Nikola

"Very well, kill her then."

My father's expression is a mask of collected charm and cruel amusement. I sit in a smaller less elaborate throne next to him with a similar mask.

Kneeling before is us is a fifteen your old girl. Bruises mar her skin where the guards manhandled her. I feel obligated to help her in some way but one look at my father's expression tells me to stay put. 

I know what she has done. She has conspired with the rebels and the punishment for rebellion is death. Sweat drips down my pale neck because I too am one of them and if father were to find out, he'd have me skinned alive and find some pauper off the street to replace me as Prince Heir. I'm scared and I should be. 

As I penetrate the girl's mind, I can feel her fear of suffering the Chancellor's wrath, the anger at herself for being caught. She meets my eyes and my collar suddenly feel tight. This girl is my friend and I am utterly powerless to help her. 

A red-armored guard walks towards her wielding a long katana and I see the girl start to take. 

"Sora Yanamoto, you have been accused of treachery and treason by the High Council of Stella. You are guilty as charged. How do you respond to these charges?" Father's voice is as swift and elegant as the katana that will be used to kill Soru. 

"I fully accept these charges." She says unyieldingly. "You, your majesty have become a pawn in your own game. This is no longer the flourishing planet we used to be. We are the only ones who can restore Stella to her former glory." 

She's right. She has never been more right. And when father orders for the guards to carve her up and nail her body over his throne, I break into her head and kill her before she can feel the pain.

Later, our family dines. Father, me, my younger sister Alina, and my younger brother Toma, all sitting in elaborate chairs in front of a long mahogany table. I look down at my plate of food. I have barely eaten any but that is because I have no appetite. I feel ungrateful for it so I ask my father if I can bring it up to my room but I don't wait for his reply. 

I tell my maid Katerina to pack it up and send it to the poor. It's better to have the masses support when planning a rebellion.

I don't know how long I lie in bed. I only know that I toss and turn, trying to find a lump in my pillow, counting the tiles in my ceiling. I'm waiting for this tower to fall asleep and I'm about to give up when the hum of electricity shuts off and the floor falls quiet. 

I bolt up from the bed and tiptoe to the window, almost forgetting to throw a cloak over my blue striped pajamas. I struggle for a moment to open the window until it slams open. I freeze, hoping that no one woke up in my pathetic struggle with the window. I could have used magic, but my hand trace to the grey stone collar around my pale throat. If I use even a sliver of my power without permission, my father will be alerted immediately. 

Shuddering, I climb over the ledge and allow my legs to dangle from it. When I look down I realize we must be at least two hundred floors up. I don't like heights, which is ironic considering I live in a five hundred story skyscraper. The cars look like fluorescent colored ants from here, filled with sounds of the city. 

Soon, a hover picks me up so I can be taken to the rebel base. 

"Had any trouble getting here?" I ask Sadya. Her face is covered with a deep purple cloak.

She frowns for a moment at my Saros accent but breaks into a smile immediately afterward. "Ran into a couple of guards, but other than that it was fine." 

An awkward moment of silence passes between us as Sadya looks like she's going to cry. "I'm sorry about Soru," I say softly. She grips my arm tightly. 

"It's not your fault Niki." She whispers and I wince at the name. It was my fault, I almost say. I stood back and did nothing my father gave the orders to have her tortured.

"You made her pain go away. You did all that you can." She says as if she knows what is going on inside my head. Her eyes flicker to my collar. 

"Any way to get that off?" She asks but I shake my head. "There's a clip in the back, but my father will find out and we'll all be in trouble." 

"Are we scheduling a mutiny among the guards?" She asks. For this, I nod. I already have the support of the citizens and the only things stopping them from overthrowing our government are the guards. If we can turn them against my father, Stella will be ours. 

"In about a week," I respond. 

We ride in silence for the rest of the trip. I take this opportunity to watch the large moon rise over the city. Since Stella is one of the ten moons of Saros, we can see our neighbor Gemina rising large and proud. Some worship Gemina, considering it a goddess, but I don't.

"We're here." Sadya finally says, after maneuvering the hover into a tunnel underground.

Underground. It is where everything happens. Neon City is just a mask to hide the countless history of struggles and revolution that go on in its depths. 

Sadya stops under a large mechanic tree and motions for me to get out. She pulls a keypad from the pocket of her cloak and types in something I can't see. "What's that?" I ask her curiously. 

"Oh, it's just the password to get into the base." I have been part of the revolution ever since I was fifteen but we have never stayed in a base for more than two months. This time, it's burrow under a mechanical tree. 

