Realm of the Sun

Chapter 14

Thankfully, the court council was later in the day. Gwen wouldn't have to endure the horrible atmosphere of the houses yet.

Unfortunately, she did have to endure teenagers, moody princes, and hungover military officers.

"Gwen, I don't think I'll be able to survive two meetings today." Roza said while painting a clear coat of polish over her nails. They were both sitting in Gwen's room; Roza sitting on a stool, Gwen sitting on the bed waiting for her lieutenant general to finish with her nails.

The general rolled her eyes. "Was having the extra glass entirely necessary?"

"Absolutely. Drowning my sorrows and dread for social events is incredibly important." she summoned a light gust of wind, drying her nails quickly. "Okay, let's go."

"Finally," Gwen groaned, and stood up quickly. Passing the mirror, Roza stopped to check her appearance one more time before Gwen shoved her out the door.

"Hello teenagers, royalty, and military officers. Welcome to our breakfast council." Gwen greeted sarcastically. Around the table, there were murmurs. One member was missing, but she couldn't quite put her finger on who.

Roza jumped in. "So, yesterday, there was an attack by the rebels, like we predicted-"

"But also monsters that retreated of their own volition and survived natural daylight." Nicholas finished. "And yes, I'm fine after I was almost assassinated, thank you very much."

"Hey! I was on that stage too!"

"Everyone shut up!" Yue shouted over the crowd. Everyone turned to stare at her, eyes blinking in bewilderment and awe. "Thank you," she continued casually in her much quieter tone.

Sylas was the first to recover. "Are you sure none of this was in your visions, Yue? I know you said it would rain-"

"And it did."

He cleared his throat. "Yes, but was there anything else? Nothing about the monsters?"

She shrugged. "Just rain. But..." she looked around the room. "Did anyone else notice that the monsters seemed more... humanoid? As if they were covered in darkness..."

"Not made from it," Gwen continued, a faint spark of revelation in her voice.

Sylas joined the train. "Oh gods," his eyes sank. "These aren't our monsters. They're from Sötèt."

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"Can someone back up? What's Sötèt?" Solarie queried aloud.

"Good grief girl, do you not pay attention in our lessons at all? Sötèt, our neighbouring nation and sworn enemy?" Roza reprimanded Solarie.

Sylas interrupted to defend his fiance. "Let's not make this another argument."

"If you insist," Roza grumbled. "Anybody with theories?"

This prompted Nicholas to answer. "The monsters have a limit in the daylight?"

"No. They only tried to destroy things, not kill anyone, but they had the time to do so." Gwen shut the theory down. "That would only explain one reason as to why they retreated. There's got to be more."

"Wait," Sylas brought out his notepad. "Today's the fourth. The winter solstice is the twenty-first. What happens on the solstice?" he asked rhetorically. He didn't wait for anyone to answer. "It's dubbed the shortest day of the year because there's limited sunlight. No sunlight to kill the monsters..."