Page 6 of O Holy Spite
Chess arches his brow. “Finally going to admit one of your many secret talents? Don’t think I missed how fast and expertly you whipped up this petit-déjeuner, Ren.”
“Yeah, Ren. How’d you do that, I wonder?” Aubrey taunts as he pulls the cover off the cushions to give to the crew for cleaning. “Such a surprise, that was.”
Fucking snarky ass troublemaker.
“Fine, fine.” I throw my hands up and sigh. “Before Apex opened, I was still exiled and I traveled a lot. No different than the smart-mouthed lizard over there, though not for as long. One of the things I did to pass time was take classes at Le Cordon Bleu. I was passable in comparison to the real thing, but there you go, Chester.”
His mouth hangs open for a moment, then he grins. “That’s fantastic! You can help me with recipes and adjusting for their training. I’ve been using YouTube and this is much better.”
“You’re not angry that I didn’t tell you? I had little use for the skill before you and the tiger came around, but until our bunny, you ate at the townhouse. So it was never really… pertinent.”
“Ren, you’ve been alive almost a millennia and Aubrey is over two. I’d wager you both have a plethora of skills or hobbies we don’t know about because it hasn’t come up. It’d be silly to get mad.” He squints at us both, tilting his head. “Either of you know how to knit? I’ve been wanting to learn.”
I shake my head. “Not I, mon ami.”
My dragon mate stays suspiciously quiet as he stuffs the fabric in bags and we both stare at him. Finally, he rolls his eyes and huffs. “Yes. I know how. An annoying old hag who lived near my castle in the…” He pauses and squints as he thinks, “…seventeenth, maybe eighteenth, century taught me. She swore she was a witch, but I never saw proof of that.”
The cheetah blinks at him, then looks at me. “Did you know this?”
“Not at all. Remember, Chester, he’s often as grumpy about his hordes with me as he is with all of you. And knowledge is definitely part of our library dragon’s hordes.” I grin. “Next to stuffies, squishes, books, cute things, money, music, artifacts, and of course, strays like us.”
Aubrey whips his head around and glares at me with dark eyes. “Careful, Frenchie. You have obsessions, too.”
Felix interrupts our verbal sparring as he returns from getting dressed. “Chess, are these two fighting again?”
“No more than usual, Felix. Lots of fun admissions, though.” His gaze is curious and the cheetah shrugs. “How’s the weather? I heard the door, so I figured you watched Fitz head for the tunnel. He’s been itching to get to the gym.”
“Still snowing. I waited for you, little bro. No one has the balls to bother my psycho twin on his way to beat things, but since you’re coming along, I wanted to walk with you. Where are you two going?” Turning to Aubrey and I, he waits.
“I’m going to the new Shird with Dolly. She’s changing.”
Aubrey grunts as he finally stops fussing with the couch. “I’m headed into the archives. We’ve got the stuff from those vaults to go through still. I can contact my colleagues in other institutions who will be more willing to chat between semesters.”
Felix nods as he takes in the information. “I know we’re on lockdown at Cappie until school starts, but I don’t trust the security outside of this building. We fortified it and made sure it’s safe. I don’t care what the Council or the idiot headmaster say—I don’t consider this campus safe for people to roam alone. Stay together.”
“Unless you’re Fitzgerald?” Aubrey snorts. “He can’t breathe fire, Raj.”
“Neither can you if it’s going to destroy everything around you, Draconis. However, I can say without reservation that my brother will tear anyone who even whispers the Princess’ name to pieces and ask questions later. None of you would act that impulsively, so I worry more.”
I grin and wink at the tiger. “Aw, Flames, he wubs us. Look at that.”
“Oh, fine. Fuck off, you ancient assholes. Get attacked if you want, just don’t do it when you have our girl with you.” The tiger stomps away after he gives Chess a glare that says ‘hurry up.’
“Time for me to get ready before he loses his shit. But cut him some slack, guys. You know he only wants to keep our Angel from getting hurt—physically or emotionally. If one of us was injured or taken, she’d lose her marbles.”
“I certainly would.” The bunny in question appears in a warm jacket and boots with her hair in a high ponytail. “I’d be inconsolable—right before I went on a rampage that spanned the entire fucking globe until I found you. Then I’d help Fitz bleed them, rip them to tiny pieces, and feed them to corpse sniffers. And then, I might cry a little.”
My lips curve. “Good to know you’ve got it all planned out, ma petite.”
Unfortunately, it’s in the scariest, most Khan-esque possible way, but c’est la vie.
“Why are we coming here?” Her nose scrunches as we crunch through the light snowfall on the grass.
Gesturing at the Shirdal Arts Complex, I grin. “There’s something in here I want to show you and I can’t do it in our nest, ma petite.”
“Mmm. Interesting,” she replies as she looks around at the flakes falling around us. “I wish this started on Yule, but I don’t mind it over New Year’s. It’s pretty.”
I look over at her bundled in the pink duster and matching knee high boots Cori gave her for the holiday, her long rainbow hair covered in sparkly snowflakes, and it hits me again how resilient she is. From the second she stepped on Apex’s campus, Dolly was hit with punch after punch, and she’s still standing. Hell, not only standing, but thriving. She’s an amazing person and we’re lucky as fuck she took a shine to our misfit group.