The tree trunk opens up. I tentatively walk towards the opening and give Sadya a nervous glance. She grins and tells me to get in. But slowly climb on the edge, I'm immediately hit with a wave of panic. 

Suddenly a pair of hands shove me inside and I am lost in the murky depths below me. 

Riding down the chute feels kind of like a rollercoaster. From the skidding above me, I can tell that Sadya has followed me down. We plop down onto a pile of autumn leaves, sending bits of red and orange all over our hair and clothes. I pick a red leaf out of Sadya's black hair. She pulls a flashlight out of her pocket and shines it in my face, making me groan.

"Well, well, if it isn't our favorite prince and our worst navigator." Comes a voice from the shadows. Sadya laughs and shines her flashlight at the voice.

"Clover," I say as I stand up. 

"You come back after weeks and all you say is my name?" Clover acts offended before breaking out in a smile. "Come on, I'll show you around." He pats my shoulder and puts an arm around Sadya's shoulders. 

Turns out that the rest of the base isn't as dirty as the chute was. Vibrant threadbare rugs decorate the stone floor. I take my circlet off and twirl and start fidgeting with it as a habit. "I take it you wanna see Sloane?" Clover asks, his pale blue eyes shining as I nod. 

"She's right around the corner. I'll take you to her." Sadya pushes Clover aside, grabbing my arm and pulling me through the hallway. 

"Tell me that she's in a good mood today." I plead.

"See for yourself." She practically throws me into a circular room with a beat up gaming chair sitting in the middle. In it, sits a young woman whose head barely reaches the top of the chair.

"Long time no see, Nikki." She says, her voice loud and clear.

"I told you I don't like being called that Sloane," I say nervously. Despite her short stature and youth, we're all scared of Sloane because she has fire magic and isn't scared to use it. I found out the hard way when I put cellophane wrap over her toilet and she burnt the tip of my hair. I couldn't get the stench of smoke off me even after a week of cutting it. 

"You're in no position to bargain." She says in a stern voice. I wait for her to turn around but it never happens. Her voice softens. "I heard about Soru."

I say nothing.

"Whatever you may tell yourself boy, it isn't your fault. It was your father's and we will do everything we can to avenge her death."

I nod and she motions for me to sit down. 

I sit. Sloane turns around.

"How are things with your father?" She asks.

I groan. "It's the same as always. He's paranoid. I can't even use my magic without his permission anymore. I touch my neck and Sloane doesn't miss my movements. 

"Can I?" She asks in a voice I have never heard her use. 

"Of course." I smile weakly. Her small hands brush my neck and scrape the cool band of stone around her neck. "This'll be the first to come off, I promise." She says solemnly. "As soon as we destroy the Chancellor." 

Suddenly the door slammed open revealing Clover and both of them jumped. "What do you want?" Sloane practically hisses.

"Uh, Sloane. There's a girl at our entrance. She's nowhere from these parts." Clover adds quickly before Sloane tears him apart. 

"You take care of this. Only disturb me if she turns out to be hostile." Sloane turns to me and I get up. 

I follow Clover to the entrance from where Sadya and I came in, and find a girl unconscious among the leaves. "What the hell?" I ask.

Clover shrugs. "We just found her here. What do we do with her?" 

I kneel down and brush away the leaves. I can see the nerves underneath her flushed skin. I pick her up and turn to Clover. "She's injured. We should take her to Med Bay?"

 He shrugs again. "We don't know who she is." He mumbles.

"Still, we can't just let her die. She might have crucial information regarding the Chancellor." 

"That's what you're for, mate, but why not." He says almost incoherently. I narrow my eyes, noticing how suspicious he's been with this.

"Do you know something about her?" I ask. Clover shrugs for the third time. "Nothing more than you do." 

I decide to leave it at that as we make our way towards the Med Bay. All of a sudden, a hand grabs my arm and I almost lose my grip on the girl. "What're you doing Sadya?" I ask sharply as I struggle to pick her up again. 

But I pale at the expression she wears. "What's wrong?"

"I-It's the Chancellor." She stammers. "They've found us."

_______________

Authors note:

Hey people, it's me. It took me a while to update cuz I was in Florida for two days, but now I updated and it's longer than my previous chapters so yay. Quick question for you guys. Have any of you read the Thousandth Floor series by Katherine McGee because I finished the first book and I loved it so much. That ending was so unexpected. Also, I'm on the third book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger and I think I may have found my newest obsession so you'll probably be seeing some fanfiction for that soon. 

Thanks for reading, bye!