Page 2 of A Sky of Storms
Interrogations were Victoria’s favourite thing, mostly because our father, Victrus, gave her full authority to run them. Assholes. Power hungry, corrupt, and cruel, Victoria and Victrus were the biggest cunts in high society.
I’ve told her that more than once too. I received lashings and beatings for it, but it was totally worth it. And maybe I was naïve, but I still had hope for Victoria. Our parents had fucked her up good and proper, but maybe I could get her to see the light. To change her allegiances and remind her that we’d loved each other once. Back when she taught me to fly, when we’d play hide-and-seek in the house or when she shielded me from our parent’s wrath.
But then she’d been forced to enter an initiation week with Auger Enterprises. She’s never been the same since.
I looked back at the dude before me. “You gotta give me something, Chuckles, or we’re both going to have a shit time in a minute.” He looked at me blankly, then smiled toothily. I sighed. “Your funeral.”
There was no point dragging this out. The guy had nothing to say and probably had no real reason to do what he’d done except sheer desperation. The workers in the mines were half starved, beaten and bruised. I didn’t know what Auger Enterprises was offering prospective employees on paper, but whatever they promised certainly wasn’t this.
The mines were in the middle of butt-fucking-nowhere, so once they came in … well, safe to say it wasn’t a party here. Anyone who somehow managed to escape the guards found themselves in a desert with monsters for company. Death by overworking and starvation, or death by teeth and claws? I couldn’t decide what was worse.
At least I could give this guy a more dignified end. I lunged, covering his body with my own as I pretended to stab him. “Please,” I whispered. “Just one small detail. A name. Even a fake name for fuck’s sake, I don’t know. I just need something.”
Or else it’d be me getting tortured soon. For not getting answers, for failing my duty. Any number of bullshit reasons Victoria would report to my father later.
“Fuck. You.”
I pulled back, shocked to hear the most lucid tone from the guy yet.
“Fuck you and your family. Fuck Auger Enterprises. Fuck every last one of the Auger bloodline. I hope you rot in hell.”
I shrugged. Well, that was a no to my request then. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard that,” I said, clutching his shoulder with one hand. “But you know what? You can get in line.”
I rammed my blade into his chest, twisting it up towards his heart to make it hurt. Painful, but swift. Enough to give my sick puppy of a sister the show she wanted. The guy sagged towards me, blood gurgling in his throat as the final breath escaped him.
“Happy?” I withdrew my dagger and turned, glaring at her. “I did my duty. Can I go home now, boss?” I saluted her mockingly, then folded my arms.
She sneered, looking the guy over. “A waste. But his body will serve as a warning when we string it up in the mines. A reminder that Augers don’t forget, and we certainly don’t forgive.”
I flicked my blade, splattering a few drops of blood onto her face. “Oops, sorry.”
Her gaze was murderous, but she only smiled, a promise of payback for later. Then she turned and stalked from the room.
I lingered a moment, looking back at my victim. One of many. Their deaths would haunt me forever, but I vowed to avenge each and every one of them, and I had just the plan to set the wheels in motion.
One more sleep and I’d be out of this city and in the House of Ascension, the famed academy where elite citizens from the most powerful Houses tried their luck at competing in a brutal round of trials to become the next king or queen of Terrulia.
The old king was dead, and it was my one chance at becoming powerful enough to tear my House down and wipe out my parents’ empire. What I had yet to discover was how the business operated and, ultimately, how I could bring it down, but once I did, they would rue the day they’d been born.
I just had to survive the trials first, but after everything I’d endured so far, how bad could it be?
Thecurrentbuffetedthefeathers of my wings as I soared over the city, my brother laughing beside me as we raced around turrets and under archways, speeding along with minimal effort thanks to the aid of updrafts created from vents throughout Stormcrest. I shot over one of the larger vents and let it propel me, adrenaline pumping through my veins as I launched higher into the sky.
Fuck yes!
I laughed, tucking in my wings and letting myself freefall, my stomach dropping. I embraced the feeling, revelling in being airborne.
When I was with Ethan, my worries melted away and we could pretend we were free. Up here, no one could hurt us or force us to be or do anything. For a little while at least, I could forget the crimes my parents and Victoria made me commit.
I laughed as my powerful copper wings beat at my back, propelling me around and around as I circled my brother, teasing him, while my black hair rippled in the wind. He was fifteen, only five years younger than me, but his wings were smaller than mine and not yet fully developed. For now. With a bit of bulking up, he’d be stronger than me one day. Not that my parents could see his physical potential, nor did they value his quiet intelligence the way I did. Just another aspect of our fucked-up family. Everything my parents did was always a show of power, and if their children didn’t live up to appearances and play their part, we were treated like the dirt beneath their feet.
“Last one to the summit has to be Victrus’s shadow for a day.” I winked at Ethan.
He grinned, his blond hair streaming back as he fell into a deep dive, tucking his wings in and gliding like a missile. I held back, watching my brother tear through the skies as he was born to, and only blazing after him once he’d got a good head start. We both knew I could beat him, but where was the fun in easy competition?
I caught up, reaching out to tap at his ankles, and he laughed. Seeing him and my little sister happy was one of my all-time favourite things. If I could bring a smile to their faces, I abso-freaking-lutely would.
Despite Ethan and I having the magical power to conjure our wings to sprout from our backs at will, it wasn’t a common gifting. Our adaptations mostly stemmed from our bloodlines and our geographical locations. Those of us with wings could travel near anywhere and reach unobtainable heights, but the higher the climb, the greater the fall. Only the wealthiest families could travel by portabracelets—stupidly expensive jewellery that could portal the bearer anywhere they pleased—and of course, the wealthiest of these families were all members of House Jupiter. So basically, they were all assholes.
