Page 3 of A Sky of Storms
We still used regular vehicles and aircrafts like the rest of Terrulia, of course. My home was fully decked out with top-of-the-line cars, motorbikes, and even a helicopter, but down on the mainland, anything goes.
Rather than transporting, I liked to fly when I could, and being able to conjure my wings at will came in handy for exploring the city or finding good vantage points. The summit, as my brother and I liked to call it, had a view over the entire city. From here, the white buildings were a maze, with their golden domes glittering, and waterfalls roaring over the edge of the city in the sky. I scowled. It was a beautiful place if one could forget how sadistically House Jupiter ruled over it. Even the glittering decadence reminded me of the corruption paying for it all. Every home was gated, every street lined with trees, flowers, and white cobblestones. A pretty mask for an ugly underworld.
I swooped closer to Ethan, my wings blasting me forward until I was nose-to-nose with him. He glanced at me, brows pulling together as he gritted his teeth and exerted every muscle in his body to power up the column leading to our usual perch on the tallest building.
The monstrosity looked over the entirety of Stormcrest City, its stone symmetry and dainty arches inspired by Parisian architecture from Earth, where we’d originally come from. Like the house names that were a nod to gods of an ancient civilisation, the building was a showcase of power. Nothing awed and intimidated quite like wealth amassed over generations. Even though our civilisation on Terrulia was fairly new, we had kept to many of the old ways.
At the last second, Ethan’s eyes widened, and his wings stalled. His body went limp as he plummeted to the city below. My heart stuttered as I dove to catch him, wings flapping furiously as sheer panic riled within. My fingers reached out for him and just as I was about to grab his arm, his eyes opened and he laughed, shooting upwards and leaving me staring disbelieving at his departing form.
At the top, he plopped himself on the rampart and grinned broadly.
The little shit.
Expelling one long breath, I shot him a wry look, flying up to sit beside him as we collapsed and magicked our wings away.
“Shifty,” I said with a chuckle, ruffling his hair fondly.
“Sometimes you gotta use the tools at your disposal.” He shrugged. “It’s not my fault my safety is one of your biggest weaknesses.”
“Since when did your cleverness evolve into the beginnings of an evil mastermind?”
He laughed and shot me a wry grin. “Since you stopped letting me win. So, are you still planning on raiding Victoria’s room tonight? She’s going to have your neck when she catches you.”
I smirked and shook my head. “Don’t you meanifshe catches me? You underestimate my abilities, Ethan.”
He studied me for a moment before his smile widened. “You’ve already done it.”
“Yup,” I said, smacking the ‘p’. I pulled my backpack off and opened it, my new spoils spilling out. Treasures I may or may not have borrowed from Victoria’s secret stash. Okay, fine, stolen. Whatever. “A collection of daggers, an expensive-looking short sword, a crystal-powered proton gun, and some crystal stun balls. She’d also stashed some chocolate bars into the lining of her satchel.”
“That’s it?” he asked, looking a little disappointed.
“Well, I was going to mention the gigantic sparkling dildo in there, but I figured you wouldn’t want to know about that,” I said thoughtfully. Ethan blanched, and I burst out laughing. “I’m joking, but I did find this.”
I wiggled the fingers of my right hand in his face where the House Jupiter ring—the same one as our parents’—glinted in the sunlight.
He gaped at me, shaking his head. “Holy shit Fallon. Put that back. If Victoria finds out…”
“She won’t,” I replied cheerfully. “Because you’re taking it.”
“Are you crazy? She’d kill me if she knew I had it.”
I grinned, looking into his sea-green eyes, so like my mother’s had been once upon a time. Only his were filled with all the kindness hers lack. He looked so much like her, with his blond hair, freckles, and bronzed skin.
I took after my father, with long, straight black hair, full lips and an athletic build. Of all our likenesses, I hated that we had the same eyes most—once hazel, they were now stained copper from being in proximity to the crystals farmed only in Stormcrest. So far, I’d managed to keep Victrus’s filthy claws from sinking into Ethan and forcing him there, but my attempts would only last so long. I could foolishly hope he never visited that place and kept his green eyes forever.
“She won’t find out because you’re going to hide it. Here—” I jimmied a stone loose from the wall to reveal our little hidey-hole. No one would look for our stash here.
I placed the ring inside, along with our new finds. Over the years, we’d hidden many treasures in there, from toys to chocolates to money. Yeah, we had to hide sweets, because our parents were monsters like that and never let us have them. As for the money…
“This ring alone will get you enough credits to grab new papers and get the fuck out of here. This is your get-out-of-jail-free card, Ethan.” The reference to the old Earth boardgame made his lips twitch but the seriousness in his eyes didn’t budge. I sighed, resting my hand on his gently. “If something happens while I’m gone, I want you to take Hadley and run. Get the hell out of here and head to the Verdant Plateau.”
My brother looked at me, his eyes clouding with worry. “I know why you’re doing this.”
I didn’t respond, shielding my face with my hair and basking in the setting sun. The clouds looked like fairy floss today, swirling in front of peachy rays.
“You don’t think you’ll come back, do you?” he pressed. “I’ve researched the odds and, well…”
I pasted on a smile and turned to him, dangling my legs off the edge. “Come on, you don’t think I can take on some elitist assholes? If I can deal with Victoria and our stick-up-the-ass parents, this will be a piece of cake,” I joked.
