Page 55 of Failed State

“Look, being fated is great, but if their damage on the way to her is so bad that they won’t keep her safe and not sell her out? Then I don’t care what the universe says. They’re not getting within an inch of the vulnerable side she doesn’t show people. I won’t let some jackasses hurt her more; will you?”

He flashes me a smile full of ursine teeth and I chuckle.

I guess that’s a ‘no’.

YOU CAN RING MY BELL

SYDNEY

I madeStormbringer exit stage right eventually, and oddly, I was able to get decent sleep. Once I got up and dressed, I headed for the kitchenette to findallof the dudes in there having coffee. The conversation stops the second I walk in, and I glare at them. That definitely means they were talking about me, which sets my teeth on edge.

Are theytryingto piss me off? What the shit.

“Whatever you chucklefucks were discussing before I showed up had better not be me. I’m warning you—today is not the day and I am not the one. I’ve got a lot of things to come to grips with, while pretending to be a good little automaton at this goddamned training.”

Their expressions don’t change and I sigh internally. Men are fucking exhausting and I’m really not in the mood to push this after last night. I roll my eyes and stomp over to the coffee machine, pouring myself a mug and taking a long, restorative sip. Coffee this rich and full is definitely a perk of this stupid place; in the camps, it’s usually watered down to almost eagle piss because of the need to make it last. The bitterness helps mecurb the fury roiling inside of me for a moment, and I open my eyes to see every one of them looking at me with a stupid grin.

“What the fuck are you all grinning like dumbasses for?”

Thad clears his throat, scratching his chin as he tries to get his face under control. “It’s just nice to see you look so damned ecstatic for once. I had no idea a good cup of joe would do that.”

Smug asshole.

“How often do we get shit like this, Thad? It’s heaven in a fucking stupid cup.” My frown is hidden by the edge of the cup, as I take another fortifying drink. “I don’t know about the two fancy pants guys, but our version of these hellholes doesn’t allow for such a luxury.”

“Mine, either.” Elias says mildly. “But he’s not wrong, little rebel.”

Mollified, I continue sipping the delicious brew as I mull over what I learned and what I think we need to do. “Anyone concerned about the fact that we haven’t been given a start date or real info about when we go from training to the real thing?”

“Me,” Sebastian says as he licks a spot of red from his lips. It reminds me of what he is and I have to suppress my long encouraged urge to sneer at him. He arches a brow like he’s read my mind, then continues. “I believe they will soon, because this ‘warming up’ period was more about figuring out what we can do and how our minds work. They likely had shrinks watching videos and taking reports from the coaches and trainers to analyze every word and move, so that they can create marketing based on each team.”

“Awesome,” I mutter. “Love feeling watched everywhere I go for years on end, only to be shoved in the world’s biggest fish bowl until I get to fight to the death to amuse people.”

Elias chuckles. “Perfect way to describe it. I like it.”

“Privacy died long before the sweeps, sweet pea,” Huck comments as he returns his mug to the sink. “The humans gaveit up as a trade for games in their pockets and our leaders gave it up hoping to prevent the exact bullshit we’re living through. This is just trading a prison for a trophy case.”

Goddess, I hate how right that demon always is.

“Okay, so we’re fucked and people watch our every move like we’re in a terrarium. You guys are supposed to act like you’re lusting after me and I’m supposed to fight you off and be a snarky rebel. Got it—yay team.”

Thad dumps his mug as well, walking over to me and standing so he’s all I can see. His kind eyes meet mine as he does what he always does when I’m clearly going to go off the rails in a snit. “Syd, I know all of this shit is so far beyond your boundaries that it probably chafes inside and out. Your world has been rocked so many times in a few days that you’re on the edge of spiraling. But we don’t have the time for you to do your normal ‘disappear into a black hole’ somewhere for a week act.”

I suck in a deep breath and blow it out in annoyance. The damn bear knows me so fucking well that it irks me on a good day, but now it’s so much worse, especially because he’s right. In the past, when my impotent rage welled up like this, I’d ditch everyone and go hide out away from the academy, my friends, and my life in the darkest parts of our camp. Neither of the boys ever found me, because I made sure I disguised myself well enough that I could blend into the darkness of that quarter.

That kind of emotional indulgence isn’t possible here and now; I have to get my shit together.

“Okay,” I finally mumble to my towering best friend. “I’ll do my best not to react the way every cell in my body is screaming. But it won’t be easy.”

“Sydney Jolienevertakes the easy way out,” he replies with a grin. His arms reach around me, crushing me into a tight hug that makes me grunt as he squeezes. If anyone but Thad wasdoing this without warning, I’d probably go for a nut shot, but I know he’s trying to ground me.

The problem is that suddenly, I don’t feel very grounded and it’s like even my comfort zone has morphed into something I didn’t expect—just fucking fabulous.

“Good morning, faithful competitors!”

I blink as Dean Wallace-Brickman stands on a platform in the area just outside of the cafeteria and booms the greeting via microphone. We haven’t seen her since we were moved into this facility, and I’m not certain why she’s here now. The teams aren’t students at F.E.A.R. anymore; we’re basically property of the fucking FSHA. What’s a feckless administrator doing here disrupting my digestion after I eat?

“Who’s that, Vicious? You look like you’d happily gut her and wear her intestines as a feather boa.”

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