Page 11 of A Sky of Storms
“Each of you has been implanted with a chip that restricts your power for your safety and the safety of those around you. Your adaptive forms, should you have them, will not be affected,” Celeste said in her annoying sing-song voice. “We will deactivate the chips when you require access to your power, so do not fear, the restriction isn’t permanent.”
The woman smiled broadly like some psychopath as she clapped. “Now, with all the admin out of the way, you can make your way to the guards at either side of the room, who will allocate you to a living quarter. Before you go, children, I must tell you this. Be sure you wish to continue down this path, for you may not come back from it. Only one is destined to wear the crown. The rest shall fall.”
I chuckled, looking around at the Potentials. Sucked to be them. I was gonna be out of here before the first trial began.
TheOverseeroftheacademy was a real peach. As if knowing we could all very well die during these trials wasn’t enough, Celeste had ordered her cronies to grab us from our beds and beat us bloody.
Well, if they thought a few bruises and a split lip were going to break me, they were dead wrong. After being interrogated, I’d managed to knee one of the guards in the balls so hard he threw up, and I gave as many punches as I got once I’d hooked a blade from his belt and freed myself from the ropes.
Before I knew it was part of the initiation, they’d asked about my parents and their business, and I sure as shit wasn’t going to tell them anything. Doing so put Ethan and Hadley in danger, and I’d die before I let anyone get to them, even if it meant protecting my psycho parents.
I looked around as the Overseer gave her grandiose speech, waffling on about knights and other rubbish as I studied my competition for the foreseeable future. Everyone was bruised and battered, and I swear I could smell someone’s piss wafting through the hall. Some of the others were buying the sing-song, airy fairy bullshit Celeste was selling, but I wasn’t signing a cheque. The whole charade made her actions worse in my books, like she was trying to hide the fact she was the one pulling the strings.
Near the front, Victoria caught my eye and sneered, already surrounded by a group of girls who were practically grovelling at her feet and cooing over my sister’s beauty and her expensive clothes. I rolled my eyes and flipped the bird, turning my back on her to suss out the rest of my competition.
Three guys drew my gaze, and I assessed them curiously, trying not to linger on their easily distracting muscles and instead figure out where they came from. I knew we were in a competition, but I was only human. Besides, I needed to study them for … research. Yeah, that’s why. A big redhead the size of a freaking house and bronzed and shredded like some roman god was laughing and jostling his peers. Everything about him screamed The Crimson Steppes. His brown eyes landed on me, and he sized me up like a predator eyeing its meal as he rolled his shirt sleeve up to reveal a large scorpion with boxing gloves hanging from its tail inked there. Yep, total fuck boy. I would have to be careful not to get on his bad side. He flexed his shoulders and gods dammit, I looked, because … research.
Moving on quickly before he could peacock about my wandering gaze, I looked to the next guy who had strolled onto my radar. He looked like a merman, his long blond hair as shiny as a shampoo commercial, with dreamy green eyes and tanned muscles which begged to be released from the tank top he wore. He caught my eye as he ran his hand through his long hair, which was shaved on one side. He winked, and I averted my gaze immediately, which unfortunately had me catch the eye of the guy who I knew had been shooting daggers at the back of my head the moment he’d seen me. Some things you can just feel without having to actually see them, ya know?
I didn’t have to guess where he was from. Judging by the ink covering his very naked, muscled torso—and let’s not forget the creepy bionic hand—he was a Damascian, and definitely a gang member. Though he was leaner than the other guys, he was all muscle, but the cold glint to those watchful grey eyes gave me the impression he was intelligent and observational, and probably ruthless as fuck. I spotted the two-headed dragon tatt over his heart, confirming my suspicions. Yep, he was a Drake—a member of one of the most brutal gangs in Damascon Hollow who also seemingly hated my guts. He spat on the ground when our eyes met, and I smirked, tossing my hair over my shoulder dismissively.
Fuck my life. Day one and I already had an enemy. Not to mention a couple of competitors that would take a little more effort to defeat than the rest. Oh, and apparently the Overseer had chipped us like damn dogs, blocking our magic. Peachy keen.
Celeste clapped her hands together, rubbing them gleefully like a fly spotting spoiling fruit. “Well then, chop chop, everyone. Form rows and the guards will call your name and direct you to your assigned dorms. Breakfast will be served in the cafeteria shortly, then you may take the day to recover. You will each be given a smart cuff to wear on your forearms. They will show your personalised timetables and notify you with updates from your tutors and me. Contact with the outside world is blocked, but we encourage you to use the Acadameet app on the cuff to socialise.”
I scoffed. Sure, because becoming besties with your competition in a deadly game is a great idea.
“Lessons will begin promptly at 9 am tomorrow,” Celeste finished with a broad smile. “Dismissed!”
