Karis, Fallon, and Harsha followed Etta out of the castle on their horses. Since it was useless trying to get to Alana without keys, after some convincing, Etta brought them all back to the Crimson Sailboat to come up with a plan.
"Here she is," Etta said as she walked through the door. There were a few patrons inside and a barmaid waved at them from behind the counter. "My pride and joy. Well, actually, my second pride and joy."
"What's your first?" Fallon asked. Someone at one of the tables glared at her, and she threw them a nasty look back.
"My ship. Down at the port." Etta winked at Harsha. "I used to be a pirate, you know."
Harsha beamed. "Lucky. I've always wished I could sail."
"You know where to find me, Princess."
They all settled down at a table near the back. The barmaid brought over a tray of food on the house, courtesy of Etta, but Karis couldn't eat. There was too much on his mind. He kept running through plans and possible scenarios, hoping that one of them would get Alana out safely. As the others chatted, he stood up and braced his hands on the table. "I'm going after Indigo. They can't be far from here."
Fallon started to get up too. "Well, let's go. We've spent long enough here. It's time to take action."
"No." Karis looked between the three of them. "I need to do this by myself. I can handle Indigo. You two can stay here with Etta and look for the Scepter. If anything, we need to get to that before Indigo does."
"You can't handle Indigo by yourself, Karis," Harsha stated. "We've all tried."
"And that's why I'm going to catch them by surprise." He grabbed a dagger from his waist and turned it over in his palm. "I'll make sure they'll get what they deserve."
He didn't stop to listen to any arguments. There was no way he was letting his friends put himself in harm's way for Alana like this. Karis took this mission upon himself. Alana had said she needed him, and he was going to be the one to help her.
It was strange being on this side of town in the daylight. He had been here before, but it was always after dark when things were the shadiest. Now, it seemed like normal streets. There were vendors selling things in front of stores, families walking about hand in hand, and carriages and coaches passing through from one point to another.
He made sure to keep his eyes peeled for any sign of suspicious activity. Indigo would surely be sticking to the shadows, out of sight and out of mind. There were still whispers about the ball the other night and what had happened, and the townspeople of Cordavis certainly weren't running out of news any time soon.
Karis walked by a restaurant and squinted through a window to see inside. He noticed a burly man pouring a drink for a table and the man smiled at him. Karis smiled back, but he was jolted out of his admiration when he looked closer at his eyes. They were a hazel green color sparkling in the sunlight, but they were nothing compared to hers. Alana. Karis remembered what he was doing and, upon no signs of Indigo, continued on his way.
On the side of the restaurant was a shadowed alley. There were a couple of doors to the buildings around him, but other than a few discarded wooden crates, it was empty. Just as he was about to move on, Karis caught a flash of motion out of the corner of his eye. A mop of curly blond hair popped out from behind a stack of crates with their hands on their hips.
The person turned their head and Karis froze. Indigo was right in front of him. They turned their head to the side and looked Karis up and down while grinning. For a split second, they raised their eyebrows as if to tease, then started running.
Karis was quick in pursuit, hurdling over the crates in his way. Indigo may know the streets, but with five years in a prison cell, Karis had built up more stamina than them. He was gaining, and soon, he was close enough that he never took his eyes off of them even if they changed directions.
They both made it to the middle of the town square. Indigo weaved through people, dodging and swiping for them to get out of their way, but Karis was right behind them. They took a second too long to make a decision and he went for it.
He tackled Indigo to the ground and fought to grab their wrists. When Indigo reached for a dagger at their waist, he pinned their hand by their side and dragged it across the cobblestones up toward their head. From there, it was easy to restrain them.
"You're making quite a scene," Indigo purred. "On top of me in the middle of the square? I wouldn't expect that type of behavior from a queen's guard. Especially not when everyone is staring."
Sure enough, a crowd had gathered. Ladies were hiding whispers behind the folds of their fans and a few others simply made a face and kept their distance. Karis's face flushed, but he focused back on Indigo.
He rolled his eyes and grabbed Indigo's shirt collar in his fist. Karis hauled them up to their feet and announced, "This is under orders of the queen. Move along, please." The crowd started to scatter, but just as a precaution, Karis dragged Indigo over to a secluded alley.
Karis slammed them against the wall and drew two daggers off of each of their hips. He tossed them aside, then pushed his forearm into their chest. "Where is she?"
