A Court of Three Stars

4: Offices

70 years ago, Five Roses, Lunathion

Leur

What is it with men with no business being in power and an overly extravagant office they spent all their time in?

My father had practically lived in his. Day in and day out, he would sit and do his paperwork, stare out at Velaris from the top of the mountain, scheme and plan all of his horrible deeds in those same four walls. It was a room that I would never forget, a memory clear as day in my head even after hundreds of years. Pale fingers twirling a pen at that oak desk, the crisp black suit he always wore, his straight black hair always combed perfectly, and violet eyes always full of hatred.

The King of Hybern had an office too, one that he spent a considerable amount of time in. Though, I think he had preferred to feel important over anything else. I didn't know how often he had used it for what it was meant for, only how often he used it for more... recreational activities. He had always preferred his throne for business ventures. Closed doors were for depravity.

Cylos was another one, everything cut from gold and the finest Anilian mahogany trees. I'd winnowed to Aelius many times just so he could sit behind his desk and drone on about whatever it was he was up in arms about that week. In fact, I had just been there less than three days ago.

Offices, it was always offices. Small men undeserving of their power always sat behind a desk somewhere.

Einar Danaan was no exception.

Like all the others, he enjoyed the power of sitting there and knowing he held control. And just like most of the others, I enjoyed sitting on the other side and knowing that I held his mind.

Albeit, I couldn't really do everything I needed to do. My power was limited by all these damn sensors and cameras everywhere, bloodbane bracelets I kept on my wrists and faebane I drank before walking through the portal to combat it. I hadn't slept a proper night in months, not since before the battle.

Being thrust into this world for the first time had been disorienting to say the least. It had taken me months to figure out where I was, what had happened. I had watched it all from the shadows until I figured out the way this world worked, rooting around in mind after mind to find what I needed. I learned their language, their customs, the geography, the histories.

It had been a reprieve, after the hell that had erupted in Solarea, after all that blood and fire. It was a distraction, a place where I had no responsibility, no power. I didn't go home for months, mostly because I didn't want to and partially because I hadn't figured out how yet.

I was content to watch it all from the shadows, a quiet observer of this strange world and their parasitic monarchs. I wouldn't interfere, I would just drift around the city and learn.

And then I saw him for the first time.

At first, I thought I had lost my mind. I thought I was seeing things, but I wasn't. A little boy that looked exactly like my brother, running around in this other world. A little boy with shadow magic and violet eyes, who accidentally spoke into people's minds half the time.

And if that wasn't enough, the longer I watched him, the more I realized that this child had almost the same life I had once upon a time. All the benefits of status and power but none of the love and affection from his own family, always told that he was talking too much, being too wild, too happy, too excited. At minimum, I had at least had my mother, Rhys, and eventually Cassian.

But Ruhn didn't have anyone that actually gave a damn about him.

And before I knew it, I hadn't slept in weeks and I was painstakingly, slowly, forging a new identity on this other planet. I'd work a full day in Solarea, wait until the sun was about to set, and then walk into the Ingysi and live an entire day here. At first, it was simple things. Establishing myself as a regular at a local coffee shop, ordering the same latte, another invention I had recently learned of, day in and day out, practicing hiding my accent and my power. Being seen around the city, buying things, studying. Working side jobs doing menial tasks, selling music to those with the voice to sing it to make money, spending that money on things that looked like I lived here all the time, renting an apartment in the Old Square.