As much as she hated letting Mal go off on her own, Evie was grateful for the chance to compose herself. Obviously, she'd heard the rumors. Her mother would've been severely disappointed in her if she hadn't. Unfortunately, many of the rumors revolved around her. Rumors that tarnished her image and reduced her chances of being deemed worthy of dating a royal. The consequences of that failure sent chills down her spine and the curse prickled on her skin.

Entering the cafeteria, she spotted Jay and Carlos already at their usual table and her chest loosened. They needed a defensible place today a little more than they usually did. As she got closer, however, she fought the urge to frown. Both boys were relaxed, but their eyes darted around the crowd of students. The fact that Carlos's hand hovered over where his favorite knife was hidden and Jay was leaning against him wasn't lost on her. Neither of them were as murderous as Mal when Evie found her, but they were pissed off.

"Hey," she said and Carlos gave her a strained smile.

"Where's Mal?" he asked.

Evie opened her mouth to answer only to be cut off by Mal's, "Right here. Had to grab something."

"Grab something?" Jay echoed.

Ignoring him, Mal tossed a small bag to Carlos. "Go grab food. Then, E, tell us your plan."

There was still something vicious in their leader's eyes so Evie did as she was told. As she and Jay left, she caught a glimpse of the contents of the bag as Carlos whispered something to Mal: chocolate. Interesting. She'd have to ask what Mal overheard that set her off.

It didn't take them long to grab their food and get back to the table, Evie arranging her food so the portions looked bigger than they actually were. The rumors were going to make it even more difficult to get a prince; she needed to perfect her appearance to have any chance at all Yet they were all even more tense by the time they sat down and Mal was throwing sparks again.

"So we've all heard the rumors," Mal snarled, stabbing her chicken. "What are we doing about it, E?"

Careful not to frown, Evie set aside her silverware and folded her hands on the table. Her mother didn't give her much, but she was grateful for the lessons she could use in Auradon. She could help her pack with this. "The most important thing we need to remember is not to deny anything," she began. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Mal and Jay straighten, and she continued before they could protest. "The more we protest, the more invested they'll be. They'll think we're hiding something. If we take away the mystery, they'll lose interest."

"E," Mal growled, green eyes glancing towards Carlos for a split second. He ducked lower in an attempt to disappear. "I don't think you know what they're saying."

"We can't fight, Mal," she insisted. "Not if we want it to stop."

"Evie-"

"Knows what she's talking about," Carlos cut in, voice low and subdued. "You asked her what we should do… She's telling us."

A low growl escaped their leader. But Mal didn't say anything else.

Catching Carlos's gaze, Evie searched his eyes. Terror. Anger… Trust. For a moment, he just held her gaze before giving her a slight nod. "What else can we do?" he asked.

"If you don't want to answer, then just shrug or deflect," she said. "If-if someone gets specific then you can always ask if they're jealous."

Jay snorted while Mal and Carlos relaxed just a little. That was good. If she could ease even a little of the stress then she was doing her job. As Jay started suggesting other answers, managing to make Mal smirk, Evie allowed herself to finally look around the cafeteria. The rumors were spreading faster now. People were migrating between tables, clustering together at the buffets, heads together as they whispered. More and more people watched them. One person, however, was not watching them and was more interested in what was happening with everyone else.

Audrey.

The perfectly poised princess surveyed the cafeteria, head high. Proud. Too comfortable. A princess like her should pay close attention to any gossip floating around. Information was power. There were only two reasons for Audrey to be ignoring the rumors: she didn't see them as useful or she started them. From what Evie observed, Audrey was the type to use any and all information she could get her hands on. Which meant the bitch started the rumors.

Her hand twitched towards the vials in her bag. Two drops and Audrey would be sick for days. But she couldn't. Not if she wanted to stay in Auradon and help others leave the Isle. What she could do was…

"Audrey started this."

The rest of her pack froze.

"What?" Mal demanded.

"Audrey started the rumors." Sparks shooting from her fingers, Mal rose and Evie only just managed to grab her wrist. Fortunately, Carlos was able to catch Jay, hand clamped on the older boy's bicep. "Mal, don't."

"Are you insane? She did this to us!"

"And it'll be worse for us if we retaliate!" Evie countered. Viciously green eyes glared at her and Evie met them evenly. "We can't go back to the Isle, M."

"We can't let her get away with this," Mal spat, but she stopped trying to pull away from Evie's grip.

"And we won't."

"How?"

"We turn some of the rumors on her." When Mal raised an eyebrow, Evie smiled. "Rumors often come from a place of jealousy."

Mal's eyes sharpened as she smirked. "Poor little Audrey just wants a good fuck. The perfect princess isn't so perfect."

"Exactly."

"I love it."

Once Mal sat down, Evie breathed again and Carlos released his white-knuckled grip on Jay. For the rest of the meal, they ate in silence, occasionally throwing out ideas for rumors about Audrey. It wasn't until they were leaving that Mal pulled her and Jay aside.

"Keep an eye on our pup. I… Someone said Los is only in the pack because we want something fuck."

The world vanished in a flash of red, her chest too tight to breathe. Beside her, Jay clenched and unclenched his fists, jaw set. It took all her self-control not to turn around and dump every drop of her poisons straight down Audrey's throat. Their pup… Los… NO. Frowning, Evie forced out a breath. She had to follow her own advice. Turn the rumors back on the bitch and not openly retaliate. For now.

"We will," Evie promised. "And we'll destroy Audrey."