𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐞

32 | Ligum Vitae

It felt like I'd been turned into a leaf and placed in the harsh winds of the north. Perhaps I was shaking like I was too. Hercules's stare burned into the side of my head as I muttered numbers under my breath in an attempt to calm the hurricane of emotions that was threatening to break free from the seal. They stalked the corners of my mind, egging me on. Hercules's hand on my shoulder startled me and my right hand shot up and grabbed it in an iron tight grip. I stared at him; eyebrows furrowed. He frowned back at me and attempted to pull his hand free.

Eyes searching for some hidden emotion within my own, he asked, "What in Janus's name is wrong with you, Juno?" He's met with my silence, my cloak swishing in the air the only sound between us. I let go of his hand slowly and took a deep breath as I turned back around. This was beyond bad. If I couldn't get a handle on my emotions then I was going to have to face the music and get the permanent fix for Prophis out of the way today. But...Lei-li's birthday. I just can't miss it. I'll have to ride out this wave and avoid getting upset again. Why in Teyvat did I make such a rash decision four thousand years ago? I cleared my throat.

"Xiao!" I shouted as loud as I could. I barely blinked before the smaller man appeared in front of me. His eyes were locked on to Hercules immediately, his polearm slowly materializing in his hand. Realizing what he was doing, I pushed Hercules behind me. "Hey, woah, woah, woah! Hercules is not an enemy, I just needed to ask you something." Out of the corner of my eye I can see Hercules giving me a horrified side eye.

Xiao came out of his defensive stance, frowning deeply at me. "Why was I called if not to aid you?" he questioned, as he sized up Hercules, not convinced he wasn't a threat. To be fair, what normal human from Teyvat stands taller than 7'. As I'd told him before, we the people of Prophis stood out like sore thumbs in Modern Teyvat. Many of my people had evolved things the people of Teyvat did not have, such as the ability to see better in the dark and larger lungs to take in more air on account of the air being thinner up there. They were so much different to the people down here than I realized.

"Lei-li's birthday is today and I figured you'd want to visit and wish her a good one," I said, internally wincing as I shifted. This reminded me of when I'd gotten stabbed by Xiao when he was still under Invidia's control. That poison she'd made—and its recipe—had almost been lost to the pages of history until, well, I'd taken a sample of it and recreated it with plants and foliage from Prophis and Liyue. I'd kept the recipe for it hidden in a book within my room at the Cathedral...how had Silvanus gotten ahold of it? The more I thought about it the worse I felt so I brushed it aside.

Xiao stared at me for a moment. He blinked as if he wasn't sure what I meant. "Lei-li's birthday? The day she was born?" I repeated.

"No, I know what you meant—"

"Oh, I'm sorry, you looked confused."

The shorter adeptus gave me a flat expression. "I know what a birthday is! I just– it's today?" He questioned, a vaguely frantic look on his face. "What time?"

"Two this afternoon just outside of Liyue Harbor."

"I need to find a present. I should've been reminded earlier!" He disappeared as quickly as he'd appeared, leaving me and Hercules to stand in the middle of the dirt path in silence.

I cleared my throat and gestured for Hercules to follow me. Now that we were alone again, I was free to think. Something was brewing within the shadows of Prophis, or well, the main city, "Custos qui terminus astra" also known as Terminus Astra City. It had been the very first settlement within Prophis and it was currently the biggest and most prosperous of the cities. Oculus Stellarum Cathedral also referred to as Celsus Cathedral was located in the south in the Magellanic district of Terminus Astra which was where most of the "government" buildings and stores were. The cathedral was where most of the important business happened. Make no mistake, though, it wasn't meant to be used for religious activity. A frown settled on my face. I was going to have to do some deep digging to figure out what was going on and how Silvanus got tied up in this.