Page 48

I bared my teeth, cracking my knuckles, and rolled my shoulders. Rage simmered beneath my skin, desperate to break free. We’d been fucking caught. We’d been so close only to have it all snatched away. I hated losing and this time was no exception.

I’d wanted to get the weapon before Cormac could lay his dirty hands on it.

A real ‘fuck you’ to my old leader and the man who’d lied and used me.

The man had treated me like a fucking puppet for far too long.

Not only was I without the weapon, but I had nothing to hold over the leader of the Drakes.

Nothing to make him second-guess ever backstabbing me, his greatest asset.

Fuck him and fuck the Overseer.

The guard behind me jabbed his baton into my spine for the third time, shoving me forward. I growled, rounding on him, only to have the guy take a step back and flick on his weapon. Sparks danced on the end of it, bright in the night.

“Keep moving, scumbag.” He smirked, and I had to hold myself back from wiping that smile off his smug face.

Instead, I ran my gaze over him, the light of the drone above letting me get a good look at his features.

Green eyes, a monobrow, a scar that ran along his jaw and a button nose that someone like Lou or Zane may have considered vomit-inducingly ‘cute’.

He was about my height, with a medium build and light brown hair.

I grinned at him in a way that made him shift uncomfortably.

I was going to kill this mother fucker one day. Mark my words.

Unfortunately, today was not that day. Instead, I turned around and strode up the hill towards the mini Stormcrest City.

Lightning flashed within the clouded dome as if warning of the coming fight.

I flexed my fingers. Celeste had deemed us unworthy of the crown but had still demanded we battle in a tournament to the death. Ruthless, even for her.

Despite there being no crown in my future, that didn’t mean I was going to take this shit lying down.

I didn’t give a fuck who entered the dome with me because I was going to be the only one coming out of that thing alive.

I would fight every Potential she put in my way until I was facing down with the princess.

Then and only then would I bend my fucking knee.

Fallon was the only one worthy of the crown and I would kill anyone who got in her way.

Celeste would have to give her the throne if all other Potentials were dead.

She’d have no choice in the fucking matter.

I’m not sure when I’d turned into a simp for the princess, but it had happened and there was no going back.

A glass rectangle appeared on the dome, pushing back, then slid open as clouds drifted out and slipped into the night.

“Don’t die too quickly,” the guard said behind me before jabbing the baton into my back once again. This time electrical shocks shot through me, doubling me over and dropping me to a knee.

Before I could retaliate with my own, he kicked me in the back, shoving me forward across the threshold.

The door slid closed behind me, preventing any satisfaction I might have taken.

I glared at the man through the glass, the edges of the door invisible once more.

There was no getting out until this battle was done.

“Son of a bitch!” I shouted into the stormy clouds. When I got my hands on him, I was going to make his death slow and painful. He would beg for me to end him, but I’d make sure not to give in to his pleas until I was good and fucking ready.

I rose to my feet, following the drone as it drifted along a pale brick path through the clouds, eventually leading to a palace.

A mother fucking palace. While the other mini-cities were derivative versions of their actual locations, whoever had made the mini Stormcrest City must have deemed a palace on par with the ruins in the mini-DH.

More proof of how this country was so fucked.

As I stepped through the front door, I came face-to-face with a grand hallway.

Chandeliers hung from the ornate ceiling, casting light on the polished wooden floors.

The walls were lined with paintings of landscapes in golden frames and marble busts sat between fancy vases on finely crafted wooden benches.

“So, this is how the one per cent live.” I whistled, slowly stepping in a circle.

“Holy Halibut!” A voice said as muscular arms wrapped around me from behind, holding me tight. “Ace! I’m so relieved that you’re okay!”

I stiffened immediately, my instincts rearing for a fight. That traitorous asshole had betrayed my princess. “Get the fuck off me, Merman.”

He stepped back, stuffing his hands into his teal jumpsuit. “Sorry! I got all excited! Also, this isn’t an actual palace. They are usually much bigger. Starfish’s home is probably a bajillion times bigger than this.”

