Page 53 of Eat. Prey. Love. (Apex Academy Capers #5)

I sprawl across the couch, legs kicked up on the armrest, laptop balanced precariously on my knees. The cursor blinks in a taunting rhythm, daring me to find the words that will clear my name. The living room around me buzzes with a tense energy, the air a mix of determination and pizza—the latter courtesy of Chess’ new obsession with creating themed food nights.

As much as I want that cheesy goodness to fix my problems, it can’t.

“Focus, Dolly,” I mutter to myself, squinting at the screen. “You were prepared for this. All you have to do is put everything together to show that bitch she’s wrong.”

The data stares back at me, a digital mosaic of my innocence. There it is, displayed in stark contrast: the vocabulary, the syntax, the soul of my writing plastered on the slides I’m cobbling together. My work has always had a particular flair—a certain snark that software can’t mimic and Amity sure as hell can’t replicate.

Aubrey leans over from his perch on the edge of the coffee table, peering at my laptop with an approving nod. “Nice. Those new plagiarism checker results are gold.” He’d outdone himself, wrangling a program so precise it could probably tell you what brand of caffeine fueled any given all-nighter.

It helps to have friendly colleagues at every university in the world, even the human ones.

“Of course they are,” I reply, a smirk playing on my lips. It’s hard not to feel a rush of vindication. The checker slices through Amity’s web of deceit like claws through tissue paper—something I’d love to do to her myself for dragging my name through the mud again. I’m so fucking tired of having to defend myself because these idiots can’t just leave me the hell alone.

Fitz plops down beside me, his eyes flickering with the thrill of another successful hack. He spins his own laptop around to face me, revealing a scatter plot of Amity’s academic history. Her papers are a flatline compared to the Everest of mine. “This shows the reading level of her work, the complexity of sentence structure, overused words, and every tiny detail that proves the paper my dumbshit cousin received couldn’t have been written by that girl.”

“Her stuff reads like it was written for grade schoolers,” I scoff, pointing at the glaring discrepancy. “We’re in college, for fuck’s sake. Can’t she even fake looking like she understands the topics?”

I’m being an intellectual snob, I know, but this snotty little shit tried to say the paper I worked on for weeks to perfect was hers when she barely contributed anything after the class sessions .

“Her vocabulary is quite elementary, my dear Dolly,” Fitz quips with a grin. I roll my eyes but can’t suppress a chuckle. Trust Fitz to bring Sherlock into this—he’s been obsessed with the ferret-y looking human since we started the series last month. “Maybe even preschool.”

“Let’s add your comparisons to the slide deck,” I suggest, already dragging graphs and charts into the presentation. “Everyone loves a colorful visual aid, you know?”

“Stop it, you two. You’re making me want to vomit,” Aubrey mutters as he sits with Chess and helps gather more proof to shoot over to us. “Besides, Fitz would never be Holmes. Obviously, that would be me with my stony Watson over there. Felix might serve as Mycroft, and perhaps Chester could be one of his Irregulars.”

“Does that make me Irene?” I ask, giving him a playful look. “I could handle that. She was a better opponent for Holmes than Moriarty, for sure.”

“Then I get to be the Crown Prince of Crime!” Fitz yells as he waves his hands. “Kneel before me, humble good guys.”

“You are not Moriarty,” Felix says as he shakes his head. “Not even close. Perhaps Lestrade.”

Fitz pouts, slouching as he continues typing. “Not cool, bro. Not cool at all.”

This is going to cause a snark fight and we have to focus—time to change the subject, Dolly.

“Who knew being accused of plagiarism would require so much actual work?” I grumble loudly. I’m actually serious, because though there’s a fire in my belly, stoked by righteous indignation, I’m pissed that I’m doing even more work to dispute the charges. “It’s bullshit.”

“If they wanted to take you down, they should’ve picked something less... provable,” Aubrey says with a thoughtful look. “This is recycled content as a scheme, anyway. It didn’t work last time. ”

“Lazy ass unoriginal fuckwads,” I say, shaking my head. “That’s what they are.”

“Guys. Stop bickering.” Chess’s sudden exclamation is like a shot of adrenaline. I watch him pop up from behind his laptop, a wild excitement in his eyes that tells me he’s onto something big. We all pivot toward him, our own work forgotten, as he beckons us closer with a manic wave.

Felix leans in, looking at the cheetah seriously. “What did you find?”

“Something very interesting” Chess says, his voice barely containing the thrill. The screen before him displays the analysis results of a novella Amity turned in for a writing class. “This doesn’t match any of her previous stuff; it’s not even close.”

