// Chapter 27 \\

Leeyon had given us the rest of the day before she called a meeting the next morning. A meeting I wished never came. She may have given us the night to situate ourselves, but I was anything but situated. My mind was less foggy, but it brutally refused to recall the events of Como's interrogation. The pulse in my back would delight in the topic whenever I recalled it, only for my mind to hiss in objection.

Now, I grimaced and winced whenever the pulse came. It was delighted in my most grim and bleak thoughts. It delighted it more when I remembered its origin of the black arrow that had pierced my wing, shot by the masked figure who was something more than Taker, and how it had seeped its way into my heart and soul with the inking black dread of its origin. The shivers always came whenever its pulse thrummed, but they became more natural to me. I became accustomed with these unnatural Taker-cold chills. That didn't mean that I liked it, though.

Hongjoong had inspected the pulse after the interrogation yesterday, even taking to try and heal it in his already weakened state. Nothing he tried then worked, but the pulse itself only came as part of the problem. Yeosang had been intrigued by it, as was Hongjoong, but both couldn't be bothered badly by it. Out of the three of us, I was the most bothered. I couldn't blame them, though. Not when there were so many other things we were being tasked with.

San's attack, what he wanted with me, was something that was still largely in the air. If San had been here for me, that had been why he'd attacked Eastern Court, and my heart did not sit right to think that, nor anything else that fell into those lines. And my mind did best to block out any answers to my heart, leaving me in a clueless fuzz of guilt. Somehow, I blamed myself for all of this.

Glistening firelight bristled in disturbing agreement to my thoughts. Those golden embers in their candle hilts almost looked out of place with the glass looking out to a dark blue ocean. As conspicuous as my thoughts, they burned over our heads, illuminating over the subtle blue glow of the water outside of the limpid glass. Below, we all sat.

Yeosang and Hongjoong were both covered in the golden light, rose gold and bronze illuminance taking over their features. Both wore suits adorning the tropical colors of Eastern Court. Yeosang's was a stunning silken turquoise, embroidered rose blossoms decorating his sleeves in a pinkish gold. It complimented his slicked back hair well. Hongjoong's was a rusted orange with several patches of colorful tropical leaves decorating his chest and sleeves, one shoulder having a detailed sun stitched onto it with white thread. The other side had a matching moon. His hair was pulled back into three braids, bangs curled.

I wore a golden yellow dress. It was short with long sleeves. The entirety of the dress was covered in a dark blue-grey stitching. The stitch held multiple different images across my body. Some were detailed stars, others feathers, some wings, and a few rings. All of the designs were different sizes and shapes and did well for abstracting the simple yellow that laid beneath. I had my hair pulled back into a tight braid to match the abstract simplicity. It wasn't like I was in a mood to make much else, but the dress-making had comforted some of the fuzziness of my mind. However, the fuzz had returned in the time we sat there, waiting for Eastern Court's High Monarch to meet with us.

Jo Leeyon had some final discussions she wished to make with us before we departed back to our own Courts. My heart sank to imagine what those discussions might be. Something told me that I would be one of the centers of discussion and the fuzz only grew louder in my head at the thought of that. I won't stand for it. A part of me said, what agreed with the fuzz. But I couldn't do anything about it now, I was already waiting for the Serpent's presence.

I glanced once more to Yeosang and Hongjoong. Neither had spoken to me.

Then, the doors in the room had opened. We all stood as Leeyon made her way through the doors, her pale jacket gleaming in contrast to the ocean wave patterns that covered it. Her gaze roamed around the room, her attention mostly on us three. A part of me could've sworn she'd glared my way.

"Good," she spoke, as she made her way around the table, "You're all here." She stopped at her seat, the opposite end of the entrance, and gestured for us to sit down which we did.

Leeyon waited a moment, taking in the three of us. Her gaze lingered on each of us for a moment. I was the last for her to gaze at and, now, I could confirm the glare I believed I'd seen earlier. Something twisted in my stomach.

"Now, we should get some things straightened out," Leeyon broke our stare, "First of all, I have dealt with my traitor and previous Captain of the Guard, Como. He is to be executed after High Monarch trials in Dusk Court."

"Execution?" Yeosang questioned. His neutral face became incredulous.

Leeyon looked his way with a humorless sneer, "Treason. Besides," she looked back my way, "We have other problems that aren't as clear as limpid glass."

I internally winced from Leeyon's look: accusatory, serpent slits locking on my golden guilty eyes. My eyes looked down to my hands resting on the table. I couldn't hold her stare.

"Do I have to ask the questions to get answers? I thought it would be evident enough of what I want to know."

"I don't know what you want." I lied.