“Don’t you fucking dare talk about her,” I hissed, gripping his collar and shoving him up against the wall. One of the paintings to his right rattled from the force before falling to the floor. It echoed loudly in the stunned silence. “I know what you did.”

Zane paled. His lips dropped into an expression I’d never seen on his face before. “I had to.”

“You’re a fucking traitor and I’m going to enjoy showing you exactly what happens to backstabbing little bitches like yourself.” Electricity snapped along my fingers and I held my hand close to his face. “Any last words before I kill you?”

The drone camera took that exact opportunity to make itself known above us and, with one flick of my wrist, the thing smashed to the ground. Electricity danced all over its broken form. This was a private matter between me and the merman.

He looked up from the sparking camera and stared me dead in the eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Sorry didn’t fucking cut it. I punched him in the face and his nose crunched beneath my fist. I let him go and he crumpled to the floor, his body spasming from the electrical sparks. “No excuses then? Not going to try and plead your case?” I said.

“Would you listen if I tried?” he asked as blood spilled from his nose. “You’ve already decided I’m guilty.”

“Because you are.”

“Ace!” He darted away from my next hit, my bionic fist slamming into the plaster and making a hole in the wall. “Calm your salmon farm and let me explain.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I growled, storming towards him as he scurried to his feet. “You’re a dead piece of shit.”

“I don’t want to fight you! You just asked if I was going to plead my case, and I will if you stop being a grumpy pirate for one second and let me!”

“I’ve changed my mind,” I said as I closed in on him like a hunter with his prey. “All I want to do now is beat the ever-loving shit out of you.”

I dove on top of him, my fists slamming into his sides.

I felt my bionic hand crack one of his ribs.

Zane hit back just as hard, and I knew it would bruise where his fist collided with my head, disorienting me long enough to shove me off him.

He scrambled to his feet with his hands raised before him, but before I could pound him with my fists again, a wave of calm fell over me.

My muscles slackened, my face softened, and I wondered why the fuck I wasn’t just relaxing somewhere.

Deep down, I knew I wanted to hurt Zane and beat him bloody.

I wanted him to pay for betraying the princess and being a fucking no-good rat.

Yet every time I tried to feel that anger, it was swept away into a sea of secrets.

“Listen, dude,” Zane said with furrowed brows. “Please believe me. I had no choice.”

I grit my teeth, but just as quickly as it came it was gone again.

“They have my sister, Zuri,” he told me, his gaze searching mine, begging me to hear him out. “I was told I had to meet with Victrus, which, yes, I did—to protect her.”

“What about Fallon?” I said calmly despite myself. “We promised to protect her. The four of us vowed to. You broke that promise.”

Zane swallowed hard. “I’m still protecting Starfish. I haven’t done anything to hurt her other than meet with her dad and he didn’t even ask about her. All he wanted to know about was Tritosa and my dad. That was it, I swear. I would never do anything to hurt Fallon, and if we don’t tell her—”

“Who do you think fucking told me?” I shouted. This time my rage sliced through his calm magic. I lunged for him, but he slipped to the side, avoiding my punch.

“Starfish knows?” His tanned face paled again and his eyes widened.

“How did she find out?” I punched him in the jaw, toppling his large frame to the ground.

He hit the floorboards hard but didn’t try to get up.

He just lay there and stared at the ceiling, his green eyes like pools of sadness.

His magic dissolved in the air, letting me feel the full extent of my emotions again. “She must hate me.”

“You deserve it.” My foot slammed into his side. “Traitorous little bitch.”

“I do deserve her hate.” He frowned, shutting his eyes. “Starfish is too good for me. Too precious. I’ve ruined everything between us. All I can hope is that she’ll forgive me one day, but she’ll never trust me again. I’ve lost her...”

“You’ve lost us all.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said quietly. “I hope one day you’ll forgive me, too.

” He caught my next kick mid-air, his face shifting into a mask of determination, and slammed me down on my ass.

Pain shot through my tailbone, and I swore loudly, the sound echoing off the walls.

“I can’t let you kill me, Ace. This sailor must endure the stormy seas. I’ve gotta save my sister.”

