INDIGO

I ran up the staircase, quiet as possible. Normally, I would've listened for voices to find a sign of people, but the stadium was vibrating so hard, it was making the stairs shake. Not to mention, there were plenty of Streeters walking in and out of the watching areas to use the restrooms or make their way to the food stands and there was no way to know which was a Raven.

I followed Wolf's instructions to the other side of the stadium and made my way behind the seated area, scouring each level. There were still two more floors to search and only thirty seconds left before the meeting took place. I wasn't even sure if I was in the right place.

I rubbed my scar in frustration. The only thing that kept Nisa at bay and the others from locking me up again was this job. It was so that I could prove myself. If I messed this up, I would no longer have a home with the Rebels. And, as a former Assassin who knew all of their secrets, I would be a risk to them. It was likely that if I didn't succeed, I would have my head delivered back to the Golden Palace in a box.

Wolf knew that. It was partly his idea, and yet, he waited until the last second to tell me the necessary information. Maybe that was part of the test. Or maybe he just wanted to see me fail. Whatever the case, we needed to have a little chat after this was over.

I ran down the floor, looking into the side hallways branching away from the main area. There were people in quite a few, though from the brief lookovers I gave them, there wasn't anything that stood out.

At last, I looked into a hallway with a blonde boy talking to an older man. From their relaxed stance, I walked past them, moving on to the next hallway, when I stopped in my tracks. I never forgot a face and the boy looked familiar. Where was he from?

I backtracked and peeked around the corner, making sure I wasn't spotted. I looked at the boy again, trying to sort out where I'd seen him from. Finally, I realized who he was.

Trevor from Los Demonios.

When we went on our diablo mission during the last school year, we mingled a little with the Streeters in the city to confirm the stories of the diablo's activities. Trevor was a Streeter who happened to be around and buy me flowers. I forgot that he even existed.

Was he a Raven?

I looked down at his forearm which was covered by his jean jacket despite the astounding warmth of the city. That's where his Raven tattoo would've been. I thought back to my brief interaction with him and remembered wondering why he wore a full sleeve white shirt in the LD heat. Now I knew.

My luck with boys is tragic.

I needed to get closer to hear what they were saying. Almost instinctively, I looked up. The metal rafters in the ceiling were wide enough for me to crawl across. I just needed to get up there. Nearby a water fountain hung against the wall, the backside digging into the wall and creating a sort of niche all the way up.

Perfect.

Avoiding the area from which people would be drinking, I stepped onto the water fountain. I pressed my hands and legs against each side of the wall and used the tension to hold me up. Slowly, I moved each hand and foot, inching up the wall. It had been a while since I attempted anything of the sort and my muscles ached, but it was strangely freeing. This was natural to me, unlike the last few months of hiding.

Hoping no one would walk this way and find some random girl climbing up to the ceiling like a frog, I quickened my pace. Finally, I reach the top. Now, for the hard part. I bit my lip and pressed harder against the sides of the wall as I let go with one hand. I reached up for the lower edge of the rafters, stretching my arm as far as I could.

When a man walked by, I nearly lost my grip. Thankfully, he didn't look my way. I looked back up at the rafters and stretched my arm further, cursing the short genes my mother passed on to me. At last, I wrapped my hand around the metal of the rafter and hoisted myself up.

I balanced across it and edged closer to Trevor and the man. They were still conversing in hushed tones. When I was nearly right above them, I kneeled to listen closer. I caught bits and pieces of their conversation.

"We'll pay you double..." Trevor started. "Just complete this one task... won't even have most of the work..."

His voice drifted too quiet for me to hear, though I caught one phrase.

"...the Golden Palace..."

What the hell do they want with Cressida?

A few moments later, the man grew frustrated and his voice rose.

"I'm a hitman, not a smuggler!"

"You won't be doing the smuggling. You just need to guard the package as it passes through here. We believe it's a very volatile area with another party wanting it as well. All you will be doing is taking down anyone who gets in our way."

"Look, I'm not a direct combat type of guy. I fight in the shadows. I will be useless to you."

"Don't worry. Our plans require your specific skills. That's why we sought you out."

"What plans?"

"You will receive them after you've agreed," Trevor tilted his head. "Do you?"

"It's dangerous. I don't know what you're trying to sneak out of the Golden Palace, but whatever it is, I would be in trouble with the Crowns. I hope this is worth it."

"It is. And, as I said, you will be paid twice your typical price."

"Make it three times more."

"Deal. Do we have an agreement?"

The man took a deep breath and nodded.

"Good," Trevor reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick group of folded paper. "These plans are to remain only on paper, no digital files or you will be caught. Your advanced fee will be waiting for you in the car. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us."

"How?" the man asked.

"We'll know when you want to speak."

"How? Are you stalking me?"

Trevor shrugged his shoulders and the previous air of formality seemed to melt away. "I don't know, man. That's just one of the scripted lines they made me memorize. But yeah, they're probably stalking you."

"If you have enough skilled guys to spy on me, why don't you just use one of them as your guard?"

"Not your business."

"But you know why?"

Trevor nodded. "I'm one of the people doing the smuggling."

The man shook his head. "You're going on a suicide mission for some mysterious psychos?"

"No, I'm going on a suicide mission for some mysterious psychos who could overthrow our common enemy and preserve our way of life."

"Whatever man. You just better not die. I'm expecting my money."

"Don't worry. You'll get your money whether I die or not, as long as you don't die first," Trevor turned on his heel. "See you alive."

"See you dead."

