Page 132 of In Prey We Trust

Her long unicorn hair is half pinned up, decorated with the one item I insisted her friend work into the outfit—a sparkling rose gold crown with baby pink diamonds. It’s something I came into possession of many, many years ago, and I had to sneak out to my main horde with Rennie at night to fetch it. Her dress is the same hue as the diamonds, strapless, and has an enormous tulle bottom like a damn princess. There’s a white faux wrap around her shoulders, making her look even more like royalty.

“Our damn tuxes match her hair,” Fitz says with a grin. He bounces on his toes for a second, clapping his hands. “Our tuxes match her hair! It’s brilliant!”

Dolly flushes and looks at all of us, her big blue eyes unsure. “Is this okay? I mean, I know, I’m like a fucking walking marshmallow, but… it has pockets!”

I grin with evil glee as she pulls her phone out of a mass of material in one hand and a folded knife in her other. Rennie coughs, then snorts, and before I know it, we’re all laughing. Of all the things she could be happy about, the pockets are definitely the most ‘Dolly’ of them all. “Good thing. The food may be inedible at this thing. Chess should slip you a few treats to hide in that giant mess.”

“Good idea!” she says, reaching down to lift the big skirt so she can scurry to the kitchen. “Come on, Chessie. Aubrey’s plan is brilliant.”

Cori groans, stomping her foot. “She’d better not spill anything on that. I want perfect pictures before shit goes to hell, and it’s covered in blood. Perfect. Do you clowns hear me?”

Felix holds his hand up, his expression amused. “Relax, Cori. I promise we’ll all pose so your excellent work gets seen by important people. Fitz and I know how important it is to stick it to your shitty parents in the most spectacular manner possible.”

“Amen, Prof. Coco deserves to show them she’s not defective.”

I hold up my phone, hoping to calm frayed nerves. “How about Rennie takes one of you and Cori, then we’ll set up a few more before we go? I believe we have a few minutes before the Captain and his crew arrive to escort us to the main building. At least those will flit off to the cloud thingy before anything gets ruined.”

Ren leans in, grabbing my phone and snapping a selfie with it before I can even protest. “Great idea, Flames. Very unlike you to admit tech might save the day. Everyone, add this to your calendar.”

“Shut up,” I grumble. “Let’s do this and get our asses to the big fancy trap—I mean, the ball.”

“Word,” Fitz says as he fist bumps me. “I can’t wait to piss people off.”

Excellent.

By the time Rufus and Chess got all the shots they wanted pushed into the air, the Captain showed up with his entire motley crew. Raina spent the entire walk ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over the girls’ dresses, which made the lunchable blush as pink as her giant dress. Not one of them would tell us how she’s supposed to do anything but look beautiful if the shit hits the fan, but I trust Dolly’s friends wouldn’t leave her stranded in yards of tulle.

At least, I don’t think so.

The trip through the tunnel gave me pause because I’ve long thought of it as a choke point. Having to walk under the river to classes in an enclosed space with locks on either end was a major factor in getting the crew to stay with Dolly all semester. Both Felix and I were uncomfortable with her being trapped underwater with someone who wanted to do her harm and I have no fewer concerns about it now. The damn thing is a menace if you have bad actors on campus and I wonder how many times smaller preds have suffered a terrible fate in this monstrosity.

I flick my badge at the scanner, waiting for something to go wrong, but it doesn’t. The Captain and Bowser lead the way onto the campus green, followed by Felix, then Dolly on the arms of Chess and Fitz. Kirby and Banjo form the next layer in front of Rufus and Cori, then Percy and Holliday, while Rennie and I bring up the rear. We’re taking zero chances that some nefarious motherfucker can ambush us and get to our girl tonight.

“Look at how the Student Center is lit up!” Dolly gasps as we cross the quad. “It’s twinkling like the stars.”

“Too bad they didn’t spend more money on security rather than these fucking lights,” Rennie mutters and I hum my agreement.

It’s not surprising the Council and the school have gone all out for this event, especially because the students are fancy hostages during the break. But it pisses me off they haven’t considered inviting all these outsiders and goddamn press onto campus completely negates the effect of the stupid lockdown. Certainly, many of the big names will be recognizable, but dozens of small families and staff for the event will be unknown. The whole thing begs for bad juju to come knocking and my dragon wants to lock everyone in my family up where it’s safe.

I can’t, though. This is a chance to do a great deal of sleuthing and all the players are in the house.

“Anyone else feel like we’re in a rich people's version of Murder on the Orient Express tonight?” Fitz asks. “I know they were all rich, but you know what I mean. All these scheming dicklickers and their rancid kids, plus the droves of outsiders? The damn ball is bait and the Council or Society or who the fuck ever is hoping to shut down the magic twats when they attack.”

Dolly sighs, patting his hand. “Yes, baby. We’re all being used as bait and it sucks, but what can we do? If nothing happens, we eat crappy food, do some snooping with the suspects, and go home tipsy. Conversely, if the hoods attack and everything goes off the rails, we’ll do what we have to.”

Felix holds his hand up as we approach the building. “No discussing secret shit inside. Make notes on your phone or whatever you have to do, but say nothing that could be picked up with spells or good hearing. The crew will change into server gear so they can circulate in the crowd. No one goes off alone—period. Not to the bathroom, not to peek up the Princess’ petticoats, nothing. Understood?”

“I am not wearing petti—”

“Not the point, Baby Girl.” Fitz grins and tweaks her nose. “Felix is right on this one. We have to be smart. Divided is how everyone gets picked off one by one.”

“Fine. But if any of you guys think you’re not dancing with me tonight, you’d better sack up and get your Prince Charming on. No fucking way I’m dressed like Cinderella and I don’t get the full experience.” She looks at each one of us, then turns back to the open door to the Dupree Center. “Why is everyone standing in the rotunda like a bunch of lemmings?”

“Because, ma petite, you are right. This is a real ball and they will not let anyone in until they’re announced.” Rennie looks almost gleeful, and I roll my eyes.

Aphrodite save us from the hopeless romantic having a moment.

Canon in D

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