Page 39 of Come Out & Prey

They can’t actually be sending me to Apex—a school of elite predators—as prey? One glance at the faces of my parents confirms I’m not imagining things, and they really are sentencing me to death by my classmates.

Cowards—the lot of them. They should kill me themselves if they want me dead.

I won’t give them the satisfaction of knowing they broke the last piece of my soul, though. They don’t deserve to feel good about their destruction, and I’m not yet ready to fight back, like the professor, Fitz, suggested. So I nod, turning on my heel and running up the stairs as fast as I can. I have to lock myself in my room so I can finally, finally let it all out. After that, I can plan what I’m going to do to keep myself safe.

It.Won’t. Stop. Buzzing.

I set my phone to silent once I stripped my dress off and tossed it in the garbage can. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of unlocking it to check the time, and the messages started pouring in like a tidal wave of pain and betrayal. My ex-friends and ex-boyfriend filled every social media platform from Instagrowl to Riptok with vile comments, death threats, and laughter at my expense.

I should reportthe things people said as online bullying, but who am I going to report it to?

Pink’s video went viral long before Lucille’s threats to her dad made him take action. It’s been shared so many times that no one can stop it now. To make it worse, Todd decided to doxx me,so I’m also getting regular texts full of hate on top of the social media threats.

I’m a little worried people will show up at my house, but I don’t think they could get past Bruiser’s security team. He might not care if I die, but he won’t let anything happen to my parents. They’ve killed staff for less, and he knows it.

No one has come to find me since I ran to my bedroom, and truthfully, I’m glad. Even seeing Mattie right now would make my shredded heart ache. How could I have known when I woke up this morning that my entire future would disappear like a puff of smoke? Not that I could have done much to escape my fate. You can’t change who you are.

All I can do now is lay here in my room and cry, and hope that I’ll be able to pick up the pieces tomorrow. I’m friendless, loveless, and futureless, but at least I’m not homeless or dead.

Yet.

Sympathy For The Devil

Fitz has been tauntingAubrey about the now infamous ‘Vom Prom’ for days. After he delivered the medical staff, the beleaguered dragon lost the one sober witness he claimed to see, shredded his shirt, and got vomit on his favorite shoes. We’ve listened to him bitch ad nauseam and I’m going to lose my temper if my twin doesn’t stop baiting him.

“You survived, you old grouch! I know you hate leaving your trash can to deal with people, but you aren’t dead.”

I look over at my brother, deciding I might live without him if he gets the dragon going again.

“The library is hardly a trash can, Fitzgerald, though sometimes I wonder if it’s a brothel because of you.” His lips curl up as he narrows his gaze on my lazing twin. “I do not appreciate your disrespect regarding my library or the safety of the students.”

“You’re laser focused on this chick, lizard man. Feels like you’re less concerned with finding out why she wasn’t sick and morelike you have a great big dragon woody for her,” Fitz drawls with a smug grin.

“I know why she wasn’t sick, you dipshit. She didn’t drink that nasty punch. And you shouldn’t even be speaking of her!” Aubrey jumps to his feet, advancing on my brother with a dark look that makes Chess shrink back. “She was as pristine as porcelain, her golden hair glowing in the lights like a seraphim. Not once did she look sweaty or ashen, like the rest of the students. Her features were perfect: a testament to Fibonacci’s ratio if I’ve ever seen one!”

What’s gotten up the lizard king’s ass today?

“Fibonacci was an uptight prick,” Renard mutters from his perch on the balcony.

I’d ask, but the gargoyle isn’t one to elaborate and I’m not sure I really want to know.

Fitz, however, is nonplussed. Aubrey’s outburst doesn’t ruffle him because he was trying to piss the dragon off. He turns to Chess, grinning broadly. “You realize he’s talking about the baby girl we saw in the courtyard, right?”

The cheetah turns red and stammers, “Oh? I didn’t know she was here again. I almost forgot about it, to tell the truth.”

My brother lets out a derisive snort as he stares at his consort. “Uh-huh. Sure you did, baby.”

Fuck, Fitz, is it really the time to pick a fight, especially one you don’t want to win?

“We should find out if the nurses know what they added to the punch and why it made everyone sick.” I look at the huffy dragon expectantly. “Have you spoken to them yet, Aubrey?”

I don’t want any of them to realize how angry I am. My tiger is pissed as fuck that someone infiltrated our home and tried to harm people we’re responsible for. Not only did they get past the school defenses and security, but they flew under the radar of all the preds employed here as well. It makes us all look like incompetent fools.

Especially my brother and the dragon king I sent to represent us.

Apex Academy is our home now. None of us have lands to defend or people to rule, but this was a direct challenge to all authority on campus, including the higher tier exiles like myself. The four people I care about most in the world are in this room and depending on what the poison was, it could have harmed them, too.

This is more than just making snooty Council kids toss their cookies at a dance.

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