A collected grumble filled the hall as everyone shuffled into lines. Yeah, I was pretty pissed about not being able to contact Ethan or Hadley. I didn’t give a shit about anyone else—it’s not like I’d ever been able to have any real friends. My parents had ensured we were locked away from the world so no one could use us for their gain or exploit our wealth. I was mostly fine with that fact, except for the few ‘friends’ they allowed to visit solely because they wanted to play nice with other important families. It was peak controlling behaviour, of course. The people they chose were insufferable, to put it nicely, and Ethan and I always managed to ditch them to hang out together. Except when I snuck off by myself to explore the city that is.Especiallywhen ‘exploring the city’ was really exploring the body of whichever guy was currently eager to please a daughter of House Jupiter. A girl’s gotta blow off some steam somehow. Getting off with some guys who thought they could gain influence by getting into my pants was one way to go about it. They thought they could use me, so I wouldn’t feel bad about using them right back.
The secret missions were often made more exciting because of the danger involved, but it was kind of annoying too. Victoria was the only one our parents trusted wholeheartedly, which meant she was allowed into society and could hang with whomever she wanted. Probably because she’d cut anyone who tried anything. She was freaking terrifying like that.
“Fallon Auger,” the guard yelled out, and the room hushed to whispers as I stalked forward, ignoring a hundred pairs of eyes on my body. “Follow him,” he grunted, jerking his head to another guard who promptly turned around.
“Auger scum,” someone roared behind me, and the room burst into laughter as everyone threw insults in his wake. I winced, but I didn’t slow. My lack of a social circle meant I was a little short on backup, and my reputation was that of a spoilt snob who thought she was better than everyone else, but … seriously? These people had no idea what was really going on and wouldn’t believe me if I tried to convince them otherwise. Victoria didn’t get off quite so easily either, but her reputation as a cold, hard bitch helped sway them to keep their mouths mostly shut. She also had rich, influential friends who loved to gossip and spread rumours. I didn’t have the same influence, so everyone seemed set on hating me on her behalf as well.
Those mother fuckers could taunt me all they liked, but I was the one who’d come out of this on top. And I had better tricks up my sleeve than a few tired insults.
The guard led my small group through a long corridor with numerous classrooms on either side before finally escorting us across the grounds towards a domed building on the other side of the courtyard—presumably where the dorms were. The academy was huge, dotted with numerous training arenas and tracks that seemed to match Terrulia’s cities. A river snaked between the grassy fields, trees, and red rock jutting out from the ground, leading to a lake by the eastern edge of the academy surroundings. Another dome that appeared to be filled with fluffy clouds and lightning flashing inside sat propped up on a hill to the west. There was also a weird metal scrapyard set up like a maze to the north. The academy grounds was set up like a mini version of Terrulia, all innocent-looking and gleaming before it ate us alive.
We made it to the dorms and marched past several students chattering excitedly among themselves or watching cautiously as they waited to be let inside their rooms. I caught the eye of a tall, dark-skinned man with short-cropped hair and brown eyes. He looked at me curiously, and I got a glimpse of green shimmering out from his top. He shifted his shirt self-consciously but didn’t drop his gaze from my face. So many yummy Potentials around. I winked at him, chuckling as his lips twitched with the faintest hint of a smile. So much confidence here, but the question was, who had the skills to back it up?
After climbing an endless set of stairs—seriously, have they not heard of elevators?—we finally made it to the top floor after multiple drop-offs until it was just the guard and me. He led me towards the room at the end of the corridor, jabbing his thumb at the door. “This one’s yours,” he grunted, handing over the smart cuff before he left without another word.
Grumpy, much? I sighed, fastening the cuff around my wrist. I tapped the screen and it blinked to life, showing a couple of basic apps; Timetable, Map, a couple of media apps, and Acadameet. I’d check them out properly later, right now I wanted to see my room. I reached for the handle, squaring my shoulders. To my surprise, it opened with a bang and I stumbled forward into warm, muscled arms. It was actually kind of nice to be held and I allowed myself to stay there for an embarrassing smidge too long. Gods, how messed up was that? When the person cleared their throat, I looked up into glittering green eyes and sparkling white teeth and backed away quickly.
Well, what do you know? It was the guy with pretty blond hair. Up close, I could see he even had colourful shells and beads plaited in sections of it. He laughed.
“Hey babe. It’s okay if you’ve got sea legs, you can cuddle in my arms anytime you like. All you have to do is ask.”
I raised a brow. “Sea legs?”
“Yeah, you’re clumsy, but it’s okay, you’re totally hot so it doesn’t matter.”
“I am not clumsy,” I said indignantly. “You threw the door open and—”
“Shh,” he said, placing a finger against my lips. “It’s okay my little starfish, I’ve got you. Are you rooming here?”
