Page 21

Firecracker

Delores

Much to the chagrin of my cabin-mates, we spent the better part of the evening doing our tasks and sharing the responses.

We were together, sipping drinks, and snacking, but my winged mates did not get to experience the ‘train sex’ they were promised.

I snuggled in with them to sleep before dawn, but as we woke up, their grumbles were much louder.

I had to promise they got the first night on our return trip, and that I’d be as loud as possible to taunt the others.

That’s not something that I can control very well anyway, so it felt like a fair trade.

“We will pull into Sighisoara in a few hours,” Aubrey says as he carefully re-packs their case with the dirty laundry. “Once we’re there, we should find a guide to the trails as soon as possible.”

Renard hands me my things and I bend to pack up my stuff as well.

“Scouting the right offerings will be key. It will need to be a supernatural on good terms with the clan to know the winding roads and paths they use to access their roost on foot. Being able to fly means they have fortified their position over time, and will fiercely guard the secrets of entry from the bi-pedal beings to protect themselves.”

I frown as I muddle that out. “You mean they fly down and back normally, but there’s probably a secret way to get in if you don’t?”

“Exactly,” Rennie says as he boops my nose. “The clutch would need that for deliveries and supplies. It’s not uncommon for my kind to leave loopholes, just in case. Gargoyle had to move a lot as humans expanded their reach in various ages, so it became second nature to create other escape routes.”

“Bounty hunter, too, right?” I ask with a sad frown. “Lucille always said that human and shifter bounty hunters are always after mythical shifters.”

Aubrey snorts. “Not dragons, that’s for sure. Many of the stories humans tell about us have been flipped to give them the winning valor, but it’s not true. We’re the least defeated mythicals in all of history.”

Rennie rolls his eyes. “Yes, we move to get away from them, and they send people after us. I think you’ll find that many species are thriving more than the Council and their cronies want the public to believe.

Also, it is widely assumed that the shifter bounty hunters are actually being contracted by the elite families.

Getting rid of the most powerful creatures would open a lot of doors for dominance and close ones for possible rebellion. ”

“I mean….” I huff as I stand, my suitcase finished and zipped up for our departure. “Is there anything evil those motherfuckers aren’t part of? It feels like they’ve been playing this really long game over time, hoping to just conquer the goddamn planet.”

“No one is saying they have, snack size.” Aubrey gives me a sheepish grin, and I stomp my foot in anger. “Sorry.”

“I’m not mad at you; I’m just pissed that I come from their ‘stock’, so to speak.

” My expression is rueful, but I walk over to hug the big guy.

“Truthfully, it makes me feel guilty all the time. It’s not why I’m fighting all this shit—not entirely—but that guilt informs a lot of stuff. I can’t help it, you know?”

“Again, ma petite , where you come from does not guarantee who you will be. We’re all proof of that.

” Rennie walks over, dropping a kiss on my head and joins the hug with a sigh of happiness.

“No one would have predicted this little circle of love, eh? But here we are, and we will be joined by the rest of our compatriots for breakfast once we scoot out of this car. Non? ”

I smile widely, squeezing them both before I pull away. “Alright, then, sweet talkers. Feed me, baby.”

The hungry looks they give me almost cause us to be late, but luckily, I’m a paragon of self-control—for now.

“The Captain has added his new destinations to their itinerary,” Rennie says as he looks at the buzzing phone on the table.

“He also says that Raina wishes you to know that Jinx is doing fine with our prey medical staff. Argyle has not sprayed her yet, and Bettina believes she actually enjoys the company.”

I sigh in relief. Argyle is the most contentious of their little group and I was worried that she’d get completely bonkers about my sand kitten staying with them.

“Good. Jinx is well-behaved, but I worried a bit. Thank him for me, and Raina, too. It takes a tiny piece of pressure off of my plate to know that.”

Aubrey reaches for the eggs, scooping another pile onto my plate. “More protein, snack size. I’m sure your trainers agree, but we will burn a lot of energy as we ascend to the gargoyles’ nest. I want to ensure that you have the right amount of fuel.”

“Absolutely spot fucking on, Anal Anole,” Fitz crows as he grabs some bacon and sausage. He adds a bit to my china setting just like Aubrey, then shoves the rest in his mouth. I frown at him, looking around the elegant car to make sure no one saw. “Relax, Baby Girl..”

Felix huffs at his unrefined manners and I chuckle as he elbows the younger tiger. “Behave, Fitz. We don’t want to appear to be uncouth in front of all these eyes. If someone recognizes us…”

“Fuck, I hope not,” I mutter as I take another big bite of eggs. Once I chew, I revel in the buttery goodness of less healthy food for a second, then shake my head. “I don’t want our journey tracked on social or mainstream media. We have enough problems to work around, you know?”

“Word.” Fitz holds his fist up to bump, grinning. “If we don’t have cameras on us, I have to watch my ass a lot less. That means we can breathe easily. Well, easier than normal—the whole ‘exiled royalty’ thing is a drag, plus we’d like to avoid your raging cunt mother.”