"Star, what exactly happened in my Court? How did you somehow attack two High Monarchs and approach a Taker without consciously knowing what was going on?"

I didn't know what was going on. "I blanked out. It was an honest mistake."

"Really?" Leeyon tilted her head towards me, "And what of those Captain of the Guards?"

I looked down once more.

"That isn't a part of the current problem," Yeosang pitched in. I glanced up to see Leeyon look his way.

Hongjoong shifted uncomfortably, sat between and glancing at the two.

"You know, I'm not sure if either of you have the right to speak."

"Excuse me?"

"Childhood friends of Star." Leeyon looked back my way, "The two of you would leap in to protect her when she turns guilty."

The pulse in my shoulder thundered, "I'm a High Monarch as well, you know."

Leeyon chuckled this time, "That you are." She was silent for a moment, turning her attention to her nails as she spoke, "But, if the traitorous Como was right, your case might as well be a swapped treason from our own."

My stomach sunk at her words. No. I clenched my teeth, but I did not bare them, keeping my mouth closed. I despised how her words made me feel because I knew there was a part of me who thought of them as right. I'd blindly hurt my friends and had stood before San like I was on his side— like I was the enemy. Leeyon's accusations weren't completely out of place and they almost made me feel inhuman.

I turned to both Yeosang and Hongjoong, half expecting them to side with me. Neither spoke. Yeosang was gazing towards Leeyon in an observing manner while Hongjoong kept his eyes on his folded hands resting on the table.

"Well?" Leeyon questioned.

"Well what?" I almost didn't recognize the chill in my voice. I stood then, "I'm the High Monarch of my Court. I decide what is deemed treason there. I have not committed such."

Leeyon seemed to freeze a bit at my tone but that didn't stop her from raising a questioning brow.

"Eight Captain of the Guards, Star."

I almost let myself freeze as Leeyon had when I heard that voice. I turned to Hongjoong. He was hesitant looking my way. Startled as our eyes met, he looked down to his hands once more.

Hongjoong cleared his throat, "The death reports are true. I remember hearing about them, but I never believed them to be dead."

"It's unknown that they're dead or not." Yeosang spoke, looking my way now.

"She would've told us." Hongjoong looked at me as well.

All eyes in the room were on me now, but that fact didn't hurt as much as Hongjoong's gaze did. His gaze was uncertain, untrustworthy. What would I have told them about those deaths? Nothing.

Leeyon let out a short hum adding in a stale but amused voice, "Yet, she did not."

I didn't realize my fists had been clenching until that very moment. I looked down at my hands. These hands had hurt my friends. They did so much more.

The fuzz and pulse were nothing compared to the other feelings I had in that moment. The world at my feet was being pulled from beneath me, plunging myself, and I was falling with no wings to catch me. Why was I still trying to prove myself? But something cracked inside of me that was more than just pride.

"I have a Court to run," I calmly spoke, regal in my voice as I began to turn.

"Oh you are not leaving." I could hear Leeyon stand behind me and make her way around the table to where I was standing, "You think you can just leave here without an explanation of what happened in your Court? Or what happened here?"

"Yes."

The room went silent.

I turned to face Leeyon's enraged stare with a piercing glare, seeing green and blue ocean depths as I crept into its core.

I spoke in a bold and strong tone, so chilling I wasn't even sure it was mine, "You have no right to perceive me as a threat when I'm not your own subject and you know that."

"You—"

I snapped out of her mind as I continued, "I am a High Monarch of a separate Court and if you try to claim that I somehow am unfit to rule, you would be waging a war. You believe I could be a threat to the High Monarch trials in Dusk Court, but you wouldn't want to wage a war either, would you? With your fiance one of the few chosen to take the rare position?"

Leeyon clenched her teeth in rage, "You read my mind."

"You're sentencing your Captain of the Guard to death. I don't see how that makes it any different from the rumors you heard about mine."

"He committed treason!"

"And you know nothing about what happened to the Captain of the Guard's of Night Court. Nor is it your business to know." I turned to leave.

I almost thought I could leave entirely without another comment.

"You're a threat."

"I am a High Monarch. Just like you. We're all threats to each other, aren't we?" I took the risk of turning to look at Yeosang and Hongjoong.

Hongjoong appeared shocked while Yeosang still held a neutral gaze. Neither had moved to get up from their seat to follow me. All threats to each other. It still didn't keep my mouth from trembling, which it did when I turned and left the meeting room. I wished we were never threats.

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REMEMBER:​​​​​​

1. Smack dat butiful star

2. Leave a comment talkin abt dis tea

3. Share dis tea induced book with yo fwends

WHY? Because I appreciate it 🥺

\\ See u in the next chapter! \\