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“Fallon and I had sex,” Noah stated suddenly as we made our way towards the main building. He didn’t look at me, his expressionless face was instead focused ahead of us. “Zane was involved too.”

“And you’re telling me this why?”

“I—ah—I’ve never done anything like this before?”

“Were you a virgin?” I grinned, my amusement increasing exponentially when he blushed.

“No.” He shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. I have had sex before.” He groaned. “We’re in this”—he gestured between me and him—“thing.”

Fuck, the guy was uncomfortable, and I was enjoying the shit out of it. I probably should have cut him some slack seeing as he was the guy I liked most in this place. I may have called him a friend under other circumstances, but this shit show was far too entertaining.

“Thing?”

I wasn’t usually one for this sort of deep and meaningful bullshit but watching him squirm was too fucking good. Noah was the logical one, the cool head, and here he was stumbling over his words and blushing like a schoolgirl.

“There are a lot of things. You’re going to have to be pretty fucking specific,” I told him, turning the corner and slipping closer to the wall. Noah followed suit.

Once we’d returned from the third trial, I’d quickly found the files on my laptop had been corrupted.

I’d stolen it from Master Luna before the second trial to access the security footage of the academy.

As luck would fucking have it, my access to the cameras in the main building was now gone.

My cuff still had limited access, but it wasn’t enough.

If we were going to steal the weapon Cormac wanted, we needed to be smart.

Hence the reason for my little excursion with Noah to case the main building.

“The pod thing,” he said, following into the building. We strode down the hallway, taking note of the guards, cameras, and anything else worth noting.

I shuddered, halting my steps. “I hate that fucking word.” I turned on him, pointing a finger at his chest. “Don’t ever say that fucking word to me again.”

“Done.” He nodded with his hands raised. “So, about that…”

“Whatever you do with the princess is your business,” I told him. “It’s got nothing to do with me.”

“Even though we’re in a po—group situation?”

“Even more so. You and me, we’re cool. End of story.”

We fell into a comfortable silence as we made our way through the hallways, scoping the place out and tracking the guards.

The main building housed the offices of staff, the Masters and the Overseer, as well as the living quarters of the latter.

Security and meeting rooms were also located here, along with the weapon Cormac was eager to get his hands on.

There were areas we couldn’t access without security codes or without the risk of looking suss as fuck, but I wasn’t too worried.

We’d plan the shit out of this heist. It also helped that I was doing it with Fallon, Kayden, Noah, and Zane.

I wouldn’t be caught dead saying it to their faces, but they were skilled, and I knew I could trust them.

This little scoping excursion was simply an extra precaution.

We checked out the meeting rooms first before taking a peek at the security offices.

There wasn’t much we could see there, with the guards hurrying us along, but at least we got a look at where the control room was located and an idea of the number of guards posted there.

It was manageable… possibly messy if we couldn’t get in during the shift change.

Plus the guards at the door needed to be disposed of.

Mostly a piece of cake. The only thing that frustrated me was that we couldn’t see how many guards manned the inside of the control room.

That would be something we’d have to figure out on the fly.

Not ideal, but again, manageable. A few knocks to the head or a cheeky stealth manoeuvre from Noah would do the trick.

We moved into the hallway that led to the Masters’ offices, passing Jeremiah’s open door and continuing to scope out the rest. When I’d broken into Master Luna’s office before, I’d gone in through the window to steal her laptop. I’d never had a chance to check out the rest of the offices like this.

Suddenly, Noah darted behind me, slipping into an alcove and hiding from the cameras and anyone who decided to walk by.

“What are you doing?” I asked as he started to undress.

“Take my clothes with you,” he told me, shoving them into my hands. “I’ll meet you outside.”

His shoulders shimmered light green from his adaptation, then one minute he was there and the next I was like a fucking laundry lady, standing all alone with his clothes in my arms.

Shit. So much for him having my back.

I ran a hand through my hair. He’d fucking ditched me, but Noah wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t important.

Knowing that still didn’t mean I wasn’t tempted to drop his shit, but leaving evidence wasn’t my style.

It was already shifty enough that we were in the building in the first place.

No one went into the main building of the academy unless they wanted to speak to a Master or the Overseer.