"Woah, Karis. Looks like you've got a little more spark than Alana let on." Indigo laughed and looked him straight in the eye. It was like they weren't afraid of anything. "What was that you asked me?"
"Don't make me repeat myself," Karis growled. "Where is she?"
"Alana? Oh, yeah, right. I almost forgot about her. Don't you think you should be focusing your attention on the thing the queen actually wants? You know, the Scepter?"
Karis smirked. If he found her, it would make finding the Scepter ten times easier. She might actually tell him where it is. But of course, he couldn't let Indigo know that. Then it would be a race to get to her. "I'll get there eventually. Right now, I don't care. Tell me where she is before I have to get that information out of you the hard way."
"Fine, fine. Geez." Indigo sighed and Karis pressed his arm into their chest harder. "She's in the old deClaire manor on the outskirts of town. It's a huge, black, abandoned house with an ugly overgrown lawn. Can't miss it."
He took a second to commit the description to memory, then looked back at Indigo. "Now where's the key? I know you're the only one who has it."
They quickly averted their eyes and pursed their lips. "About that... I don't have it on me right now. In fact, the reason why I gave it back for safekeeping is, well, this exact situation."
"So how are you getting in?"
"Oh, I know who has it. I'll just go get it from him when I need it. He won't give it to anyone else except for me. What a shame, Karis. Looks like you'll have to find another way."
Somewhere close by, a belltower rang with the new hour. They both counted the bells, then Karis spoke again. "Screw it. I'll break down the doors if I have to. I'm leaving." He slammed Indigo back against the wall once more for good measure.
"You're making a mistake," Indigo announced. "You should be hunting for the Scepter. Alana isn't what's important here. The queen wants her Scepter back more than she wants a traitor, so I'm going after what'll hit her the most. She doesn't care about Alana."
As he reached the end of the alley, Karis paused. He knew Indigo was only after what they ultimately wanted, but so was he. "Queen Marjorie may not care about Alana anymore," he said. He didn't turn around, but he did glance back over his shoulder at Indigo. "But I do."
Indigo laughed and put their hand over their heart. "It's sweet that you think she's going to help you, Karis. I made sure she couldn't even if she wanted to. Good luck getting to her, but I truly wish you the best trying to get her on your side."
"I don't need luck. She's already on my side." He grinned. "After all, she's not on yours."
They took a deep breath and scowled. Before Karis could react, they reached into their corset and threw a previously hidden dagger. The blade embedded into Karis's shoulder and he winced as the metal bit into his muscles.
Karis ripped out the dagger and looked up. In the few seconds it took for him to examine his wound, Indigo had disappeared. The only reassurance he was granted was the fact that they had practically abandoned Alana. If Indigo wasn't coming after her, all of their attention would be on the Scepter. They could search all they wanted, but Alana was smarter than they were. She knew where it was, and Karis would be at the advantage.
He started back toward the tavern. Karis knew where she was now, but he wasn't sure where Indigo was going to be next. If he alerted his friends, they could stand as backup. Once he got Alana, they could beat Indigo together.
"I know where she is," Karis said, running up to Harsha and Fallon. Their eyes were locked on the door and as soon as he burst in, they were on their feet. "Indigo told me where she was. They're focusing on the Scepter, so I need you both to start looking."
Etta came up to them with a tray on her hip. "All I know is that it's somewhere in this building. Alana hid it before she snuck out to see what Indigo was up to." She pulled out a keyring from a cord around her neck and tossed it to Harsha. "Take the master key and start looking through their room. Upstairs, the last door on the right."
Fallon glanced at Etta. "Are you allowed to let strangers snoop through people's rooms?"
"This is my inn. That means whatever I say goes. If snooping through their room means keeping that Scepter out of Indigo's hands, then go right ahead. I may have taken Indigo in, but the second they betray someone they claimed to have trusted and someone who helped them as much as Alana did, I don't care anymore."
"Karis, you need to go," Harsha said. "We'll take care of everything here. Go to her."
"I'll send a coach after you. Alana won't be able to walk, and you can't carry her all the way back here," Etta added.
He didn't hesitate any longer. Karis ran out of the tavern and mapped out the quickest route to the run-down manor in his head. He didn't have any time to waste. Alana needed him.