Page 12 of A Sky of Storms
I shrugged him off, glaring at his too handsome face. “No, I just came for the grand tour,” I drawled, looking around the expansive room. There was enough space to stretch my wings if I ever conjured my adaptation form. Despite the size, there were only six beds, and judging by the belongings piled on each, all but one had already been claimed. Dammit. At least the guards had been kind enough to grab our bags when kidnapping us. How thoughtful.
The one positive was that everyone else appeared to have left already.
“You can bunk above me,” the merman said with a wink. He strode over and patted the mattress above his.
I glanced down at his bed to see he’d already laid out his pyjamas, which just so happened to be a shorts and t-shirt combo featuring him riding two dolphins in various poses, with the words, ‘surf’s up’ repeated everywhere. Interesting clothing choice...
“Yeah, sure,” I said, not giving two shits where I bunked. He didn’t give off vibes of being anything beyond a threat to fashion, so at least I could sleep without expecting to be knifed sometime in the night. Apparently, though, the gods were out to get me, because a big beefy bastard with dirty blond hair, squinty blue eyes and a sneer on his face chose that moment to storm into the room, eyeing me off like a piece of meat.
“Well, well, well,” he said, his eyes raking over me. He stalked into my personal space. “I knew you were signing up to the tournament but I wasn’t expecting such a fine piece of ass. The name’s Mark.” He put his arm around my waist and I flinched as his fingers slid under my waistband.
The merman stepped forward to intervene, but I shook my head. I fought my own battles.
The creeper clinging to me laughed. “Relax, baby, I’m going to show you a good time.”
“Hard pass.” I put one hand up, but he dug his finger into my waistband and pulled me closer, licking up the column of my neck.
“I like it when they fight back. Makes the catch all the sweeter.”
The hairs on my arms stood on end and my skin crawled as I placed two hands on his chest and shoved him into the bunk bed. “The fuck is wrong with you? Get the fuck off me.”
“Angel bitch,” he spat. “You’ll get what’s coming to you.”
The merman stepped forward and ushered me behind him, but I planted my hands on my hips and smiled sweetly. “I didn’t expect to be rooming with a creepy lowlife like you, but alas, here we are.”
“Your reputation doesn’t do you justice,” he snapped. “You’re more of a cow than everyone says and trust me, there is a lot said about you. I’m from the Verdant Plateau and even there we’ve heard of the spoilt brat from the clouds.”
Of course he’d call me thatafterI rejected him.
“Ah, but you have heard of me,” I said, tapping my nose before turning away from him. “I, on the other hand, have no idea who you are. I don’t waste my time with petty gossip or those who believe it.”
“Nobody turns their back on me like that!”
He reached out to grab my wrist and I twisted. “Touch me again with your greasy paw and I’ll break all your fingers so bad you won’t be able to wipe your own ass.”
He growled, charging at me like a bull, and the dolphin dude just stepped out of the way, leaning on the other bunk like it was the best show ever.
I conjured my wings, flapping right above the asshole attacking me so that he collided with the metal post of the bunk. “Hey dipshit,” I called from my perch on another bed. “Come and get me.”
“Bitch,” he hissed. “You’re going to pay for that. You House Jupiter cunts are all the same, with your expensive houses and your fucking wings. Let’s see how well you fly when I rip those pretty little feathers out.”
He slipped a knife from his pants, and I narrowed my eyes, dropping to the floor in a crouch. What the hell? I didn’t think weapons were allowed in the academy, but it didn’t matter. I sure as shit could finish him with my fists. He lunged, and I dropped beneath him and drove my fist into his groin as hard as I could, following through with a punch to his nose. He dropped the knife to cup his appendage as he fell to the floor where the blade clanged beside him.
Blood streamed from his nose, and I leaned back with a smug grin on my face. “Next time you run your mouth, you better back it up with a real fight. And if you try to shank me in my sleep, I’ll spank you so bad you’ll be calling for your mummy.”
“Less brains than a jellyfish,” the merman said as he looked down at Mark in disgust. “Your attitude messes with my vibe. Learn to chill in the communal space, yeah?”
Mark glared between us but seemed to have enough sense to know when he’d lost. He exited the room with a few grumbles and his tail tucked between his legs. Mentally, I added a strike to my enemy list. That wouldn’t be the end of it.
“Holy shit,” a small voice squeaked. We both turned around, finding a petite girl with dark brown hair in space buns standing in the bathroom doorway. She was dressed in a hot pink crop top and tight black pants with a silver chain dangling from the hip to pocket. Honestly, she was cute as a button. “You just decked Mark Leroy without breaking a sweat.”
“You can never trust a Mark,” the merman said in a conspiring tone, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “Especially one with a fragile ego. But he’s old news. I’m Zane Loch, from Tritosa.”
“From—from the Loch family?” the girl breathed. I didn’t blame her, his dad was the head of House Neptune and had one of the wealthiest, most respected families in Tritosa City—the water world built under the sea. I swear I just about saw stars in her eyes as she looked at him and had to visibly shake herself out of whatever mesmeric trance she fell into. “I’m Kendra Reynolds, from The Crimson Steppes. No big name, just … just me. And you’re Fallon Auger,” she said in awe.
I smiled. “Well, just Kendra, it’s nice to meet you.” I held out my hand and was pleasantly surprised when she took it, smiling back. Maybe the trials wouldn’t be so bad after all, and perhaps I was wrong about the whole not socialising with my competition. Maybe friends were off the cards, but a few allies couldn’t hurt.
Okay,maybeIwasjumping the gun at thinking things might go well. After having the crappiest sleep of my life thanks to keeping one eye on Mad Mike—or Mark or whatever his name was—most of the night, I’d been thrust straight into combat training as my first lesson.
