Page 61 of Eat. Prey. Love.
Criminals
Once Princess headed backto class, Fitz and I headed back to the staff housing. Our previous search of Asani and Antonovich’s rooms yielded few leads, so this time, my twin and I are going to other dorms. The dragon isn’t dumb by any stretch, but he’s also nowhere near as skilled as us in this kind of subterfuge. Our father and his lackeys trained us to keep secrets all over Bloodstone to prevent outsiders and traitors from accessing the royal secrets. We’re going to carefully search Fabreaux and Ste Jean’s quarters since they were in the photo in Paris with the others.
I’dprefer to ransack Rockland’s shit, but since neither Fitz nor Farley has located her ‘nest,’ this will have to do.
“Remote teaching is brilliant,” Fitz says as we make a very wide loop around the campus to mislead anyone watching us. “I basically teach the little shits by logging in from anywhere, grading things or telling them to re-do it, and I don’t have many time constraints. You shoulddefinitelydo it, bro.”
“Fitz,” I sigh as I roll my eyes. “I can’t remotely teach Shifter Studies. It’s not conducive to online shit. Don’t be dense.”
He blinks, then grins. “True. Though I bet the weepy winged weenie is doing it that way for his lower level lectures. He hates having to deal with snarky shit-eating freshies. It makes his teeth grind and he pulls Batman when he has to.”
“He doesn’t do that as much anymore, though. Ren’s been pretty fucking jolly—for him—since he and our girl got together. More so since the ‘big secret’ came out.”
My brother thinks about that for a moment as we walk around the salt water lake on the south edge of the campus. “You’re right. Cranky McFirepants has been much better, too. There’snothingmy Baby Girl can’t fix, I swear to Zeus’ plentiful baby batter.”
“Ew,” is all I have to say as I watch the small pirate ship sail through the middle of the water. “I always wondered how they kept control of all these big ass shifters. That is, until I found out that the crew is full of some of the toughest prey animals I’ve ever seen.”
Fitz grins broadly. “Did the emo bat boy tell you Holliday is a fuckingsniper? I’m gonna get him to target practice with me sometime. That’s arealchallenge.”
Rubbing my temples, I pause to gather my thoughts before I respond. I absolutelydo notwant my manic brother to have weapons more dangerous than himself, especially if it will definitely mean the Princess will want to go, too. However, I can’tdeny that with our lack of magic fighting capabilities, we’re at a disadvantage in long range arenas.
How do I address that without involving goddamn guns?
It hits me, and I shrug at him, pretending that’s not impressive. “Guns are what humans use. That’s not real skill; now, Raina’s bow…thattakes true prowess.”
A flicker of conflicting emotions comes over his face and I know my gambit is working. “Well… I bet the little sunshine would teach me. I’ll have to get Chessie to order the right stuff. That’s pretty specific, I think. Maybe Baby Girl can talk to Holliday since he works in the armory.”
My grin widens when I realize I’ve successfully redirected his questionable desire to fire bullets at things. I don’t doubt my twin could become good at it; he’s ridiculously capable that way, but I really don’t like giving him another method of murdering people. He’s crazy enough as it is, and I refuse to add anything capable of blowing a hole through someone from miles away.
By the time he’s finished his tangent on compound bows, we’re back to the other side of the lake and heading for the stadiums. The staff housing is past that, tucked behind the arenas and the Dupreé building. We’ll get there soon enough, but I simply don’t trust the open spaces in this place. Something about the layout sets off my sensors and I can’t put my finger on it. The student body being as stand-offish and rude doesn’t help, either. Getting a bead on which people need to be watched is difficult, even with Fitz hacking and Ren translating.
Fucking Council bullshit allows this place to operate like it’s harboring state secrets, not artsy rich preds.
“Hey, bro,” Fitz says as bumps into me. “Look over there.”
I turn my attention to the group of preds making their way across campus, noting they’re heading for the staff housing. None of them look familiar, so they’re not our girl’s teachers. “Yeah, so?”
“If we mosey a little closer we might catch some gossip,” he says with a smirk. “Everyone knows who we are, so they tend to avoid us. But this is out in the open, man.”
“Good call,” I admit as I pretend to be looking at the practice arena while we stop walking. “Just don’t get insane if we hear something we don’t like. I enjoy flying under the radar here.”
He snorts, looking playfully offended. “Moi? Je ne le ferais pas, mon frere!?1”
“I havegotto stop that gargoyle. He’s teaching you the most obnoxious shit when we’re not looking. When did you start learning French?”
Fitz grins smugly as he shrugs. “I’m a true Renaissance tiger, bro. Once Baby Girl helped me figure out how I learn, I decided to pick up as much as possible. Truly, I am the superior Khan—admit it.”
Arching my brow, I shake my head. “Never. Now shut up so we can follow these chicks.”
We’ll leave the miracles our girl has worked to later discussion; I’m on a mission now.
“Find anything?”I call out as I rummage through the giant fucking closet the ballet prima has stuffed to the gills. It’s as much a costume trunk as it is a functional closet and I can’t imagine why the fuck she would need this stuff on hand at a school. Most of it is barely worn and zippered in protective, labeled bags, so I don’t think she’s passing on her legacy to the dancers here.
No, this suite is a monument to a giant ego that’s no longer being stroked byadoring fans.
“I’m working on the laptop. Most of it is searching for shit about her performances and fan sites, but there’s a hidden partition I’m prying open. You?”
“Swimming in satin and tulle, but not finding much. I’m trying to get behind everything, though, in case there are secret panels or boxes.” I pull my head out of the pile of material, sucking in a breath of non-stale air as I survey the closet again. I didn’t find a floor panel in the obvious places, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a hidey-hole somewhere.