The two parted on their own separate ways, acting as if they didn't know each other, and blended back in with the crowd. I was left alone, mind spinning. Why did the Ravens want to infiltrate the Golden Palace? What was so precious that they would risk sneaking in and out of the most secure place in the nation?

Almost on cue, another girl walked around the corner and I almost fell off the rafters once I saw her face.

Trysha Dayholt. Chance's older sister.

She looked strange in Streeter rags as she walked with the same purpose I'd seen her peruse the school in. I expected her to be halfway across the world by now, hiding in Variatus where her skin color would've been more common. But here she was, the last living member of the Dayholt family.

Memories came flooding back: the cavern, Chance revealing his secrets, his murder of Echo, the Crowns manipulation. It all came in one wave that nearly swallowed me under. The images of Chance falling to the ground, covered in blood, dead, and next to the person who died to save his life but to no avail. I spent hours thinking of Axe, but I pushed Chance away, unsure of whether I was supposed to grieve him or despise him.

"You can come down, Indigo," Trysha called, not looking up. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, doing my best to push away the thoughts flooding my mind, though they still rattled me.

I jumped down and rolled to my feet, standing a few yards in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "Aren't you supposed to be gone by now?"

"Aren't you?" she retorted.

"I'm just missing, not on the 'Wanted' list."

"I have unfinished business," Trysha answered. "So do you."

I only responded with a question."How did you know I was here?"

"I knew the meeting was taking place and, knowing your attack preferences, I took a wild guess."

"Right," I whispered to myself as I remembered. "You're a part of the Ravens."

"I left in the middle, but then they sent a message, and I just-"

"What are they trying to steal from the Golden Palace?" I cut her off.

She looked hurt, and maybe she truly was since she was rarely ever so compassionate, but I've had enough of people with hidden motives. I didn't want to hear her excuses.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

I waited and her expression steeled as she said, "They're trying to get your mother."

There was a moment of blank stares before the words truly registered. My mother? The one who was in jail? The one who tried to kill me in order to save herself and Father from her own mistake?

"Why?"

"I don't know," Trysha admitted. "But think. What could they use your mother for?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. She just a waste of space."

"Information," Trysha corrected. "Your mother was a very close friend to the Crowns and likely learned plenty of dirt on them. And then she tried to murder her own daughter and killed her loving husband, despite having healthy relationships both and not possessing any psychopathic qualities. And then, after getting close to the Crown Heirs yourself, you went missing. It's obvious the two of you have information on the Crowns, and the Ravens are about to infiltrate an impenetrable fortress to get it."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, if they manage to get Eveleen Fluor out and pry information from her, the most important thing they're going to learn is about you. You're the last living illegitimate child and true Heir of the Crown Fortier."

She paused, waiting for my reaction, but when I didn't say anything, she continued.

"All the Ravens would have to do is conduct a simple DNA test and out you to the whole nation. And, if they can break into the Golden Palace, they sure as hell can kidnap you when you have no other protection. They will capture you and keep you alive so that the Crown could never legally be passed down to Arielle Fortier. The Court of Assasins, the very foundation the Crowns stand on, would crumble in on itself through infighting while the Ravens hold the key to the nation.

"The Ravens would become the most powerful people in the nation and they wouldn't even need to start a war to do so. We would start the war for them."

I studied her, running through all of the information she told me, until I finally asked, "Aren't you a Raven? Don't you want the Ravens to succeed?"

"Yes, but not like this," Trysha said and took a step forward. "Indigo, I lost Chance to the Crowns. I lost my parents to the Crowns. My real family was dead long before then. I have no one but you. You were always my friend, but you're Chance's biological sister. That makes you my sister. I won't let what happened to Chance happen to you."

The world was too hot and my mind too blurry. The Ravens wanted me to claim power for themselves. The Crowns still wanted me to keep their secrets hidden. The Rebels wanted to use me to their advantage. Trysha wanted me to heal her own guilt. Everyone wanted me for themselves, for their own benefit, whatever the reason.

I was sick of it. I was sick of being used and thrown to the side. I was sick of being the toy in someone's hands who cowered and did their bidding until they got bored and passed me to the next waiting grasp.

I looked back up at her and clenched my fists.

"No," I snapped. "No. I'm not your sister. Chance isn't my brother. I'm not the daughter of a monster. I'm not a Fortier. My name is Indigo Fluor. I was raised by a Fluor and I have the Fluor family ring. No one else. And you think some Ravens frighten me? My mother tried to kill me when I was ten, my father died for me, the closest thing I ever had to a sister died after she tried to manipulate me, and the last two friends I had died in my arms, and yet I'm still standing. The Ravens want me? Let them try."

Without waiting for her answer, I turned on my heel, making my way back to the general area of the stadium. I didn't want to hear what she had to say next. I didn't care.

"They'll still come for you and your friends will go down with you!" she called after me. My stride didn't falter.

Trysha continued, "You could stop this before it begins! I left all the information I have on the mission with one of your spies!"

I didn't turn, though I noted the information.

"Save your mother before it's too late, Indigo!"

I didn't give any indication that I heeded her warning as I turned around the corner and left her alone in the hallway.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

And, in case some of you haven't seen this, I'm starting a new story!

It's titled Elmwood and I'm currently in the setting-up stage. However, right now I'm trying to figure out what cover I should use, so it would be really helpful if you could head on over to the story page under my profile and just take a few minutes to vote for your favorite one. I'll leave a link in the comments of this paragraph.

Voting for Elmwood closes on Tuesday, March 9th, 2021.

Hope you're all having a great day! Love you guys! Bye!

~Sreenija Paruchuri, The Psycho Queen