The Legends of Kartas | Ongoing

37. MOCK CONGRESS

Yoongi was sitting in his seat in the great hall, waiting for the rest of the princes to arrive. Already, the princes of Pacem, Sapientia, Tenebris, and Umbra were settled in their respective spots, probably as nervous as Yoongi was. Or that was what he read based on their staggered heartbeats and wavering breaths.

There were no guards in the great hall—a precaution to prevent another Royal Council-esque disaster. That didn't help, though, when the true assassin was yet to be captured, and based on the eyes darting around the room, he wasn't the only one to think so. However, outside, the halls were packed with sentinels. If Yoongi was entirely honest, it was a waste of their efforts. He didn't understand why the Umbrans expected the same failures to protect them.

Once the princes of Vita and Lux arrived—one with a bored frown and the other with an apologetic blush—Jimin opened the council of war. Yoongi paid no heed. After trying in vain, he gave in to focusing on the rapid heartbeats and heavy breathing of the six other men pervading his senses, whether he liked it or not. He despised hearing such things, knowing how others felt. And the lack of pills, thanks to Mother Erna's refusal to supply him, only worsened his situation.

These days, he was restless, taut, and it made way for him to become impulsive. He tilted his head. The noises were loud, blurring his thoughts. If only he could silence them and concentrate. If only he had those damn pills.

He hissed through his teeth.

Concentrate.

Rolled his head.

Concentrate.

Closed his eyes.

Why the hell couldn't he just concentrate?

Someone banging their fist against the table broke him from his inattention. Jimin was clenching his jaw, his blue eyes sharp. "Prince Hoseok, Prince Namjoon, please continue with civility."

For a person who went on a rampage in the first meeting, he was surely keeping order in this one. Resting his chin on his fist, Yoongi tuned his ears to listen.

Namjoon seemed annoyed, but his voice was calm. "We must gather all the guards and search their minds to find the assassin. There is no saying what could occur if we fail to do so."

In contrast, Hoseok was seething with bridled rage. "Gather all the guards or gather all the information the guards can provide? All you want is an upper hand against the kingdoms."

"We can let other mind elementals take the lead."

"And trust that they do not disclose what they find? Preposterous."

"Then how do you propose we find the assassin?"

"Will your method work if the assassin avoided capture thus far?" It was Taehyung. His lilac eyes were ablaze with determination, and the pads of his fingers were tapping against the tabletop. "You must have searched for the assassin during the adjournment of the Royal Council."

"I only searched the minds of everyone in this room," Namjoon explained. "And it is difficult to search for the culprit when the assassination was most likely a group effort. Look around." He gestured at the table, the seats, the darkness above. "From the angle of each wound in the sovereigns' heads, we can only assume that one person could not have accomplished such a feat." He pointed behind him. "One murderer was there to kill my mother—Queen Cleona. Another was there behind Prince Seokjin to kill King Rucaites. Because Prince Novas was in the way, he died as collateral damage. Similarly, the rest of the assassins must have been stationed behind their targets.

"And it can be argued that weapons could have been set before the Royal Council, but there was no evidence of any. We still do not know the true nature of what killed the sovereigns, if it was a weapon of Kartas or another dimension. But we are sure one assassin could not have executed all the kills at once."