Page 35 of Prey It Ain't So

“I almost forgot about that!” Chess frowns as he looks up from his phone. “Being this close to where Lucille came from has to be a bit nerve-wracking. I should have asked, Angel.”

I wave my hand dismissively. “Honestly, I’d put it out of my mind until now. I didn’t want to chicken out on supporting Rennie. He needs us to be with him on this trip and we need to get as much intel as possible. We don’t have contacts here and well… like I said. I didn’t bring it up because it’s scary. She’s always made him seem like some omniscient deity ruling an entire continent from his velvet sofa.”

“Yeah, our dad is a bit like that.” Felix gives me a knowing look. “He does little for himself since ascending to the throne, has wildly unpredictable mood swings, and somehow, still keeps an iron grip on the entire continent plus some of the nearby countries. All of that is from a tiny island full of criminals, outcasts, and rejects from the families of the wealthy who wish they were dead rather than be there. It’s confounding, honestly.”

“No, it’s not, bro.” Fitz rolls his eyes as he leans forward on his forearms. He motions for me to eat more and I make a face but obey as he continues. “The current dickbag in the chair has the same infrastructure as the Council and your grandpappy and even your mom. Layers of people who know only what is needed to achieve their goals. If they seem shaky, they’re eliminated and replaced. No one but him hasallthe info. He trusts almost no one and uses every psycho he can gather to run territories for him. It’s like… he runs his criminal shit like a corporation.”

“I don’t know that other things should ever be run like businesses, except businesses,” I mutter around a bite of bacon. “It feels like a misapplication of the concepts.”

“Well, a government definitely shouldn’t be or you get sociopathic tyrants ruining everything and everyone he touches,” Felix grumbles. “That’s definitely why Bloodstone is its own thing, separate from oversight.”

“And when people get sent to do that… they die,” Chess says softly. “I’m one of the few to make it out alive and it’s only because of Fitz and Felix.”

“Hey! I would have jumped the lazy fucker himself if someone tried to hurt you,” Fitz says with a snarl. “Even before I knew why you were important, I couldn’t let the weird shit they did to us happen to you, baby.”

My brows furrow and I cut my gaze to the gargoyle and the dragon. It’s not the first time one of the cats has mentioned bad things happening to the twins as kids. They never continue and I’m starting to believe that whatever it is may be so egregious that we’re all going to lose our shit. They’re clearly too damaged to admit to it yet, so I won’t push. But that fuckwad father of theirs had better be ready for what happens when our family finds out—he’s going to writhe in agony so profoundly that someone will write fuckingsongsabout it.

“Well, Bloodstone is on the list, but I don’t think we should aim for that until we have alotmore shit under control,” I reply. “It sounds like your dad has it set up like a goddamn cult compound surrounded by miles of ocean.”

“That’s… pretty accurate,” Fitz says, as he rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, it’s veryJurassic Parkthere. All wild and defended by miles of jungle full of crazy fucking preds who were punished for their sins by being set loose. The reform school rejects who are too much to handle, either get promoted to his goon squad or released into the wild as part of the island’sdefenses. It’s insane, Baby Girl. He has cameras all over so he can watch preds and the occasional prey get hunted until they’re killed or eaten. There’s a gambling economy around it.”

“That’swhere the bets come from,” I mutter as I take all that in. It’s a shit ton more info about their home than they’ve given in the past, but I’m tucking it away in my brain. I look over at Aubrey, who nods. “You just grew up around it.”

Felix nods slowly, then says, “Our history is very painful, but that’s because our father turned Bloodstone into an evil villain lair after our grandmother moved away. He didn’t have anyone to say ‘no’ anymore, and everything went super dark very quickly. He recruited cat shifters of all kinds to fill his ranks—not just tigers like us. And then… it just kept sinking into the ugly place it is now.”

“I’m sure my mother and her fucking rich asshats helped with that. She made sure I knew that Bloodstone was the place every disobedient, imperfect child was sent to be ‘reformed’. It was the boogeyman story for everyone I’ve known—even Mattie, who’s probably about your age. I guess that was part of their controlling horseshit.”

Aubrey clears his throat, looking at something over my shoulder. “We should finish eating. I dislike how the couple across the car is tryingnotto look at us. It feels as though we’re either being spied onorsomeone has connected us with public personas. Either way, I think we should head back to the cabins to stay out of sight.”

I nod, quickly shoveling the food they’d filled my plate with as we talked. Rennie laughs, watching me chew and swallow quickly, then tosses his drink back. Fitz holds a finger up, calling the server over as I try to get it all down without choking.

“Wrap all this up to go for us, man. I don’t want my mate choking on anything but my dick, and she’s trying to inhale it all so we can go relax.”

Felix and Aubrey groan, Chess chuckles, and I have to put my napkin over my mouth so I don’t spit my food all over the table.

I love that fucking tiger so damn much, but I will get back at him for that.

From Here to the Moon And Back

Chess

The restof that train ride was fairly calm, despite Aubrey’s ominous declaration. We took the boxed up food and some drinks to our car, then met in one cabin again until we arrived in Sighisoara. Between the five of us, we coaxed Dolly to eat more and turned our attention to our devices so we could monitor social media. Nothing popped up while we were checking, but we’ll have to continue watching as we travel to Ren’s people. When the train finally came into the station, Felix ran the off-load again, and that’s how we ended up looking at the quaint village with our bags at our feet.

“The clock tower is right up your alley,” the dragon says to Renard. He’s hoping to ease the tension in the gargoyle’s frame, but that’s probably not going to happen until we’re firmly within the territory of his kind.

Maybe not even then, given the circumstances of his exile.

“There are many guilds in the city and they maintained nine of the original fourteen watchtowers throughout the city. Gargoyles are members of them specifically, to ensure perfect places for us to perch unnoticed at night.”

“What hotel are we staying in tonight?” my angel says as she looks down the colorfulStrada Tamplarilor. It’s a main street and there are lots of people milling about, so we don’t look completely ridiculous hanging out.

Felix sniffs, his eyes darting around the area before he hails a car. “We need to go toStrada Morii. Our hotel for the night isCasa Savri.”

Once we’re on our way, I let out a sigh of relief. I’m not as paranoid as the others for certain, but something about the people on the train and being in the middle of a historic town whose tourist business centers on the supposed ‘first vampire’ is a bit too close to the bone for me. It’s an old, semi-medieval looking part of the city where we’re staying, and I just don’t like the amount of open spaces and perches.

I’m sure it’s extremely fucking gargoyle friendly, though, and I don’t know if I think that’s bad or good, either.

“Chessie, you’re sitting like you have a rocket shoved up your ass,” Fitz says with a frown. I roll my eyes at him, even though I’m pleased he noticed my discomfort. He’s been light years better about realizing there are other people in the world since our mate entered the scene, and that’s extended to actually seeing when emotions change. “What’s got your tail in a knot?”

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