Page 73 of A Sea of Secrets
He had a point. Luna was looking stunning as always, though noticeably ashen and withdrawn from her perch in the corner. Nolan stood beside her, the permanent scowl on his face etched even deeper tonight. They were clearly aware of Jeremiah’s death, though I had to wonder if they’d had any inkling of what he was up to. There had been no fallout after I’d painted the House Jupiter crest on Jeremiah’s body, so I could only assume my father had someone clean up the evidence before any staff found him.
Luna caught my gaze and offered a strained smile. She looked around her cautiously, then to my surprise, she whispered something to Nolan and waded through the crowd towards me.
“Fallon,” she said cheerfully as she clasped onto my arm with a death grip. “You look stunning tonight. So good to see you made it through the trial.”
Before I could reply, she pulled me in with surprising strength and wrapped her arms around me. “What—” I began.
“You need to get out,” she whispered. “Leave tonight with your friends, before it’s too late.” I didn’t have time to respond before she pulled away again, a smile pasted on her face. Aloud, she finished with, “Enjoy tonight’s festivities.” Then she was gone.
I looked at Ace, blinking a few times. “What the hell just happened?”
“No clue, but we don’t have time to question it, Fallon. Celeste’s speech was the cue, and Zane is now in position.”
I looked through the crowd to find Kendra, who gave me a smile and a nod. I caught a flash of blond nearby but… I didn’t want to look at his face right now. I couldn’t bear it.
With a heavy heart, I turned to Ace and leaned in, losing myself in the feel of his lips against mine. His tongue curled, the taste of champagne bubbling against my own. He slid his hands onto my waist, then down to cup my ass as he devoured me. It was always like this with him. Never halfway and alwayseverythingI needed, which was all of him. A part of me wanted to forget our mission, forget Zane, and just disappear into the night with him.
The other part was mentally slapping me across the face and telling me to think with my brain head, as Kendra so lovingly put it. I stepped away, already mourning the loss of Ace’s warmth, and nodded.
“Alrighty then. Let’s grab ourselves a weapon.”
Theblacktuxchafedas I strode from the ball. I hated wearing penguin suits, even if this one was all black and better quality than I’d ever worn. Still, I felt like such a fucking idiot—like some arrogant ass who thought far too highly of himself. The only people I’d ever seen wear a tux always had something to hide. It was as if they felt some fancy suit would keep their secrets. Little did they know, their pompous armour only served to make them a bigger target, especially in the DH.
The academy grounds were empty and quiet, with most Potentials, staff, and guests at the ball. The few people I saw were having not-so-secret rendezvous. That was exactly the kind of cover I wanted to use with the princess to get out of the ball without suspicion. We’d almost hidden behind a curtain at the ball, but she was right, it would have been too much of a tempting distraction. Now Fallon was off with Kendra and therewas no way I was telling anyone I was hiding in the bushes with Kayden.
Creeping around was quiet and stealthy with Noah, but having a giant boulder following me around was less so. To his credit, Kayden was trying to be quiet. At least, I assumed his heavy steps were unintentional. He had just as much on the line right now as I did. Kayden couldn’t help that he wasn’t built for stealth. It wasn’t like he was deliberately sabotaging us. Unlike Zane. That motherfucker. I clenched my fists as rage simmered within me. I was going to beat the living shit out of that traitor as soon as this was done.
“What’s up with you?” Kayden asked, nudging my side. “Wouldn’t have thought you’d be the nervous type.”
Keeping a cool head was necessary at a time like this, but my head was hot as hell and I needed to vent. “Did Fallon tell you about the fucking merman?”
We turned a corner, sticking to the shadows as we drew closer to the main building. Kayden chuckled. “What ridiculous nonsense did he get up to now?”
“Sand-for-brains met with her dad,” I replied, the words bitter on my tongue. There was no good reason for Zane to have done that. None whatsoever.
“No fucking way,” he said, like he thought I was joking. Then he saw my face and ran a hand through his hair. “Shit. Are you sure?”
“The princess saw him, and she wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
Kayden looked something between hurt and confused, then his emotions seemed to settle into a good, healthy anger. He massaged his fist in his hand. “I’m going to beat him to a pulp.”
“Get in fucking line,” I hissed, lowering my voice and pointing to our entrance. “This way.”
Lights on either side of the door glowed in the night, and the sound of the ball could only faintly be heard in the distance. I flicked a finger, sending electricity flying from its tip, and blew out both lights, plunging us into darkness. We hurried towards the entry and headed inside the main building, finding the hallways dim as the emergency lighting kicked in to illuminate the bottom of the walls.
“If you can turn off all the lights, why didn’t you fuck with the security system too?” Kayden asked in a low voice.
I headed left, the big guy following. “Different circuits. And I don’t know enough about the breakers and fail-safes to be sure it would work. I could have set off a lockdown and then what the fuck would we do?”
“Okay. Good point,” Kayden huffed at my side.
We followed the map in my head, making our way towards the meeting point with Fallon and Kendra. Noah and Dick should already be in position, waiting for us to get there and open a few cheeky doors. I’d shown Noah and Dick how to do it, and whilst Noah had scrunched his face in concentration, Dick’s eyes had lit up. Fucking code camp.
Kayden raised a hand before me. “Hold up.”
I froze, looking at where several moving shadows grew larger in the distance around the corner. The sound of boots on pebble followed shortly after.
Kayden edged forward, looking around the wall. “Guards.” He reached towards me, gripping my bicep. “Hold onto your hat.”
