Respect
“I swear to Anubis, that asshole Raj has secret telepathy,” I grumble. My hand squeezes the sparkly dragon squishy hidden in my pocket reflexively as I try to calm my nerves. Dragons are insular shifters—much like gargoyles—and speaking in front of sizable crowds outside of your family is unusual. I don’t have large lectures like Felix or Fitz, and I’m not required to interact with students as closely as Chess or Renard.
This goddamned speech has me shaking in my fucking monkey suit.
Speaking of which, I look over at my erstwhile companion and huff as he practically skips his way to the Shirdal Arts Center. Fitz is unusually excited about attending a high school prom, despite it being an unpaid assignment outside of normal teaching hours. He’s normally the first one storming into Henny’s office to protest anything we’re asked to do after four p.m. Yet tonight, he’s effortlessly styled in his messy designer tux, whistling like a dwarf in a fairy tale as we head for a four-hour mandatory work detail.
I can’t quite work it out in my head. This should cut into his ‘slappy hour’ with Chess or whatever female shifter is throwing herself at him this week. If Fitz isn’t hanging in the tower annoying Renard, fucking someone, or with his ambush, it’s not a day that ends in ‘y’.
“Why so serious, lizard king?” he asks, making a face like the crazy villain in the confusing movie he made us watch about a man who is not a bat shifter, but dresses as a bat.
It takes everything inside of me to ignore his disrespect for my species, and I only do so because we’re friends. Dragons are not mere lizards , and to suggest it would be a death sentence if I were any of the other members of my clan. “While I am uncomfortable with the situation, it is an honor to be asked to represent the school in front of the most powerful families in the country. I’m worried my lack of... social graces will be detrimental to our reputation. Plus, my history…”
The tiger stops moving entirely to burst out laughing; the mirth is shimmering off of him in waves as he coughs and sputters. I cross my arms over my chest, irritated at his humor at my expense. I don’t often express feelings outside of anger, and my annoyance at his insensitive behavior makes the fire in my belly spark. Huffing a smoke ring as I try to regain control, I glare at him silently, waiting for him to explain himself before I turn him into a fried kitty steak.
When he finally catches his breath, Fitz tilts his head at me. “Listen, you big spicy iguana, this shit means nothing . We weren’t asked to represent the school; they hogtied us into baby-sitting a bunch of baby council heirs. The Council members won’t be at a kids’ prom; hell, the school administrators won’t be here. This is a punishment—probably for something or someone I don’t remember doing—and nothing more. These little shits won’t give a hairy rat’s ass what your speech says—you could read the lyrics of WAP and they won’t notice. Stop stressing; it’s harshing the vibe.”
Blinking, I open my mouth, and then I close it. It isn’t often that Fitz says something so logical, nor often he thinks of anyone but himself or his brother. I think he may have tried to make me feel better in his goofy frat boy way. I’ll be damned a second time. “You may be right, Fitzgerald, but it would not be right to shirk the responsibility I’ve been given, even if it is a punishment.”
He snorts and rolls his eyes, reaching into his pocket and holding up a tiny baggie with the catnip strain of pred-stasy inside. “Suit yourself, scales. I plan on zoning out and chasing tail.”
I let out a frustrated puff of smoke as he saunters off in his rumpled tux, whistling again as he goes. Leave it to that underhanded cheater Felix to stick me with his irresponsible party boy brother instead of someone calm like Chess or Renard. When I finally prove that he rigs our Fang, Claw, Fist games, I’m going to roast his goddamned chestnuts like it’s Christmas.
“Fitz, wait! If you could refrain from taking that until I’ve finished my speech…”
But it’s too late. He’s raced up the steps and into the building before I can finish my sentence, and the little fun bag is empty.
This is going to be a fucking nightmare, and I’m going to murder the Khan brothers afterward.
“Your education at Apex Academy will be one of the finest in the world. Our Council families generously maintain the facilities to professional standards, and —”
“ Sucks !”
A disembodied voice echoes from the back of the room, and my eyes narrow. If my entire speech goes like this, we’ll all be lucky to escape the flames when I lose my shit. My hand squeezes the squishy dragon in my pocket as I work to maintain composure.
“As I was saying, they select our staff from many of the elite predator packs, clans, prowls, prides, and more so you will receive…”
“ Blowjobs !”
Another voice, different from the last, joins in. This one sounds younger, so perhaps I can forgive their behavior since I know unemerged preds have poor impulse control. “You will receive a world class education, training in the arts and combat, and the wisdom of creatures years, and yes, centuries older than yourselves.”
“ Dragons are overgrown geckos !”
I am not fooled by my inability to see that heckler—the baritone in the voice is one of a grown ass shifter, not a child. My fellow teacher is near the back corner, and I now suspect he’s encouraging these little assholes to interrupt. Whatever he was looking forward to tonight isn’t happening fast enough for his liking—so he’s bored and intent on stirring up his own entertainment. To make matters worse, he’s got to be tripping fucking goat balls by now, and Fitz is ADHD enough without chemical assistance, so this is a train wreck waiting to happen.
