Page 6 of Eat. Prey. Love.
He sucks in a deep breath and pins Fitz with wild eyes. “You were right to be so careful. I thought you were overreacting a little. Butson of a bitchif you weren’t right. Look at what just hit the news.”
We all crowd around his phone to see one of the Barrington news feeds playing a video of a plane exploding over the landing strip at an airport. The ticker at the bottom says it’s in Asia, and…
Oh my fucking goddess… It was Bruno’s goddamn plane.
“N-no survivors…?” I read, my voice pitching up at the end. My chest gets tight and I freeze in place. I haveno ideawhat to feel right now besides shock. Bruno’s treated me like shit my entire life, so I don’t know that I can feel sad, but… Feeling happy or relieved also seems like it’s wrong, too. I chew my lower lip, trying to assimilate the information that he’s dead while my emotions ping all over the place.
“Angel, it’s okay if you don’t know how to feel,” Chessie says as he lays a hand on the small of my back. “He was your father—as far as you know—but he abused the hell out of you. That makes his death hard to come to terms with, especially in this situation.”
I suck in a deep breath then blow it out, nodding. “Yes. That’s exactly what I’m having trouble with, my knight. I don’t know how to feel other than shocked. But I alsodon’tfeel shocked because it’s kind of amazing Lucille didn’t off him before now. You know?”
Felix and the others close the circle around me, all of them touching me in a different place. My tiger king leans in, murmuring in my ear, “Fitz and I are very aware of how difficult this is. Our father is an evil dickhead and I assume when he’s dead, we’ll struggle.”
“I won’t,” Fitz says as he nips my ear. “Because I’m going to slice the motherfucker up and feed him to his captive pets while my Baby Girl watches. He’s part of this bullshit andno onegets to hurt her without suffering at my hands before they die painfully.”
Aubrey chuckles and shakes his head. “Eloquent as always, Fitz.”
“Look, Tangy Tuatara, I’m telling it like it is. I don’t give a flip flyingfuckwho it is, if they so much as make her frown, they’d better stay out of my reach.”
I turn to him with a small smile, rubbing my nose on his cheek. “My hero.”
Chess sits his chin on my shoulder and I can almost feel his amusement. “We all wanted him to feel real emotions and look at what it got us—SuperPsychoFitz.”
“I don’t mind. It’s sexy when you’re all growly.” I pause for a minute then add, “But I can take care of my damn self, too, so you have to let me try. Don’t let that go to any of your heads—bottom or top.”
Fitz guffaws, wrapping his arms around me to squeeze me close. “That’s our girl. Let’s get in these cars and blow this popsicle stand. I’m feeling itchy about standing out in the open all of a sudden.”
He has a point.
“If Lucille felt comfortable enough to take Bruno off the board, we should definitely get moving. Who knows what else she’s up to?”
The guys nod, moving away to gather the rest of our things. Once everything is loaded into the cars, Felix divides us up between the two cars and we settle in for the drive toAcademie.
Hopefully, this ride to school is less exciting than the one to Cappie.
“Wow,”I breathe as we drive away from the city into the countryside. The school is about an hour away from the main metro and suburbs, so we can take trips in if we want, but the pastoral towns we’re passing through are adorable. “This is… so freaking cool.”
Renard grins as he squeezes my hand. “France has many beautiful areas,ma petite. We might explore with Flames sometime,non?”
I clap my hands and grin. “Hell yeah. I have no idea how intense this place is—rumor is that while Apex and Cappie are more intense in networking and social shit,AcademieandZhuan xing U&Mare much more program intensive. For all I know, I could be trapped under a pile of work forty feet high all semester.”
My crazy tiger leans in, his voice growly as he replies, “Or you could be buried under horny shifters all semester. Either way, no shithead magic rebels or fuckwit Council people will be able to get their mitts on you. So we’ll figure it out.”
Le swoon, crazy pants.
“Fitz is right. As long as we keep you safe, everything else is maneuverable,” Felix says from the front. He made Chess and Aubrey ride in the second car—a choice that wasnotappreciated by the dragon or the cheetah. “But we need to get your schedule as soon as we’re settled in because he has to begin doing checks on your professors.”
“You know, it’d be nice to not have to vet every person I encounter because they might be part of some secret society trying to kill me. Just once, I’d like to not look over my shoulder when I’m walking around.” I frown, my brow furrowing as I think about having to figure out yetanotherembedded social hierarchy. It’s getting tiresome as hell, and I’m over the bullshit.
My gargoyle boyfriend chuckles. “Don’t worry,petite lapin. You’ll have us and plenty of friends you don’t have to background check on site. Everyone else will be on a case-by-case basis sinceAcademieis damn tight-lipped about their school.”
“Unfortunately, she’ll also have to avoid Rockland, the remaining Heathers, and whatever clique is running this place,” Fitz says as he pulls my feet into his lap. “But I have no problem putting on a show to corral the sheep. I’m sure we’ll findsomesort of fight club where I can flash my teeth.”
“Guys, we have to at leastpretendto get along with the new folks until we get a feel for this place. I can’t keep adding enemies to my plate,” I sigh. “Heather E. and Heather B. will do their damndest to fuck with me, and we know Rockland is gearing up to stick her stinky face in mine. No fights until we make sure there’s no landmines where we’re stepping.”
Felix gives me a pleased grin. “Good girl, Princess. Thinking strategically is a better approach, especially since we know Z is here withonegoal: getAcademie’s Pred Games team in shape so they draw better crowds to fill the Leonidas coffers. You’ll likely be one of the best trained competitors there and that will make people take you seriously on your own merits.”
I squint at him. “You’re sayingIneed to terrify them first.”