The house was buzzing with energy when Leo woke up. He recognised it immediately, realising where it was coming from. It was something he had picked up over the many years he had been with his Queen. The energy began to slowly diminished. She must have woken up. He heard the sound of a door closing quietly and got up, sticking his head out his own. Amneris was sneaking out of the house. Again. He waited until she went downstairs to close his door and climb back into bed. She’s probably just gone to get some air and clear her head, he thought. After all, that was what usually happened after those nightmares she had.

Leo rubbed his head as he lay back down, pulling the dark covers over himself once again. Whenever his Queen had nightmares, he found himself worrying about her. He did not know if it was just him being protective of a dear friend or if it had something to do with said friend’s coping mechanisms. So long as she does nothing reckless without someone keeping an eye on her. A huff. Who am I kidding? His Queen had always been crazy, with and without the nightmares. To leave without a word . . . I should have followed her.

* * * * * * * *

He realised she still had not returned when he woke up the second time. This time, the Sun had risen and was well on its path across the sky. That was one of the questions he had long given up on getting an answer for since Lyriumia technically had no Sun. He never knew if the one currently streaming light into his room – Did I forget to close the curtains again? – was just an illusion or not.

He rolled over, pulling a pillow over his head. Leo wanted nothing more than to keep sleeping. He felt like he could sleep forever, and it still would not be enough to make him stop worrying about anything and everything. He was about to fall back asleep when he heard chatter coming from downstairs. From the sounds of things, Jay, Carmin, and Dan were awake and rummaging through the kitchen. Kayla’s outraged yell told him that was definitely the case.

Leo sat up, running a hand through his long dishevelled hair and convincing his legs to let him stand with a groan. He yawned, still half asleep but jolted awake at another yell from Kayla. I should go down there before Jay eats the kitchen.

* * * * * * * *

By the time he had dressed, gone downstairs, and wondered through the living room to the long wooden table on the veranda outside, the rest of the Court had woken up. Carmin and Dan were protecting their food from Jay like dragons protecting treasure. Kayla was shaking her head, muttering something about him being a lost cause as she forked what looked like an omelette.

Hathor came out the kitchen door with more plates of food hovering in front of her – ten people in a household meant a lot of food – which Jay wasted no time in grabbing as soon as they landed on the table. She rolled her eyes as Zoe brought out what Leo guessed was the last batch of breakfast options for today and scolded Jay for eating too much. His answer was throwing an apple at the Light-Bender who caught and ate it before sitting next to Hathor.

Nikki brushed her hand over Leo’s shoulder as she passed him and took up one of the four remaining seats at the table, asking Kayla to pass her some of the cereal options. Colt was next to come out, giving him a curt nod as he passed and sitting next to Jay. Those two seem to have bonded a little. Rubbing the back of his neck, Leo sat himself down next to Nikki as the fight between Jay and the Dragonoids continued. No one interfered. They just sat back and watched the show unfold.

No one seemed surprised nor worried that their Queen was not there. It was normal, after all. There were times when she would disappear for days on end. Of course, the last time that happened, she blew up an entire galaxy. If anything, that particular incident had become a joke within the family, as had the time when Zoe almost destroyed the planet with a mechanical dragon. To this day, she claimed it was not her fault.

Deciding it was now or never, Leo reached out to grab some food while there was food left. He had just raised a warm cinnamon donut to his mouth when it was swiped out of his hand. His head shot towards the thief. Amneris had already eaten more than half of it. She winked, sitting down beside him before complaining that Jay was being a wuss. This sparked a whole new argument between the Queen and the Fae, allowing for the two Dragonoids to finally eat in piece.

Leo was about to reach for another donut when a thought appeared in his mind. When did she get back? No, that was the wrong question. How did she get back without me knowing? Leo sighed. It was pointless to think about it. All it would bring was a massive headache. He turned back to the ongoing fight in time to see Nikki shift into a hawk, taking food off Jay’s plate and putting it on her own before changing back and laughing.

Leo took Amneris’ hand under the table, making her look at him. He was about to ask where she had been when she shook her head. He could see the unspoken words. I’ll tell you when we’re finished here. He nodded slightly, letting go of her hand and reaching for more food. Strangely, as he did, the first thing he noticed was Colt’s glare. It sent a shiver down his spine. Leo did his best to ignore it as he joined the ongoing conversations around the table.

* * * * * * * *

Once the meal was over and cleared up, everyone left to do their own things or attend to tasks. Leo led Amneris into his room, closing the door behind him. His room wasn’t all that impressive compared to some of the others. It was painted obsidian with scarlet, gold, and sapphire patterns all over. Various diamonds were attached to the top of each wall and lit up with just a thought. His bed was draped in similar shades to the room and pushed against the wall. There were a few bookshelves carved into the walls ever so slightly, a wooden desk near the glass door leading to the wooden balcony, and a walk in closet next to the dark door leading to the en-suite.

