The train pulled in to their stop. Arden and Colin pushed their way out, avoiding the unmanned robots that periodically stopped passengers to check for contraband. They flowed with the crowd out of the station and onto the street, using the moving sidewalks to get them out of the hub faster.
There were no hovercars or speeders in Undercity. It was far too crowded and the streets too narrow for that. They had their own transportation not used in the Levels. Most commuters had a hoverboard or a speedpack that just sort of skimmed along the ground. Arden wasn’t opposed to using either option, but she preferred walking. It was easier to get through the tight, crowded spots, and it attracted less attention.
Their destination was a run-down urban neighborhood that had sprung up in what once had been the financial district of Undercity. Once there had been industry, as well as trade between Undercity and Above. People had moved freely into the Levels and back. That had ended, so there was no longer a need for these relics of commerce.
Banking institutions had been gutted, and the ground level had been converted into shops and bars. On the upper floors, hundreds of apartments were squeezed into the space. Rickety stairways had been erected alongside the buildings to create separate entrances.
“Taking over Lasair is the last thing you need,” Colin said.
“Who said I’m doing that?” She didn’t want Niall’s position as gang leader. It came with far too much responsibility. And she wasn’t in the gang because she believed in its principles or liked dealing drugs. It was simply a way to survive, and she’d taken it. There weren’t any other choices. It wasn’t ideal, but it had been her best option, plain and simple. She felt regret about a lot of things. She refused to add anything else to her list. “I have no intention of taking over. Please don’t start rumors.”
“People are already talking about it.”
“Why would they do that?”
Colin looked at her, his expression incredulous. “Because you’re in Niall’s face all the time. Publicly questioning his every move. Undermining his every idea.”
“I’m helping him, not plotting a coup.” Even though Niall was her brother, if he heard a rumor that she was scheming to take over, he’d end her life, quickly and efficiently. Nothing got in the way of his leadership. “If I’m going to die, I prefer it to be on my terms.”
“I’m telling you to watch yourself. Stop stating your opinions so vocally.”
That would be a problem, and they both knew it.
Colin kicked several pieces of trash out of the walkway and into the collected piles that lined the street, before stepping over a puddle of water. “You could go back to school.”
Arden laughed.
“I’m serious,” he said.
She shook her head. “That didn’t work out so well the first time.”
“No one made you drop out.”
Arden pressed her lips together, refusing to think about that time in her life. In a lot of ways, high school was worse than the streets. “It doesn’t matter. My life is good enough.”
“It’s not the one you should have.”
Arden tried to shake off her frustration, convinced he was being deliberately annoying. No one had any choices. Not in this city, at least not in Undercity or the Levels. Maybe the Solizen could do as they pleased.
“What do you think I’m owed?” she asked, knowing the aggression she used to keep others from getting too close had hardened her question. “It’s not like we’re afforded any opportunities. It’s not like I was lucky enough to be born a Solizen, or even a citizen of Above.”
The Solizen were the descendants of the original investors and privateers. They’d financially supported the company that’d colonized this city. They’d reaped the benefits of their status with dictatorship-like rule. Even though they’d established city government to “help the people,” the Solizen had been in control so long that the balance had never been restored. Arden and Colin’s ancestors had been members of the mining crew. Even after all these centuries, after breaking from the Old Planet and setting up sovereign territories on this world, they couldn’t shake their fate.
She stopped to face him, hands on her hips. “Get to the point.”
“I worry about the gang and the whispers. I worry that Niall is acting illogically and that you’re going to get swept up in the blowout. I get your loyalty to your brother, and it’s admirable, but the gang is a sinking ship.”
“You’re loyal to my brother too.” At least she thought he was. Now she wasn’t so sure.
“I’m loyal to you.”
The thought warmed her. “You’re saying that if I get out, you’d come with me?”
“No, I’m saying the gang is going in a direction that concerns me. Niall is unstable and getting worse. It’s not your job to save him.”
Was that what she was doing? Sometimes she seemed to be playing a long game, but she had never been sure of exactly what she wanted.
No family was perfect—hers was certainly questionable. She could admit that. And maybe her family members didn’t deserve her loyalty. But they were her family. And family supported each other no matter what.
“If he’s pressuring you . . .” Colin left the rest of the thought unsaid.
Arden sighed. “I can handle it.”
He put his hand on her arm and gave a little squeeze. “All I’m saying is that today is a good example of you slipping. Instead of focusing on staying alive, you show up late and with your neck cut. Am I not supposed to be concerned?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said, and willed herself to believe it.
CHAPTER THREE
By the time Dade caught his breath, Arden was gone.
He’d never met a girl so enchanting. The way she’d effortlessly taken his knife had been a shock. He wasn’t dumb. He knew his life had been at risk the moment he’d felt her hand slip into his pocket. Still, he’d been foolish enough to think of her as a girl and not as a potential threat. Which made the cat-and-mouse game she’d played all the more stimulating. He’d even felt as if he had been in control at certain points, and now he realized that was what she’d intended.
It was a mistake he wouldn’t make again.
She’d practically glowed with confidence, like a star so bright that he couldn’t draw his gaze from her. Everything about her enchanted him, from the adorable freckles that bridged her nose to the curls wildly escaping the intricate knot of long golden-brown hair. When she’d smiled, his entire world had tilted on its axis.