Page 62 of A Sea of Secrets
“You’re being awfully quiet, Merman,” Kayden said, looking at Zane who was sitting with his hands clamped between his thighs, his gaze fixed on anything but me. “Anything you want to add?”
“Nope, all sounds good to me,” he replied with a strange laugh.
“You’re being fucking weird.” Ace grimaced. “Act normal or tell us what the fuck is going on. Don’t make me electrocute you.” He snapped his fingers, sparks flying from the tips.
“I’m fine,” Zane said, pulling Fallon onto his lap as though to shield himself from the rest of us. “Stop being fussy fish and focus on the plan.”
Fallon frowned in his arms. “I think we need the others, Lou, Kendra, and Dick. They’ll want to help and we’ll need lookouts and a possible diversion.”
“Good idea, Starfish.” Zane slid her from his lap and jumped to his feet. “I’ll go round up the troops. Catch those fish in my net.”
“I can just message them on the Acadameet app,” Fallon replied, tapping the screen at her wrist.
“Can’t risk it,” he said, voice low as he looked around the room. “Too many eyes and ears around here. Don’t fret, super pod, I’ll be quick!”
Zane darted past Kayden, exiting the room before any of us could say another word. The merman was behaving stranger than usual, but knowing him, it was most likely something silly like him miscounting the fish in the lake and worrying that they had been kidnapped.
“Something’s up with him,” Ace said, his eyes narrowed on the door. “He’s weirder than fucking usual. If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone has gotten to him.”
“I trust Zane with my life. It’s probably just nerves,” Fallon suggested. “We find out who will be ruling Terrulia in a few days. Maybe it’s got him on edge.”
“The merman is too invested in this.” Kayden waved his finger in a circle, indicating all of us. “Now’s not the time to turn on each other, Twiggy.”
“Fallon and Kayden are right,” I added. “We need to be a solid unit. Zane’s eccentricity is only made worse by the stress of this place.”
“You know what else I’m right about?” Kayden asked, pushing off the door and striding towards Fallon. “Zane is going to take a while to find the others, so we have some time up our sleeve. I can think of a few ways to entertain ourselves.”
“Oh?” Fallon leaned back on her hands and looked up at him. “Do share.”
Suddenly, the room felt like an oven as Kayden dropped to his knees before the bed. Fallon held his gaze as she parted her legs, a smirk gracing her lips. She was so beautiful. So perfect. Heat rose in me at the sight of her and the way she looked at Kayden kneeling before her. She was a queen. Our queen.
I didn’t want to share her with anyone other than Kayden, Ace and Zane. Now was not the time, despite the need in me rising. Zane would be back at any moment with the others.
“They could be back any minute.”
“Shut it, Noah,” Ace growled, leaning forward on his chair.
“Is this what you want, beautiful?” Kayden asked, his hands sliding up Fallon’s thighs. “For me to lick you while Ace and Noah watch?”
“Yes,” she breathed, biting her lip.
Kayden chuckled, his head lowering towards her.
“I’m back!” Zane shouted, swinging the door open and causing Kayden to fall back on his ass. “Can you believe it? They were just downstairs. Talk about fate.”
Ace swore under his breath, glaring at Zane. If looks could kill, we’d be searching for a place to bury Zane. Fallon snapped her legs shut, quickly sitting up and tapping the bed next to her. “Come sit,” she told Kendra and Lou as they appeared in the doorway. I caught Kendra giving Fallon a knowing look, a grin tugging at her lips and causing Fallon to flush.
“Alright,” I began once Kayden had found his feet and somewhere to lean his brawny build against. He, like Ace, did not look pleased, and I had to admit I wasn’t happy about the change in events either. “We have a few things to fill you in on.”
I delved into our thoughts on the emblem, of their connection to Jeremiah and then our decision to prioritise the weapon Cormac had sent Ace here to obtain. The trio listened intently, taking in my words, Dick’s face falling with every moment that passed. The guy was unable to hide his true feelings, yet he was courageous even in the face of them.
“We’re in. What’s the plan?” Lou asked, looking around the room.
“We pair off,” Fallon replied. “Each team will have a role.” She looked up at me. “You go in first, sneak into the controlroom and access security. Open doors, bypass locks, and delete camera footage, stuff like that.”
“So simple,” Kendra mused.
“Ace has been working on cracking into the security system for a while, so it should be pretty simple after all his work,” Fallon replied, looking between Kendra and Ace. “Shouldn’t it?”
