Page 42

The black tux chafed as I strode from the ball.

I hated wearing penguin suits, even if this one was all black and better quality than I’d ever worn.

Still, I felt like such a fucking idiot—like some arrogant ass who thought far too highly of himself.

The only people I’d ever seen wear a tux always had something to hide.

It was as if they felt some fancy suit would keep their secrets.

Little did they know, their pompous armour only served to make them a bigger target, especially in the DH.

The academy grounds were empty and quiet, with most Potentials, staff, and guests at the ball.

The few people I saw were having not-so-secret rendezvous.

That was exactly the kind of cover I wanted to use with the princess to get out of the ball without suspicion.

We’d almost hidden behind a curtain at the ball, but she was right, it would have been too much of a tempting distraction.

Now Fallon was off with Kendra and there was no way I was telling anyone I was hiding in the bushes with Kayden.

Creeping around was quiet and stealthy with Noah, but having a giant boulder following me around was less so.

To his credit, Kayden was trying to be quiet.

At least, I assumed his heavy steps were unintentional.

He had just as much on the line right now as I did.

Kayden couldn’t help that he wasn’t built for stealth.

It wasn’t like he was deliberately sabotaging us.

Unlike Zane. That motherfucker. I clenched my fists as rage simmered within me.

I was going to beat the living shit out of that traitor as soon as this was done.

“What’s up with you?” Kayden asked, nudging my side. “Wouldn’t have thought you’d be the nervous type.”

Keeping a cool head was necessary at a time like this, but my head was hot as hell and I needed to vent. “Did Fallon tell you about the fucking merman?”

We turned a corner, sticking to the shadows as we drew closer to the main building. Kayden chuckled. “What ridiculous nonsense did he get up to now?”

“Sand-for-brains met with her dad,” I replied, the words bitter on my tongue. There was no good reason for Zane to have done that. None whatsoever.

“No fucking way,” he said, like he thought I was joking. Then he saw my face and ran a hand through his hair. “Shit. Are you sure?”

“The princess saw him, and she wouldn’t lie about something like this.”

Kayden looked something between hurt and confused, then his emotions seemed to settle into a good, healthy anger. He massaged his fist in his hand. “I’m going to beat him to a pulp.”

“Get in fucking line,” I hissed, lowering my voice and pointing to our entrance. “This way.”

Lights on either side of the door glowed in the night, and the sound of the ball could only faintly be heard in the distance.

I flicked a finger, sending electricity flying from its tip, and blew out both lights, plunging us into darkness.

We hurried towards the entry and headed inside the main building, finding the hallways dim as the emergency lighting kicked in to illuminate the bottom of the walls.

“If you can turn off all the lights, why didn’t you fuck with the security system too?” Kayden asked in a low voice.

I headed left, the big guy following. “Different circuits. And I don’t know enough about the breakers and fail-safes to be sure it would work. I could have set off a lockdown and then what the fuck would we do?”

“Okay. Good point,” Kayden huffed at my side.

We followed the map in my head, making our way towards the meeting point with Fallon and Kendra.

Noah and Dick should already be in position, waiting for us to get there and open a few cheeky doors.

I’d shown Noah and Dick how to do it, and whilst Noah had scrunched his face in concentration, Dick’s eyes had lit up. Fucking code camp.

Kayden raised a hand before me. “Hold up.”

I froze, looking at where several moving shadows grew larger in the distance around the corner. The sound of boots on pebble followed shortly after.

Kayden edged forward, looking around the wall. “Guards.” He reached towards me, gripping my bicep. “Hold onto your hat.”

“What?”

One minute I was standing in the hallway, the next it was as though someone was tugging my insides out through my nose. My head spun, my gut twisting, and then my feet hit the ground, and I found Kayden grinning down at me.

“Fuck,” I groaned, feeling like I had a massive hangover. “That’s worse than a punch to the head. Did you just teleport us? Thought you didn’t know the building well enough to do that.”

“We only went a short distance, and I could see where I wanted us to land.” He chuckled, patting me on the head and scruffing my hair. “Take a teaspoon of concrete, Twiggy, and harden up.”

“Motherfucker,” I growled, swatting him away and breathing deeply.

