Page 55

A humongous ball of water flew over us like a blue whale mid-jump, blocking out the moon as Celeste came to stand at our side. Pulse guns fired, their shots colliding with a water wall that rose before us, shielding us from further attacks. The soldiers persisted despite the barrier in their way.

The Overseer was a loose cannon, but boy oh boy, was she powerful. No wonder she was the head of the House of Ascension and ran the Terrulian Trials. The woman was a force to be reckoned with. This time, I was glad for her murderous ways and happy as a crab, because it appeared she was on our side.

The giant worm lunged for the ball, its movement shaking the sandy ground as it tried to attack.

It was almost comical watching it try to take bites like that would injure the orb.

Instead, water sprayed in the air. Large splashes fell to the sand, dousing soldiers and anyone else in range, including a grumpy Ace.

“For fuck’s sake,” Ace grumbled, drenched from head to toe. He ran a hand through his wet hair, pushing the soaked strands back. “I’m going to kill that fucker.”

“Woah! Wait!” Noah raised a hand, halting Ace before he could spark his electrical magic. “Let’s not electrocute yourself and possibly us in the process.”

We may not have been drenched seals like Ace, but we’d all been splattered in varying degrees by the water orb above.

“Shit.” Ace lowered his dirty pale hand. “What’s our plan?”

“Your plan is to escape while I rid us of this evil,” Celeste said with one hand raised above her head.

The other was held before her, her palm towards the shield.

“Valiant Potentials, you have fought like knights of old, but now you must go. I am sorry I misjudged you earlier this evening. Please forgive me for the punishment I bestowed upon you. Save yourselves so that one day you may fight again. I fear this is not the last battle we will have.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Kayden replied, his rocky skin smoothing out as he dropped his adaptation. “That bastard has Fallon.”

The Overseer frowned. “I accept that my words will not sway you, but I suggest you brace yourselves for what’s to come.” Celeste threw the water ball, smashing it down onto Victrus and his army. The water rose like a bowl, the edges spraying us in the process.

I dropped to a crouch, drenched but unharmed as Victrus’ army bore the full brunt of the attack.

The worm wriggled erratically, flopping around like a dick during a nude marathon.

I quickly rose to my feet and my gaze immediately landed on the rest of my pod.

They were wet but alive, just the way I liked them.

The Overseer let the walls of the water bowl fall, the waves crashing in at the centre and taking out all who remained standing nearby. She swirled her hands, the shield before us dropping as a whirlpool gathered, dragging bodies in a circle before stealing back towards the lakebed.

I spotted the woman controlling the worm amongst them, her body consumed by the water.

Served her right for siding with the evil dude ruling House Jupiter.

The sand beneath my feet shifted as the worm wriggled high in the air one last time before diving back down into the sand, its connection severed.

“Oh, my guppy fish!” I stared at the destruction before me, the numerous soldiers floating away back to the lake. But one among them was unmoved. “How the fuck is he still alive?!”

Celeste had knocked out over half of Victrus’ soldiers, but the man himself was untouched. The few who remained by his side quickly recovered, firing shots at us.

I fired back, but my ammo was running low and would soon be useless, not to mention my injured arm ached from holding the thing.

Ace wasn’t able to do much, either. His magic would electrocute us all if he tried to use it like Noah said, plus his leg wasn’t in the best shape.

As for Kayden and Noah, it was too dangerous to try and cross the battle zone with the Overseer tossing the lake around all willy-nilly. We were sitting ducks.

Celeste lifted her arms and puddles of water rose before her to create another shield as she strode towards Victrus and his soldiers.

Kayden made to follow, his skin hardening like a rock once more, but another shield splashed up to block his path.

He tried to break through, but the water barred his way, stopping him from going any farther but also protecting us from the soldiers’ guns.

“We need to go with her,” Kayden growled as we watched Celeste draw nearer to Victrus. “I’m going to teleport.” I watched as he tensed, his face forming a mask of concentration… but nothing happened. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he tried again. “Fuck, I’m tapped out!”

“That’s it, I’m frying his ass,” Ace hissed, his fists clenching at his sides. Electricity sparked along his skin as he stormed forward, launching an electrical attack at Victrus.

