Page 98 of The Never List
“You’re our mate potential,” Kal says. “You can’t—”
“I can and I will. Don’t leave me behind again, Kal. You promised.”
He sighs. “If you’re harmed…”
“Then I’ll let you take extra special care of me,” I assure him, and he glances up like he’s searching for patience.
The ship is only feet from the dock, but Kal scoops me up and shoots us into the sky.
“See you in a few,” Kal calls down to Jax, who has climbed to the top rung of the railing on the ship, holding on to a cable to steady himself as the ship docks.
Jax waves us off, a manic sort of smile on his face that displays delight in this danger, in this chaos, and it slashes through my fear, my panic, filling my soul with adrenaline and need and a sense of unity as we all race to protect the innocent.
The wind swirls in my blood, the power flexing like the muscles in my body as Kal lands on the edge of the fishing village.
My heart lurches as he sets me on my feet, everything slowing down around me. There are a dozen Faders scattered about the market square, dressed in all gray, their entire bodies covered in the canvas-like fabric, including their heads. There’s a horizontal slash over their eyes so they can see, and the fabric over the rest of their faces is accentuated with an emblem over their left cheek—a red circle with adagger speared through it.
Each of them is strapped with weapons—smaller blades and swords. A few of them even have the more expensive weapons of royalty: magical blasters with the power of the sun to sear through flesh.
They’re destroying every market booth they touch, upturning tables, smashing goods, and attacking anyone who gets in their way. There’s no reason to it—they’re not picking up the food or supplies and shoving it into bags to steal. It looks like they’re creating chaos for the sake of chaos.
“Go,”I urge Kal when he lingers at my side, his muscles tense as he looks from me to where Axl is facing down two Faders at once. “I can keep myself safe,” I assure him when he doesn’t move. “Go.”
He hesitates a moment longer, clearly battling his instinct to stay behind with me, but finally relents and is gone in a blink. He races to Axl’s defense, scooping up one of the Faders and flying with them out of sight. Axl draws water from the ocean, bringing it to the market and wielding it in waves to beat the Faders back. But they’re resisting, managing to hold their ground while using those weapons against the Legends.
A Fader blows something at Axl—a fine dust I can just barely make out from where I stand at the edge of the market square. Axl stumbles backward, the water dropping from his control and splashing in puddles at his feet. He falls to one knee, swiping at the substance clinging to his skin. He flexes his hand behind him, brow furrowed in concentration—
“No!” someone shouts right next to me, and my gazedarts toward the panicked sound. “No! Please, that’s all I have!”
A woman stands in front of a crate of fish packed in ice, guarding it like it’s a lifeline. I recognize the desperation in her voice, the plea written all over her face as her sole source of survival is threatened. Selling that fish probably supports her and a family, if she has one.
I don’t think or hesitate before rushing over to her.
The Fader backhands the woman so hard she hits the ground.
“Stop!” I snap as the Fader tosses the woman’s crate, the fish spreading all across the cobblestone road. They hover over the woman with a short sword aimed at her throat. “Don’t touch her!”
The Fader—I’m not sure if they’re a woman or a man; I can’t tell because of the full-body uniform—whips their head around.
Instinct has the wind roaring in my blood, but I don’t have time to look to see if anyone is watching, so I shove myself between the woman and the Fader, nothing but my body to use as a shield because I don’t carry any weapons.
“I said don’t touch her,” I snarl at the Fader, adrenaline crackling through my veins.
The Fader tilts their head, moving the tip of their sword to aim at me—
A blade hurtles through the air so quickly, I feel the wind from it kiss my cheek before it sinks into the Fader’s shoulder. A sharp whimper escapes the Fader, definitely feminine, as she grabs the knife from her shoulder and spikes it into the ground. She faces me for a second, the gray material of her uniform now stained red, before she runs inthe opposite direction.
Jax stalks toward me like a predator, more blades glistening in his hands as he continues to hurl them through the air, the tips making their marks farther into the market, where there is more fighting.
I turn around, helping the panicked woman to her feet. “Are you hurt?”
She shakes her head, her eyes devastated at the sight of her market goods destroyed all over the ground. “Thank you,” she says. “For protecting me.”
I nod to her. “Run,” I say, motioning to the one path that isn’t blocked by Faders. “Get out of here. I’ll make sure you’re compensated.”
Her eyes are as wide as saucers, surprise and gratitude filling them. “Thank you, your highness,” she says, dipping low at the waist.
She takes off before I can tell her I’m not royalty. I watch her flee until she’s safely out of sight, then turn around to find the battle still raging on.