We all exchange glances, our confusion palpable. Rennie pads over to Chess, leans down, and murmurs something too low for my ears. I’m on pins and needles, watching the cheetah’s fingers fly across the keyboard after whatever Ren whispered has sparked an idea.

“What’s the big deal?” Fitz asks, unable to hide his growing irritation. “We know she’s a liar, so she’s probably a cheater, too.”

“Ren thinks he knows who wrote this.” Chess doesn’t look away from the screen, but the corners of his mouth twitch upward. A chime fills the room, signaling a match. He lets out a victorious cackle. “Bingo! It’s an exact match with Rockland’s writing samples.”

Oh. My. Lanta.

The room explodes into chatter, but I can only stare, dumbfounded. They cooked up this whole plagiarism accusation while they were the ones doing it? The irony would be delicious if it wasn’t so infuriating.

“That conniving, hypocritical, death chewer,” I mutter under my breath. The pieces click together, forming an ugly picture of deceit.

“Get all this proof together,” Felix says as he gives Chessie a grim look. “We’re calling Farley.”

“He’s sending couriers,” Aubrey announces after a brief conversation, and I can’t help but snort at the absurdity. We have a mountain of digital evidence against Amity and Rockland—enough to get them both sent packing—but even my lawyer feels he needs to send the enforcers.

You can’t trust a snake, nor a shifter that’s for all intents and purposes a garbage removal system with wings.

“Can you believe the sheer audacity?” I grumble. “They accuse me of plagiarism when they struck a deal to submit fraudulent academic work? If it weren’t so insidious, I’d think they were using the plot of a bad cop show or something.

“Arrogance makes preds blind, Princess,” Felix replies, leaning back with a knowing smirk. “They never think they’ll get caught because they’re so enraptured with their brilliant self that it’s not even a possibility in their minds.”

“Speaking of thinking you’re too smart to get caught...” Fitz interjects, his face darkening as he recalls a memory. “It’s exactly what our douchebag brother, Titus, did. His grand plan to oust Felix was so perfect in his scrambled brain that he thought we’d never find out. Buying into your own PR will get you every time.”

“Ah, yes, dear brother Titus,” Felix says with a snarl. “He encouraged dear old dad to kick me out over my refusal. He believed it would earn him the throne, but the Raj was never going to give it up. Now look where he stands—not on the throne and quietly awaiting death on our vengeance list. ”

“I’ll help,” I chime in with a wicked grin. “I have a few words for that sneaky motherfucker, too.”

“Too bad we can’t tie any of this to Asani,” Felix muses, his disdain evident. “That tiger’s got a knack for keeping clean, even when he’s knee-deep in the muck, but I guarantee he was part of this plan.”

“His time will come for helping your brother,” I assure my tiger, though my thoughts are already racing ahead to the next move. “For now, we have to focus on clearing my name and taking down those who dared to challenge us.”

“As soon as the badgers arrive, we’re marching over to Midori’s office to show her how stupid she’s been.”

I can definitely get behind that shit.

We march into Midori Aung’s office as a united front of indignation and confidence. The gigantic badgers arrived a few minutes before, and together, we all headed straight for this building. It’s time to lay our cards on the table, and hope that it gets this woman to back the hell off. My fingers grip the laptop tighter, the weight of my defense secured in its digital confines.

“Headmistress Aung,” Skelly announces, his voice carrying the authority of Farley himself. “A member of your own tech department and your librarian have assembled information pertaining to this spurious accusation against our client. We are here to present this documentation in the hopes that you will rescind the charges.”

Midori’s gaze is as cold as the scales that sheath her body. “Miss Drew remains a stain upon this institution. I am uncertain that your ‘proof’ will change that,” she hisses, her disdain for me venomous and clear.

What in the hell did I do to this chick? I’d never even met her until yesterday !

“I am hardly a stain on this school. You have much bigger concerns than me if you’re worried about its sterling reputation,” I retort, my lips curling into a smirk.

Goliath steps forward, countering her attack by holding up his tablet. “Records show you’ve been here for only five days since the semester started, Headmistress. You’re hardly qualified to judge her character or contributions.”

Monstro looms beside me, his shadow engulfing the office like a dark promise. The glare he’s giving Midori could peel paint from walls, but he says nothing, his silent intimidation speaking volumes. I have to suppress a grin; even the headmistress seems to shrink back a fraction.

“Even if that were not the case,” Felix says as he gestures to my laptop. “We have a massive amount of evidence that her lawyer can independently verify so it will hold up in court when he files a suit against you, the school, and everyone involved in this defamation. Your house is not clean, Headmistress, and that will certainly come out if this hits a legal proceeding.”

