The Indigo

Prologue

Six Years Earlier

There was too much blood. More blood than should have been allowed to fit in her small body. I needed to make it stop. If you took away my training and position, I was nothing more than a boy. And no boy in the world could fix the damage that was done before me.

Jagged rocks cut through my jeans, my knees pressing against the hard lifeless soil. Leaning in closer, I pushed up the sleeves of my black Henley to my elbows, putting pressure to the wound.

This was messed up. I was fourteen, for gods sake. I should be obsessing over my next game of ratchen, not covered in an innocent girls blood. Fate was a douche. The families started this war, and now here I was cleaning up the mess they made. Our people were dying. She was dying.

"D-Don't move. I-I'm going to help you." Electricity waved along my arm. I was upset. I couldn't afford to be upset.

Blood continued to pool from the puncture to her abdomen, yet through everything, her lips turned up slightly, attempting a small smile. Her eyes were like sapphires, the brightest thing on her pale face. They were locked on me. Suddenly, they grew brighter. She was excited and I couldn't understand why.

"I was brave." She said, answering my thoughts. Her voice cracked as she struggled to breathe. "Just like you." My chest dropped into my stomach and whatever was in it tried to come up. I swallowed it down. The fact that she was awake after so much blood loss blew my mind. She deserved to live more than I did.

Her delicate fingers slipped in my blood soaked hand, trembling within my grip.

I glanced behind me. Where the hell were they? They should have been here by now.

She coughed once and I refocused my attention. Blood covered her bottom lip. The truth hurt, but deep down I already knew. It wouldn't matter if my soldiers got here five minutes ago. Why was I so reluctant to accept it? There was nothing they could do. Nothing any of us could do.

Or maybe there was.

It was prohibited. They would never allow it, especially for someone in my position. With her being half-human it might not even work, but I had to try. It had to work. Losing her wasn't an option.

"Do you trust me?" I asked, my eyes locked onto hers. She nodded weakly without hesitation. I reached my hands out over her stomach and realized it was never her hands that were shaking. It had been mine.

"Now think of me, and I'll think of you." I chanted. A smile immediately sprouted on her lips and she closed her eyes, nodding as she did. She was so cute. If we had met under normal circumstances, I still would have wanted to know her. I would have done anything she'd asked of me as long as it made her smile like that. I wanted to live in a world where that could exist.

I closed my eyes, focusing on her, and what could maybe be a future. Something rustled the leaves behind me and I didn't have to guess what.

"Alec, NO!" A voice bellowed. Great. It was my shadow, Lieutenant Anders. Luckily, it was too late for him to stop me, not that he had a chance of talking me out of it.

A light started to grow from inside my hands and I lowered them against her. They grew brighter and beams burst out the moment our skin touched. We were connected completely, fused together, my skin melting into hers. The light went from golden to blue, flowing freely between us. My stomach seared as we took on the wound together, and within seconds the flow of blood slowed then stopped, her body relaxing visibly as her pain subsided. As the light diminished, her eyes fluttered one last time before closing in peaceful exhaustion. All that was left of the puncture was a faint triangular scar. One that I undoubtedly had too. I struggled to stay awake. The blood loss that I now endured sucked the life out of me.

Shouts called out from the distance and it took me a minute to remember where I was. Someone was pulling me up by my shoulders, their hands spinning me until I was face to face with Anders. "You can't tell anyone about this." He commanded. "I know you didn't ask for this, but you are a leader now." He pushed me backwards toward the call of soldiers. Soldiers that were looking for me. I stumbled for balance. "Go!" He urged again.

She was lying there asleep. I couldn't leave her. If he really thought I was going to, he had another thing coming. A rush of adrenaline sharpened my focus. "I won't let you take her away." I growled, sparks shooting from my fingertips, catching fire to a dry patch of grass. The flames lit up the darkness around us, flickering, our silhouettes' moving back and forth over the ground.

Unlike me, Anders didn't stand ready to fight. The shadows of his worn face looked as haunted as I felt. He watched me, studied me, and then approached me slowly. Placing one hand on my left shoulder. "I will make sure she's safe, Alec. I promise you." His pupils didn't dilate. I knew he was telling the truth. I didn't like what he was suggesting, but I couldn't help but see the reason in it. "She's safer if no one knows about her." His eyes looked away considering something. "That is to say, safer than the rest." He added. His brows knitted together, giving me time to understand his message. I understood it. That didn't mean I was ready to accept it. And of course he could sense my hesitation, because he said the one thing that he knew was sure to convince me. "Do you want this life for her?" He said. I had to swallow hard this time.

My eyes fell to the ground. There she was, alive and well, looking peaceful. That was the important thing, right? Her lip twitched. She even smiled in her sleep. I wondered if she was dreaming. Secretly I hoped it was of me.

If I was given the choice to choose the life I was in now, or one away from it...well, I would choose her. Every damn time. But life was crap, and if I chose her now, she would be the one to suffer. I couldn't condemn her to the danger I was in every day. I didn't get a choice. My life chose me.

I memorized her face and the blonde silky hair spiraling around it. Pulling my eyes away, I nodded. Anders scooped her up in a swift and silent motion.

He paused, turning back to me. "She cannot remember you. Do you understand?" His eyes were sympathetic but his words were certain.

This just kept getting worse. She would never even remember me. Once again, my super advance reasoning skills kicked in. Reason was a douche. "I know." I said, turning my back to him. Being selfish would only cause her pain, and that was the last thing I wanted. I'd shoulder that alone. "Make sure no one remembers her. Whatever it takes to make sure she'll be safe. Do it." Anders didn't speak again. Nothing more needed to be said. The order was clear.

I never heard him leave, but I could feel the pull from her the farther they got. It was nauseating. I didn't have to glance over my shoulder to know that I was alone.

About thirty seconds before they broke out into the field, I heard thestampede of their footsteps 200 yards away. They rushed toward me,assembling in military fashion, waiting for my command. Each one oftheir faces showed dedication. They were twice my age, at least. Judgingby the respect they gave me, you would think I was their senior. Had theychosen this? For most of them, they probably had. It wasan honor among our people. For me, it was an inherited burden. But now I had something to fight for. Itmay not have started out as my war, but I sure as hell wanted to win it.