Page 90 of Eat. Prey. Love.
“I doubt it,” Felix interjects with a scoff, shaking his head. “Carina Rockland isn’t the mastermind type. She’s a low intelligence scammer peddling fetishizing fiction about shit she’s never been within five feet of, not the queen bee of bloodsuckers.”
After all, the same people who bitch about the ‘wrongness’ of Fitz and me—or Ren and Aubrey, for that matter—are the kind of people Rockland writes for.
Fitz, however, is already at work, fingers a blur over his laptop keyboard. He’s hunting through camera feeds, scouring social media—anything that might give us a clue what Rockland is gloating about. My mate is channeling his rage into his work, and while I’m glad he can do that, I don’t want him to lose his grip.
“If not vamps, then what could she be smirking about?” I press, feeling the coiled tension within the room. “Farley would have called if she’s managed to wiggle through some loophole in the court case.”
“Who knows with that fucking cunt,” Felix murmurs, but his eyes are sharp, not missing a pixel on the screen as his twin works. “We have to take all her dipshittery seriously or we might miss the one important piece of bullshit she spews.”
“Keep calm while I’m digging,” Fitz mumbles. “I’ll find it; it may just take a little time.”
I squint at the monitor as Fitz’s fingers dance across the keyboard like a maestro. This is something he’sverygood at, and because he excels at killing, people underestimate the intelligence of my hyperactive mate. But they shouldn’t and it gives him an edge in situations like this. He won’t stop until he’sfound every scintilla of information he can on the school’s network.
“I trust you, baby.”
That makes him grin at the screen and I didn’t think it was possible, but he moves even faster. The digital labyrinth before us gives up its secrets one by one—a breadcrumb trail we’re desperate to follow. A low growl echoes around the room when he hits something he believes is noteworthy and all the clacking of keys stops.
Aubrey leans over Fitz’s shoulder, his eyes wide with concern, “Midori Aung is back,” he whispers, as if saying it louder might summon the headmaster herself.
Frowning, I look at the rest of my family. “Why is that worthy of Rockland’s glee?”
“She has meetings with Rockland, Asani, and... the IT department?” Felix reads from the screen, his voice laced with incredulity. “That doesn’t seem like it’s a herald of good tidings.”
Fitz smirks without looking away from his screens. “The IT department here is about as cutting-edge as a blunt spoon. They wouldn’t know a secure network if it bit them in the ass.” He starts typing again, a sly smile playing on his lips. “Not to mention, Ren, the Captain’s crew, and I have this place locked down tighter than Alcatraz. Midori would need a miracle to sneak into our system—and Erikson’s lackies? They couldn’t hack a paper bag in a real system.”
“Her being here is cause for alarm. From everything I’ve heard from the staff, she’s never around unless something’s up,” Felix says with a grimace. “I keep my ears perked when I’m in common spaces for gossip, and the other professors complain about her lack of care about this place all the time.”
“Exactly what the crew has reported,” Ren adds, turning towards Fitz, who’s now leaning back in his chair, arms crossed over hischest. “We cannot forget how Dolly humiliated Kyaw Aung during the Pred Games at Cappie. Kyaw is her niece.”
“Kyaw Aung,” Fitz repeats, his relaxed posture gone as he sits up straighter, a growl building in his throat. “Goddamn. I almost forgot about that little witch. Zhenga had trouble with her and her mean girl group at Cappie, but they mostly squared off with Baby Girl’s ex-BFFs, so we didn’t focus on them. Now I wish I’d made a statement so they’d remember what happens when you come for my mate.”
“Easy, love” I say, placing a hand on Fitz’s shoulder. His muscles are coiled tight, ready to spring. “Remember… you tracked down La Porte after she ditched Dolly for that project. You’ve got that trophy waiting to be plucked. Focus on that instead of the Aung mess.”
A low rumble escapes Fitz’s lips, but his shoulders relax under my touch. I can feel the storm within him abate, even if only slightly. “Yeah, the Laporte girl,” he mutters, almost to himself. “I’ll take care of that first. She really pissed me off with her shit. And Baby Girl doesn’t have a toe yet.”
Fuck he’s crazy when it comes to people he loves. I adore it, but sometimes…
“That sounds like a plan, baby,” I reply, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll handle the Aung puzzle together, then make a move when we have a better idea of what's actually going on.”
But Fitz jumps to his feet, pacing like the caged predator he is. “I’m tired, Chessie. Tired of them thinking they can play games with Dolly and get away with it. Tired of holding back to solve riddles and find clues. This shit just keeps getting bigger, and the boards get fuller. When can we all just have a fucking break?” His voice is a snarl, barely contained fury lacing every syllable.
My voice is calm and steady to counteract his rage. “We all are, Fitzy. But we can’t risk putting Dolly or our friends in danger because we’re too impetuous. Right, guys?”
Felix nods, then Aubrey and Ren. The dragon looks at the hyper tiger with a stern expression. “You know Chester is correct, Fitzgerald. There are too many moving pieces to simply blast everyone with my dragon fire—or I’d be doing it. I, too, despise our inability to sweep the board to keep her safe.”
“I’m going to the Shird to wait for Baby Girl. I can’t sit here and do this right now,” Fitz announces gruffly, stalking off with purpose in his stride, leaving the rest of us to untangle the web of deceit that’s been cast overl’Academie.
With Fitz’s departure still hanging heavy in the air, I shift my focus back to Aubrey, Ren, and Felix. There’s no time for us to dwell on frustrations or personal vendettas; we’ve got bigger prey to chase. He’ll work it out with our girl, and they’ll come back with my tiger in a much lighter mood. His pout fits have always been short-lived since Dolly arrived.
“Don’t worry about him. My Angel will sort him out,” I say with a shake of my head.. “For now, we can’t let our guard down because he’s pouting. I think we need to crack that stash of shit from the museum before Spring Break. Whatever secrets are locked away inside that vault might be key to fending off the Fae or standing up to the Council.”
Aubrey nods, his sharp eyes reflecting determination. “I’ll pour over every document, but we need more help with decoding the odd language to complete the work. I’m going to reach out to my trusted contacts to see if we can figure out how to translate it.”
Renard gives a firm nod in agreement from his perch. “Perhaps I should… initiate contact with some of my kind. There may be clutches that are not part of my family who have members old enough to recall the time before. I’d hoped to avoid it so I wouldn’t activate the gargoyle grapevine, but…c’est la vie. My destiny is to meet them again whether I want to or not, it seems.”
Felix exhales slowly, and then fixes me with a resolute gaze. “Chess, I’ll talk some sense into my brother when he gets back,even if the Princess has calmed him down. We’re a team, and we tackle these obstacles together. He has to respect that.”
“Thank you, brother,” I reply softly. “I empathize with his fury, as do the rest of you, I’m sure. But the solutions that worked on Bloodstone or even at Apex before Dolly are not the ones that will be successful with such widespread enemies.”