“Don’t do that again unless we need to get the fuck out of here.

” Hunching over, I held my thighs and counted to ten, then spat on the floor.

The last thing I needed was to be out of sorts with a reeling fucking hangover.

I straightened and felt somewhat stable again. “Right, let’s keep moving.”

But a voice stopped us in our tracks. “Hate to ruin your plans, boys.” A flashlight shone brightly into my eyes, worsening the pain already there.

Fucking Boulder Boy. I stepped to Kayden’s side and glared at the four guards behind the light.

Fuck, where did they come from? There was only supposed to be one set of guards on patrol.

They must have increased their numbers for the ball.

“We’re just going for a walk,” Kayden said. “We got lost on our way to the ball.”

“That is the worst excuse I’ve ever heard,” one of the guards said, stepping forward and pulling out a baton. “You’re both under arrest.”

Straightening my suit, I adjusted the end of my sleeves. “That’s not gonna work for us. We have a ball to attend.”

“Not anymore you don’t.” Blue sparks flashed around the top of the baton.

Four guards and two of us. I liked those odds.

I glanced up at Kayden and winked before lunging at the closest guard.

He fell backwards, his baton flying across the hallway.

I quickly straddled the guy and pounded my fist into his face.

I got in one good hit when lightning suddenly shot through my neck, and I fell onto my side.

Pain racked through me, but I gritted my teeth and launched my own electrical attack, aiming at the guard with the baton.

Sparks flew from my hand as my power hit his weapon.

The thing exploded, launching the fucker at the wall.

I quickly rolled to my feet and jumped back on the first guard, moving swiftly and without rules.

If my days of fighting on the streets had taught me anything, it’s that life wasn’t about being a good sport. It was about winning.

I was busy smashing the guy’s face when shouts echoed from behind us.

The guards Kayden had teleported us away from were now at our backs.

Hands slick with blood, I left the unconscious guard beneath me and rounded on the newcomers.

Fists and electricity danced in the air as I fought with Kayden by my side.

He watched my back and I looked out for him.

The man was a beast, his rocky fists knocking them into walls and sending them to sleep.

A blade sliced through my thigh, and I dropped to a knee, blood flowing into my suit pants.

I dove for my attacker as a growl escaped my lips, pummelling his face with my fists.

My metal hand crunched through bone, blood splattering with each hit.

I was panting, bloody and bruised when I rose to my feet and caught sight of Kayden.

He grinned in the torchlight, and it looked like a scene from a horror film. A laugh broke from my lips.

Kayden chuckled in turn, his massive chest shaking with the movement. His face was splattered with blood and his arms were slowly shifting back from rock to flesh. “Is this us bonding?”

“You fucking wish,” I teased, picking up the torch and flicking it off. “Time to meet up with the princess and Kendra.”

“What about the bodies?” Kayden asked.

“There’s no time and nowhere to hide them. We’ll just to have to hope no one comes to investigate anytime soon.”

I dumped the light on one of the guards’ bodies and we made our way to the meeting point. My leg was still bleeding but I felt alive, like I’d popped a couple of pills of crystoxx and was on the best high of my life.

A few minutes later, we reached the metal door and found it unlocked, the lights on the control panel beside it bright green. “Noah’s worked it out.”

“If not the nudist, then Dick has taken charge,” Kayden replied, sounding a little proud as he pushed through the door.

We headed down the stairs two at a time.

As we descended deeper underground, the air grew colder.

It was refreshing. A new wave of adrenaline coursed through me at the prospect of stealing the weapon before Cormac or any other Drakes could get their grubby hands on it.

A real ‘fuck you’ to the gang and its leader—the very people who lied and cheated their way to power, only to bend the knee to fucking House Jupiter.

It pissed me off to no end that the Drakes had involved themselves in human trafficking.

We may have been criminals, but there was a line, and Cormac had leapt over the fucking thing.

Three floors down we found Fallon and Kendra waiting for us, no longer in their ball gowns. They stood in activewear beside another metal door, this one with red dots lighting up a control panel beside it.

“Took your time,” Fallon teased as we approached. “Did you take the scenic route?”

“Very funny,” Kayden said. “We ran into some unexpected guards.”