Speaking of which, I needed to find one before anyone manning the cameras decided I was up to no good.

I glanced behind me, spotting Jeremiah’s wide-open door, but the guy was a dick on a good day, and I had no interest in making up some pathetic story for him.

Plus, I still needed to check the other offices.

Master Nolan’s was next, and I knocked a couple of times.

After no answer and a quick attempt at turning the handle, I found it was locked and moved on.

Breaking into his office would have looked suss and wasn’t the reason for me being there.

Again, I was not entirely disappointed as I walked away. Like Jeremiah, he was also a dick.

As I knocked on the door a few rooms down, Master Luna’s voice rang out, permitting me entry. Thank fuck. The lesser of three evils and my excuse for being in the main building.

“How can I help you, Mr Warner?” she asked once I was inside. She raised her brows, glancing at the bundle in my hands. I must have looked stupid as fuck carrying Noah’s clothes around with me.

“I—” Fuck, what was my cover again? I tried to think of one of the excuses I’d brainstormed with the others before coming here, but for some fucked-up reason my mind had gone blank.

“Yes?” Master Luna pressed, pursing her lips.

“Want to get dinner with me sometime?” I blurted, my brain malfunctioning like a busted control panel. Why did that have to be the only excuse I could remember?

Master Luna sat back; her cheeks tinged red as she folded her hands before her.

She was pretty, with bright brown eyes, heart-shaped lips, and long brown hair that flowed in waves to her shoulders.

She had to be over a decade older than me to be a Master here, yet you wouldn’t know it by looking at her.

The thing is, she wasn’t my type despite that.

I was far more interested in a hot raven-haired woman with copper eyes and a bratty attitude.

“The trials can bring out a lot of emotions. Now that they are over you may want to act on them. Whilst I’m flattered and you are very handsome,” she replied, the last living piece inside me dying an agonising death from embarrassment, “I’m sure you’re aware it is not appropriate to pursue a personal relationship with any of the staff here. ”

“Ahh, yeah.” I scratched the back of my neck. “I better go then.”

“It is a shame. Under other circumstances, I might have accepted.” She ran her gaze over my body in a caress. “Was there anything else?”

I shook my head, backing away. “No. Thanks.” I got my ass out of there, cursing my brain and its inability to come up with any other reason than the fucking idiotic one that Zane had told me.

Once in the hallway, all the other excuses flooded back to me.

I was supposed to have asked her about the ball or the trials or anything else but on a fucking date.

That merman was fucking with my head. I took a different route to the exit, taking stock of every important detail before getting the hell out of there.

At least I’d managed to get the layout of the rooms so this wasn’t an entire waste of time.

Fucking Zane.

“Hey,” Noah said, his voice scaring the shit out of me as the bastard was still invisible.

“Don’t fucking sneak up on me!” I growled, marching away from the main building and my embarrassment. I clenched my fists at my side.

“What’s up with you?”

“Nothing,” I grumbled, storming towards the auditorium.

“You look a little flushed,” he replied. “Something happen with Master Luna?”

“Nope, not a thing,” I snapped. “Did you get whatever the fuck was so important you had to ditch me for?”

“I think so, grumpy. Are you sure nothing—”

“Shut the fuck up and tell me why you went incognito.”

“I’ll tell you tonight,” he said calmly, not at all bothered by my attitude. See, this is why I liked him best; he wasn’t scared of me, nor did he feel the need to argue. “When we’re with the others and alone.”

I slowed my steps, eyeing the air to my left. “Interesting.”

“You have no idea.”

“Hey! I’m dancing with my girlfriend!”

“Not happening little one,” I replied, dragging Kendra away from Lou.

After seeing Luna, I had waited for Noah to get dressed before we made our way to the auditorium, which they were using to host dance practice. Fuck my life.

“If I get stuck doing the fucking tango with Zane, I may murder someone. Scratch that, I will murder someone. Most likely the merman, so if you want to keep him alive, you’re gonna do this shit with me.”

“Fine,” she grumbled, releasing a heavy sigh. “You’re such an asshole.”

