Lights (Book 4)

Chapter 14: Viviana

"Sometimes I just want to rip that fake hair off her head...and you all know how I usually feel about violence." 

Needless to say, you didn't want to be around Tara when she was angry. She stood inches from the colossal Aurascreen, arms crossed and eyebrows knitted as if she was in some sort of stare-down with the image of Macie Levyn-Meyer projected on it. Aron, Thorel, and I stayed at a safe distance from the seething queen, seated on the white leather couch that occupied the center of the palace Auraview hall. If she wasn't my sister, I would've been downright afraid of her fiery reaction to the popular Auranews anchor's most recent statements. 

"Don't worry too much about it," Thorel said encouragingly, rising from his seat to approach Tara, who was vigorously shaking her head as she muttered to herself. "We are the Lessaenite Empire- a unified network of planets and moons in constant correspondence with each other. The person or persons behind the Academy murders can only run so far before they're caught by a local division of the Ice Gua- the Imperial Guard." The King quickly corrected his mistake, knowing that any reference to the Iceheart regime, even an accidental one, would only further disconcert his wife. 

"He's right," Aron added, finally gaining enough courage to approach the furious Queen. "And once the perpetrators are apprehended, even Levyn-Meyer's silver tongue won't be able to twist the truth." 

The room fell silent and I leaned back in my seat, sensing that we were all wondering the same thing. Why was Macie Levyn-Meyer targeting the monarchs in the first place? I turned my attention back to the glass Aurascreen spread out across the wall in front of us, hoping to find an answer. 

"Now, Lady Slonina, what is it about the situation at the Imperial Academy for Young Nobles that concerns you enough to bring you to our studio today?" 

Levyn-Meyer certainly had an odd choice of interviewee. Geolyn Slonina wasn't even an Assembly member. A titular noble, she maintained aristocratic privileges solely by the virtue of ancestral property, making her one of the most irrelevant occupants of the Glaisse Elitia. 

"Everything!" Slonina nearly shrieked, her generous girth jiggling in the tiny, white dress she had somehow managed to squeeze it into. "We've got two princesses, a prince, and six future clan Chiefs at the IAYN! It's supposed to be the safest place in the Empire, and now people are just being killed over there! This is an interplanetary crisis! The future of the Lessaenite Empire is at stake!" Slonina flung her arms into the air and the camera zoomed in on the despairing expressing on her face. 

My eyes shifted back to Macie Levyn-Meyer, suddenly seeing something new behind the host's jolly facade. Her selection of Geolyn Slonina as her featured interviewee was far from random...the pseudo-aristocrat was dramatic. None of us had known it before, as no respectable citizen of Glaisse would invite someone like her to any kind of social gathering, but one good look at her was enough to tell that if you wanted someone who could start a fuss, Slonina was your woman. 

Levyn-Meyer is no Keeper clan media fluff-head. She knows what she's doing...and she has a plan. 

"You're definitely right," Levyn-Meyer nodded gravely, her conspicuous orange wig tipping precariously to the left. "What a wonderful way to summarize and conclude tonight's segment on the Academy murders. We are shocked by both the depravity of the crimes and the apparent lack of action from the top; Glaisse Central sends out its deepest condolences to the families affected by the horrific events of the past week. Thank you, and good night, Glaisse." 

I gulped audibly as the channel abruptly transitioned into an ad break, watching my sister collapse wordlessly into a maroon upholstered armchair out of the corner of my eye.

"...Tara?" Thorel called tentatively. Receiving no response, he proceeded to lay out his long, black coat on the backrest of the couch behind him and walked briskly over to where she sat quietly atop an embroidered cushion, soft breaths barely escaping her parted lips. I watched them in silent anticipation, barely breathing myself until I felt Aron's hand close protectively over mine.

"Tara, I don't understand why you're letting this get to you," he said firmly. 

I was almost afraid for him. No matter who you were, with Tara, there were certain boundaries you didn't cross. She was as loving and radiant as could be imagined possible on a day-to-day basis, but when she wasn't feeling her best, you didn't question her. 

"Get to me?" the Queen finally spoke. "Me? You really think this is about me? I thought you knew me better than that." 

"Who else would it be about?" Thorel didn't budge from his stance in front of her, concern showing in the creases above his eyebrows. "The children will be home by tomorrow evening. There is no need to fear for their safety. The entire situation will be cleaned up in a few weeks- what's an annoying news anchor against the Queen of the Lessaenite Empire? You always worry yourself so unnecessarily over things that mean nothing, and it isn't good for you." 

"Once again, you mention me." I wasn't even sure that my sister's lips moved when she spoke. Her voice seemed to be an omnipresent entity emanating from every corner of the room. "This is far bigger than me. This is far bigger than any of us. I see it all now...I finally understand...by Lumys, we're all fools! I don't know how we didn't see it!" 

"There is evil in Glaisse. There always has been, and there always will be. We were fools to think we could vanquish it in a single blow, fools to think one death would bring the end of the blame and the hate. I do not fear for myself...I fear for how much we've lost in our stupidity, how much we've let go unnoticed. I know I'm not the only one who has realized that there is more to Macie Levyn-Meyer than meets the eye. A conspiracy has risen, and we, in all our false glory, have turned a blind eye. Now...we are about to pay the price. All of us."