Page 23 of Prey It By Ear

I sigh. “Fortunately for Fitz, that’s one hundred percent true. His constant off-the-chain behavior is actually hot as fuck, and I don’t mind it a bit—even the mild stalking.”

“You know about that?”

My eyes narrow. “Now I’m going to wonder which part, because you know I found the cameras and caught you following me around. If you’re surprised, there’s something new I wasn’t aware of.”

He makes a motion like zipping his lips, and Felix snorts. “One thing about my twin is that no one ever knows everything he’s up to. Like… ever.”

“The Raj is correct,” Aubrey admits as he and Rennie exchange glances. “Every time I believe I’ve found all of his pranks, a new one splashes glitter all over me or changes my phone to a mode I cannot get it out of, or even dumps something on my head. This has been going on for years, so I do not expect you to do any better.”

Rennie shrugs. “I just sit back and enjoy, even if I’m the target, ma petite. It’s more fun than trying to spoil Fitzgerald’s fun. Plus, I can always get him back. You’ll find whatever nonsense he’s hidden on you at some point and you can scold him properly—perhaps even spank him. Fun for all, oui?”

The gargoyle makes a solid point, and I’d enjoy the fuck out of that.

“Okay, I’ll let it slide if Chessie tells what else he learned,” I say finally. “Because we seem to be going somewhere, and that’s more important than Fitz’s surveillance.”

“Nothing is more important than that,” the tiger in question mutters, and I laugh as Chess gives me a knowing grin.

“As you know, the Hansons run lumber and textiles. Hawthorne has never been a strong contender for the crown in his family, but this connection to India might settle it. Remember, a lot of magicals and Fae use the forests and mountains and sanctuaries to hide their groups, I suspect. Those who didn’t leave are not running around in public getting on traffic cams, so encouraging mass deforestation of areas they could take refuge in would be a good move.”

I squint at Chess thoughtfully. “Don’t they make a lot of fabrics, too? That’s another good connection for the Shirdals and their influence in the arts. It would also make it harder on people like Luc and Cori’s family who are designers and such. Maybe her mates are more strategic than it seemed at first?”

My cheetah shrugs. “I don’t know. None of them seem very… dialed in to their families or businesses. India is mainly concerned with publicity and socials and control. The others discussed what their families did—like Daisy stating that the Fausts are in tight with Zhenga’s family—but they weren’t really concerned about it. That’s what it seemed like to me, at least.”

“Ah, but that could change once the Shirdals figure out how to deal with Henny and India becomes the heir apparent.” Aubrey rumbles as his brow furrows, and I think he’s doing his own chessboard in his head. “What does Duskstride have to do with anything? Could he be the only one who truly has no strategic value?”

Chess looks at the dragon in frustration. “He was the quietest one. Interjected occasionally, but revealed little to nothing about himself. It was like he was the one everyone made certain didn’t get grilled, as if I even proposed a question that applied to him, they’d change the subject. If India is on this train for a reason, and her group is hiding the mating as we think, that lynx has to have a more specific function in her little family. The way they helped him avoid answering anything was almost pathological, and he was skillful at dodging on his own.”

“He goes to the ‘focus on this now’ list, then,” I reply. “I don’t like unknowns, and since he and the damn vampires at l’Academie are still not quantified, I think we have to find out what the shit they’re up to. The more question marks we have, the more likely a surprise attack will come from that direction. And we’re caught directly in the middle—with nowhere to hide.”

Not that I plan on hiding anymore… I just want to make sure we’re not killed in the fucking crossfire.

* She is not a problem.

Out of My League

Fitz

Our little chat lasted pretty damn late, and Felix demanded that we all head to bed—not the fun way—so we can be packed and ready to sprint for the second, shorter train ride this morning. I wasn’t a fan of that logic because some spicy time would have definitely made certain everyone slept well. Unfortunately, I lost that stupid argument and the winged weenies went to their suite while the three of us surrounded my Baby Girl.

Admittedly, being in a kitty pile around our mate made sleep easier than I predicted, and even Felix stayed zonked out.

Chessie helped Queen D get us loaded up, while my twin and I grabbed a morning snack for us to eat in the room. We don’t have time for the dining car shenanigans today because we should pull into our stop within the next half hour. I’m fiddling with my phone as the others discuss the shitty train ride we have coming and the arrangements for the car to drive back to the school. I hate having to go the longest route possible, but even returning, it’s too dangerous to put ourselves in the air after our woman’s mother downed the croc’s plane. I don’t trust that bitch as far as I could throw her and I know my bro agrees.

Sucking a long breath in through my nose, I pause my internet lurking to consider how we’re going to make her suffer when we finally get our hands on her. I vote for peeling her pelt in thin strips until she looks like a fucking anatomical doll display, but I’m not sure if Baby Girl can handle that. She probably can; I mean, there’s got to be worse horrors than dismembering people and wrapping them in a carpet in the home of Lucille and Bruno Drew, right? Frowning for a moment, I consider asking and decide it’s a bad idea because her knowledge of torture methods might make me even hornier than I am.

That’s never a good thing for my hyperactivity, and Felix will get pissier the closer we get to that stupid school.

I wrinkle my nose, making faces at myself in the glass of my device as I mentally mock his inevitable bossy royal shit. Mind, I love him to his fucking marrow and I’d kill for him without a second’s hesitation, but he is my goddamn twin. We irritate each other at times, and it’s completely normal for us to bicker like children, no matter how old we are. At least, that’s what the book Dolly gave me said, and since it made me feel vindicated, I didn’t rip it in half and piss on it for labeling me a borderline personality.

Even if I am, so fucking what? People are defined by their choices, and mine are always in line with teaching people lessons for defying me or my family’s boundaries. That’s justifiable as shit, and anyone who doesn’t like it can choke on my fist. That thought makes me smile, and as I’m drifting back to my torture scenario, I hear the voice of my favorite violent bunny in the distance. It’s not far away, obviously, but that’s how deeply I’ve slipped into my own world.

“Fitzy? Are you okay? You’re growling like you’re going to unleash the furry dude.”

Shit. That’s so instinctual that I didn’t notice.

“Just keeping my bouncing brain occupied, Baby Girl. You know how I am when I have to wait for things.”

Her smile is full of understanding as she sashays over to drop into my lap. “I do, but you missed the loudspeaker saying we should pull in any minute.”