Page 21 of A Sky of Storms
“Crystal.”
“Good, now get out,” the hooded guy ordered before rounding the shelf. I crept after, only to see no sign of him. It was as though he’d disappeared into thin air. Behind me, Mark sighed, muttering ‘bastard’ under his breath as he shoved the door open. I quickly followed out the door but didn’t go any further. Mark found a seat at one of the tables, lifted his sleeve, and started tapping on the screen of his smart cuff. The thing beeped a few times in quick succession and he scowled at it before stuffing his hand into his pocket.
I stood frozen in front of the closed storeroom door, watching Mark while going over what I’d heard. Mark was overseeing a shipment meant for delivery to House Jupiter during the first trial, but what would be on it? I ran a hand over my shaved head, pursing my lips. Would it have something to do with the disappearances? Stolen goods? Or something else entirely?
Then there was House Jupiter’s involvement. How had Mark gotten wrapped up with them? Were Victoria and Fallon Auger somehow involved? And who was the hooded guy he was talking to? I had so many questions, but at least my suspicions were now confirmed. Mark and his family were involved in some shady shit with some very powerful people. House Jupiter was one of the wealthiest families in the entire country and I was certain that whoever the hooded guy was, he was either powerful in his own right or extremely well-connected.
Laughter filled the room and Mark’s groupies scurried over to him, offering ridiculous compliments that made me want to gag. I was getting second-hand embarrassment just listening. Deciding that there was nothing more I could learn for the night, I went over to the snack bar for some fruit and found only grapefruits left. Ugh, not ideal but it would have to do. Grabbing the fruit, I strolled towards the exit. I was cold and drained after using my ability for so long, not to mention being exposed the whole time. Unlike my restorative power, which drained me quickly with more complicated injuries to heal, using my camouflage felt like going for a long run and getting that physical exhaustion that only a hot shower and a good night’s rest could heal.
I was looking forward to both.
“That angel bitch is going down,” a woman said as I passed the chattering group. “I can’t wait to see her stuck-up face get what’s coming to her.”
Mark snorted like the piggy he was. “I’m going to film it on my cuff, then replay it over and over again for a laugh.”
“Yes! You’ll have to send copies to everyone,” another woman giggled. “She is so pathetic it’s almost sad. Did you see how Victoria snobbed her off? Like if your sister can’t stand you, why would anyone else?”
“I know right!” the first woman exclaimed. “Victoria is so freaking cool and Fallon is just… blegh. I still can’t believe she attacked you, Markie, she’s such a hoe bag.”
“She didn’t attack me,” Mark snapped. “I told you I tripped after I gave her a piece of my mind. The two things are completely unrelated. Fuck, Britney, you can be such an air head sometimes.”
I didn’t wait around for Britney’s mumbled reply. Their conversation wasn’t overly interesting, especially when most people around here spoke about Fallon in a similar way. It didn’t help that Victoria shunned her sister. She’d probably invented a lot of the rumours too. The way Mark and the others spoke about Fallon gave me the impression that she wasn’t involved in whatever the Leroy family and House Jupiter had going on.
Then again... Perhaps their hatred was a ruse, a sleight of hand that wanted us to look the other way and think that they hated her when in fact they were all working together. No, something about that conclusion didn’t sit right with me. There was something about Fallon that was different to her sister. I just didn’t know what it was yet.
I sighed heavily, opening the door to jog back to my room, only to slam into a hard chest and fall on my ass. My camouflage disappeared instantly and I stared up to find Kayden with a giant grin on his face. Moving faster than I thought the big guy could, he angled his cuff and snapped a shot of me in all my glory.
“Ewww, why is he naked?” one of his friends asked the woman next to her.
“Probably fucking the grapefruit,” the other snickered, pointing at the fruit in question. “I hope he wasn’t planning on doing it in here.”
“Why else would he already be in the nude?” Kayden smirked.
Laughter rang around as cuffs buzzed and my cheeks heated. For fuck’s sake. I rose to my feet, trying to cover my junk with one hand whilst holding the grapefruit in the other. Shit, why was I still holding it? I dropped the fruit then shoved passed Kayden and co, not bothering to get into a verbal sparring. What was the point when he’d already got a photo and had clearly captioned it with whatever story he wanted people to hear?
“Bro!” Kayden called to my back, chuckling as he shouted. “If you can’t pull the ladies, there are other options! No need to assault the fruit!”
The door slammed behind me and I breathed in the cool night air, trying to forget about Kayden and his idiotic cronies. I refused to let him get to me, even if he sent a naked photo of me around the academy, insinuating that I fucked grapefruits. I had bigger problems to deal with.
Tomorrow I’d have to start looking into House Jupiter. Once I found out what they were after I’d be closer to knowing more on how Mark was exploiting the Verdant Plateau. The two Auger sisters would be the likely choices for my next spying session, though one stood out over the other, and not in a good way. Victoria Auger had the working of an evil mastermind. If anyone was dealing with Mark, it’d be her.
Iheadedtowardsthemeadow with a smile on my face and a little pep in my step. My first magic class was this afternoon, and I was beyond ready for the chip to be deactivated so I could stretch my telekinesis muscles and kick some serious butt.
As much as I despised my parents and my family name, being the daughter of an Auger did have its perks. Victrus and Eliana had powerful telekinesis magic, and that gift had passed to me too. Of course, their brutal teaching had honed it, but I wasn’t about to give them credit for that. I was strong because I refused to let them break me.
“Fallon, wait up,” someone called from behind, and I turned to see Kendra jogging up the path, her long brown hair swaying with each step. She was wearing a white crop top with the words ‘eat my dust’ in bright pink on the front, paired with loose black pants slung low over her hips and a gold body chain looped over her slender waist.
Her style was super cute. It matched her sassy attitude.
I smiled warmly as she pulled up behind me. “Hey girl. What’s up?”
“Oh, you know.” She shrugged. “I’m enrolled at an academy with a bunch of Potentials ready to stab me in the back so, just another day, really.”
I snorted, thinking of my own ruthless family and how readily they’d put down anyone who got in their way. “Yeah, I can’t say much has changed since I got here.”
She put her hands in her pockets and tilted her head back to the sun, her high cheekbones glowing a soft pink over her glassy skin. “I’d rather not be pitted against everyone like this, but things have gotta change. I grew up in an orphanage back home and there’re a lot of kids who don’t make it. Where I’m from, you grow up fast or you don’t grow up at all. I don’t want to see that happen anymore. I don’t want to pretend all those kids don’t exist. This whole divide between the wealthy and the poor has gotta give.”
I would have had no idea she’d gone through all that if she hadn’t offered that information up so readily. She hid it well, but I liked her honesty. It was kind of jarring, but surprisingly refreshing. Plus, I had to give her credit for why she was here. She actually wanted to do some good. I’d bet many of the other Potentials here had less noble intentions.
