Page 26 of A Sea of Secrets
The mood dropped faster than a hooker's panties as tension thickened the air. The Potentials shifted uneasily, looking between each other and us. There had always been a divide among the Potentials. Everyone had formed their own little groups to work together, but we were in the final trial now. Most alliances had been dissolved, and it was every Potential for themselves.
At least in most cases.
“Stormcrest City usually keeps away from the filth, but I think it’s time to take out the trash,” the guy declared with a sneer, drawing his shoulders back and puffing out his chest. It was a pathetic sight. Honestly, he looked ready to sit down and sleep off the last torture rather than get into a fistfight. “Who’s with me?”
I glimpsed a single hesitant face, but it quickly disappeared. None of them would be here if it weren’t for their instinct and ability to survive. Whatever they thought of us, they weren’t as brain-dead as this guy. If a brawl were to start, they knew they’d lose. Survival in these trials may have corroded a fuck-tonne of morals, but most held onto their dignity despite the odds, unlike this loser. Yes, we may have been technically cheating, but fuck, if he’d just kept his mouth shut, we might have even offered to help. Too late for that though.
The trials made you look deep inside yourself to see what you were fucking capable of and he had found himself lacking, hence his current predicament.
Not everyone was lucky enough to come from a gang that opened their eyes to the monster within at a young age. It may have been an upper hand for me to begin with, but now there were monsters all around me. Brutal fucking beasts that were within reach of their deepest desire; a shiny crown and the power over an entire country.
Life was full of poor choices. Most of the time your hand was twisted behind your back and you were forced to do some fucked-up shit—pull a trigger, twist a knife—other times, you were a greedy motherfucker and just wanted more than you got.
He lunged at Noah with his fist, swiping at his head, but I was faster and wouldn’t let him make contact. I pushed forward, barrelling into him and knocking him sideways off his feet. He let out a grunt and squirmed, his fists flying. Despite any formal training at the academy, nothing prepared you for a real fistfight. There were no rules, no code, just a desire for the upper hand, which I currently had. I dodged his blows, landing a few of my own. My bionic hand made contact with his chest and cracked his collarbone. He cried out in shocking pain.
“Odds are against you,” he grunted from blood-coated lips.
“I don’t usually gamble, but I’ll take that bet,” I snapped, sick of the guy’s shit. There’s nothing I hated more than a bastard who waited to kick someone when they were already down. Opportunistic gutter rat. “And when I’m done beating the shit out of you, I’ll make sure to give you something to remember my little lesson.”
I chanced a glance to where Kayden stood over Zane and realised two other Potentials had jumped him, likely thinking five against four put them at better odds. I figured they’d regret that bet right about now.
Suddenly, the instigator of this whole mess was on top of me, having used my momentary distraction to his advantage. The guy was bigger than me and took his shot at my exposedtorso. I snarled, falling to my side as pain reverberated through my ribs. He’d pinned my arms and growled in my face. Droplets of spit sprayed over my skin as I struggled beneath his weight.
Absolutely fucking not.
I forced my bionic arm free and punched at the fucker’s head, but all I hit was air as the guy toppled off me to reveal Noah standing behind him. His gaze narrowed on the guy's still body.
“What the fuck was that?” I asked with a grin on my face, despite my heavy breathing. Noah hadn’t thrown a punch. He’d just touched the guy and the idiot had collapsed.
Noah looked at me and shrugged. “Something I saw online. Pushing on a pressure point. Thought I’d test it out.”
“You’re full of surprises.” I chuckled, rolling over and leaning over the asshole who’d started it all. I slipped a blade from the tip of my bionic finger and meticulously sliced into the guy’s forehead.
“Fuckwit?” Noah asked as he studied my work. He reached out a hand to pull me to my feet, but I slapped it away, knowing full well he couldn’t support my weight on that leg of his.
“Just a little reminder,” I replied, grinning down at my work as I rose.
Kayden had one of the two guys he’d been fighting backed into a corner. The other lay face-down not far from where Noah was now kneeling beside Zane. It didn’t take long for the guy in the corner to surrender and, after a warning punch to the gut from Kayden, was left alone to wallow in self-pity.
Feeling bruised, I slid down the shelf until I was in the same position I had been before Fuckwit had come begging for a smackdown. My eyes snagged on one of the smart Potentials who’d stayed out of the fight. She sat farthest away from everyone in another corner, her hazel eyes curious as she watched each one of us intently.
Interesting.
The others were preoccupied with battling their exhaustion to have put up any kind of fight. One guy’s eyelids fell closed, seeming to take a moment to catch some sleep. I was ready to follow suit, not sure when we’d get the chance again. This room was bound to throw something at us soon enough, and we were probably better off looking for the next exit, but I was wrecked and needed to get some shut-eye. But of course, nothing was ever easy. I frowned down at my ass as something cold seeped into my clothes.
What the fuck?
Water seeped up from the tiled floor, the depth rising so quickly that it was past a finger-knuckle already.
“Oh shit!” the Potential in the corner shouted, jumping to her feet and climbing up the nearest shelf, her hazel eyes wide.
I hadn’t felt thirsty up until that moment. Seeing the water was like something ignited in me a desperate need to drink.
It had to be a trap but fuck it. If they were gonna drown us, I’d at least drink my fill first. I was thirsty, and Zane needed the water despite Noah using the last of his healing magic to bring the merman back to reality. I slouched down, feeling fucking high as a kite with the cool water on my skin. The water and Noah’s help had now awoken Zane, who was rolling around like a pig in mud, a look of pure ecstasy on his face.
“It could be poison!” the woman warned from where she’d perched on a shelf, knocking a pair of dusty high heels to the floor. Her warning fell on deaf ears as others were shoving their faces into it, drinking to their content.
“Got any magic left? Cos I’m gonna need you to use it if this is poison,” I said to Noah as he sat back down beside me. I scooped up a handful and drank. Probably not my smartest idea, but fuck I was thirsty.