“Now, gentlemen, one hand on your partner’s waist, the other in their hand,” the Overseer announced, striding between the pairs with her long skirts flowing around her. “Very good.”

“Zane’s not even here yet anyway,” Kendra said, stepping up onto her toes to look around the room. “Which is weird. I would have thought he’d get here first just so he could partner up with Fallon.”

I glanced around for the merman. Noah was dancing with Lou, who was pouting over at Kendra and me. Kayden was with the princess, his giant hands much lower than her waist. Lucky bastard. I couldn’t find Zane at all. Odd, but nothing to worry about.

“Probably got caught up playing charades with a bunch of baby octopuses or some shit like that.”

Kendra let out a laugh, the sound echoing around the room and cutting off the Overseer’s directions. “Sorry,” she whispered, dropping her face to hide her amusement.

“This is a traditional ancient Earth dance, and I am determined for you to excel at it. You are all lords and ladies of old, so let the music guide you through the steps. On my count. One, two, three, four and a one, two, three, four…” The Overseer spun in a circle with her arms raised as she danced with her invisible partner.

“Who do you think is going to win?” Kendra asked as we moved to the music.

“You want the honest answer or the wishful fucking thinking?”

“Honest.”

“Someone from Stormcrest or Tritosa will win,” I told her, grimacing at the truth of my words.

As much as I, and the others, talked about winning, I was no delusional fool.

We didn’t stand a fucking chance. “Hate to be the bearer of bad news but there’s no way they are giving the crown to anyone from the DH or Steppes.

We are too lowly in their eyes to rule over shit. ”

“What about the Verdant Plateau?” she asked as I spun us in a circle.

“Possibly. But Noah doesn’t want the crown.”

“Maybe that’s why he should be king.”

I wasn’t going to argue with that. Noah was a fucking brain and cared about others. “What’s your bet?”

“I think you’re right and probably someone from Tritosa or Stormcrest City will be crowned.

I’d love for it to be Fallon or Zane, but with everything they have said about their families, I doubt they’re likely to be put in positions of power.

As for Lou, I still have my hopes that she might win it for us.

” She sighed. “I know we do the trials and that’s supposed to decide who wears the crown, but the outside world has influence, even if they won't acknowledge it. We don’t live in a utopia.

There’s corruption and I can’t turn a blind eye to it.

The trials have proved these tests are not immune from the rest of the country.

I refuse to shove my head in the sand and ignore everything that’s going on.

I just wish I had an actual chance. There’s so much I could have done to help the people back home. ”

“I get it.”

Her hand tightened on my shoulder. “The people of the Steppes are good. They deserve better. Kayden or I could have helped them. We could have made a difference to so many.”

I let her words sink in, counting my steps as I thought about all she had to say.

Kendra had come to the trials for the right reason.

Fuck, Kayden and Fallon had, too. They wanted to make a change that would benefit everyone.

There was no ego at the core of it, just a pure need to fix the problems of the people in their cities and Terrulia as a whole.

“What about me?” I asked, my words soft. As soon as I spoke, I instantly regretted letting them slip. Why did I fucking care what she thought?

Kendra studied my face, her gaze running over my features and unnerving the shit out of me.

“I think, on the wild chance you get the crown, you could actually do a good job. I think you care about others more than you let on and you’d want to make this country a better place for all.

I think you know what it’s like to be at the bottom and wouldn’t want anyone else to experience that.

And I think most of all, you have a heart and are terrified of getting hurt so you act like the biggest, meanest asshole. ”

“A bit off the fucking track—”

I made to pull away, but the little shit was strong, holding me there with her. “Can’t get hurt if you don’t let anyone close to you.”

“You’ve got the wrong fucking idea.”

“Have I?” Kendra asked, tilting her head. Her gaze darted to the left and I turned my head to see what she was looking at. “He looks…”

“Like shit,” I finished for her, eyeing Zane.

The merman slunk into the room, his face paler than usual, as though someone had told him Pip and Delilah had died. Fuck, why did I know his fucking dolphins’ names? Zane completely ignored Fallon and Kayden, striding past them and taking Dick’s hand. Without a word, he stepped into the dance.

“What do you think happened?” Kendra asked.

“No idea, but I’m sure it’s not good.”