Page 23 of In Prey We Trust

Unlike the staff at Cappie, the Apex exiles arrived not long after they shut the school down for renovations. Their professors aren’t exiles but preds who chose to educate, so they have homes and families to see during the breaks. While that’s a pleasant change from an entire staff of angry cast-offs, it means we couldn’t tell if her new professors will be problems. They limited our knowledge to what we could scrape from the Preynet and social media.

Felix wasn’t happy, but luckily, she still has most of us for various classes. She’ll see me as adjunct with her new theater professors and she has Renard for British Plays & Poetry. Felix is running her Intermediate Shifting class, but Fitz will have to stalk her on his own. That pisses him off because the dragon finagled her for an aide period, but the rest of her classes are all with Cappie staff.

I’m worried about the two wildcard classes: Shifter History and Human Diplomacy. Neither of the professors have much presence online outside of official bios, and something feels intentionally concealed. It made Fitz swear for two hours while he tried to dig up dirt on the dark web, but we’re stuck assessing on the fly. But we only have so much room to fiddle with things or we’ll raise alarms we don’t want blaring around Dolly.

Her personal infamy is enough, thanks.

After going over routes and check-in protocols, we let our girl climb into her giant lizard bed to get some sleep. She insisted everyone simply find a spot and stay with her—an offer absolutely no one could refuse after her being gone all summer. We stacked Aubrey and the gargoyle on one side, the twins on the other, and I got to curl up with my head on her stomach. It felt exactly right, and even Felix woke up with a less grouchy disposition.

We ate breakfast while Dolly told us about her summer working with the designer and groaned about the trainer. The twins shrugged unrepentantly, and Fitz crowed about how well she handled herself in the mini-battle with their attackers as proof he chose well. She begrudgingly admitted it helped before flinging a potato at him that started a small food war. Aubrey broke it up when he got nailed with a mushroom.

It was probably my favorite breakfast ever and I don’t care how silly that sounds.

Now my Angel is getting ready for her first practice with Zhenga while Felix runs back to our place to grab the three of us a change of clothes. I stayed here to clean up while Fitz bothers Dolly, then make the list for our shopping excursion. The dragon is back in the library and Renard is working alongside me in a companionable silence.

“Do you really want to come get school supplies with us?” I ask as I hand him a pan to dry. “You can stay and work on lesson plans if you need to. I know you got handed a few lower-level classes along with your normal ones, and that’s not your usual semester.”

His lips curve, and he shakes his head. “Mon ami, I have forgotten more about literature than most of the people here ever learned. I don’t need to prepare plans to talk about books or plants or even nocturnal shifters. It’s the benefit of being nearly a millennium old.”

“I forget how long you and Aubrey have been alive until you say shit like that,” I admit ruefully. “Neither of you looks over your mid-thirties and, though you have your quirks, you adapt very well.”

“My scaly friend was not always as flexible as he is now. When I first arrived, he barely spoke to anyone, and hadn’t for decades. Did you know I learned sign language just in case he was deaf?” The gargoyle smiles fondly and shrugs. “After I wormed my way into his good graces, I could bring him out of his cave more often. It took patience and dedication, but he’s definitely caught up with the times.”

I blink, turning to look at him incredulously. “Uh, no, I did not know that. You two never talk about the past. I mean, occasional snarky references, but nothing substantial. Is that because you were keeping ‘the big secret’ or is being secretive in your nature?”

“A bit of both. Our species are reclusive—like most rare shifters—and they keep to themselves because of the exotic trade. I know Aubrey was taught similarly to me as a child; any information you share about us could lead to people being killed or captured. So you keep your counsel more often than not.”

Nodding, I hand him another platter. “That makes sense. The Khans are pretty close lipped as well, but for different reasons. Can’t have anyone knowing the extent of their reach and how many fingers they have in what pies,” I reply. “We’re technically still under oath, so we’re not supposed to share a fraction of what we do, but I think the twins are past giving a shit. How much more could the Raj punish us without admitting what the true reason for Felix’s exile is?”

“A power grab. It was obvious from the moment you arrived, though Felix took a long time to work through his anger and pain.” Renard hums a little, then points at the hallway. “We are all here because people deemed our presence dangerous, Chester. Change is never easy and those who hold the reins dislike letting go if they believe their ways will end. Whether it's your ambush, my clutch, Aubrey’s clash, or even the megalomaniacal Lucille Drew, they all fear what will happen when beings such as us are given the power to enact new beginnings.”

“I suspect the factions we have buzzing around us are at opposite ends of that spectrum,” I murmur. “The magic users have powerful support—otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to infiltrate Apex and get the information to abduct students. Whoever is moving chess pieces on the other side is aware of this gambit or simply acting to prevent Dolly from surviving this mess.” Pausing as I put down the dish towel, I look over at him seriously. “Being in the Capital makes this so much worse, you know.”

His snort tells me he knows exactly what I mean. “Yes, now we have to account for a third wildcard in this equation—humans.”

“Capital Prep is hidden well enough to make campus life less stressful, but when we venture out, it won’t be like the town outside of Apex. Hell, even the shifter areas of Cambridge are less exposed than a shared capital city.”

“Indeed. The consequences for exposing things we should not are steep.”

That quiets us both for a moment because the attack on our family occurred in the open. The magic users seem completely unconcerned with the shifter laws and we can’t account for their behavior. Once we wipe down the counters, we move to the sunken living area where all the planning materials from last night are still spread out. I hand him the list of textbooks while I tackle the other materials.

“We need to go to the bookstore first, then we’ll get the other supplies at a megastore.” I wrinkle my nose when it occurs to me that we will have to make several stops to get everything. “Dolly said we have to find a dance house and a sporting goods store for her equipment. And Fitz is dying to take her clothes shopping, so that will not be an option.”

Renard grins, his eyes dancing with merriment. “I think we should all go. This will drive Felix and mon fogeaux ami insane on many levels. Fitz’s hyperactivity, ma petite, trying on clothes, and having to cram into the car? It’s chef’s kiss chaos.”

If I didn’t know Renard Laveaux, I’d have no idea that gargoyles are such troublemakers.

“Deal. If we tell my angel first, they won’t have a choice.” I grin evilly. “Now, let’s start planning the route and which places we’re going. I want to enjoy this as much as possible before we all get thrown into the deep end with school starting.”

“Agreed.”

“She’s a fucking sadist!”

The annex fills with noise, rousing me from the work I was doing. After we finished our planning, Renard took off to his perch to ‘decompress’ for a while, and I tracked down Jinx to give her some attention. The playlist on the speakers was soothing, so I hunkered down to get my planning completed. The fine arts professors I’m working under all sent lengthy emails full of things I need to put together in the next two days and though the tone of their missives was irritating, I want to make a good impression.

Just because Apex didn’t have a well-supported arts program doesn’t mean I’m a fucking bumpkin.

Fitz laughs as he, Felix, and a very sweaty, dirty bunny come barreling into my calm workspace. “Baby Girl, if she didn’t make everyone show her their fitness levels, she wouldn’t be able to develop individual plans for you. Plus, she has to assess the strength of the Cappie team. These wimps won’t have what it takes to compete with the other schools, much less the public schools.”

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