Page 41 of A Sky of Storms
I looked to where Victoria sat and knew instantly that Fallon was my target. She was the lesser of two evils, not that I’d let my guard down around her. Fallon was still the princess atop her sky tower, looking down at the rest of us fuckers fighting to stay alive. She had claws—expensive ones—but mine were sharper, and I wasn’t afraid to draw blood.
Myeyesflutteredopen,and confusion clouded my senses as I felt strangely weightless. Flashes of blue and grey blurred into one, and with a sudden lurch of my stomach, I realised I was falling.
I screamed as I fully came to, my hair whipping around my face as I swivelled my body towards the ground. As I plummeted, my body passed through a forcefield of sorts, and I gasped, blinking at the world below. I knew Terrulia’s geography well, but this ocean didn’t look familiar, nor the land I was quickly dropping towards.
The sky was a sea of bodies as, one by one, students roused and the reality of their situation hit them.
They had parachutes strapped to their backs, but many still hadn’t woken, and the window was running out to allow a safe distance to descend even with them deployed. My heart leapt into my throat as I spearheaded towards the ground, ready to stretch my wings when I got a good look at the terrain.
Freaking hell, they’d really started this trial off with a bang. My adaptation would serve me well, and I was grateful for the comforting weight of my wings helping to balance me out as I watched others struggling to get into a better position.
I hunted desperately for a sign of Zane and Kendra and was surprised to find terror filled me as I began moving in search of their forms among the sky, summoning my wings and weaving through the bodies.
I’d always found it hard to trust in others, thanks to the heavy fists and cutting words of my parents—not to mention their reputation, which people immediately judged me for. I’d learned to keep to myself, to build strong walls in order to keep others out. But there was something alluring about Zane. He was oddly calming, and I had never sensed any ill intentions from him. I didn’t want him to be hurt.
Kendra was a breath of fresh air. The kind of girlfriend I’d always wanted, because dammit, yeah, I guessed I had quickly come to care about her. She’d had my back since day one without ever questioning me or asking for anything in return. That was loyalty, and I wasn’t about to abuse it.
As I searched the sky, some students tried to clutch onto me, with their eyes wide and hands reaching to grab at my feathers. I lost my breath as someone latched on to my wing, causing us both to plummet as my balance wobbled and we tangled together, tumbling perilously towards death.
“Get off me!” I screamed. “Use your damn parachute!” But the black-haired guy didn’t answer, frozen in shock and fear, his knuckles white where he gripped me. Guilt filled me as I looked into his pleading brown eyes, but I had no choice but to savagely kick him away. I couldn’t open my wing, and if I didn’t even out soon, we were both going to die.To hell with splatting to death.
I flapped away quickly, forcing myself to remain calm and feeling less anxious at the sight of parachutes deploying and a bunch of students descending, a mixture of relief and determination on their faces.
Ace, Kayden, and Noah were among them, the former two grinning smugly. At last I spotted Kendra and Zane, the two of them holding hands as she seemed to be yelling instructions at him. The poor merman was flailing, a look of utter panic in his eyes. I guessed the skies were as far from the seas as you could get, but it looked like they’d be okay.
I focused my attention below and frowned, my heart falling. They’d dumped us in a marshland of all places. Minimal shelter, resources, and a hell of a lot of bog to wade through. Just peachy.
I flapped my wings, slowing my descent so I could land smoothly … and sucked back a scream.
Bodies crashed all over the earth, the limbs bent at impossible angles, blood and bones splashed across mud and soaked into the water. Oh gods. They must have either not awoken or hadn’t deployed their parachutes quick enough, if at all.
My stomach twisted violently, and I had to hold back the urge to vomit, turning my attention to students still in the sky, most of whom had floated kilometres away as they controlled their descent. Kendra and Zane had disappeared.
Anger surged through my veins. Whatever we’d been dosed with must have been strong. The last thing I remembered was changing into the black jumpsuit and boots they’d instructed us to wear and stepping onto a jet, and who knew how long ago that was?
I inhaled deeply, assessing my surroundings. There was a tree line a few kilometres away, which would at least give me cover while I figured out my options. I’d need to find shelter and water first. The jumpsuits were lined, but it would be a long night if I didn’t have access to fire. The problem with that was that a fire may as well be a beacon to other students, alerting them to my location.
A high-pitched screech echoed from somewhere close by and I crouched, the hairs on the back of my neck rising at the sound. I circled slowly, getting a good view of the marsh, but there was nothing but bog and muddy platforms as far as the eye could see.
Which meant…
Talons grabbed my shoulders as I looked up, the sharp claws sinking into my skin and making me cry out in pain. Heat blazed from the wounds, blood trickling down my arms as the creature lifted me into the air.
I screamed, punching at one of the sinewy legs and digging my nails into the creature’s flesh. It screeched in protest before it let me go, and I tumbled, letting my own wings spring out and carry me higher.
It looked like something out of a horror movie. Huge batlike ears, fangs like a vampire and a piggish snout on its small skull. Its hideous fur was brown and patchy over its mottled grey skin—perfect for blending into this horrid environment.
More screeches echoed in the distance, followed by faint screams. I winced, circling my opponent as I frantically searched for what to do. I reached for my magic instinctively and frowned, feeling my power come up empty by the chip blocking it.
Think Fallon.I had no weapons, no magic, and being this creep’s next meal was not an option. My only choice was to flee. I twisted sharply away, headed for the trees, and it bellowed in rage as it realised its prey was escaping.
The snap of leathery wings whipping through the air bled into my ears, and I grimaced. Shit, this thing was fast, and it looked hungry. I soared, forcing my wings to go harder, trying to keep my body straight as an arrow. Just a little further and I could at least seek some cover under the canopies where it was too narrow for the creature to fly.
I was so close when something latched onto my wing, the pain of pointed teeth embedding into the sensitive flesh of my wings and tearing down the tendons. I cried out, flapping hopelessly with my other wing as the ground rushed to meet me.
Barely managing to twist myself in time, I manoeuvred my body so that the creature cushioned my fall, and we rolled in a tangle of feathers, leathery skin, and limbs. My busted wing fluttered uselessly at my back, and I bit down hard on my lip, keeping my scream in check as my wounds barked from being jostled.
The giant bat came to a stop and I bolted, forced to sprint with my battered wing and wounds bleeding with each pounding step. I heard another shriek of rage, but I didn’t look back as I careened around trees and logs, splashing through mucky water that smelled of rot.