“To be crystal clear, this will be in addition to what he’s already filed,” I add, feeling the smugness rise within me like a triumphant wave. “Carina Rockland has been stalking me since she was assigned to me at Capital Prep and we will absolutely be adding all of this bullshit to that case as well. The plagiarism accusation, defamation, libel, slander, tortious interference, and outright theft she’s already perpetrated will not make her a good witness for you.”

Renard smirks. “You should probably let ma petite out of those useless sessions before the badgers think of something else to add to your docket.”

The slimy anaconda shifter doesn’t flinch; no, she simply shrugs. “I cannot overturn the previous school’s recommendation for counseling. Her mother even signed off on the requirement. It’s non-negotiable,” she states flatly .

Every. Fucking. Time.

My blood boils, the urge to lash out nearly unbearable, but before I can speak, Aubrey steps in smoothly. “Lucille Drew publicly disowned Dolly,” he reminds her, his voice calm but firm. “She has no claim to her as an adult who has been stripped of her spot as heir. Dolly isn’t hers to manage anymore.”

“Be that as it may, it doesn’t negate her ability to demand this of an unmarried child,” Midori replies with a dismissive flick of her tongue, “I will inform Lucille of the progress on the plagiarism case once I have reviewed your evidence. For now, Miss Drew will remain at l’Academie , pending further investigation.”

“Keep in mind,” Renard interjects, his tone silky and dangerous, “any form of retaliation following this meeting will reflect directly upon you, Headmistress. Rockland’s personal vendetta is becoming quite conspicuous, and if she takes this out on our mate, we will return with less pleasant methods of negotiation.”

Her eyes narrow, but she gives nothing away. I’m left standing there, seething silently, my friends’ support a small comfort against the ties that bind me. The fight isn’t over, but today’s battle has been waged with precision.

Fitz takes my arm, jerking his head at the others. I can tell he’s ready to tear the bitch to pieces, so I follow him without another word. Once we leave, I slam the door to her office behind me with a force that ripples through the hallway.

“I want to murder them all,” I seethe as I look at the crazy tiger next to me.

“I’m in,” he replies, shrugging. “What the fuck do I care if it upsets the balance? Baby Girl always gets what she wants, that’s my policy.”

“No,” Felix says with a grimace. “We can’t be rash. You both know that. ”

Aubrey blows a couple smoke rings that drift towards us and I turn to give him a grateful look. “It’s hard to let them talk us out of violence, huh, big guy?”

He scoffs as we leave the building, his voice full of derision. “It is hard to accept that such an ignorant pred is in charge of educating our young. Keeping from frying her is almost impossible.”

The library looms ahead as we walk, but it feels like another cage today. My gang flanks me, a pack of solidarity in a world where logic and reason have taken a backseat to power plays. I despise these kinds of games and I hate the people forcing me to play them to survive.

“This had better be the end of this shit,” I mutter under my breath as we round the building to go to our back entrance. “I have too much work to do before the end of the semester.”

“Farley will handle this just like he is the corpse cruncher,” Fitz assures me. “He’ll figure out how to get you out of those shitty sessions, too.”

“Right now, I’d settle for one day—just one—without someone trying to take a chunk out of me,” I say, throwing my hands up in exasperation. “It shouldn’t be too much to ask.”

“Luck doesn’t seem to be on our side with that, cherie ,” Rennie snorts, sharing a look with the others that tells me they’re all too aware of our uphill battle.

We sink into the worn couches nestled in a secluded corner of the library, the tension easing from our shoulders as we fall into the familiar rhythm of camaraderie.

Peace is a fleeting illusion, unfortunately.

The ping of Chess’ phone cuts through the quiet, a harbinger of more chaos. Then another ping, and another, until it’s a symphony of electronic chirps. We exchange glances, each one heavy with unspoken dread .

“Shit,” Chess mutters, his face a mask of grim resignation as he scans the message. I lean over, catching sight of the words on the screen, and my stomach drops.

“Twenty preds are missing?” I echo, my voice barely above a whisper. “They didn’t go home, didn’t come back...”

“Looks like the Fae are back,” Felix says, his eyes darkening with anger.

“Damn it,” I hiss, feeling the weight of the news settle over us like a shroud. “We can’t catch a break.”

Aubrey shakes his head as he reads the full email, then looks at our family. “Farley will have to deal with Midori. We have bigger fish to fry.”

Anger floods my veins again and I stare into the distance, my mind racing as I think about what I’m going to do when I get my hands on these dickwaffles.

It’s going to make Fitz’s body part collection look sane—that I’m certain of.