Page 15 of In Prey We Trust

This year, I’m not staying on the defensive—it’s the Year of the Rabbit and I’m ready to claim my crown.

Capital Preparatory Academy Schedule

Chess

Something is wrong.

I don’t know how I know—my connection to Fitz has always been there, but not as active as they taught me mating bonds were. But when something is truly amiss, I get itchy, then anxious. It’s almost as if his hyperactivity slides down the bond to me while he’s focused on whatever it is. And right now, I feel like I’m going to jump out of my skin.

Walking over to the bar Ren and Aubrey set up, I pour myself a gin and tonic. I’m not as fond of straight liquor as the others, but I need a balm for the nerves firing within me. Felix and I have been here working on various shit Henny assigned to our group when we arranged to be at Capital Prep together. The flying duo is in the library proper, re-cataloguing at Aubrey’s insistence. Apparently, dragons and sphinxes have very different ideas about how libraries are maintained, and he’s been a beast about it since we all arrived.

“Chess, you don’t normally partake at eleven a.m.” Felix lifts his head from his files, his eyes cutting into me with the intuition of a leader. “What’s going on?”

I pause, not wanting to overreact and seem too emotional. “I feel like there’s something not right. It’s got me on edge, that’s all.”

“What have I told you about trusting your instincts? They’re as good as the rest of ours, and you don’t need to doubt yourself. Tell me what has you drinking,” he replies as he sets aside his work.

“A feeling. When Fitz has major emotions, there’s a flood of energy that flows through our mating bond. It makes me jittery and I’ve been sensing it growing for about an hour. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it, but it could just be him getting excited over a cool car.” I smile crookedly. “We both know his temperament.”

The tiger raises an eyebrow. “Have you ever felt this when it was something silly or unimportant?”

Blinking, I turn inward to think about that question. I don’t recall getting the tingle of endorphins when Fitz was out carousing or even if he’s just fighting. No, this is a specific thing that happens when he is in danger, and my eyes widen when I realize it. “I think he’s in danger. That means…”

“The Princess is in danger,” Felix says grimly. Turning back to his computer, he fires off a message in one of the open windows and within moments, the door to the private residence opens.

Renard and Aubrey look a bit disheveled, but I imagine moving all those heavy ass books is tiring even for shifters. There’s an odd anxiety coming from them and I don’t know if it’s because Felix sent up a red flag or they sensed something off. Aubrey clears his throat after he sees my drink, then looks at my Raj.

“Felix, you said it was an emergency. No one’s moving. What the bloody hell is going on?”

I walk over to the couch, taking a seat next to Felix. He’s pulling up the GPS on Fitz’s phone and bike. “We believe there’s a problem with the convoy returning. I’ve got a sense that Fitz is in trouble.”

“Through your bond?” Renard asks. When I nod, he hums softly. “We should take it seriously. The two of you keep quiet about how your particular bond works, but they teach gargoyles to pay very close attention to the warnings their bonds give them. If you feel Fitz is unsafe, you are likely correct.”

That doesn’t make me feel any better.

“They’ve stopped,” my Raj interrupts. “Fitz’s trackers are still and the system says they have been for about fifteen minutes.”

Aubrey narrows his eyes at the tiger after he glances at the screen. “Would you like to share why you didn’t use this to track him the other night, Felix? It would have saved a lot of worry.”

My face heats and I raise my hand sheepishly. “That’s my fault. I promised Fitz we wouldn’t use the GPS we put in on everyone’s tech and vehicles unless we were certain one of us was in danger. Agreeing to his terms was the only way I could get him to do it.”

The other two roll their eyes, but Renard is the one who asks. “When did you two hatch this…very insightful… plan?”

He’s not thrilled; I can tell by his tone. But honestly, once we started leaving campus with Dolly, it worried the hell out of me. Looks like I was right. “I asked him to do it when we started taking my angel off-campus for dates. I was worried about what might happen if one of us ran into trouble. It flags the system if we aren’t within the given ranges set.”

“You programmed our date locations?” Aubrey growls, the affront clear on his face. “By Ra’s ears, Chess, you’re getting as paranoid as Fitz.”

“Obviously not,” Felix says wryly as he smirks. “There’s nothing about where they stopped and no one has communicated a rest break. They’re still three hours away and I assume your prey friends haven’t texted, either, Ren?”

The gargoyle reaches in his pocket, pulling out his phone and frowning. “No. The Captain would let me know if they’d stopped for a normal reason. Chess may have invaded our privacy, but his fears were not unwarranted.”

“Fine. But Felix knew, and we didn’t. That’s poor communication—do better, both of you,” the dragon grumbles as he and Ren join us on the sofa. “We could fly, but whatever is happening might be over by the time we arrive. This was carefully planned.”

Studying the map, I tilt my head, considering all the options. This smacks of the abductions from last year—a student from a well-known family traveling to or from the school because of a break. The kidnappers are keeping track of break schedules and likely have spies to help monitor the coming and going of their targets. Dolly wasn’t supposed to leave for two more days, yet they could ambush her in the perfect place to catch her vulnerable.

What they couldn’t account for was Fitz and the pirates.

“She has people with her who would die before they allow her to be taken,” I mumble. The frightened expressions on the faces of the most alpha members of our family are scaring me. “They’re not without protection.”

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