I blow out a breath, then take a sip of my juice. He’s definitely right about that. “Amen, baby. I don’t know what connections she has in this part of the world and I don’t want to know, especially given how close it is to her homeland.”

“I almost forgot about that!” Chess frowns as he looks up from his phone. “Being this close to where Lucille came from has to be a bit nerve-wracking. I should have asked, Angel.”

I wave my hand dismissively. “Honestly, I’d put it out of my mind until now.

I didn’t want to chicken out on supporting Rennie.

He needs us to be with him on this trip and we need to get as much intel as possible.

We don’t have contacts here and well… like I said.

I didn’t bring it up because it’s scary.

She’s always made him seem like some omniscient deity ruling an entire continent from his velvet sofa. ”

“Yeah, our dad is a bit like that.” Felix gives me a knowing look.

“He does little for himself since ascending to the throne, has wildly unpredictable mood swings, and somehow, still keeps an iron grip on the entire continent plus some of the nearby countries. All of that is from a tiny island full of criminals, outcasts, and rejects from the families of the wealthy who wish they were dead rather than be there. It’s confounding, honestly. ”

“No, it’s not, bro.” Fitz rolls his eyes as he leans forward on his forearms. He motions for me to eat more and I make a face but obey as he continues.

“The current dickbag in the chair has the same infrastructure as the Council and your grandpappy and even your mom. Layers of people who know only what is needed to achieve their goals. If they seem shaky, they’re eliminated and replaced.

No one but him has all the info. He trusts almost no one and uses every psycho he can gather to run territories for him.

It’s like… he runs his criminal shit like a corporation. ”

“I don’t know that other things should ever be run like businesses, except businesses,” I mutter around a bite of bacon. “It feels like a misapplication of the concepts.”

“Well, a government definitely shouldn’t be or you get sociopathic tyrants ruining everything and everyone he touches,” Felix grumbles. “That’s definitely why Bloodstone is its own thing, separate from oversight.”

“And when people get sent to do that… they die,” Chess says softly. “I’m one of the few to make it out alive and it’s only because of Fitz and Felix.”

“Hey! I would have jumped the lazy fucker himself if someone tried to hurt you,” Fitz says with a snarl. “Even before I knew why you were important, I couldn’t let the weird shit they did to us happen to you, baby.”

My brows furrow and I cut my gaze to the gargoyle and the dragon.

It’s not the first time one of the cats has mentioned bad things happening to the twins as kids.

They never continue and I’m starting to believe that whatever it is may be so egregious that we’re all going to lose our shit.

They’re clearly too damaged to admit to it yet, so I won’t push.

But that fuckwad father of theirs had better be ready for what happens when our family finds out—he’s going to writhe in agony so profoundly that someone will write fucking songs about it.

“Well, Bloodstone is on the list, but I don’t think we should aim for that until we have a lot more shit under control,” I reply. “It sounds like your dad has it set up like a goddamn cult compound surrounded by miles of ocean.”

“That’s… pretty accurate,” Fitz says, as he rubs the back of his neck.

“I mean, it’s very Jurassic Park there. All wild and defended by miles of jungle full of crazy fucking preds who were punished for their sins by being set loose.

The reform school rejects who are too much to handle, either get promoted to his goon squad or released into the wild as part of the island’s defenses.

It’s insane, Baby Girl. He has cameras all over so he can watch preds and the occasional prey get hunted until they’re killed or eaten. There’s a gambling economy around it.”

“ That’s where the bets come from,” I mutter as I take all that in. It’s a shit ton more info about their home than they’ve given in the past, but I’m tucking it away in my brain. I look over at Aubrey, who nods. “You just grew up around it.”

Felix nods slowly, then says, “Our history is very painful, but that’s because our father turned Bloodstone into an evil villain lair after our grandmother moved away.

He didn’t have anyone to say ‘no’ anymore, and everything went super dark very quickly.

He recruited cat shifters of all kinds to fill his ranks—not just tigers like us.

And then… it just kept sinking into the ugly place it is now. ”

“I’m sure my mother and her fucking rich asshats helped with that.

She made sure I knew that Bloodstone was the place every disobedient, imperfect child was sent to be ‘reformed’.

It was the boogeyman story for everyone I’ve known—even Mattie, who’s probably about your age.

I guess that was part of their controlling horseshit. ”

Aubrey clears his throat, looking at something over my shoulder.

“We should finish eating. I dislike how the couple across the car is trying not to look at us. It feels as though we’re either being spied on or someone has connected us with public personas.

Either way, I think we should head back to the cabins to stay out of sight. ”

I nod, quickly shoveling the food they’d filled my plate with as we talked. Rennie laughs, watching me chew and swallow quickly, then tosses his drink back. Fitz holds a finger up, calling the server over as I try to get it all down without choking.

“Wrap all this up to go for us, man. I don’t want my mate choking on anything but my dick, and she’s trying to inhale it all so we can go relax.”

Felix and Aubrey groan, Chess chuckles, and I have to put my napkin over my mouth so I don’t spit my food all over the table.

I love that fucking tiger so damn much, but I will get back at him for that.