Sparks flew, bypassing the shield and Celeste. Just as Victrus was about to be hit, a soldier stepped in front of the man like a human shield. In the same breath, a gun fired, and Ace was thrown back through the water shield, landing on the sand beside me.

“Ace!” I gasped, eyeing the scorch mark on his shoulder. The pulse gun had burned away the fabric of the jumpsuit, his skin red and cauterised beneath. “Son of a seagull!”

Noah moved quickly, dropping to his knees and trying to heal Ace with his magic, even though he barely had anything left to give. His hands trembled as he worked, but nothing happened.

“Come on,” Noah groaned. “Fuck.”

“Here.” Kayden ripped the scraps of his jumpsuit, the fabric already torn in multiple places from shifting into his rocky adaptation and back. “Strap him up. Nobody goes beyond the shield until I say so. Got it?”

I nodded. “Yes, Captain.”

Reluctantly, I stayed put and watched the Overseer instead of acting on my instinct to join the fight. It took everything in me not to march forward and I could tell the others were holding themselves back too.

This pod needed our Starfish. But we would be no use to her dead.

The Overseer stopped before Victrus, his soldiers lowering their weapons at his command.

Without the chaos of the fight, I could finally see him clearly.

The man looked so much like Fallon, yet so different, too.

The same eyes and same black hair, yet where her features added to her beauty, his made him look ruthless. Pure evil in human form.

“Leave,” Celeste commanded, her voice echoing around us. “You do not belong at the sacred House of Ascension. You have sullied the land and everything the Trials stand for.”

“The Terrulian Trials are a farce and always have been,” Victrus argued, dusting the collar of his jacket as though bored with the conversation.

“A distraction for the people. The true rulers of this country have never sat on the throne, but things are going to change. It is time for those with true power to take their position as leaders of our great nation. I will not sit in the shadows whilst the unworthy play king. Terrulia needs strength, and House Jupiter weeds out the weak.”

“All your House offers is fear. You tarnish the very country you vowed to care for with your ego and greed. True Terrulians will not stand aside whilst you destroy all that this country is. The brave knights who are loyal to Terrulia will fight.”

“You mean those four?” He pointed at us, his gaze narrowed. “Hiding like puppies behind a feeble master. Do you think I’m weak enough to fear them?”

His laugh rang out in the clearing, though it was merely background noise to the blood rushing through my head. A storm made from my rage. I made to step forward, but Kayden’s arm swung out, stopping me.

“Don’t rise to his bait, Merman,” he said, his attention fixed ahead of us. “Wait until my command and then you go for that bastard. Use your nullifying magic on him. The rest of us will have your back.”

I gritted my teeth, stepping back. I didn’t know how much longer I could stand around for.

Anger wasn’t the only thing making me want to go out there and kill Victrus.

The guilt I felt for meeting with him and lying to Starfish and my pod was like slowly stepping along a plank, waiting to be shoved right off the edge and into the stormy seas.

I needed to do something, not just to save Fallon but to prove to her that I could be trusted.

That I was on her side. I also wanted to make him pay for hurting my sister.

I could only hope I could squeeze some information about her whereabouts from Victrus before he died.

“Leave, Celeste.” Victrus stood tall, smirking. “Cut your losses and bow to true power.”

“I will never abandon truth and justice. This is my home. You are the one who comes uninvited,” she said, the water drawing up into a ball once more over the lake. Unlike last time, water was flicking off the orb, as though the rapids surrounding it were in a rage. “Go.”

“That’s no way to treat your guest,” Victrus replied, his smirk growing into a broad smile. He lifted a single hand as though reaching to grasp Celeste, then clenched his fist in one swift movement.

Celeste dropped to her knees, her shield dropping and the water ball crashing back into the lakebed. A scream tore from her throat as she clutched at her head.

“Now,” Kayden ordered, jostling my arm and tearing my attention from Celeste’s pain. “Go right and we’ll meet at the evil asshole.”

I took off, Ace on my heels as Noah went with Kayden, charging towards the lake. Despite his injuries, Ace was still scary. Even more so when he was fuelled by spite and revenge.

At first, the soldiers were too focused on the Overseer to notice our movement, but then shots began to fly, zooming past me as I zig-zagged towards Victrus. Even if I got hit, I wasn’t going to stop.