Something Peculiar

2.8

It may have felt good falling asleep next to Lisa, but it did not feel good waking up. My body still felt sore from Jeongyeon's recent attack, and the uncomfortable way I'd slept had left me full of kinks and aches. When Lisa pulled up in front of the house, I stretched, and my neck screamed at me. I got out of the car, rolling my shoulders and Taehyung stared up at the mansion with shock. Opulent and gorgeous, it really was a balance, resting on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, vines covering the white exterior. It hung off the edge, held by the thin pillars, and the entire wall facing the river was made of glass. I remembered how the mansion's elegance had hit me when I first arrived but now I was too angry to even look at it.

I wanted to talk to Taehyung about everything, but I had to talk to Hye-kyo first. She lied to me, again. If I had known that the Vittra King was my father, I never would've taken Wooseok to see Taehyung. I would never have put them in danger that way.

When we went into the house, I left Wooseok to help show Taehyung around. I hadn't figured out how to fix him yet, so I'd settled for telling him to stand up, and leaving Lisa and In-guk to help him sort it out.

Lisa told me I should calm down first, but I ignored her and stormed down the hall to see Hye-kyo. She didn't scare me anymore, not in the slightest. Oren would actually hurt me. At her worst, Hye-kyo would just humiliate me.

The palace was divided into two massive wings, separated by a rotunda that served as the front hall. All of the official business took place in the south wing, where there were meeting rooms, a ballroom, a massive dining hall, offices, the throne room, as well as staff quarters and the Queen's bedroom. The north wing held more casual rooms in the house, like my room, guest bedrooms, and the kitchen. Hye-kyo's sitting parlor was at the far end of the north wing. It was a corner room, so two walls were made entirely of windows. She spent most of her free time there, painting and reading, and whatever else she did to relax.

"When were you gonna tell me that Oren is my father?" I demanded, throwing open the door.

Hye-kyo lay on her chaise lounge, her dark gown flowing out around her. Even in repose, she had an innate elegance to her. Her poise and beauty were qualities I'd been envious of when I first met her, but now I saw them as nothing more than a weak façade. Everything she did was for appearance, and I doubted that anything went deeper than that with her. I stood just inside her parlor, my arms crossed over my chest. She held her arm over her eyes, as if the light were too painful to deal with. She was plagued by regular migraines, so that might have been the case now. Or maybe not, since she left the blinds open on the glass walls, letting the morning light stream in.

"I'm glad to see you're safe," she said but didn't move her arm so she could actually see me.

"I can tell." I walked over and stood directly in front of her. "Hye-kyo. You need to tell me the truth. You can't keep hiding stuff from me this way, not if you want me to rule someday. I'd make a very horrible Queen if I was ignorant to everything."

I decided to play it reasonable, instead of shouting all the things I really wanted to say.

"And now you know the truth." She sounded tired of the conversation already, and it'd only just begun. She finally lowered her arm, wearily meeting my angry stare with her dark eyes. "Why are you looking me that way?"

"That's all you have to say to me?" I asked.

"What more do you want me to say?" Hye-kyo sat up in one smooth, graceful move. When I didn't back down, she stood up, apparently not fond of the idea of me looking down on her.

"I was kidnapped by the Vittra, the King of whom is my father, and you have nothing to say to me?" I stared at her incredulously. and she walked away, putting her back to me as she went over to the window.