Page 49 of Prey It Ain't So

That’s my little Luca Brasi.

Dolly waves her hand at the dragon, moving on without addressing his constant irritation at our references. “I’m right, and you all know it. They have to catch up quickly, and the rest of our time here needs to be spent learning more about the past, how things worked, and what this bitch is going to do to further their cause. I’m not passing judgment on her fury, by the way, because I totallyget it. I’m simply wondering how we prevent the shifter assholes from clashing with her and coming out on top to basically install fascismorthe magicals from winning and doing the same in revenge.”

Felix blinks as if it just occurred to him that we absolutely cannot leteitherside win this thing or everyone is going to suffer. “It’s like a damn game where you hate both teams and wish they could both lose.”

“Exactly,” our mate says as she taps her nose. “They’re both in this for the wrong reasons at their core, which is why horrifying shit is happening. The real rebellion has to come from the people who want both sides to co-exist without suffering. So, the question is, how the fuck do we get that?”

Aubrey nods as he pulls off his glasses to clean them. That means he’s in super serious mode, so I refrain from teasing him. It’s better to let the neat freak dragon do his thing when he gets this way; he has his best ideas when he goes full-on brainiac. “That’s why we need the prey as well, yes?”

“Because they have been subjected to the rule of the preds for so long and are relegated to inferior status,” Renard says with a sad expression. “If they assist us as the Captain and the othersare doing, we have a much larger number than the predators in charge,oui?”

The queen finally shakes herself out of her stupor at his words. “That is correct, my son. Mythicals never agreed with the subjugation of their kind, but we were fewer in number than those waging the war. Magical beings would not have created a servile race, either, but they could not save themselves, much less anyone else. The network of mythicals and the prey are key to preventing the major players in this aggression from succeeding.”

Renard nods, then I see his throat bob before he says, “I spent several hundred years mourning over a magical fucking orchid, Mother. The responsibility I felt for her death ate me alive and probably would have consumed me completely, but for meeting my first mate, my friends, and now our shared mate. While this status is not common knowledge, I am telling you because I need to say it out loud in order to begin the healing process.”

Damn, that was pretty fucking brave, too. Good for him.

“We deserve that anger, my little fox,” the king says softly. His face is etched with regret, but I don’t feel bad for him in the slightest. That greater good shit always hurts people who are caught in the cross-fire, and no matter what the two sets of parents thought they would achieve with their supernatural Romeo & Juliet, they fucked up big time. “And we are both very sorry for it—we have been for as long as you have been away, but more so now that we know it was for naught.”

Felix taps his fingers on the table impatiently. “A lovely sentiment that you can explore during our stay should Ren choose to allow you to. However, as you said, we are on borrowed time for your…magic. What do we need to know mosturgently, so we can start our research and contact our operatives who are on other missions right now?”

“Other operatives?” the queen says with a frown. “Is that wise? Trusting people who are out of your reach?”

“Our network has been carefully vetted and built from our most loyal friends. You allowed your magical sugar daddies to convince you that death and exile were ways to solve a simple teenage love affair,” Aubrey retorts angrily. “Despite that, we’re trustingyouafter you broke your son, so you do not get to question our ability to make judgement calls.”

They both nod, looking ashamed again, and I grin. I enjoy watching all of my people take these fuckers down, even if it doesn’t involve the violence I’d prefer. “Allow me to add that if anyone in this fucking settlement hurts him or any of the others in any way—I don’t care if it’s a goddamn splinter—I will tear this place apart until there’s nothing left but ash. You may not take that seriously, but it is a promise from Fitzgerald Khan, second son to the Raj of Bloodstone, and you donotwant to see the only ways I’m like my father.”

“It is a promise from the true heir to the throne as well," Felix growls as he looks them in the eye.

Aubrey snorts smoke puffs as he stops pacing to say, “From the true heir to the Draconis throne as well—and everyone knows how thoroughly I can destroy something by accident. Imagine if I’m doing it on purpose.”

My grin widens when my Baby Girl sits up straighter, affecting that ice queen persona as she waves her hand. “I am not Lucille Drew, but I learned at her feet. When I choose to access that training, I am easily as formidable—something she will learn forherself, eventually. I will also vow to wreak havoc on anyone who hurts my family.”

Chessie blinks, rubbing the back of his neck in an adorable display of insecurity. “So, I’m not a royal, but I was also raised by that fucking psycho with the twins. And though I’m smaller, I’m fast as fuck and have so much pent-up rage about my childhood that I don’t even dare to tap into it. But I will if someone hurts the people I love… so just don’t.”

“Good boy,” I rumble as I lean in closer to him. “You most certainly deserve a treat for that bravery.”

Dolly’s eyes gleam as she nods in agreement, and Renard coughs to get us back on track. “I am the rightful heir in this clutch—I am not asserting that title at the moment because I do not want it. My people showed me who they were and though apologies may help in the process of healing trauma, I still believe them. So I add my pledge to that decree—this is myrealfamily, and I will defend them to my last breath if need be. That needs to be accepted and understood, if we are to work together.”

“We accept those terms,” Doreiann says softly. “On behalf of the Laveaux clutch, we join arms with your family and your allies to prevent all the species on this earth from suffering the punishment earned by the few.”

On one hand, this is feeling pretty formal, and all I wanted to do was make my fucking boundaries clear. But on the other, dear old Dad made no alliances with people in front of Felix or me, so maybe thisishow something like this should go. I’m not experienced in the whole diplomacy thing; I was always the wrath of the god, so to speak. My gaze cuts to the others, hoping someone will give me a clue if this is going well or not. Dolly winks at me, and though I have no idea how much she saw in thisvein at her evil mother’s feet, I know she wants me to get that it’s okay.

“Now that we’ve made promises, it’s time to get down to business.” She cuts her eyes to me again, warning me away from singing and I pout. “We have colleagues who are discussing things with leaders in the prey world as we speak. There are others monitoring enemies we need to keep our eyes on in various locations. However, in our trip to your land, we kept our ears open for information from the one species I believe no one is paying attention to.”

“The humans,” the king says with a knowing look. “That’s very smart, Delores.”

Baby Girl sighs, rolling her head on her neck until it cracks, then says, “You can call me Dolly. I guess if we’re going to work together, it will suck less if I don’t have to hear that damn name all the time.”

I snicker, understanding her dislike of her ‘government name’. Felix and I are similarly cursed by our father’s bullshit; we much prefer the names we go by now. “Mind, most people have to earn that, and she’s giving it to you for free.”

Yes, I know I shouldn’t be baiting the royals, but I can’t help myself—their poor son has been mourning a chick who was never even harmed, for fuck’s sake!

In our ambush, death would be much preferable to that bullshit emotional torture. It infuriates me to the core, and I didn’t expect that. My mate looks over at me, arching a brow before she puts her soft palm over mine. “You must understand that we’re all doing our best not to be provoking, so we can accomplish our shared goals. There will be some outbursts occasionally becausewe love your son and have watched his suffering during our lives with him. It’s going to be an open wound for a long time.”

Maël sighs, raking his hands through the raven hair that is much like the poet’s. “It is fair to be angry, and we cannot blame you for protecting him when we did not.”

“I found my way, eventually,” Renard says with a shrug. “But yes, the people we focused on were the humans, and what we discovered was quite interesting.”

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