School of the Crown Assassins

07

I stepped out of my room and locked the door behind me, brushing a hand through my long, straight hair. I had just taken a shower and cleaned myself up after visiting the infirmary and getting some pain killers after they treated my bruises and cuts. My ribs still ached and my arm had a long gash through it, one that would probably scar, but I was fine for the most part. Now all I had to do was wait for the results of the game.

I cast a glance at Axe's door as I headed to the elevators. When Chance woke me up outside woods, he said that he hadn't found Axe yet. We weren't sure if he made it out alive or not. Neither option was good. If he got out of the woods quickly, maybe he thought that he had enough kills already to surpass me.

I knew he couldn't have accounted for the fact that I killed an Alpha, could he? And if Axe was still in the woods, he could be either alive or lying unconscious somewhere. If he was still alive he could rack up more kills after he heard that I had killed an Alpha. And I couldn't help but feel a little worried. The remaining Alphas would be even more vicious now that I had killed one of their own. If Axe came across any of them, they would kill him in the blink of an eye. And if he fought back hard enough, they might do something to hurt him or put him down in real life. He could get seriously injured.

I shook my head. Axe can take care of himself. For now I needed a walk.

I once again made my way to the desolate side of the hill and sat down in the snow. It was my favorite spot to think. I was here earlier than last time and the sun was just starting to set. Hints of blue and purple mixed with the orange blemishes made by the sun's golden rays on the clouds. It was beautiful. But it reminded me of home, and I couldn't afford to think of that place. Not now.

I closed my eyes, trying to erase the memory from my mind, until I felt the scar along my neck itch. My eyes snapped back open and I sat up, gazing down the hill. Sure enough, exactly where he had been last time, the boy with the white eyes stood, watching me.

His dark hair was more visible in the sunset's light. I noticed a white scar cutting across his eyebrow and down his cheek. His white grey eyes were set on me firmly, boring through my soul, tantalizing the hidden knowledge disguised behind them. They reminded me of wolf eyes.

I only waited a second before my body jumped into action. I dashed down the hill, and he turned into the woods. I ran in, trying to follow him, but he disappeared in the shadows before I could. I looked down at the snow and couldn't seem to find any footprints. I looked up and found the trees bare, no sign of the boy hiding in their branches. Where the hell did he go?

I could still feel his eyes on me. He had to be here. I just needed to find him and get some answers.

Then my eyes landed on glinting metal hanging from the lowest branch of a tree. The positioning was too clear, too out in the open. The boy wanted me to find it.

I stepped forward and realized it was a gun. I carefully picked it off the tree, flipped it over, inspecting it in my hands. I paused and my heart stopped. The gold and red family emblem of a rose was etched into the side marking the owner. I recognized it immediately and wished I'd never run into the woods.

It was my mother's gun. And my father's murder weapon.

The gun fell out of my shaking fingers and I stumbled backwards, running out of the woods as fast I could.

♕ ♕ ♕

"You okay? You look like you saw a ghost."

Chance was peering down, brown eyes filled with concern. I took a deep breath and started to notice that I was shivering. I forced myself to still and steady my breathing. I knew that I probably looked pale, but there I was nothing I could do about that now.

"I'm fine."

Chance still looked worried, but he turned back to the front. I could feel Axe's curious still lingering on the side of my face, trying to figure me out. But Axe would never get the answers he wanted, and certainly not from me.

Finally, he turned back to the front and I felt like a pressure had been lifted off my chest. I didn't need him reading my deepest, darkest secrets. Unless he already had. It was possibility that he already figured everything out and just didn't say anything. He was an Intellect, he's smart enough to piece the puzzles together if he tried. I swallowed.

More and more people flooded into the room and I took another deep breath, trying to calm my thoughts. I needed to focus. My current problem was whether I had made it to the Alpha team or not and my next steps for my plan. I would deal with mysterious boy later.

I needed to get on the Alpha team. It was now or never. Once I got in, I would be able to get closer to the Crowns and make them trust me with their secrets. If they didn't trust me, then I would unearth them myself. But I needed to get on the team first. And that would be announced in T-minus thirty seconds.

The three of us were standing at the front, once again in front of the stage. The Alpha team was grouped together a few feet away. I caught Knox sending me glances every couple minutes as he nourished his bandaged arm. I pretended not to notice.

Principal Cartwright climbed onto the stage and gave a short speech before beginning to announce the rankings. Once again, anxiety and anticipation made my hands jittery, but it wasn't as severe as last time. This time I was more positive that I would get rank 6.

Finally, Cartwright flipped to the top twelve's old charts. Once again, Axe and my name fell under the number 7. A golden triangle glowed next to my name, a blue hexagon next to his, indicating what class we belonged to: Unassailable or Intellect.

The chart fell away and blank slots took its place. He announced them up, one by one. They climbed the stage in order, just like last time: Arielle Fortier, Xavier and Damien Kingston, Nydia Raphaella, and Knox Delano.

"And now, it's time for the latest member of the Alpha team. Climbing the charts to rank 6 is an Unassailable who had accomplished a feat that hadn't been done for the past ten years. We welcome the girl who killed an Alpha to rank six."

Whispers and excited chatter spread throughout the room. A grin found itself onto my face. I knew it.

"Everyone, meet Indigo Fluor!"

I climbed the stage, unable to keep down the victorious smirk that had made it's way to my face. I found my place next to Knox, standing straight as the assassins below craned their necks to get a better look at the girl who had killed an Alpha. Chance started to cheer and former friends joined in.

A staff member walked forward and looped a dazzling golden Alpha pendent through my shirt. I looked in the glass across the room, catching my reflection. The golden pendant sparkled brightly against my black shirt. My smile widened.

A few minutes later Axe climbed up next to me, taking his spot in rank seven. He leaned down and asked, the wonder unmasked from his voice, "You killed an Alpha?"

I nodded. I did. I killed an Alpha, one of the best assassins in the nation, and lived to tell the tale. Even if it was only in a game, I felt proud. I was taking my first steps towards my plan and my promise. I was about to turn the tide and shatter the world of everyone in this room. I would do what no other had ever accomplished.

After all, I'm an Alpha now. And I intend to be the greatest of them all.