Highway to Hell
Aubrey
I’ve never met a library I didn’t like, but I am so frustrated with the current condition of this one that I’m ready to consider it.
Our compound was locked down tight during the summer, but the library part of the annex was not, and it’s been torn to bits by summer students and staff.
Giving the digital password duties to me instead of Fitzgerald has also made my workload triple, and I’m about to poke out my own eyes.
This was definitely done on purpose—I’m certain of that.
The walls are lined with bookcases so tall they need double-tiered ladders, but it’s not the sense of grandeur that grates on me—it’s the smell of newly installed carpet and the chemical tang of industrial-strength sealant that now pervades the space.
The latter was a cleaning I wasn’t made aware of, and the former was not even necessary.
I expected some consequences for our minor rebellions last year, but the punishment is outweighing the crime.
Between the nasty-smelling renovations and the disorder of my materials, I’m overwhelmed with distractions.
I am surrounded by relics of my preferred analog era—books, maps, a box of actual index cards—while a digital terminal nearby blinks at me with a relentless parade of password update notifications.
At Apex, this was part of my duties, but I got it sloughed off to Fitz at Capital Prep and our first year here.
Having that task back in my court will prevent me from focusing on my research on the Fae and the Society, especially since I don’t have aides like my nibblet in here this year.
Across from me, Rennie hunches over a pile of syllabi, marking up each one with a stubby pencil.
Every time I glance at him, his stony brow is furrowed and his mouth is set in a flat line.
He flips a page with more force than necessary and then looks up to glare at the security monitor mounted above the door.
These additional assignments and requirements are even making my gloomy mate less mischievous and playful.
He loves teaching literature and botany—even if the students aren’t as into it as him, but having to do a bunch of bullshit pre-work on his lessons is draining all his joy.
“Do you ever tire of these little games they play with us, mon amour?” he asks, nodding at the monitor as it scrolls through the external feeds. “I feel as though they’re simply trying to break us one paper cut at a time.”
I stifle a snort. “If they’re hoping for a dramatic flameout, they would focus more on keeping our mate in her dorm. I think Fitzgerald would lead the student government in a blood-soaked revolt over that.”
My lover huffs in agreement as he shuffles his papers.
“Last year, the kitsunes had a gambling ring the admin ignored, and there was a group of girls running a pyramid scheme involving cosmetics that didn’t exist. Midori wasn’t worried about that in the slightest, but she was up ma petite’s adorable fluffy tail when Rockland brought up AI.
Not that she’d ever do it, but there’s no policy on it, Flames. ”
I’m aware that everywhere we’ve gone so far, the people in charge of the school have been ordered to give Dolly the hardest time of any student.
My phone vibrates against my leg, and I tap the screen without looking.
I toss the device onto the table, where it lands atop a folio stamped Confidential that we’ve been working on between actual school duties.
Renard sighs, sets down his pencil, and cracks his knuckles with the muted pop of two boulders colliding.
“How much longer must we do this before something big enough happens that they have to close all the schools entirely? I can’t believe the Fae will continue to be sneaky rather than stage larger assaults forever.”
“Until the idiots in the Councils realize that they’re going to lose all their heirs eventually,” I say, “or until the Fae fuck something up so badly that people can’t ignore it or write it off anymore.”
The security monitor flashes, and a new alert pings: Entry at Main Living Annex.
The sound is distinctive—an old-school bell that resonates in my ribcage and triggers my draconic instincts.
I stand, all pretense of fatigue gone, as the hairs on my forearms prickle and I taste the faint tang of adrenaline at the back of my throat.
Rennie glances at me, his eyes momentarily gleaming with obsidian. “Excited for someone to come home and free us from this bureaucratic nightmare?”
“Definitely,” I say, as I push back from the table and stand up. Stretching with a long sigh, I arch a brow at him. “Aren’t you?”
“Absolutely.”
I flex my hands, feeling the faint itch of scales threatening to push through the skin.
This library being a mess, paired with the stupid tech stuff, has put my dragon on edge all day.
We pass under the antique clock in the vestibule, its hands still frozen at 11:59, and walk to the solid door between the sections of the annex to type in our passcodes.
When it opens, I peek around the corner into the hallway to see two haggard-looking members of our family coming in.
Snacksize stumbles in first, tightly holding onto a half-shifted Chester.
Her eyes are glassy and her arms are folded so tightly around her middle I worry she’ll snap her own ribs.
Chess moves at a deliberate pace despite his cheetah form, which is the first red flag that something is truly wrong.
His shifts are reserved for emergencies, and right now, his claws are out and his pupils so dilated they look like polished onyx.
Something bad happened during their errands, and it has affected them both.
Renard and I exchange a brief, silent conversation in a single look.
We step closer as the pair approaches slowly, not wanting to set either of them off.
Chester stoops and plants a soft kiss on Dolly’s cheek.
His hands are gentle as he steers her toward me.
