Plutonian

Chapter 74

My communicator buzzes busily in my side pocket and I quickly take it out. 

"Lucian," I say breathlessly as I side step a Plutonian and make my way to the entrance of Onyx. 

"Aria, where are you? I thought you would be home," He pauses for a moment and the disappointment in his voice is so clear it makes me wince. "I thought you would be home tonight."

He struggles to get out those last few words and I place my palm on the smooth glassy stone wall to steady myself. We've been having the worst time ever since he made that unilateral decision to fight in the pits against Lazarus for leadership.

I'd just lost Cassandra, someone I cared about deeply and now Lucian was going to be fighting against someone I utterly despised, someone I knew was capable of murder for power. I had this dirty feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was going to go wrong and when it came to Lazarus I was usually right.

But what kills me is Lucian's naivety and his unwillingness to cancel this whole thing before it gets too late. Our past few nights together have been nothing short of tense because I've been arguing with him to pull out of the match and he has been insistent that I don't have faith in his abilities.

"I need to cover someone at the bar for awhile. I'll be back soon," My words come out strangled as I try to keep the emotion out of my voice. I don't want to be polite, I want to scream at him through the communicator telling him that I would lock him in our room if it meant keeping him safe but I swallow my true feelings and lean my forehead against the cold stone.

"Oh," He says and I can just imagine his expression, eyes cast downward, lips pursed as he struggles to hide his disappointment though he's never been very good at it. 

"Then I guess I'll train for a bit before heading to bed. Goodnight, Aria." It feels like he is saying goodbye and I quickly reply in a burst of panic.

"I'll be back soon. Stay up for me," I say and I sink my teeth into my knuckles to keep from bursting from all my pent up frustration. 

"Okay, see you," He says and then the line is cut. 

I squeeze my eyes shut again pressing the communicator to my ear till it begins to hurt and then I slowly place it into my bag. I walk through the restaurant and meet Rosie by the bar. 

"Hey," I busy myself with wiping the glasses, ignoring Rosie's penetrating stare. 

She is staring at me cautiously while she pours a drink for a customer. She hands it to the tall Plutonian and inches closer till we are standing side by side. 

"We should go now to get the meat. The rest have gone first and we need to help them."

I nod my head and follow her to the back. 

"I heard about Cassandra. Sorry for your loss, Aria," She finally speaks freely once we go through the back door and walk into the darkened corridor. 

I swallow hard and nod my head even though she can't see me. 

"I heard they're shutting down almost everything to watch one of the biggest fights in Plutonian history. Everyone will be watching," She says through the darkness. 

"They are?" I stop walking once we reach the freezer and pull it open quickly. 

"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if the entire planet will be there to watch."

All I can think about is 'S's message and if it can help me stop Lucian from fighting against Lazarus tomorrow. Or if it is a prediction that he will win although that sounds simply too good to be true.