“At the expense of Fallon?” I demanded, diving on top of him. I was blinded by my own rage. I didn’t know what it was like to have siblings, but I couldn’t imagine anyone being more important than the princess.

“Fallon already hates me, but Zuri… I can still save her.”

The merman blocked my blows, and we descended into a scrappy brawl, rolling around on the ground, trying to inflict pain in any way possible. I pinched the skin of his triceps, making him squeal like a pig. He bit my hand in retaliation.

I suddenly found myself beneath him and his hand slammed down on my face, pressing me against the floorboards. “I’ll stay away from Starfish and the rest of the pod. I’ll leave you all alone, I promise. But Ace, I gotta rescue my sister.”

“You should have found another way instead of fucking with Fallon.” I jabbed one of my fingers into his gills and let my electrical power loose.

He fell to the side, steam coming from his ears like some ridiculous cartoon character.

Panting, I rose to my feet and scowled down at him. “I won’t let you hurt her.”

Zane didn’t reply. I waited, but he lay frozen on the floorboards, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

“Zane?” His face was blank, his chest still. “Merman, stop fucking around.”

He didn’t move. Not a word or a hint of stupid sea nonsense. Not even a breath.

“Fuck.” Panic seized me and I fell to my knees and put my hands flat over his heart. I was pissed before, but now, I was beyond angry. “You better not fucking die on me,” I growled, pumping my hands on his chest. “Wake the fuck up, Merman.”

Sweat beaded on my forehead as my muscles moved on pure will alone. Every inch of me felt bruised and beaten. I probably looked like a mirror image of Zane, the only difference being that I was fucking breathing.

“Shit, mother fucking, shit,” I spat, breathing heavily. Dread pooled in my gut at the possibility that I had actually killed him. It’s a real joke, life. One moment you are determined to achieve something, and the next you realise it wasn’t at all what you wanted. Life was a shitty comedian.

Electricity pulsed from my hands, eliciting a shock through Zane’s system.

Hope fizzled faster than it had risen, and I tried again, sending another shock whilst continuing my compressions.

This was not how the merman was going to die.

Not on my watch. One more push and I did something I never thought I’d do in my life.

I pressed my mouth to his, breathing air into his lungs.

“Come on,” I groaned before breathing into him again.

I was almost scared shitless when he suddenly gasped, coughing and rolling onto his side. I couldn’t help but stare at him, frozen in the moment, as though I was sitting on the edge of a cliff. Then time sped up and I was on him, my hand clasped around his upper arm.

“You killed me,” he rasped, looking up at my stupidly relieved grin. “You actually did it.”

“I’m s—” I swallowed, shaking my head. “Don’t make me do that again.”

Zane smiled up at me from a pale face with his hand over his chest. “How else was I going to get you to kiss me, sneaky shark?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I dropped back onto my ass, sitting beside him and pressing my side to his. I wasn’t going to voice what the need for contact meant, only that it was there.

He turned to look at me, his smile short-lived as his face dropped into a frown. “I really am sorry. I didn’t know what else to do, but I couldn’t ignore the messages. They have Zuri, Ace. They have my sister, and I couldn’t tell anyone or…”

The whole situation was fucked up. If Zane was telling the truth, then not only did they have his sister, but now House Jupiter had information on his dad and manipulated a situation to hurt Fallon whilst driving a wedge into our group.

I’d always known they were playing a dirty game, but I’d let my guard down. It wasn’t going to happen again.

To say I was relieved that I hadn’t killed the merman would have been an understatement.

The sight of his lifeless body would haunt me for the rest of my life and probably be one of my biggest regrets.

I’d been pissed and I’d let Victrus’ games trick me into almost killing Zane. I wouldn’t fall for his bullshit again.

“Don’t worry,” I told him, staring off into the distance. Everything was going to shit, and we needed to have each other’s backs now more than ever. As angry as I was at the merman, it all came down to the fact that I’d trusted him. Unfortunately for Victrus, I still did. “We’ll figure it out.”

Zane closed his eyes, breathing out deeply. “Another dolphin detective adventure.”

I huffed a laugh. “Something like that.”