Page 72 of Her Psycho Beasts

I’d once tried to behead Christine the gargoyle from her spot on top of the anima’s dorm entrance. Looks like she was more useful than we thought.

The animas chat with Sabrina for a while before an academy guard knocks on the door. Sabrina stiffens. We see the red envelope right away, and Yeti takes it from the guard before commanding him out.

With raised eyebrows, the white tiger hands me the envelope. “It’s for you, Sav.”

I take it, professionally opening it up like I’m going to read it. Luckily, my regina rescues me, leaning over my arm to read the fancy letters.

“It’s a notice to see Dolores,” Aurelia says, her mouth twisting in distaste. “He wants to see you for a meeting immediately.”

“He’s not going to try and put you back in jail, is he?” Minnie asks nervously.

I cackle, and it sounds kind of mad, which I like. “Are you worried about me, Minnie?”

The tigress turns her face away from me and makes a ‘harrumph’ sound. “Of course not.”

I turn to my regina. “I think she is.”

My little chompy grins. “I think she is too. You’d better go see what it’s about.”

I don’t want to leave, but I’ve been commanded by my regina, so I sigh, kiss her loudly on the mouth, and go to meet my fate.

Damien Dolores Dicky Doo Agnis definitely looks like an overgrown bird. One of the spindly ones that are all wobbly on their legs. Except I think he’s a bit wobbly in the mind.

I know all about that.

“So, you are Savage Fengari,” the phoenix chirps from behind the desk in one of the classrooms he’s been forced to make his office since the school won’t let him into Lyle’s.

I clasp my hands behind my back and nod like the good little student I am. “It is I.”

He sniffs through his slightly red nose. “You left a significant amount of mayhem in your wake at Blackwater Prison. Property damage is in the millions, let alone injury to the employees. A number of inmates are missing. And there is the matter of the murder charge for Ruben Lunaris and three prison guards.”

I shrug and smile sweetly. “Sometimes these things happen.” He narrows his goldy eyes. His vision can’t be good even though he wears those big white glasses. He has no regina to make sure he has the right sort of frames, and I think that’s a bit sad. “Xander says you may be inbred. Is that true?”

Blood floods his pale cheeks, turning them pink, and his carotid artery bulges nicely. “Excuse me? My blood line is pure, though I can’t say the same for yours. I believe you are still illiterate despite your advanced age.”

It’s not that I don’t want to learn how to read and write properly, it’s just that I’m so shit at learning it. But the way he’s saying it is not very nice. I clench my fists behind my back as I imagine breaking the bird’s beak. But, unfortunately I’ve promised Scythe I won’t hurt this cockatoo.

He continues with his beak in the air. “It is time you grew up and became an adult. This childishness must stop.”

“Adulthood is where the soul goes to die,” I say smoothly. It’s one of my favourite sayings.

Damien rudely ignores my words of wisdom and just continues on.Thatgets on my nerves. “While the inmates at Blackwater Prison are being redistributed, the council has agreed you may be incarcerated for your crimes here.”

Translation: we know it’s useless to try and lock you up, so we’re letting you do what you want.

“How lovely and generous,” I say.

“But listen to me now.” Damien points a finger at my chest. He thinks I haven’t noticed that he won’t move out from behind his desk. Does he think a bit of wood will save him?

I reach up to my ear and turn an invisible dial. “Listening is on.”

“I won’t tolerateanyfighting.Anybackchat.Anygeneral lack of respect. You will follow my rules or suffer the consequences.”

“But consequences don’t work on me,” I splay my hands out, genuinely worried. “What are you gonna do about that?”

“Well,” he says, lowering his finger, which is a good thing, because it was about to be removed from his body. But then he smirks. “You have a regina now.”

There is only a beat of silence before I grab his entire desk with both hands and fling it out the window.

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