Page 19 of A Sky of Storms
“Like I can trust your word on that.”
“Ruling is all about negotiation.”
“How about this offer then?” I prowled closer, folding my arms over my chest and grinning as she was forced to look up at me. “You die, and I become king and raise the entire Crimson Steppes up to glory.”
“Be realistic. I know it’s hard to see facts when there’s not much going on up there in that head of yours, but the Crimson Steppes will always be at the bottom. Someone has to be there and it’s always going to be your city. That’s just how the world works, but I could at least make it more comfortable for you.”
“Fuck the world and your offer.” I sneered at her. She’d be pretty if it weren’t for that cutthroat look in her eyes that said she’d happily kill you in your sleep. “You and I will never be allies.”
“You’ve just made a big mistake,” she spat.
Victoria spun on her heel and stormed away, her minions following closely behind. I chuckled, enjoying winning that little verbal bout.
“She’s gonna have it out for you,” Flynn said. He was sitting on the bench wiping the sweat from his chest with a towel. The guy was ripped, but not as big as me. “You better watch your back.”
“She already wanted to kill me before her measly offer,” I replied with a smirk. “And I have you watching my back. Don’t think you can best her?”
He scoffed. “Don’t insult me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I said, slapping him on the back.
Victoria Auger had always been my competition, but Flynn was right. I’d have to keep an eye on her. Someone of her station didn’t let rejection slide. She’d be out for my blood.
I looked at my prospective minions, assessing them all with a keen eye. Some were decent, but most were passing at best. I shook my head. Nope, this would not do. These people needed a lot of work.
“You’d think none of them had done burpees before today,” Flynn said, sneering as he came to stand at my side. “I’m embarrassed some of these people are from home.”
“We’ll have to work them harder,” I replied. I put my hands on my hips and barked at the Potentials sweating before me. “You all need to put in more hours. Sleep is off the cards until you can do two hundred without breaking a sweat.”
The Potentials groaned, the sound like music to my ears. What was the saying? ‘No pain, no gain’. If they wanted to be on my team and stand a chance of surviving until the final trial, they had to put in the work. Nothing in life was free, and it was time for them to start paying.
“Trying to kill your minions?”
I turned to see Kendra striding towards us. She was a tiny little thing but letting her size fool you was a mistake. She was from the Crimson Steppes too, and though she looked like a fennec fox pup, she could sting like a scorpion.
“Want to help?” I asked, throwing her a grin. I could use her on my team, not that I’d tell her that.
Kendra shook her head, her long brown plaits swaying with the movement. “Just enjoying the show.”
“Sure.” I folded my arms. “I know it’s survival of the fittest in the Crimson Steppes, but there’s no shame in working together here. You’d be smart to hook up with the team with the best odds.”
She surveyed my weakling minions with an amused grin. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“We’re all from House Mars,” Flynn said. “We should be working together. We have the same goal.”
“To a degree,” Kendra replied. “I want to help our city, but brute force isn’t the answer.”
“And what?” I scoffed, looking down at her scrawny figure. “You think you are the better choice?”
“It takes more than muscle to rule Terrulia,” she said, poking me in the bicep. “If your parents thought you were a guaranteed win, they wouldn’t have nominated the rest of us.”
“The nominations were a matter of fairness.”
Kendra smirked and patted my arm. “Okay, big boy. You keep telling yourself that.”
She spun on her heel and practically skipped away, leaving me clenching my fists. Kendra had always known how to push my buttons. The chick was a shit-stirrer and had been since we were kids.
“Bro, don’t listen—”
