Page 34 of A Sea of Secrets
“I don’t think she means me,” Lou said sharply. “She’s burning up. We need to—”
I never learnt what we needed to do. A scream ruptured my ears, and then I was falling, my face smashing into the cold, hard ground. Something cracked, but the pain was a distant memory. There was only heat flooding through my body, a kind of haze taking over my vision as I lay there limply. All sense of self began to evaporate. What was my name again? It didn’t matter anymore.
Nothing mattered but this unbearable heat that burned through my blood, giving me purpose again. Giving me a new thirst for vengeance. For blood. I wanted to tear limbs from bodies, grind bones together, and feel the hot, wet mess of someone’s lifeblood on my hands.
I saw a bunch of bodies swarming two blondes by me, the limp body of a black-haired girl between them. But I didn’t recognise them as people. I saw only meat, and I longed only for the kill.
Another face appeared before my own, the whites of their eyes glowing in the dark. They smiled at me, their white teeth coated in blood.
So, I smiled back.
Theelevatordinged,openingto reveal a long hallway lined with doors on either side.
“Level three, Veritas,” a calm female voice uttered.
Zane bounded out like an excited puppy before anyone could point out the obvious need for caution. Noah and I just shook our heads as I looped his arm over my shoulders, and we tentatively followed. Ace strode out behind us with his typical permanent scowl and moved to take up residence leaning against the right wall. He wasn’t about to leave himself exposed in this new room, which was smart. But I had the growing feeling we couldn’t afford to wait around for long.
I dusted the sand out of my hair and shifted awkwardly on my feet, because yes, I would never admit it to the merman but there wasdefinitelysand in my butt crack. I was used to the baked red soil from my homeland, but I’d had more than enoughof this crap to last me a while. Especially as Zane shook himself in front of me and a stray grain landed smack bang in my eye.
“Fuck’s sake, Zane,” I growled, pawing at it.
“Sorry, Kitty Kayden.” He turned and gave me the biggest doe-eyes I’d ever seen. I rolled my own and brushed past him, getting a good look down the hallway.
“Well, it doesn’t take a genius to know what the Masters want us to do now,” Noah said as we stopped a little way ahead of the others.
I read the name engraved on the golden plaque before us.
“Noah Hawthorne.” I frowned and looked from his name on the door to its owner beside me. “They want us to split up now?”
“A name for every Potential in the academy,” he answered with a vague gesture at the numerous doors with their shiny gold nameplates. “My guess is this is the last room we need to endure. A last special test for each one of us. They made sure no one was given the advantage of an alliance.”
“Fuckers,” Ace spat as he came up beside us. “Can’t wait to be done with this shit.”
“But just think,” Zane piped up as he slung an arm around Ace and Noah’s shoulders, connecting the four of us. “Once we make it through to the other side, we’ll get to see our girl again.”
I raised a brow. “Ourgirl?”
We all turned to look at him then.
Zane huffed and glanced between us sternly. “Yes, you sea sponge.Ourgirl. Don’t you think it’s time we stopped pretending we aren’t all in on this? Starfish doesn’t know it yet, but she is fully down to ride this polyamorous wave with all of us. Even our little sea dragon over here is willing to share, he just won’t admit it.”
Ace’s expression was all thunder at that ridiculous nickname, and it took everything in me to hold back my laughter as our eyes met. The memory of Ace and I sharing Fallon flittedacross my mind. As if the same thought had occurred to him, we both just as quickly averted our gaze.
Shit, there was no denying how hot that moment was. I had no sexual interest in men whatsoever, butwithFallon, it was like there was a chemical reaction in my head that made me lose all sense of myself. It went against all my instincts to share anything. Growing up in a poor city where you fought tooth and nail for everything had that effect. But, gods, if it made her happy, I could learn to. And I’d be lying if I said a part of me hadn’t enjoyed doing so already.
These three guys and I… we’d bonded somehow. Maybe it was the threat of death constantly lurking at our backs that had done it, but there was no denying a kinship now. Even with the angry twig, who I’d not so long ago have happily throttled. I couldn’t explain it, but something was shifting, and I wasn’t mad about it. Hell, being part of Zane’s ridiculous pod didn’t sound so bad anymore. Not even a little bit.
“He’s right,” Ace said quietly. Those steely eyes of his sliced between our faces like glass. “The princess likes to think she’s a free spirit, but that girl is mine.” Zane opened his mouth to protest, but Ace just lifted his bionic hand. “Yet maybe—”
“Oh. My. Gods.” Zane lit up like a Christmas tree. “This is happening. The pod is officially supercharged. We’re like the four horsemen of Fallon. The four freaks of the sheets. The sausages to Starfish’s sweet, sexy buns. The—”
“Stop talking,” Ace said sharply, shrugging out of Zane’s hold. He uttered a long-suffering sigh and squeezed the bridge of his nose with his bionic hand. “For the record, there will be no snuggles or stupid coupley shit.
“Snuggles?” Zane whispered to me, leaning in with heavy breathing.
“Shut the fuck up, Merman! I’m not done,” Ace barked. “If one of you assholes even thinks about touching my dick I’ll fucking break yours off, understand?”
Zane bobbed on his feet, making a weird, excited noise from between his closed lips. It was obvious he had something he desperately wanted to say.
