Page 1 of A Sky of Storms
Icircledmyprey,letting him stew in his fear for a moment before I pounced, plunging my blade into his thigh like a knife into butter. This guy was toast, and his actions today had gotten him burnt.
The dude squealed like a pig, his eyes wide as he stared past me, pupils dilated like round discs and his skin gleaming with sweat. High as a mother-freaking-kite. I could almost laugh, were it not for me playing the role of his torturer.
“Look, man, neither of us want to be here, so just tell me who you were going to sell the crystals to, and we can both get on with our day.”
He jerked in the wooden chair he was tied to, hiccupping and laughing like a creepy clown as he watched something imaginary fly through the air. I clicked my hands in front of his face, which made him go a bit cross-eyed as he focused.
“Two angels. Pretty, pretty angels,” he said, then exploded into hysterical laughter.
I clapped him on the back, rolling my eyes. “Okay Chuckles. That’s enough crystoxx for you. Now tell me what you were planning or the pretty angels are going to chop your little dick off inch by inch.”
He blinked, his eyes bugging out of his head. Yeah, I thought that might get a reaction, not that I had any plans of following through with that. I might’ve been ruthless when I needed but a dude could die withsomedignity.
I had to give him credit though. This runt had big fucking balls. But what was he thinking trying to steal crystals from the mine? They were the most precious resources in Terrulia, responsible for powering the grid, weaponry—all manner of things. Not only that, but they were also only sourced from Stormcrest City and our surrounding orbit.
Which of course, was all managed by Auger Enterprises, the biggest corporation in Terrulia and also the most corrupt. My parents weren’t just the beautiful faces of this business, they were the ringleaders of the biggest crime syndicate in our country and the head of House Jupiter.
So, yeah, stealing from a member of the mafia was sheer fucking stupidity. Stealing from an Auger and the most elite family in Stormcrest City? That was signing your own death warrant.
Unfortunately for me, I was the executioner today.
I pulled my blade from his flesh and he barely even flinched, so high on the drugs he’d managed to sniff—definitely crystoxx, a substance made from the very crystals he had tried to steal—before my father’s cronies had found him attempting to flee near the edge of the mine.
The fucker never stood a chance. He was an employee of Auger Enterprises, and no one escaped the mine once they’d signed a contract with my parents. No one.
I crinkled my nose at the smell of iron and the pungent waft of urine that trickled down his chair and formed a puddle on the ground. Sucked to be the cleaning crew.
My sister stood beside me, her copper eyes gleaming with approval, her perfect blond hair coiled into a tight bun, nails immaculate even as she studied them. We were similar in appearance—the same eyes stained copper from proximity to the crystals, the same straight nose. Only, my hair was long and black, and my lips were fuller, maybe from my lack of sneering that she constantly did.
I stepped back, waving a lazy hand at my victim whose eyes had gone vacant again. “Victoria, he’s not going to tell us anything. The guy’s checked out to cloud nine for the day.”
And I wouldn’t mind packing my bags, flipping my sister the bird, and going on that little trip with him. Anything would be better than having to play this part and being around her.
Victoria’s lips curled into a smile. Damn viper knew how much I hated this. Knew and exploited that fact. “Again.” She had the nerve to look bored as she glanced at me. “And Fallon, make it hurt, or I might find someone else to torture. Someone like Ethan.”
I smiled sweetly, coating my words with venom. “Lay a hand on him, Victoria, and I’ll cut your pretty fingers off.”
“Aw, but I just got them done.” Her nails did indeed look fresh, glimmering in a blood-red hue. How predictable. “If you don’t have the stomach to do what’s needed Fallon, I’ll be sure to tell Father you’re not cut out for it.”
Oh I bet she’d justlovethat, knowing I would be severely punished once she did.
“Don’t bother,” I snapped. “Wouldn’t want you to get your claws dirty.”
This was the game we always played. I would rebel, she would threaten to hurt my brother, and inevitably, I would give in. The alternative was too horrible to think of. I would never let my younger siblings, Ethan and Hadley, be harmed while I was around.
Problem was, my parents and Victoria knew it. Pricks.
I couldn’t count on my hands how many times Victrus, Eliana and Victoria had beaten the ever-living shit out of me for daring to say ‘no’. When I’d reached my breaking point, they’d changed their tactics, threatening to punish my brother Ethan instead.
I never wanted my younger siblings to go through that. They were both still innocent, still pure. When my parents had threatened me with their safety, that was it for me. The moment I had decided that once I got Ethan and my sister Hadley out of this hellhole, I’d come back for my parents. And when I did?
I’d kill them.
Without a single sorry bone in my body. Not after everything they’ve done to me, and certainly not after all the people they’ve killed, abused, extorted, or forced out of house and home.
Victoria grinned wider, as if knowing what I was thinking, and gods damn did I want to punch that fucking smirk off her face.
Instead, I pictured it in place of the man’s and clocked his jaw, then again on his nose, causing it tocrack. My sister cackled behind me, clapping her hands.