Once she’s seated, he lets go, standing between her and the door as though expecting another attack.
I crouch to meet her gaze, tilting my head so I can see her eyes. “What the hell happened out there, lunchable? Why are you both looking so shell-shocked?”
She shivers and draws her knees up to her chest. “Sorry. Sorry, we should have messaged. I just—needed to get out of there. I needed to be… here with my mates so I didn’t…”
The cheetah straightens and then lets his body complete the return to human form. “She needs a minute,” he rasps. “And I need clothes.” He looks at me, a faint grimace of apology on his face. “Can I leave her with you while I handle this?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I say. “We’ll take care of her while you get settled. Then the two of you can tell us who the fuck we’re roasting for this shit.”
My stony lover grabs a blanket from the couch and drapes it over our girl’s shoulders with the ceremony of anointing a queen. “We will find you some food once you’re settled,” he says, his voice soft. “Would you like some tea? Water? Scotch with Dr. Pupper, maybe?”
She barks a weak laugh, and then shakes her head, burying her face in her hands. “Maybe in a minute. The last one, I think. I’m trying to calm my nervous system as it fires like I’m being chased by a fucking demon, you know?”
Chester hesitates, but after another squeeze of her shoulder, he heads for his room to get clothes.
I see him glance over his shoulder every few steps, as though he expects her to vanish the second he’s out of view.
Obviously, she won’t, but I know how he feels.
It’s seldom our girl is this shaken, and whatever occurred on their outing really upset her.
Once we’re alone, I pick her up, blanket and all, moving her to the couch where Rennie and I can flank her.
Her body sags a fraction, as if just having someone within reach steadies her, and our shared mate drops down next to her immediately.
He tucks her hair behind her ears, smiling softly as we surround her.
She blows out a long breath, and I feel the tension in her seep out slowly as she quietly resets herself.
“Want to tell us what happened?” I ask in a low voice. “The bad things rarely hit you this hard, Snacksize. It worries me that you’re this drained and Chester shifted.”
She opens her mouth and then closes it again as she breathes in and out. “Rockland. She’s lost her mind. Like—fully off the rails. You have no idea.”
Of course it was the rancid corpse licker; I want her dead so badly, as do the rest of Dolly’s mates.
I feel my skin heat, and the pressure in my chest as the dragon side of me coils. “Did she hurt you? If she did, it would be hard not to fly from here and deal with her now.”
There’s a beat, followed by a head shake. “No. She… screamed. Said I was ruining her life. Tried to—” She hesitates, swallows. “She tried to hit me, I think. Missed. Spat at me instead. That I had to wipe off my arm because she was too dumb to even hit her target.”
My gargoyle’s hands tighten around his biceps, and I swear I hear the faintest grinding noise from his teeth. “Did you do anything in response? Is that why Chess shifted?”
Dolly looks up, her expression fierce and sheepish at once. “Chessie stepped in so I wouldn’t lose control of the bunny or the magic, or both. She will not try anything again—not for a while. But she’s…”
“She will certainly escalate,” I finish for her with a grimace. “That bitch doesn’t have the sense the gods gave fucking geese shifters. And whatever made her lose her mind today isn’t likely to get any better as the semester goes along.”
Our bunny nods, burrowing further into the blanket.
“Yeah, that’s probably right. And I can’t get out of seeing her every day, so I’m gonna have to work on the yoga meditation thing with Fitzy and Chessie more and more to help control the rage.
If I use magic in some fight in the middle of campus where there’s no Fae to blame it on, they can arrest me, or we’ll have to go on the run. ”
Something that would be very hard to do with so many people and such well-known families.
Glancing at me, Rennie’s expression reflects the same thing I’m feeling—rage and fear.
If Rockland is unhinged enough to go after the nibblet in the hallway—witnesses or not—it means the entire structure of discipline at l’Academie is totally compromised.
Worse, it means we’re probably the only line of defense between her and something even more dangerous.
The cheetah re-emerges, now in a loose tee and a pair of ancient sweatpants. He moves directly to our girl, kneeling beside her and whispering into her ear. She manages a faint smile, squeezing his hand.
“I’m good, baby,” she says, a little steadier.
“Thank you for helping me stop myself.” She looks at me and Rennie, and though her eyes are still red-rimmed, there’s a glint of resolve in them.
“I’ll tell you the specific details of the encounter if it will help, but…
I want the others here, too. I don’t want to say it twice. Is that okay?”
I nod, feeling the tension in my shoulders ebb for the first time since they came back. “Of course. We’ll wait until they’re here.”
Chuckling softly, Chess rises and heads for the kitchen. “I’m getting some comfort food for when you’re ready, Angel. I’m sure the twins will be back soon, and we’ll all discuss the insanity of that woman’s tantrum then.”
I held my tongue and dealt with my fury, but I’m certain Fitz and Felix will be even less happy, especially with Chester involved as well.