Page 46 of Eat. Prey. Love. (Apex Academy Capers #5)
I pace the perimeter of the garden gazebo, my steps silent on the dew-kissed grass. The Pred Game scrimmage with Cappie looms over us like a storm cloud ready to burst, and my twin, Fitz, is knee-deep in prep mode with the men’s team. As for me, I’m left to map out our defenses, my mind racing through strategies as sharp and varied as the stripes on my fur.
This scrimmage comes at the worst possible time, though I doubt there will be a better time later.
The morning sun filters through the lush greenery of the garden, casting a serene glow on Dolly’s face as she stretches into an elegant cobra pose. I watch from a distance, admiring her flexibility in a way that isn’t exactly innocent. Her deep breaths are in sync with the rise and fall of Rufus’s chest as they move through their yoga routine, a tranquil island in the midst of our storm of preparations.
I’m glad she’s got her friends to help her stay focused on her warm up and getting ready for the match. She doesn’t need to be worried about the rest of this shit; that’s for me and the rest of her family to handle while she is preparing. Walking over to the table again, I listen as she chats with the brash badger while they move through poses.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Rufus asks, his voice laced with concern.
“Who knows what competitor they’ll throw at me,” Dolly says as she reaches for her water bottle. She takes a long sip, her eyes scanning the horizon. “Grudges run deep with the famous girls at Cappie. Even if they don’t do something shitty, there’s the Fae or the Heathers... or even some of the professors who seem to hate me.” Her tone hardens with the mention of the Council acolytes, but she shakes her head, refusing to let fear take root. “But I can’t let it mess with my head.”
“Zen, remember? Breathe in the calm, breathe out the anxiety,” Rufus chides gently, and she offers him a small smile before returning to their routine.
“The gloomy gargoyle’s crew did good with the biometrics,” I mutter as I turn back to Zhenga. The lioness is standing by the table littered with blueprints of the academy with her arms crossed over her chest. I run my fingers lightly over the paper, tracing the pathways leading to the library and Dolly’s studio—now secured fortresses amidst the unpredictable landscape of l’Academie . “But that only protects our personal spaces.”
Nodding in agreement, Z points at the camera icons peppering the layout. “Aubrey’s snarling push back with security paid off. The new eyes will give us an edge.” Her voice is steady, but there’s a whetted edge to it, a readiness that mirrors my own tension.
“Chess has our food under lock and key,” I continue, ticking off each completed task. The thought of anyone tampering with our sustenance makes my feline instincts bristle with distaste. “He’s making enough to cover our household, but also her friends, the crew, and you. The lawyer is off campus, so he’s got his own quality control.”
Poison is a coward’s weapon, and we’re taking no chances with it this time.
“Raina and the Captain’s secret cameras are in place, too,” the lioness confirms, her finger hovering over the hidden spots only we know about. “They’ve swept the staff quarters to make sure there are no indications of prey animals being threatened or bribed to help with shenanigans. Raina had her stinky lover tell me when he came to fetch the locker room laundry.”
“Good.” I exhale, a low growl vibrating in my chest. There’s something primal about protecting one’s clan, and even as an exiled Raj, the drive to defend is ingrained deep within my bones. These people are all my ambush now, and I cannot fail them. My attention drifts back to my Princess, head tilting as I listen in again to see what she and the badger are talking about now.
“Farley will be with us today,” Dolly says to him as she twists into an upside-down pose. “He’ll be watching from the stands with you and Cori.”
“Hell yeah. My cuz and his goon will definitely scare off any bitchy Cappie fans.” Rufus grins then glances briefly in my direction, winking. “We’ll all have eyes on you, Dollypop. You’ll be safe as houses, girl.”
“Speaking of keeping an eye on people,” I interject, looking at both my bunny and her punky friend, “Fitz is going to be a challenge to keep in check if things get heated. Everyone has to be on notice. ”
“He’s not wrong. Fitzy will go absolutely buggering nuts if he thinks someone is threatening me,” Dolly snorts, transitioning to stretch her hamstrings. “At least you’ll have the earpieces for quick communication if something goes down.”
“Truthfully, it’s Aubrey I’m more concerned about,” I admit. “You know how he gets when his dragon flares up. He’s more likely to raze the entire place if he gets provoked.”
“Nothing a little sedation wouldn’t fix,” Rufus jokes, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. “I’m sure the crazy tiger has a little predstasy tucked somewhere. Why not use that?”
“Calm down, Dr. Feelgood,” Dolly fires back with a smirk, not missing a beat. “I’d prefer not to drug our own team if possible. With Fitz, we know how he behaves in those situations. I can’t fathom how the big guy would react, but if it isn’t what you expect, it would only make shit worse.”
Cori giggles as she comes out of the library with a basket and some water bottles, stepping carefully around Rufus’s sprawled form. She kneels beside Dolly, inspecting the hem of the uniform shorts. “I got the water, but it seems like I came back at a really weird point in the conversation. Who’s planning to drug a dragon? It sounds like a really risky idea.”
“These look fantastic, by the way,” Dolly praises, admiring the cut. “And the fabric moves really well with my body. You did a fabulous job, Coco.”
“Isn’t that kit a bit too sexy for the field?” Rufus can’t resist poking fun, even as he appreciates the design. “I thought all the feministas were decrying the sexy uniforms female athletes have to wear all the time.”
