Page 56 of Failed State

Rolling my eyes at Rory, I shake my head. I’m not explaining my complex history with camp schools and the way our academy allowed the guards to be abusive and skeevy, even at the college level. “She’s the dean of the college Thad, Huck, and I had just started when they yanked us for this shit.”

He makes an interested sound as he nods, then says, “I take it this place wasn’t very fun.”

“Isanythingin our world right now fun?”

His brows bob and he winks at me playfully, obviously putting on a show for the people around us as instructed. “Oh, I can think of a few fun things they can’t take from us.”

I want to smack the smirk off his handsome face, but also… I don’t. Not because we’re playing the roles assigned to us, but because the idiot kissed me the other night and still doesn’trealize that he’s the first person to ever do so. That little act of rebellion on his part has awakened something I repressed for so long that I don’t remember when I started to, and I have zero clue how the fuck to stuff that shit back into the box.

“Fuck off, Stormbringer,” I growl loud enough to be heard. “Don’t be a perv.”

A loud blast of sound echoes in the room, making every single supe grab their ears and wince. Dean Wallace-Brickman gives us all a bland, happy look when the room is silent as a tomb while we all struggle with the pain. “Very good. Now you understand that this isnotall luxury, yes? You will be required to comply with our edicts and the punishment for not doing so will be far more severe than what I just used.”

I knew these motherfuckers were gaslighting us with this royal treatment.

“We have finished assessing your teams and thus, have created specific schedules and lessons you will attend during the training. These are mandatory and your progress will be reported by coaches, professors, guards, and all applicable advisors. You will not skip any sessions that are not approved by your main coach or medical staff. Nothing we instruct you to do is in any way a request.”

Thad has his big hands over his ears, but he gives me a knowing look. Our gazes drift to Huck, who seems to be having even more trouble with the effects of the weird noise. I frown, checking on the other three. The dragon and the vampire are doubled over like Huck, while Rory is about equal to Thad and me. I wonder for a moment if that means I’m going to turn out to be like them or does my ability to withstand it better than any of my team mean I’m something else entirely? The thought of revealing that to whatever spies are in this room makes me nervous, so I amp up the theatrics on my ‘pain’ while the bitchy dean continues her tirade.

“Your coaches will escort you to the first session of the day and provide you with your schedules. You will program them into the tech we have provided, and you will complete any and all work given to you by these skilled instructors. Compliance is mandatory and failure is not an option—not if you want to survive to see the actual Games. Am I understood?”

Everyone stays quiet, either unsure if the question is hypothetical or trying to deal with the effects of her crowd control device. The lack of enthusiasm makes her face turn bright red and she lifts her hand to do something about it. Enough supes get the picture and start the shouts of ‘yes, ma’am’ before Brickman deafens us all again.

I’m not sure if doing that a second time wouldn’t bust some people’s eardrums, honestly.

I know she thinks we’re lower life forms, and it makes my stomach churn with hatred. No living being should be treated the way humans have treated supes since Taterman’s rule began. The disconnect between ‘humanity’ and how they see us as less useful than the animals they consume is puke-worthy. Not a single employee of the camps and F.E.A.R. would give a damn if her stupid noisemaker actually harmed one of us. They’d just go steal a replacement from the college and keep going.

“Calm down, little rebel. This behavior is not unexpected.”

I look at Elias as he looms over me. He’s quick for a big ass motherfucker, and even though I know he’s hurting worse than me, he’s at my side trying to keep me from getting everyone punished with a snarky remark. “It isn’t. But I’ll never be numb to cruelty, Elias—never. I’m not perfect and I’m obviously learning the world is very different than I knew. At least I’m willing to admit that and learn, rather than operate from a place of hate and fear. They will never be able to say that.”

His darkly handsome features turn amused as he cracks his neck. “You’re right, but beings like this—human or supernatural—do notcarewhat we think of them. They are so brainwashed to believe the rhetoric that confirmed all their biases and resentment, that logic and truth will not sway them. Their one tiny scrap of power in this world is attached to abusing those ‘below’ them. They don’t realize that they’re no better off now than when the terracotta tater ascended to his fake throne.”

I have to cover my mouth when a giggle almost slips free. This is serious and the announcement was another abuse mechanism; I shouldn’t be laughing. But the big guy gives me a proud grin that looks so gorgeous on his bad boy face that I can’t help it, even if I feel terrible. “Elias, that was bad.”

“Who cares? If we cannot laugh, we are truly lost. I believe that.”

“What are we laughing at?” Huck asks, his voice a low rasp as he moves to stand by the dragon. “I could use a chuckle or two after that horse pucky. My bell’s been rung like a lightweight boxing heavy, and all I can see is blurry shit.”

Fuck. I have a bad feeling about this.

MAKE THEM WANT TO DRINK THE KOOL-AID

ELIAS

Sydney is obviously angry,but I believe it’s her permanent underlying state of being at this point. I can’t say I blame her; she was raised with a false story that made her suspicious of trusting anyone by some weirdo supernatural rebel who thought he could keep her safe. Then the world fell apart, he was killed, and it just reinforced all his bullshit. She lived with that through the trauma of his death and supernatural imprisonment, only to find out everything she’s been using to get through the days is a lie and no one told her.

It’s a recipe for one sizzling cauldron of hate and resentment, but she has to pretend to be happy and excited to be paraded around like a zoo animal.

“If it helps, little rebel, everyone has problems with their parents, and most are more serious than they let on to others.”

She snorts at my words, shaking her head just enough for her long braid to whip back and forth at her waist. It won’t be difficult to fake being flirtatious with a woman as subtly beautiful as her, especially since she has zero clue that she’s attractive. Putting a wall between her and the world led to Sydney viewing herself like an asexual Barbie doll, and it makesme chuckle to see her two ‘best friends’ trip over themselves trying to get her to notice them. It’s like she has blinders so opaque that she’s lucky she doesn’t run into shit when it comes to anything resembling sex or emotions that aren’t related to anger.

“Vicious, you’re going to hate this class and who the fuck knows who this second instructor is so… maybe breathe before we get into this classroom?”

My gaze darts to Stormbringer as he attempts to assuage Sydney’s fury at the announcement and the woman who made it. I’d like to know what their history is, but I know this isn’t the time to ask about why she looks like she wants to rip the dean’s head off and piss down her neck. “He’s right, for once. I can only surmise that ‘Cultivating A Cult’ will be tiresome for everyone but the mage and the demon because they are the most extroverted of us. We have to listen to their methods in order to be successful as a team.”

“I’m not stupid, you know,” she grumbles as she finally responds. “I’ve been listening to everyone’s perfectly worded stroking since we were paired. I can do this.”

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