Did I mention I’m going to reduce the tigers to cinders?
Clearing my throat, I continue, pretending his shenanigans aren’t phasing me. “Apex is known for having some of the most skilled predators in the world on staff. We have alphas, betas, princes, princesses, and more roaming our halls as both students and professors. We will expose you to various subjects and fields of interest depending on what career you intend to pursue, and in your upper-classmen years, we will grant you permission to be an exchange student or intern with elite pred schools and institutions across the globe.”
“ Interns can suck my balls !”
My eyes close for a moment, and I try to get control of my temper. Fitz riling up the entitled morons in the back isn’t helping, and I’m determined not to embarrass Henny or anyone else tonight. I take a sip of the water on the podium, hoping the cool liquid will quench my fire. Before I can open my mouth again to speak, a loud retching sound rings out in the middle of the crowd on the dance floor.
It’s followed by another, and another, and another…
The room erupts into chaos as shrieks, puking noises, and the stench of vomit fill the air. Girls scream about saving their designer dresses as they scramble away from the students, who seem to aim for a Guinness World Record as their projectile bile shoots across the floor. Boys push each other trying to get away from the smell, sliding on the barf covering the floor and knocking over girls in heels. People crawl towards the tables, moaning and continuing to throw up as they go.
My eyes widen as I search the room for other adults to help. There’s one lone girl sitting at a table, a frown marring her Fibonacci-perfect features as she watches the throng of students collapse into a vomitus wasteland. She doesn't look sick at all, and I can’t help but wonder why that is. Her surprise is genuine, and I’m about to call out to her so she doesn’t get sucked into the mess on the dance floor when a tiger roar distracts me.
Fitz catches my eyes, jerking his head at the doors and flapping his arms to show I should fly over the mess to meet him. Fucking great. He wants me to ruin my one tux to get the nurses for these rich fools. Son of a bitch, I don’t know what I did to Ra this week, but he’s clearly pissed.
I couldn’t have had worse luck if I tried.
I strip the suit coat off to save it, letting my wings extend and shred the back of the perfectly tailored shirt underneath. Draping my coat over my arm, I rise slowly, hovering long enough in my half-shifted form to judge the ceiling height before I fly over the disgusting pit on the dance floor. When I land next to him, Fitz bobs his brows, his eyes glassy as he points at the gorgeous girl I noticed before.
“Pretty sure she saw my cock last week.”
Pretty… what? For the love of Bastet, Fitzgerald Khan is not the brightest crayon in the box. Clearly, there are more important things going on than the pussy he apparently came to ogle. “Fitz, is that why you called me over here?”
“Fuck yeah, bro! She’s got thighs you could smother yourself in. Chess and I…”
“ Fitz !” I shout, my temper breaking free of its tethers. “There is a more pressing issue than your dick wagging at some underage pred. We have to get Bettina, Argyle, and Clarice right now. We don’t know why these kids are sick, but imagine what will happen to us if any of these heirs die !”
Fitz’s face goes white, and I know I’ve gotten through to him. The research he’s asked me to do may never result in anything, but if we’re the chaperones who let the Council heirs die, it won’t matter that Felix is the rightful Khan leader. We’d be lucky if our deaths were quick. “Fucking shit, man! Where the hell is the prey staff housing again? They don’t tell all of us you know—it causes staffing issues.”
I roll my eyes. Of course, Henny can’t tell most of the staff where they house hedgehogs, mongooses, pangolins, skunks, opossums, and the like—it would be a death sentence. This location is probably only shared with a sliver of the professors—trusted ones like Renard and I. “Forget that. I’ll go get them, since they have venom resistance. You go to the infirmary and get their supplies. Tell that idiot driving the golf cart to fetch the nurses and to floor it or we’re all going to get murdered.”
He salutes me, shifting mid-air as he leaps, his clothes landing in a shredded heap on the ground.
Goddamnit. I fucking hate cats sometimes. Rich, idiotic, wasteful little shits drive me insane, and the Khan brothers were born and bred in the biggest pack of those fuckers.
I turn back to the ballroom, ripping off a piece of my ruined shirt to cover my face and muffle the stench. Moans, groans, and crying fill the air as I walk across the back of the room towards the buffet to examine the contents. My sense of smell isn’t as good as Fitz’s, but some poisons I should be able to scent on my own.
Just then, I see a flash of blonde, followed by a companion ducking out the sliding glass door that leads to the small patio area facing the lake. I don’t know if I blame the girl for getting away from the rancid stench in here, but I find myself oddly sad that I won’t get to speak to her. I was hoping to ask her what she didn’t do tonight to determine why she’s one of the few who aren’t losing the contents of their stomachs on our parquet. If that led to more interesting conversation after, it would only be a delight.
But she’s gone, spirited away into the moonlight like a fairy.
Fitz will be pissed, too. He seems to know her—if his dick comment was true—and she might even be the reason he accepted his fate so easily tonight. As if everything else going on at Apex isn’t weird enough, Fitz might have a crush on an incoming student.
Oh, I’m going to get some mileage out of this for sure.