When The Stars Align

chapter twenty eight | ansen grey strikes again

I COULD TELL that something has gone terribly wrong as soon as Lysander pulled me out of the room. It would be unlike him to not check up on Atticus, especially after something like that. A skating accident from when we were five left Lys beside Atticus' bed, reading stories to him. Even as Atticus fell asleep, he'd stay for at least a minute.

"Lysander," I start, not sure if I should continue. He's walking quickly through the hospital hallway, probably needing to get to the castle quickly. I also assumed that we were meeting the king, because all of our meetings involved him.

As we get to the ground floor, my worries that something bad had happened was confirmed. There had to be at least fifty people in the lobby, most of them on the ground, the blood oozing to the floor. I can hardly look at the sight, yet can't turn away. Parents looked at their children, terrified. Husbands held wives. Lovers lied on the floor with their fingers entwined.

"What the hell..." Lysander doesn't stop to look around but I look around for a minute. I could have sworn that all there people weren't here when I walked in here like, half an hour ago. I could have sworn the the place was calm and quiet. Or was I so deep in thought that I didn't realise?

"Vera, we can't stop and talk," Lysander finally said. "I think you might have an idea on what's going on, but I have to explain this later. The king is waiting for you."

I might have an idea? How would I - and then I remembered. Ansen. Shit. It's probably him. It's always him. Did he do this over the course of the night, or just after I ran into him at headquarters? Is that why no one was there except for the two of them, because they were causing this mess.

Lysander walks out of the building and I follow. The sight made me sick to my stomach, I wanted to throw up. How was this possible?

"Where were the attacks, Lysander?"

"Vera, sis, we can't talk now. We have to get moving. I didn't bring the car so-"

I rolled my eyes, thinking there was a better idea. And it did occur to me that there was. I grabbed my brothers hand as he walked, which immediately turned into a "what the fuck, Vera we have to-"

When he blinked again, we were in front of the castle. This time, I took the lead, heading upstairs to the king's office.

"Wait, hold up, how did you-"

"That's how I got Atticus back here so fast," I explained. "Teleportation, I figured how to harness it. It's convenient, don't you think? It's probably not going to last too long, though, because like, magic is running out, et cetera. Maybe I can only do it because of the amulets but-"

"No, no it's not just because of the amulets."

"I... what?" I asked. The confusion on his face was replaced with realization. "Lysander, what do you mean?"

I turn the corner. King Pheon stands outside of his room, talking with Leo. Well, it looks more like they're arguing.

"Leo, I beg you, please go, talk to your mother if something is bothering you."

"I want to spend time with you, Dad," the kid argues. He looks like he's on the brink of tears. "It's always "go to mom for this" and "go to mom for that". I want to stay here. I wanna know what you're doing."

I have a feeling there's a little bit more than that.

The king sees me and Lysander head towards his office. "There you are. Come on, we have to talk." The king turns back to his son. "Leo, I'm going to ask one more time..."

I walk up to the young prince and touch his shoulder. He looks up at the same time I begin to kneel down. I take his hand. "If you think you're old enough to be part of this conversation, then I'll let you be here, just like last time. If there's anything confidential, I need you to keep it a secret. If there's anything that make you uncomfortable, you can leave and we can talk after, if you want. Okay, Leo?"