Page 39 of Prey It Ain't So

I squint at my mate as he glides through the air, pretending he isn’t tense from head to toe. His flight is different when he’s stressed, but he likely doesn’t realize it. I can tell how nervous he is even without seeing him close-up. “How does that work, exactly?”

“I don’t know.”

That doesn’t help me feel less concerned at all.

“Why don’t you know? Isn’t territory protection something they teach your young?” I’m rememberingmylessons as a child, and dragons make that shit clear from the moment we can walk on two feet.

Renard changes course, coming closer so he can chat without yelling. “Because they do not train the young—especially the important ones—in the ways of protecting our clutch or our contracts until they are over a certain age. I was sent packing not long before the birthday where I would have been put into that training. Thus, I know what every child or teen knows: no supernatural being can set foot in our lands without our knowledge.”

I stay silent as I mull that over because it very much sounds like gargoyles had magicals enchant their borders. Their sense of smell is good, but notthatgood, and they don’t connect with nature like some shifters. There’s simply no other way besides having guards spaced around the periphery that could be possible. I don’t believe the sentry idea is viable at all—not according to the numbers Rennie has stated clutches live in. Ithasto be via another source of power, and if it is? That means his exile was about something entirely other than inter-marriage between species.

Did he accidentally break a treaty or provision in a deal with the Fae?

Looking over at his sad expression, I’d love to share that there’s hope for his family yet, but I cannot. I don’t want to get his hopes up, nor do I want to hurt him again if they really are as stupid as we assumed. However, my little theory would explain why a person is supposed to appear out of nowhere to greet us when we were given no specific dates or times to be here. In fact, it might explain alotof things that I plan to work on weaseling out of anyone in that clutch that I can get to talk.

“A historian or elder is what I need,” I mumble to myself. People with jobs like mine—maintaining books and artifacts and records—love to discuss our positions and our obsessions.Locating whoever is in charge of that duty within his peoplemightlead me to more answers than the others poking around blindly.

“We should hit the ground and bring them up to speed,” Rennie says as he flexes his wings to catch a draft. “I don’t want them to cross the line first and end up in some sort of battle.”

Pressing my lips together, I nod, gesturing to a spot just a little bit ahead of the walking crew. “Let’s come down there and we can stop them. We should definitely enter your people’s land as a group, not split in half.”

I pin my wings back, angling myself for descent as my mate nods in agreement. He moves to do the same and we move toward our family quickly, using the down drafts to slow our speed until our feet touch the ground. Once we’re on terra firma, I let out a long breath, watching Felix and the ursine guide crest a hill to hike in our direction. The tiger sees me, picking up the pace until the entire group is standing within feet of Renard and me.

“The device said we are close, and we should cross the border together,” I say firmly. “That’s why we came down.”

Renard looks at Dolly, his expression serious. “Do not mention personal details until I tell you it’s time. I would like to make certain there isn’t a trap awaiting us. I don’t believe that to be the case, but giving them more information than they need is not smart. They are cunning and capable of mimicking social behavior with outsiders when they choose—it’s part of the skill set they learn when they are ready to join the contract team.”

“Now I know whyyoudon’t have it,” I mutter playfully, and he shoots me a dirty look.

The closer we get to this damn nest, the more I wish we would have decided against coming here, I swear to Anubis’s wagging tail.

We followedthe beeping sat phone until it indicates that we’re in the exact spot we were told to come to. It’s the highest peak, and we can look out to see a beautiful vista as everyone pants and passes around the canteens.

“This is where I leave you,” Marius says. “You do not have camping equipment, and this area is full of protected wildlife. I suggest you do whatever it is you came for and leave before the darkest night comes upon you. There are… many dangerous things that roam the Carpathians after the sun goes down.”

“No shit,” Fitz says, as he adjusts his topknot. “That’s why we’re fucking here instead of in air conditioning. Fuck off.”

Dolly blinks at him, covering her mouth so she doesn’t spit out her water. Once she’s swallowed, she strides over to the tiger, pushing up on her toes to whisper in his ear. He laughs crazily, and I turn to Felix with an expectant look.

“He’s been paid, right? Your twin is right; he needs to get lost.” I guarantee whatever is going to happen won’t if we have an extra shifter hanging around out of some professional pride. “We’ll be fine without you, Ursa. Toddle back home.”

The bear finally grunts and waves his hand at us as if to say we’re insane, then trudges slowly back the way we came. I monitor him while the others pull out jerky and energy bars to build up their reserves again before our gargoyle guide gets here. I waituntil the bear is far out of my view before I turn back to my family with a sigh of relief.

“Finally,” Rennie says as he shakes his head. “I thought he was going to insist on waiting forever.”

“Well, who can blame him?” Snack size asks as she squints at the peak. “There’s nothing here and no one to take the fall if we disappear off the face of the earth but him.”

Renard shakes his head, pointing to a spot farther down the cliff. “We need to move along the edge until someone comes. They will lead us to the nests and to my parents.”

Great, more vague shit that he doesn’t even know how it works or if it will fail.

“Okay,” Felix says as he tucks away his wrapper and grabs Dolly’s hand. “Let’s wander around the death-defying edge of the world until someone appears out of thin air.”

Chuckling at his dry wit, I wave at Chess and Fitz. “The Raj is right. We have to follow our broody poet; this is his area of the world, after all.”

They make annoyed faces but join us, and we all stroll together quietly. A hawk cries in the distance and I hear local wildlife rustling somewhere nearby, but it’s quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Rennie’s eyes dart over the landscape across the divide, sighing as he heads towards the sun. “This is the right way to go, then we’ll circle back.”

Our journey goes on for what feels like forever, but eventually, we stop when we get back to the place we started. The sun is just sinking below the horizon, and the sounds of nature are getting louder as time passes.

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