Mission: NYX || ONC2023 Shortlister

Chapter 6: Fear the Dark

A month passed by quickly. Too quickly for Lucinda's taste. Before she knew it, she had finished two more cases from the Investigation Squad, and Poseidon was once again giving her a new mission after her break. Normally, she would decline. If she didn't feel like she had the energy for a new mission, she would just tell Poseidon no, and she would understand. There were plenty of other assassins in the SCD that might be able to do a better job than her in her current state, after all.

But this time, not only could she not decline, but it was something that every member of the SCD had to do. And she was going to be the most important part of it.

"You're invited to the SCD's charity party?" Viktor had asked her when she first told him about it.

She nodded. "My siblings work for the SCD, so I was invited to be my sister's plus one. It starts at night, but I'm planning to take a full day off to prepare as well."

"The SCD's party is in fourteen days, right?" He rested his elbows on his desk and held his hands together. After a while, he shrugged. "There's nothing important on July fifteen, so sure. Thanks for letting me know. Though I do hope you know that this means you only have three days left of your paid vacation leave, and you can't use Greyson's."

Her ears twitched at the thought. Three days out of fifteen. What on earth did she use those days for? On the bright side, she definitely still had fifteen days of sick leave, but she didn't want to use those.

Still, she nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Viktor."

That was one problem solved. Unfortunately, there was still another, more difficult one.

The sound of fingers snapping in front of her face made Lucinda blink and lift her head. The soft sound of music reached her ears, followed by people talking and utensils clanking. The banquet hall's soft orange lights made her squint, but she quickly regained her focus.

She turned to her right, where her younger sister, Lucia, stood. She retracted her hand back and rested it under her elbow, while her other hand picked up the glass of wine again. She had her hair straightened for the party, making her round ears more visible. Brown eyes scanned Lucinda from the tips of her loose white hair to the ends of her glittering black dress, then to her again.

She chuckled, moving closer. "The hell happened to you? You've been staring at the floor."

Lucinda shook her head. "I'm tired. The party just started, but I'm already done with talking to people."

"This is new. You usually enjoy that." Lucia took a long sip of her wine. "I'm not sure if it's the lighting, but you also look paler. Didn't you take a break?"

"I did. A month long break." She placed her hand on her forearm. It had been hours now, but she could still feel the sharp jab of a needle. "The poison must have made me paler. Some of them can do that sometimes."

"How much time do you have?"

"Five hours, but this one won't kill me. It'll just mix with my blood, like the other poisons that failed." She shook her head once again. "Enough about the mission—we'll deal with that when the time comes. Were you saying something earlier?"

Lucia furrowed her brows and frowned. Frustration was visible on her face, but it seemed like she was concerned as well. "Are you sure it's a good idea to bring Chuchu here?"

Lucinda turned to her left. Next to her, Greyson stood, one hand holding a glass of grape juice while the other held the skirts of her dress. His ears were flopped down, and his eyes kept flicking from left to right. Ever since they arrived at the venue, he stuck to her side like glue. If she wasn't holding his hand, then he was holding her dress.