He opened the midnight blue curtains entirely as Amneris sat on the edge of his bed. Once he turned back to her, Leo crossed his arms. “Well?”

She cringed at his tone, moving a little further onto the bed and away from him. Maybe that was a little too forceful. “I went to see Father.”

That caught his attention more than he cared to admit. Amneris did not see her adoptive father much outside of official Court matters these days. They would occasionally go out to dinner, but the re-emergence of the War had made that a not so regular occurrence these days.

“It was to do with the Core,” she continued, fingering the diamond necklace around her neck. It was a representation of the Core; a way to channel its power. Leo had never seen the actual Photon Core. Only the Ruler’s had. “The thing is,” she said, “Even if we do manage to stop Tara, I don’t have the power needed to get rid of the Dark King forever. Maybe another couple thousand years if we’re lucky.”

She unclasped the necklace, cradling it in her hands as he sat beside her. She passed the pendent into his own hands. “It’s not your fault someone managed to find the spell you used,” he stared, having the sudden urge to reassure her of that.

She held up a hand to stop him. “No, that’s not it.” Her violet-gold eyes pierced his own obsidian eyes. “I don’t have the full power of the Core on my side. He has every sliver of darkness in existence. Without power like that, I’m not strong enough, even with all of you backing me.”

Leo looked her over. His Queen already had more power than anyone should. The thought that the Dark King had more . . . He shivered. He had wondered for a while now why she could not control every bit of light in the multiverse. He found himself holding the necklace up to the sunlight, watching the diamond send rainbows over his room. “That’s why you went to Lvaane?”

A nod. “He knows how to access the full power of the Core.”

“What’s the catch?”

She blushed slightly, turning away. “Well, we don’t know if it would happen.”

“Amneris.”

She sighed, pushing two fingers together nervously. “If I use that much power, I may or may not spontaneously combust.” Leo saw red. She raised her hands. “I said ‘may or may not’.”

He grasped her shoulders and shook her harshly. “You’re insane. I won’t let you do that.”

“I may do as I please, General.”

“Oh, don’t you pull fucking rank on me.” She gave him a look of disbelief as he started speaking again. “I’ve been stuck with you for the last four thousand years. There is no way I’m letting you go now.” He stood, spreading his arms. “Is this even worth it?”

“Yes.”

He froze, lightning whipping around him. It was a part of the power she had given him after he was given immortality. Amneris stood and slowly approached him, the lightning bouncing off her skin and vanishing into the air. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her brow against his chest. Slowly, Leo regained control of his gifted power. He held her tightly, brushing a hand through her curled hair. “You will not use that kind of power –”

“– Leo –”

“– Unless it is absolutely necessary,” he finished.

He felt her sigh as she looked up at him, making her irritation obvious. “I was only going to use it as a last resort anyway, you know.”

* * * * * * * *

Leo closed the door to Amneris’ room, having walked her back there after demanding that she sleep, or he would knock her out. She only stuck out her tongue but had agreed to rest in her room for a while longer. He had just turned around to go outside to the training rings when he spotted Colt. How long has he been standing there?

The Terpolite gave him a forced smile. Leo could not blame him for being distrustful. It was not like he found his company a good thing. Leo tended to give the Terpolite a hard time whenever the opportunity arose. Even so, Colt seemed to be genuinely concerned about something. “How is she?” he asked.

Leo shrugged, leaning against the wall to make it look like he did not give a shit about anything. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Colt gave him a knowing look, pointing to Amneris’ door. Leo shrugged again. “She’s Amneris. Her problems are her own.”

“She is not trying to get herself killed on purpose again, is she?” Colt shook his head slowly with a small laugh. “Gods, I hope not.”

“How do you know about that?” Leo only felt his suspicions rise. Sure, his Queen got herself killed a lot, but there were only very few times where that had been on purpose. He was one of the few people he knew.

Colt waved off the question. “I’m sure plenty of people know.”

“No,” Leo said. “Not many people know.”

He looked over the Terpolite. He seemed more to know about the Queen than most people did. Leo knew for a fact that their guest had not managed to get into her personal library. That would have been obvious. Besides, only they knew where it was, and Leo had found it by accident. It was the easiest way to learn about Amneris. Her stories were certainly an interesting read.

“Oh,” Colt replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “My bad.”

“I’m guessing you know other things, as well?” A tight nod. “How?”

“It is complicated.”

“I’ve got time.”

“You would not believe me.”

Leo’s fists balled in the pockets of his hoodie. This could take a while. He looked between the Terpolite and the room to Amneris’ door. “Very well.”

Leo turned away, wandering down the stairs and outside having a sudden need for fresh air. He would find out the Terpolite’s secret one way or another, no matter how long it took. Until then, he would keep as much of a close eye as possible on the latest Court member.