Page 27 of Prey It Ain't So

Breakfast passes without incident,and I’m able to corral my family efficiently enough to get off of the train without losing anything. Vienna is beautiful, and I’d love to roam around here, but that is a return trip activity. For now, we have to navigateWien Hauptbahnhofto the platform where our Rail jet to Budapest will leave in less than an hour. We’re sitting in business class, which is as comfortable as we could get for an express that will only take a bit over three hours.

“Come on, Princess. We gotta hoof it.” I grab her hand, tugging her along as I look at the electronic screens. “The rest of you keep up! I want to make sure we get on in time. The next leg is a tight transfer as well, and we don’t want to miss it. They don’t run the line we booked every day.”

Renard and Chess helped me book the trains, making sure we’re on the best lines with the most luxurious cabins. While I like that sort of thing, I know Dolly feels weird about enjoying some of the trappings of our wealth. I would have been a little less flamboyant, but the ancients are big even when not shifted. They need to have enough space to move around without killing themselves, too. Chess pointed that out as we searched for the reservations, and I reluctantly agreed. The Frenchman,however, is fairly okay with the fancy shit, and he was jubilant about the selections.

My Princess won’t complain to him once because she loves him, and with that, comes accepting quirks.

“Felix, why the fuck didn’t we just stay over if it would be this close?” Aubrey huffs as he and the gargoyle bear the cases with the most weight, but I know he’s exaggerating. He can deadlift shit that I wouldn’t dream of trying without breaking a sweat—he just wants Dolly to fawn over him when we sit down.

Sighing as I zip around the crowded station, I leave his question to someone less likely to snarl at him. As predicted, Chess picks up the thread for me so I can keep my temper even. “When we looked at what trains and paths we should take, we stayed with the most expensive to ensure the spaces were big enough for you two. The last leg is a long trip from Budapest to Istanbul with several steps… It doesn't run daily. We’re going to slip away with our shit at Sighisoara versus staying on board the entire time.”

“That seems very convoluted,” Fitz says. “Why there?”

“Because it’s a good place to hire locals to get us to the mountains nearby to journey to my clutch.” Renard takes up where the cheetah left off, though he sounds more glum than informational. “The humans have tales about a legendary man from that area, but… obviously, the tales are more true than they know. We will need to stock up on specific weaponry to move from there to the gargoyles, if my suspicions atl’Academieare true.”

Dolly tugs on my hand, as if she wants to stop, but I don’t let her. “Damn it, Felix! Is he saying we’re going to vampire HQ? We’re going to need a bunch ofstakes?”

“That’s right, my little ‘Bunny the Vampire Slayer’.” Fitz looks excited as hell and I groan. He’s going to milk that forallit’s worth for… who knows how long. “The pouty poet is convinced we’re gonna finally run into some fangy fuckers to poof into the aether.”

“We won’t need stakes or anything else if we don’t get there.” I give them a stern look as I speed up my gait. “There’s two more train rides before that becomes applicable. Hustle up.”

That gets a snicker out of the dragon as he complies. “You know, I think there’s a librarian in that show who’s older. Isn’t there, Fitzgerald?”

“Kill me now.”

My muttered pleas don’t stop my mateormy brother. Fitz makes a sound of victory, then answers. “Fuck yeah, there is. And a handsome psychotic devil who loves her, plus some silly friends. There’s also a darker, broodier librarian type… and an artsy dude who shifts. It’s a wolf, but we can ignore that, right, Chessie?”

“Right, baby.” Chess is trying not to laugh as Fitz gets even bouncier as we rush downstairs and over another platform full of people. He knows I can’t lose my temper because it’s likely a mix of humans and preds, which requires me to hold in my frustration. “You know, there’s a sour-pussed sort of brother guy to the handsome devil that might fit you, Felix.”

“We arenotfancasting a TV show with our life,” I shoot back as I lead Dolly around an enormous family in the middle of the road. “Don’t be ridiculous. Focus on the task at hand.”

To be fair, I don’t actuallycareif they’re doing that as much as it’s distracting them and slowing us down. This game could beplayed just as well once we’re in the place we need to be, waiting for the train with a safe margin. They’re simply annoying me on purpose now, and it’s something I can’t deal with while we move through the mixed crowds of a train station.

“Calm down, bro,” Fitz says, as he catches up with me. “You’re wigging out and look… There’s the damn place we need to be. It’s all good, man.”

Sighing in relief, I guide Dolly and the others to bench by the car we’re boarding. We can sit and chat about anything they want now that I’m sure we won’t miss our train. “I know I’m uptight at the moment, but our route is tenuous. I want to have as much time as possible to get to our final destination. That gives us time to spare if they won’t answer what we need to know from the start.”

Renard flops on the bench next to our mate, his hand running over her hair. “That will probably be the case, if I am being honest with you. Gargoyles are not wont to give up secrets, and they will not want to discuss my past. Since it all ties together in this grand scheme, we will have to convince the leaders to let go of tradition to save everyone. It will not be easy or quick.”

“Exactly why I don’t want to dawdle and miss trains,” I reply firmly. “If we get what we need, we can leave and take a leisurely trip back. As long as we return to campus before school begins, we’ll be fine. But I don’t want to come back without getting what we need.”

“Don’t you dare say it would be a waste,” Dolly says as she narrows her eyes at me. “Taking me on a vacation isnota waste.”

Chess walks up, tilting her chin so she looks up at him. “Of course not, Angel. But we can take vacations whenever we want.This summer, unfortunately, has to be about gathering as much info as we can to help us this coming year. Shit’s bound to heat up in a big way.”

“Yes, it will. The Council has covered up the previous attacks, but with each one, the spectacle is bigger. There will be a point at which they cannot manage the fallout.” Aubrey looks around the platform before he murmurs, “And that will be when everything gets infinitely more dangerous.”

“I don’t think either side cares about collateral damage.” My Princess’s face is sad when she mumbles her addition, and I want to hug her, comfort her… yet I know I can’t. She’s absolutely correct, and the casualties will pile up as this ancient rivalry continues to build.

I run a hand over my jaw, then I nod. “They are only concerned with furthering their aims, so yes. There will be deaths, injuries, and more missing students around the world if that’s how the Fae are ‘fueling’ their campaign. The Council will strike too quickly and hit the wrong people. It’s like every other war in history, but with magic involved? I don’t know what it will look like.”

“We’re going to find out what your people know, Broody Batman, because I amnotfucking around.” Everyone turns to look at Fitz, who crosses his arms over his chest with a determined expression. “If I have to hang the entire lot of them from their fucking toes and use hot pokers, theywilltell us. You need to get right with that before we step a single paw on their land.”

“I understand,” Ren says as he slumps on the bench. “My ties to them are based in nostalgia, so other than my direct relatives, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Your parents might be an issue,” I warn him with a dark look. “But they sent you off and killed the woman you loved; it seems like you’d be able to separate who they are now from who they were before.”

Of course, unlike my brothers and I, he didn’t live through a childhood filled with torture and horror, so that won’t be as easy as it sounds.

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