“It’s about choice, Ru-Ru,” Cori retorts with a confident tilt of her chin. “Some of the Games gals might prefer these, but if they don’t, I have several options they can choose from with different cuts and lengths. I’m empowering them to feel comfortable in their skin when they compete… on their terms. ”
“I see your point,” Rufus concedes, eyeing the various uniforms laid out on the grass. “If Dollypop is comfy in this, she should be able to wear it, while someone else should be able to cover more without getting some ridiculous penalty. I like it, Coco.”
“Thanks, babe,” she responds as her fingers make meticulous adjustments to the fabric on my girl’s uniform.
I’m staying the hell out of this conversation because I definitely do not get to weigh in on it.
Dolly stands, newly attired, looking every inch the fierce competitor she is. She swings her arms around, moving side to side, then winks at me before she does a backflip. Her smile is wide as the silver sparkle on the black glitters in the sunlight. “Yup. This is the shit, Cori. I’m going to rock this under the lights tonight, and I feel like a total badass.”
“Ahem.” Zhenga’s voice pierces the morning calm, a sharp contrast to the playful atmosphere they’ve been indulging in. The urgency in her tone pulls my focus away from my Princess and her friends back to the security plans.
“There have to be eyes on Rufus and Cori at all times,” Zhenga says, her hands flitting through the air as if she could physically place them under a protective shield. Her brows are knitted with worry, deepening with every mention of potential danger. “You and your dingbats can protect yourselves. Dolly is formidable after all her training. But these two aren’t quite as well trained and they’re a perfect target.
Huh? Where did this come from?
I lean back in my chair, studying her. “What makes you think they’re at such risk?” I ask, trying to catch her eye. She pauses, glancing over at where Rufus is chuckling at something Cori says.
“Because,” she exhales heavily, “vicious pred families like ours love snatching the innocent to leverage their position. If anything happened to them...” She doesn’t need to finish; we both know how fiercely Dolly would react.
“It’s a good thing the Kavarit triplets followed the badger here,” I remind her, my voice even but firm. “Those sphinxes won’t let anyone get within a whisker of Rufus and by extension, the giggly bear.”
As if summoned, Rufus chimes in from his spot by the uniforms, clearly having eavesdropped on our conversation. “Don’t sweat it, Coach,” he says, a wry smile playing on his lips. “My triplets are fierce as fuck . If anyone tries anything, they will end up shredded like confetti before they can blink.”
He’s downplaying his own skill to allay her fears; I know that badger took on an entire family of drug dealers to win his spot as heir.
Zhenga nods, visibly relaxing. The tension slips from her shoulders, and I squint at her. I don’t know if she’s just grown attached to our girl as they’ve been working together or what, but she’s very protective of Dolly’s friends. It’s nice… but weird. Then again, Z has never been normal, and I’ve never been able to figure out what the fuck is going on in her head accurately.
After a moment, I lower my voice and turn to Zhenga, hoping to understand her anxiety. “How about you? How’s the team shaping up? I know the Princess is doing well, but what about the rest of them?”
She gives me a small, genuine smile—one that actually reaches her eyes. “It’s going pretty well. I’m actually... happy. Building something new, making the decisions—it’s liberating.” A lightness infuses her words, a stark difference from the desperate lioness seeking a mate to get out of her exile I used to know. “The newbies are slowly learning; this will likely be a reckoning of sorts, but they need it. If they’re going to be on the team, we will compete and they have to put the work in.”
“And the Princess is helping?” I prod gently, aware of their budding relationship. “I’m glad she seems to be forming a friendship with you. She hasn’t had a lot of stable people in her life before Apex.”
“Having someone who’s genuine and not just another rival in disguise... it means everything.” There’s a warmth in her tone, reassurance that this strange new world we’ve found ourselves in might just be better than the old. “Plus, she truly wants the others to get better. She doesn’t sabotage them like other preds would.”
“Good,” I say simply, my heart lighter. “I’m glad to hear it.”
Together, we turn back to the blueprints and notes on security merging into a map of safety and strategy. From the corner of my eye, I see Dolly transition into a warrior pose, strength and calm radiating from her. I leave her to her routine, her presence a silent anchor as we prepare for what lies ahead.
“I hope this is enough,” I murmur, my gaze lingering on the determined set of Dolly’s jaw. “We can’t stop magical shit because we don’t know what the fuck to do with it. This is what we can control, so it has to be as close to perfect as possible.”
Zhenga’s eyes meet mine. “We’ll be ready for tonight, Raj. No one we care about will get hurt, other than the normal Games stuff. I promise.”
Her confidence is a balm to the low thrum of unease that hasn’t left me since Dolly came home and reminded me of the damn match. The headmistress’s absence doesn’t make things any easier; it’s as if she’s simply waiting for the chaos to unfold without her watchful eye.
Or maybe helping to orchestrate it, but that’s a suspicion for another day.
“We’ve done everything we can,” I reply, turning my gaze toward the horizon where the stadium gleams. “Everything else is up to Fate.”
“I could pull some Tarot cards if you’re worried! I won’t even charge for my magnificent visions. ”
I roll my eyes as the badger mimics dealing cards and Dolly laughs. The levity helps, but I don’t need him to use woo-woo fortune telling. What I need is for the dragon and the gargoyle to get back from their spins around the two wooded sections of campus. Once I know they’ve put their cameras in place, I know Fitz’s system will have a view of the entire campus clear enough to see every possible entry point for an attack force.
Then, I might be able to relax for a minute or two—but not before.