Page 43 of A Sea of Secrets
I continued to shout for them, searching the garrison for any sign of the others. Was I the first one here?
The beacon continued to glow, reminding me of where I was supposed to be headed, but I couldn’t leave. The others could turn up at any minute. I bided my time, searching for weapons as I waited, finding swords wedged in the mud around the garrison.
Night was starting to fall, the cold air sending shivers all over my skin and making my breath cloud before me. The beacon was as bright as ever. Cocky fucker.
Whatever memories the others were facing, they would have to be over soon. I bunkered down in the garrison with my back up against the stone as I sat and waited. I didn’t know when it happened, but I fell asleep, waking up to the misty sky and the ever-present beacon.
I rubbed my eyes and spotted a note etched onto the door. I’d been in such a rush when I’d first passed through, I hadn’t noticed the words.
Headed to the beacon – F, K, N & Z
I frowned as I reread the message, my gut clenching at the realisation that they’d been here and left already. I’d wasted so much fucking time waiting for them when they were already at the beacon.
I snatched a sword and raced from the garrison, following the light towards the finish line. Muddy water soaked my shoes, rising up my pants and adding weight to each stride until I felt like I had cement feet. Pushing on regardless, I darted around trees and ignored the screeches of those fucking bat things in the sky.
One swooped, darting towards me, and I lifted my sword, slicing through its chest and was instantly splattered with its disgusting dark blood in return. I wiped the muck from my eyes with my arm and continued on, eager to see the others and get out of this place.
It was fucked up enough the first time. I really didn’t need the second visit.
My chest heaved as I reached the crater and surged onward, fully aware that a dragon dwelled within this hellhole. I just needed to get a coin and get out of there.
“Fallon!” I shouted, searching for her hot ass. “Princess!”
No reply and no sign of her or the guys either.
A thumping roar echoed overhead and I looked up, expecting the beast but instead finding a helicopter. It hovered above the crater, giving me a chance to see its occupants.
I shouted, waving my arms to draw the attention of Fallon, Zane, Noah and Kayden, sitting within.
I got no reaction. Nothing.
The void I’d sealed so long ago cracked open as I raced after the helicopter, not giving a shit about the dragon or fucked-up bats that would no doubt find me shouting at the top of my lungs.
Fallon and the guys still didn’t notice me. They were truly going to cut and run, not giving two shits about leaving me behind.
My heart hurt, the ground feeling as though it was being ripped out from under me like a tablecloth in some cheap magic trick. My life was just a show—fucking entertainment for those around me.
Shit for brains. I’d done it again.
I wasn’t looking where I’d been going and crashed into something hard. I stumbled over the chest, finding it empty of all coins. It didn’t help that I landed with the grace of a baby horse into the dirt. “Fuck,” I growled, rolling onto my back after faceplanting spectacularly.
My chest heaved as I stared up at the helicopter slowly disappearing from view. They’d left me. My ribs seemed to cave in, an unbearable tightness settling in my chest as my heart thudded and my breath became short and fast. I closed my eyes, letting myself be the pathetic excuse for a human I was, notcaring about the monsters in the fucked-up marshland that I was in.
Water seeped into my clothes, chilling me to the bone, though I shook from more than just the cold. They had left me. Fallon had saved herself…
Except that wasn’t her style.
The princess was loyal to a fault. So much so, she was determined to find Victoria’s killer, despite her sister treating her like shit. And the guys… they had proven time and again that we were a team. In the short span I’d known them, they’d been more loyal to me than anyone in the Drakes ever had.
Fuck.
My eyes snapped open, and a laugh burst from my lips. I stuck my middle finger towards the sky and shouted at the top of my lungs. They had underestimated me, and I was sure as shit not going to let that happen again.
“You almost had me motherfuckers!” I shouted, a wicked grin on my face. “But it’s gonna take more than this to take Atticus ‘Fucking Ace’ Warner down!”
Thedoorshutwitha resounding thud, followed by a lock clicking into place. The room I was in vanished in a blink, replaced with a familiar world that had my heart skip. The smell of pine was all around me, the fresh air filling my lungs and settling deep within my soul. Tall trees loomed overhead, home to the many creatures that lived amongst their branches. I took a few steps, the pain in my leg gone as my eyes adjusted to the low light and my shoes crunched the leaves beneath me as I made my way beyond the tree line.
The early evening sun illuminated the plateau before me in a rich orange light. The lush green grass spread far and wide, with the city at its centre. The heart of The Verdant Plateau.
