“I didn’t think I had.”
“There is a reason your family insists you have protection. You know you shouldn’t walk the Levels without your guard. Especially with that.” She pointed the tip of the dagger at his tattoo. She wasn’t the one walking around with a sign asking for trouble, a sign that served no other purpose whatsoever. “There are too many people who would take advantage of you. Some might kidnap you for ransom—that is, if you’re lucky. Others are far more likely to gut you.” She hardened her voice, hoping to get beyond his anger to make him feel fear, or at least get him to consider making better choices. “I should kill you and leave your body on the streets for the animals to eat. That is what happens to Solizen who don’t stay in their ivory towers.”
Unfortunately, he didn’t seem cowed. If anything, he grinned with delight, and his eyes sparkled with mirth. Any hardness he’d momentarily displayed slipped away as if it had never been. This day and this boy were very odd, indeed.
Plus, how could she criticize him when she doubted her own threat even as the words left her mouth? Could she really kill him now that she’d spoken with him? Found out that he was more? Made him real in her mind? Her stomach clenched, but she swallowed back the sour taste, pointedly keeping her aggressive stance.
“I can take care of myself,” he said, showing none of the weakness she’d expected now that their situation had reversed. He looked as comfortable as she’d been.
Arden acknowledged that he was probably right. He did have skill, though it was evident he’d never fought anyone outside of a training room. The way he hesitated showed he really didn’t want to hit her. Yet that wasn’t the point. She did not want to see him in this position again. Did not want to be forced to kill him. He needed to promise to stay off her streets.
“The real world is a lot different than your Tower,” she said. “People on the streets don’t play by gentlemen’s rules.”
His eyes blazed as his fire came back, and his hands tightened into fists at his side. “I’m not a siskin,” he said, using the derogatory slang for a Solizen. His voice lowered to a growl. “Next time you won’t be able to get away from me so easily.”
Arden sighed. Fine then, if he wouldn’t listen, there was nothing more she could do. This boy was of no consequence, she reminded herself sternly. He was a cog in a family whose members crushed others beneath their feet. Dade could not be separated from them, just as she could not be separated from her family.
That truth resonated deep inside her, letting her know she was doing the right thing.
With a swift series of moves, Arden kicked out, catching Dade in the stomach. She was careful not to kick hard enough to cause internal damage, merely enough to double him over. Strength could be demonstrated in how much she held back, not only in how thoroughly she could beat people to a bloody pulp. Overt aggression was unnecessary for instilling fear.
Before she left, she slipped his knife back into the sheath at his side. She wanted to add a warning that he should never draw a blade unless he meant to kill. Instead, she leaned in close and said into his ear, “Lead with the phaser instead of the knife next time. Never allow your opponent close contact. Don’t hesitate to shoot, and for sun’s sake, keep your pretty head on your shoulders.”
Then she straightened, turned, and walked away.
Each step felt agonizing. No matter what she did, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was leaving something important behind. Arden drew her hood over her face, blending in with the crowd as she turned her thoughts to her upcoming meeting, the one where she would be planning to crush Dade’s family.
CHAPTER TWO
Colin met her at the subtrain station in the heart of Undercity, originally a mining town when the planet was first terraformed and colonized. The mining carts had been relocated when mineral stripping had been outlawed within the city limits. While the energy fields had been left in place and repurposed, the tracks now used sleek, bullet-shaped cars.
He slouched against a crumbling wall with his arms crossed and a booted heel hooked into the crack in the brick. The hood of his cloak had been pushed down to rest on his shoulders, showing his translucent skin and spiky, pale-blond hair. Hidden under the cloak was the body of an assassin, lithe and whip strong, with a phaser at his hip and knives strapped for easy access.
The city was layered vertically: Undercity, then the Levels, and finally the Sky Towers. At ground level, Undercity was fully encased to support Above, the area comprising the Levels and the Sky Towers. Residents of Undercity couldn’t travel to and from the rest of the Levels. They’d been locked in. Arden wasn’t sure why, she only knew that it sucked. Undercity and its people functioned as the backbone of the three-tiered city.
Of course, it didn’t stop her or her gang from moving as they pleased.
Colin cocked his head when he saw her, his narrowed eyes all-knowing. “You’re late.”
Arden avoided meeting her cousin’s gaze. “I had things to do.” Her breath left her mouth in cloudy puffs. The air here tasted rich with thick humidity. The minerals salted her tongue. She pulled her cloak tight about her. Coming home was always depressing. She liked leaving to travel up into the Levels. It might not be much warmer there, but at least it didn’t have the constant wet of below.
She shouldn’t complain. Arden was used to the cold even if she didn’t like it. It had numbed bits of her that never seemed to thaw. Often she wondered if they ever might.
“You’re never late.”
Arden grunted, the sound both acknowledging the truth of his statement and letting him know that she didn’t want to continue this line of questioning.
Unfortunately, as usual Colin had other ideas. “Niall asked why you hadn’t replied to your pings. Your comm has been off all afternoon.”
She made a show of checking her pockets. “I don’t have my datapad on me.”
His raised eyebrow nearly reached his hairline. “That’s odd.”
“It’s been an off day.” That was the understatement of the year. Arden fought not to fidget, because then he’d know she wasn’t telling him everything. Her mind went back over her conversation with Dade. Thinking about him made her feel awkward, an emotion she’d not experienced in forever. It had her walking off, confused, and leaving Colin to catch up.
Not that her lack of explanation could put off Colin. If anything, it would only serve to make him more curious. By the time she reached the pay meters, he stood directly behind her, his face pinched. She refused to meet his penetrating gaze.