Page 20 of Come Out & Prey

Neither of them thinks I should be punishing myself for what happened, but I can’t seem to let it go. The throne at Bloodstone will always drip with the blood of both the guilty and the innocent, but Fitz and I always planned to change some of the more barbaric bullshit our great-great-great-grandparents instituted.

We were waiting for me to inherit the crown so we could get rid of things like the ambush trials, the emergence ceremony, and the punishment hunts. Those things impacted all three of us as cubs, including Chess, and we wanted better for ourpeople. Our tigers are bloodthirsty and occasionally cruel, but the generations before us devolved into savagery and it needs to change.

But it never will now that we’re stuck here for the rest of our lives and that’s why I deserve to suffer.

“Yes, she did.” I rub my cheek on the top of his head, wanting to replace the scent of the lioness with my twin’s spicy juniper berry and ginger smell that’s laced with hints of vetiver and sandalwood I know is from Chess. “Did you defile Aubrey’s library again, Fitzy?”

He grins against my shoulder, shrugging a little. “It’s the most private place on campus.”

Groaning, I flop my head back on the couch. “Unlike our fucking house? One of these times, I’m going to let that grumpy bastard crisp you simply because youaskfor it.”

“I don’t beeeelieeeeve you,” Fitz sing-songs. “But you need to have more fun, bro. Taunting Aubrey and fucking Chessie are my guilty pleasures, but you don’t have the luxury of either. You can’t rely on beating the snot out of Pred Games contenders and staff members forever. This Fall, you need to find a playmate who isn’t a psycho stalker.”

I snort, rolling my head back and forth. “Absolutely not, Fitz. Idiots like me are the crown jewels of cock in this place. We only draw the psychos because they want to use us as a ticket out.”

“Maybe a different pond? Chess and I saw this hot little number in the courtyard today and she damn near made his dick explode on Aubrey’s precious windows in the sci-fi section.” Fitz bobs his brows, completely unashamed of their antics in public or lusting after an incoming student.

“Fitz, that dragon will stomp you into the mud if you don’t quit messing with his lair. Youknowwhat happened to that wolf alpha the year after we got here. He dared to mess with the book system and Aubrey turned him into a pile of charcoal before mailing his ashes to his former pack with a dragon turd.”

My brother throws his head back and howls with laughter. “Fuck, I forgot about that. It might have been the funniest shit I’ve ever seen—old, stodgy scaly pants was so proud of himself. Rightly so, to be honest, because I would have paid good money to see the look on that fucker’s face when his prodigal son arrived as sooty dragon shit in a paper bag.”

I arch a brow at him as if to say, ‘that’s what I’m trying to tell you’.

“Don’t worry, Felix. Aubrey loves me and I gave him a little project that should keep him busy for a while. Knowing how much he loves to research things, I figure I’ve got a couple weeks before he notices Chess and I have been sneaking in again.”

That makes my entire body go tense.

“You’re my brother, so I’m going to ask as your family, not your Raj. Is this more bullshit you’re looking into because you want to help me fight the exile? You know I’ve asked you nicely to stop it.” He shrugs and gives me a wink that does not fill me with confidence. I rub a hand over my face, letting out a heavy sigh as I look at the ceiling. “Fitz, if anyone from Bloodstone finds out, you’ll get all of us killed!”

“Meh, we’ll be fine.” Fitz rubs his cheek on me again, completely unconcerned with the thought of our entire ambush’s wrath coming down on us. He’s always been the perfect representation of everything my father wanted me to be—outside of his feelingsfor Chess. My twin is morally flexible, unflinching at the prospect of danger, and a total psycho in battle; he’s a Khan, through and through. “The dipshit sitting in your chair wouldn’t last two minutes in the ring with either of us, even if he is our kin.”

He’s not wrong about that, either.

“But we’re here and this is our life now, Fitz. Nothing can undo some things.”

His growl is soft, but full of meaning. “Every single person who sided with our father and brother, the bitch who broke you, and the rest of the family members who did nothing will suffer at my hands for stealing what is yours, Felix. If they thought I was crazy when I was headed for the Pred Games, they have no idea what I’m capable of when I’m playing for vengeance. Blood will fill the halls and stain the tiles of that palace when I’m through.”

I want to revel in the sincerity of my twin, but I know better than to give myself even a moment of peace. I don’t deserve it, and even the smallest amount of mercy might lead to more. We can’t take on our entire family and all of their allies—I’m fully aware of that. Fitz just needs something to believe in because he doesn’t let anyone but Chess and me in, despite being one of the most social people I know. We’re all stuck in this place because of me and I can’t take away the one thing he’s holding onto.

“You didn’t let me tell you about the girl.”

I smile to myself. When Fitz pouts, he’s calm. “She must be something pretty fucking special if Chess looked up from your crotch to notice her.”

Fitz barks a laugh, looking up at me with sparkling eyes. “Fuck yeah, she was. Stacked like a brick house, curves you can hangonto, eyes like the summer sky, and long blond hair you wanna wrap around your fist like a leash. Chessie said he wants tofuckher; can you believe it?”

Holy fuck.

“He did? Are you okay with that?” I ask curiously. Fitz can be possessive, but since his consort has never shown an ounce of interest in anyone but my brother, I have no baseline for this.

“And she’sunemerged,” he breathes like it’s a prayer.

“Fitz…” I warn, looking at him with a dark glare. “We both know how dangerous that is. Let her figure out how stupid it would be to come here without ditching that attribute on her own. Neither you nor Chess need to be within five hundred feet of an unemerged rich brat, no matter how fucking hot she is.”

“Relax, bro. Neither of us laid a finger on her, but looking at her made me hard enough to cut the fucking window glass.”

He winks, and I roll my eyes. That had to be fun for Chess to deal with. Luckily for him, shifters heal quickly and Fitz might be rough, but he treats his consort like he’s the prince instead of us. “You didn’t answer me.”

“Ugh, Felix, you’re like a dog with a bone instead of a tiger.” He grumbles and socks my thigh before continuing. “I told Chess I’d fucking love to make kitty sandwiches with whatever animal that girl turns out to be. I couldn’t get a bead on it in the library, but then my lovely pin-up girl showed up in the gym during my afternoon workout. She joined a group of bobbleheaded twits babbling about being DTF at college parties and I got too distracted to suss it out. I’d guess she’s from one of the Council lines after seeing her friends.”

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