Page 76 of A Sea of Secrets
No one answered, causing my gut to twist worse than a stab wound.
Where the fuck were they? Where was I?
I tried again but still no one replied.
Soft music started to play. Whatever I was lying on started to shudder as the tentacles literally vibrated. The music grew louder until the tune could be identified as something akin to a children’s song. The creature moved, its tentacles whipping away, and the next thing I knew I was on a cold, hard floor. I shuffled, moving on my knees in the darkness. My body was still slick as my hands searched the ground and I shouted again for the others. But the music muffled my calls, pissing me right off. I hissed, crawling forward, only to unceremoniously fall head-firstinto another hole. I tumbled down what I realised was a tube, smacking my head against the sides and leaving every inch of my body no doubt bruised and battered. Blood coated my tongue, and I landed in a pile. My leg was fucking killing me.
“You four have been very naughty.”
Squinting and covered in the tentacles’ lube, I looked up to find Fallon, Kayden, and Kendra looking much the same nearby. The Overseer stood before us in her rainbow gown with eight guards at her back.
“My poor kraken, so rudely awoken from its slumber.” She frowned and clasped her hands in front of her as she looked between us all. “I am so disappointed.”
Whoeverhadbeenonthe decorating committee had outdone themselves, let me tell you. I’d been to some super classy shindigs in my life, but this was a perfect ten. The auditorium had been transformed from a boring old room into a fancy ballroom full of feasts for the senses. Acrobats twirled and twisted their bodies into gnarly positions, while musicians filled the air with boppy tunes. Flowers and vines clung to the walls, brightening up the room with royal blue banners with the crown all over them hanging from above. I snagged a glass of bubbly from a tray as a winged server walked by. Their outfit left very little to the imagination. I threw back the entire glass, spilling a few drops on my suit, then quickly grabbed another before the dude could disappear amongst the guests and acrobats.
My nerves were not playing nice tonight. Between the vault and meeting with Fallon’s dad, I was as jumpy as a dolphin onthe waves. I tried to focus on those around me and do the job I’d been given, which was to ensure the Overseer and Masters stayed put or create a diversion if necessary. A no-brainer.
It was wild what a little makeup, a comb through the hair, and a snazzy outfit could do. The Potentials no longer looked like they had been dropped into a whirlpool. Instead, they’d been transformed into fancy fishies. I was pretty happy with how my getup turned out, too. I wore a beige linen suit with a white shirt that was unbuttoned almost halfway down my chest, with brown loafers—no socks, of course. I was the epitome of style in this pond. Except, of course, for my starfish.
She was hotter than the sun on a peak summer’s day. Before Starfish had left to break into the vault with Kendra, I’d gotten a glimpse of her in her dress. Wow-wee! That red number and those heels… It took all my strength not to chase her down and show her how much I appreciated the outfit.
But thinking of Fallon brought up all the emotions I had been trying to shove down and bury in the sand. Guilt coated my tongue, tasting like an unripe lemon after cheap tequila. I was in way over my head, drowning beneath the waves of my betrayal. A castaway lost on an island with nothing to keep me company but some coconuts and my poor decisions.
“Are you okay?” Lou asked, her hand squeezing mine and bringing me back to the present. We were dancing in the middle of the ballroom, her sparkly pink dress catching the light of the chandeliers hanging above. “You’re making me jumpy.”
“Sorry,” I replied, taking a deep breath. I needed to be more careful, but my betrayal of Fallon was making it hard for me to hide my emotions. I was a mess. A hot one, but a mess, nonetheless. “I’m nervous. I feel like tiny baby crabs are crawling all over my skin.”
I’d managed to avoid any suspicion that I’d met with Fallon’s father so far, despite feeling an absolute mess about it.Starfish likely chalked my shift in mood up to the crowning. Noah and Kayden didn’t seem to notice anything too out of the ordinary, also likely thinking I was nervous about the crowning or stealing that weapon Ace was so obsessed with. Ace… now he was another kettle of fish altogether. That dude was suspicious of everything, and I knew he thought I’d been acting weird. He’d seen too many frauds to know when a slippery eel was lurking in his reef. And like the good dolphin detective he was, Ace was right. I was a fraud. A giant blobfish of a human. I’d colluded with the enemy like a no-good rotten pirate. When my pod found out, they would make me walk the plank like I deserved.
But what was I supposed to have done?
My sister had been kidnapped. Zuri needed me. We couldn’t rely on our dad to save the day, but my siblings and I could rely on each other. I wouldn’t let her down, even if it cost me everything else.
It pained me that I couldn’t talk to my pod about it. Nope, the message had been loud and clear that I couldn’t tell a single soul. All decisions were left on my handsomely tanned shoulders. So, I’d done something I thought I’d never do and met with Victrus Auger, not that I’d had any choice. That dude was scarier than being circled by a shiver of hungry sharks. He gave me the heebee jeebees. How Starfish grew up with him and still turned out normal was beyond me.
“Zane.”
“Mmm?” I glanced down at Lou, who was staring off to my left, worrying her pink lip with her teeth.
“The Overseer was standing right there in all her colourful glory and now she’s not,” she replied, turning her head to my right and scanning the room. “She’s gone.”
“She can’t be.” I looked about the room, my gaze running over everyone in it searching for the Overseer. A group of Potentials stood around a performer who was breathing fire,while a few others danced near Lou and me. Julian, the king’s old advisor, looked suspicious standing beside a frozen sculpture of a dolphin. He tapped at the dolphin’s fin until it chipped, catching the ice in his glass. The sight made me gasp. I always knew he was evil, but mutilating a dolphin even in ice form was next level.
I looked away in disgust and saw Master Luna chatting with some old fuddy-duddy with rosy cheeks and whose black dress clung tightly to her figure. Next, I spotted Master Nolan, who was spinning his way around the dance floor wearing a maroon suit and a bucket-load of gel in his hair. A wide-eyed Potential danced in his arms. The dude had some serious moves. And Master Jeremiah… Starfish had sent us a message earlier to tell us she’d dealt with that evil dude, which I was more than happy about. He’d deserved everything he’d got and more. I only wished I’d been there with her. I realised Lou was right and that the only person missing was the Overseer.
“I can’t see her either,” I said, frowning. Shit, the one thing we were supposed to do, and we failed. Fuck, I was letting Starfish down again.
“Zane! Are you listening?”
I startled, almost tripping over my feet. “Son of a sea cucumber! Sorry, Lou.”
“I said what do we do now?”
“We—”
The music stopped and our dance slowed to a halt as we looked towards the stage. Master Luna stood before the microphone, smiling broadly at the Potentials with her bright red lips. “Excuse the interruption. As our esteemed Overseer mentioned, tonight is an exciting time, not only for the Potentials gathered but for the country. Tonight, the new ruler of Terrulia will be crowned.”
Applause filled the room, and some dude even cheered. Couldn’t he see we were being fancy tonight? Pesky seagull.
