting ready to face the music together.

Just Like Fire

Delores

Letting out a loud war whoop, I boogie my way down the steps to greet Kirby. He gives me his happy quokka smile, waving his hands excitedly. This was my last exam of the semester and even with gloom lurking over the horizon, I’m stoked. “It’s done!”

“You made it, Dolly. We knew you would.” Kirby reaches into his belt bag and pulls out a plastic container with a single red velvet cupcake. “Raina wanted to make certain you could celebrate immediately. She figured out these were your favorites through Mister Chester.”

My eyes light up and I snatch it, opening it to peel the paper and shovel it into my mouth eagerly. I caught the bunny shaped sprinkles and that he called Chess by his full name, but I’m too busy moaning with delight to comment on either. Raina makes amazing food and I don’t get enough chances to sample it in the dining hall because I’m a spoiled brat with a live-in chef. “Mmmmphh mmmmmmmmMMMMM!”

Kirby laughs as Bowser comes running up to join us, his expression full of amusement at the icing and crumbs on my face. “Raina will be so pleased that you like it.”

I close my eyes as I chew, nodding my pleasure at the unexpected treat. The prospect of ugliness coming within the next couple of days has me trying to enjoy every second of happiness as it comes. I don’t think I’m going to die or anything, but I also don’t want to miss out on good shit because I’m worried about the bad. The past few months have shown me I can’t predict what’s coming around the corner—not with two powerful factions preparing for war with all of us as pawns in the middle. It would be foolish not to bask while I can.

Maybe I’m getting wiser, maybe I’m just letting go of the past and what I can’t control—either way, I’m not letting manipulative twatmuffins live rent-free in my head anymore.

“That was delicious,” I mumble as I dig in my bag for a tissue to wipe my face. “Man, Raina can bribe me with baked goods any day. No wonder you guys always look so damn cheerful.”

Bowser snorts and mutters, “She’s good at a lot of things worth grinning about.”

My eyes pop open, and I cover my mouth as I giggle. Once I stop, I pretend to give him a stern look. “Bowser. You cad.”

“She’s going to murder you, mate,” Kirby says with a sigh. “Don’t mind him, Dolly. He and Percy can be absolutely filthy once they get comfortable with people.”

Winking at the admonished quokka, I shrug. “I’ve got a few of those myself. I won’t be nearly as flustered when the dirty jokes don’t revolve around me.”

“Raina agrees with you.” Bowser winks at me and jerks his head toward the tunnel. “Shall we get you back to your suitors before they come looking?”

I squint as I look over the campus green. More students are pouring out of buildings, but most of them look depressed rather than gleeful. “Yeah. I don’t know how people are going to behave after getting the news that they’re trapped here for the break. Let’s hit the bricks.”

We head for the tunnel, my eyes on the flying preds as usual. I know they’re not supposed to do anything to other students, but the circling has bothered me from day one. Avians at Apex had their own areas for stretching their wings to fly, but here, the winged are given far more freedom. Kirby tugs on my blazer sleeve, knocking me out of my head.

“Why do they worry you, Dolly?”

I frown, shaking my head. “I don’t know, Kirby. Something about the way there’s always some of them up there feels wrong. It could be the rabbit in me, but I have this very perturbed feeling when I see them.”

“I agree that it’s unusual for there to be preds in the air so consistently, but the rules are different here—not always in good ways,” Bowser grumbles as he waves his smaller badge at the tunnel door. “The Captain hates the lax standards here as much as he hated the occasionally overbearing rules at Apex.”

“The Captain is an exacting shifter. I like that he refuses to compromise simply because others disagree,” I reply as we walk down the echoing tube. “Your crew has become indispensable to my family, you know.”

Kirby gives me a pleased look, his smiley face tinting with color as Bowser huffs a bit. “Thank you, Dolly. Outside of His Grace, we never expected to find a pred who treats us as well, and you and yours. I think even Percy’s cousin Argyle has taken a shine to you. She’s a tough nut to crack.”

It’s my turn to blush. “The ladies in the infirmary saved my life when I first got to Apex and I’ve been trying to pay them back ever since. They knew Cori and Rufus before me and took their word that I wouldn’t harm them. I don’t leave anyone behind if they’ve been a good friend, and neither does Rennie, it seems.”

“Yes, you are very similar that way. He has a body of stone, but his heart is as soft as cotton.” Kirby swipes his card so we can exit the tube, following me up the stairs. “Raina says he harbors a great wound that has never healed. She’s convinced you can help.”

Help my boyfriend heal his centuries old broken heart, save the shifters from war… the Fates aren’t asking much of me this year, are they?

“I hope I can, too. Rennie deserves to be happy without the past holding him back.”

Bowser arches a brow as we approach the back door. “We all do, Dolly.”

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