XAVIER

For the first time in years, I felt like an idiot.

I watched the chaos unfold around us, my vision partially blinded by the glaring spotlight, realizing that not only did I fail to foresee this outcome, but I also still couldn't sort out the answers.

It made sense that the Ravens would have a way to detect intruders, but how could it have been this quick? And what was it? Facial recognition? There were no visible cameras anywhere and facial technology in the West wasn't nearly advanced enough to be used within small, hidden cams—numerous evenings spent listening to Damien's arduous rants made me certain of that fact.

A mole within our operation, like Tressa, was a possibility but the Ravens wouldn't have made the fact so obvious and given themselves away this quickly. They would want Tressa to remain within our ranks. They wouldn't be so mysterious about their ways if they were trying to fabricate a narrative. So how did the Ravens sniff us out and why couldn't I see it?

But, given the circumstances, I didn't have the time to dwell. Red lights flickered. Doors fell shut. Ravens shouted to each other. The air smelled of coppery blood. I suppressed the panic rising and took out my gun.

Beside me, Arielle was already flinging her golden blades at the oncoming hordes of rifles and knives. Damien flung out an electric bomb, obliterating a group of Ravens. More came to take their comrade's place.

Phoenix pushed the truck doors shut and pounded on its side, shouting, "Go!"

Tressa peaked out once from the window, hesitating only for a split second, before revving the engine to life. The gasoline filled the air and the truck swerved between the mob, miraculously surviving the rifle fire, before sliding under the exit just as the doors were about to slam shut.

Phoenix looked over her shoulder and nodded at me. She knew just as much as I did that Tressa needed to be out there. Since we were caught so quickly, we would have to move fast. We needed everyone on the outside to be prepared for the plan to move faster than we expected.

Unfortunately, the departure of the truck also left us completely wide open.

The crowd closed in and I took a deep breath.

Think.

I may have made a mistake, but that doesn't mean I didn't have the brainpower to rectify it.

Think.

"Get to the door," I shouted to the other three. It was only a few feet away. "Damien, go through first. Find a door you can hack into and lock behind us without Raven interference. We need to reconvene."

Damien nodded and hightailed toward the small door leading away from the cavern. I shot at the nearest group, making sure they were too occupied to go after him. He placed a small explosive on its surface and ducked as it was obliterated to pieces. He dashed through the door and I counted the seconds down.

Behind me, I could feel Arielle's presence. She was breathing harder than normal, still reeling from her injury yesterday. Gold flashed in and out in the corner of my eyes, leaving only dead bodies in their wake.

I fired at the Ravens around me before glancing at Arielle. Blood stained her hands, dripped from her blades, splattered across her hair. Her eyes were set in focus, but sparkling. This was the heat of the battle—a game, a dance moving at breakneck speeds. This is where she thrived.

Damien ran back to the doorway and waved, catching my attention. I nodded and shouted, "Through the door!"

I ran, avoiding the Ravens' attacks, Arielle and Phoenix on my heels. We dashed into a small hallway as footsteps echoed after us. Flashing red lights led the way through the dark hall.

"This hallway leads to only one other door with a physical lock," Damien explained. "But the door should hold long enough to plot."

I nodded, mostly focusing on the thundering footsteps of Ravens behind us. They were still on our tail. Again, the same questions echoed through my mind.

How?

At last, we left the hall and were emptied into a pitch-black room. Damien slammed the door shut behind us, blocking the Ravens. The lock fell into place. I could barely hear the deep breaths of everyone else over my own.

Silence.

An uneasy tension filled my stomach. There was something wrong.

Why was it so silent?

"Guys," Damien heaved. "The door got locked."

"I hope it is," Phoenix snapped. "The whole point was to get the Ravens off our backs. Is there a damn light switch anywhere?"

There's no pounding on the door. The Ravens aren't trying to break in.

"No," Damien said. "The door locked before I could even."

Dead silence. Arielle cursed under her breath. My thoughts spun.

How were they so prepared?

And then the floor started to move.

The sound of spinning gears and whirring machinery filled my ears as the floor shifted beneath my feet, warping like a platform. I nearly lost my balance, but barely managed to stay upright, trying to discern what was going on in the dark. This wasn't an earthquake. This was a sideways movement, like a wheel twisting.

Faint red lights flickered on and I blinked. The room was a circular cavern, the ceiling far up above, masked in darkness. I was standing in the center of a circular platform. Where there was a floor just moments before, there was only a gaping fall. Before me stood a massive curtain of dark, disabling my vision of the other side of the room.

Arielle stood to my left on another platform adjacent to mine. Damien was to my left, hanging off of the platform and pulled himself back up. I could hear Phoenix cursing from the other side of the room, but I couldn't see her.

Suddenly, the pieces in my mind snapped together. I knew what this was.

Shit.

A loudspeaker crackled to life and the same female voice from the loading dock rang throughout the room.

"Hello, Arielle Fortier, Xavier Kingston, Damien Kingston, and Daria Fortier."

Arielle's eyes snapped to mine, the panic in her eyes clear. Phoenix fell dead silent. My body went cold.

How did they know?

With a click, white lights flickered on, flaring up the walls of the cavern one by one. I blinked against the bright light, adjusting to the blinding white. When I looked up, in place of the darkness obscuring my view earlier was a rising, rigid tower of black, with crevices and hidden traps.

"Shit," Damien cursed.

The speaker crackled again.

"Welcome to the very first Royal Blood Battle."