Page 54 of A Sky of Storms
“Get on your knees,” he rasped. I complied, feeling bile creeping up my throat as he roughly grabbed the hair on my head and began unzipping his jumpsuit. “I’ve waited so long for this.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Me too.”
In one swift movement, I unsheathed the knife from my boot, slamming it into his thigh. He let go of me instantly and I stood, pulling my knife out and sliding it home into his neck while he was preoccupied with his leg. His blue eyes widened and he clutched a hand to his neck, attempting to stop the blood pouring from it.
I pulled the blade out, his hot blood spraying over my face. Mark fell to the ground with red spilling into the water at my feet. I should have felt shocked, disgusted, even remorseful. But I felt nothing as his lifeblood spilled out and his body fell still.
This man was more a monster than anything in this marshland. He’d abused people, done unspeakable things to other Potentials. If I’d let him live, he’d never be punished for his actions, never atone in prison.
I was tired of letting people like him get away with their bullshit. I was tired of staying silent and submissive under the anarchy of a corrupt system.
No rules, they said? Fine. I’d promised Ethan that I’d do anything to become queen—anything to save my siblings and set things right once I got out of this mess.
I had been forced to kill before, but this time it was my choice. It didn’t bother me like I’d thought it would. Mark deserved what he got.
He wouldn’t have been punished in the real world.
But he’ll rot out here.
Fallonwasinbigtrouble once I got my hands on her. I was starting to think she was strong willed to the point of her own detriment. Why she had to play saviour was beyond me. Hadn’t I proved with the whole Kayden thing that we could work together? I liked that she was independent, but the self-sacrificing thing had my insides squirming like a bag of slippery eels.
Fallon had me frustrated, and not in the sexually charged way. I didn’t want to feel this way about her because I tried to think the best of everyone, and she was someone I wanted to only think the utmost amazing things about.
I clenched my hand around my sword, charging after the monster and the winged beauty in the sky. To survive these trials we needed friends we could count on; people to have our backs. No one was going to make it to the end on their own—okay, maybe Ace might—but the likelihood of anyone else being able to was slim. I was determined to be Fallon’s back up, even if she refused to acknowledge that she needed it. I’d thought my father and siblings were oblivious to their needs, but it turned out a lot of people were. My poor Starfish was just as blind, but I would make it my mission to help her see that there were people she could rely on.
Like me.
At least until the final trial. We would be up against each other then, but building our little relationship now was a sure-fire way to make sure we got along once I’d beaten her to the crown. We’d look back on these trials and laugh about all our good times whilst relaxing beside the beach. She would be in a little bikini of course, and all would be swell. Maybe I’d keep her on as an advisor or something too. A sexy advisor who likes to swim between my sheets. Yes, life was going to be rad for sure.
Above me, Fallon and the monster were hurdling through the air too fast for me to keep up, but I didn’t stop running after them. The monster had torn its way through the trees and underbrush and given me a direct path to wherever they were headed. The location the Overseer had chosen for this trial reminded me of the sewerage systems from the history websites, back when people used to dump shit in the rivers—like literal shit and dead bodies too. The only difference to this place and back then was the things dumping their waste here were monsters which didn’t exist back then.
When people started to develop powers and adaptations, some of the animals rescued from Earth began changing too, turning into monsters. Humans were stronger than ever, but now so were the monsters. Luckily, the creatures were happy enough sticking to habitats generally far from civilisation. I’d only ever encountered one monster before now when I raced some of my siblings, Zeke, Zuri, Zariah, and Zion, into the depths below Tritosa City. Let’s just say the swim up was a lot faster thanks to the giant monster that lived down there. So many tentacles…
My side started to ache and I rubbed my stitch as I kept going. I was fit and a pretty fast runner, though my exercise regime was usually water based. Why run when you could swim? It was the superior way to travel.
A growl ripped through the air and the next thing I knew I was flying backwards like the monster had just tried to hit a home run and use me as the ball. My sword slipped from my grip and clanged to the ground nearby at the same moment I hit the dirt with a thud, snapping twigs from the low shrubs. I jumped to my feet, ignoring the smarting pain in my back and running for my sword whilst dodging another hit. The thing was an evolutionary disaster; no wonder it was so pissed off. Its mouth was full of sharp teeth that had no lips to hide behind. There was something seriously wrong about having no lips, food would just go everywhere when you ate. Completely undignified. Maybe that was why he was lashing out? He was embarrassed about his lack of lips. If he wasn’t so invested in making me his dinner, I would have felt sorry for him.
Dropping to avoid a blow, I skidded along the ground and swept up my sword, spinning around and swiping at the thing. My sword clanged against its thick stone-like skin, the impact reverberating up my arm. I wondered if it was a cousin of Kayden’s with its rocky skin and tendency to use violence before words. Distant relatives?
The monster made to swipe, its gnarly claws flying towards me.
“Fuck!” I shouted, rolling to avoid its blow as my shoulder throbbed from hitting the ground. Probably not the best move but I needed to get away quickly and it looked cool. At least I imagined that it did.
My eyes scanned over the monster, looking for a weakness. The bottom half of its limbs looked as though they were made of piled rocks that led to the upper part of its body which was less armoured. There, its torso and upper limbs were wrapped in what looked like tree roots, though there was something pulsing within them.
“Wearing your arteries on your sleeves?” I yelled at it, running between its legs. “I knew you were a softie at heart.”
The monster roared, rearing back and opening its jaw to the sky. It’s five eyes—yes, five yellow eyes—widened in rage, and its spiky tail whipped around, knocking me off my feet. At first I couldn’t move, winded by the blow, but then I saw its claws flying at me and resting was suddenly a bad idea. I rolled away, my shoulder unhappy about the movement, scrambling to my feet to run into the trees.
It chased me, keeping close. I was made for the sea not the land: I didn’t have wings or super speed or camouflage, so it caught up quickly, knocking me to the ground. I gritted my teeth against the searing pain, my jumpsuit warming as blood dripped from my side from where its claws had ripped through the fabric and skin. Fuck, this is not how I wanted to go out. There was no way my final breath was gonna be on land.
The monster roared again and I braced myself for another blow that never came.
Shocked, I turned around and found none other than Noah throwing rocks at the thing’s eyes. Look, it probably wasn’t the best decision he had ever made in his life, but I was grateful, nonetheless. The monster turned his attention on Noah, stalking in his direction with a growl. Noah started stripping which made me question his mental health, but then he just wentpoofand disappeared before my eyes.
I laughed as the monster pulled up, clearly confused. But then it turned back to me and my grin instantly died. Shit in a sea sponge, I was the prime target again.
“Run!” Noah shouted. I rolled my eyes. Obviously, running was the right move. Did he think I was stupid?
