you can do no wrong

it  wasn’t  much  a  secret  that  leandra  was  not  his  favorite  person.  daxton  had  never  quite  put  his  finger  on  it,  but  he  would  rather  avoid  his  second  in  command  than  share  time  with  the  other.  however,  dax  was  also  a  respectful  spymaster,  and  he  knew  he  had  to  be  polite  to  the  person  who  ranked  higher  than  him  in  the  inner  circle.  “  leandra.  ”  he  greets  upon  seeing  the  other  in  the  hall.  “  have  you  spoken  to  our  high  lady  yet  ?  ”  

she nods back in greeting, "yes, daxton, i just spoke with her. i'm sending extra guards to watch over the high family, instructing them to keep them all inside for now." leandra tells him, keeping up the mask of professionalism she's known for. even if daxton isn't her favorite person, she values his skills and knows they need to work together to secure their court, "have you learned anything of interest? anything that i should know?" she lets out a breath, "i wish only for no more surprises." though, she thinks she won't be so lucky.

the  other's  should  not  come  as  a  surprise  for  alina,  of  course  she  was  ahead,  as  she  expects  leandra  to  be.  her  emerald  hues  subtly  appraise  the  woman  before  her  to  see  if  she'd  been  hurt,  but  found  nothing  on  her  person  that  indicated  otherwise.  her  head  dipped  in  a  nod  at  the  other,  the  other  benefit  that,  leandra  did  not  need  to  be  told  what  to  do,  she  was  efficient.  when  the  commander  stepped  closer,  lowering  her  voice  for  privacy,  alina  met  the  other's  gaze,  masking  her  surprise  at  the  words  that  befell  leandra,  unexpected  certainly  to  this  extent.  "ah,  quite  surprising  to  hear  you  are  worrying  about  me,  commander. i did not think you would miss dear old me."  the  retort  slips  somehow  anyway  before  she  continues,  "i  will  be  alright,  I  would  not  carelessly  place  myself  in  danger.  i  cannot  disappear  altogether,  you  know  this,  leandra.  if  these  things  make  themselves  known  again,  our  people  will  need  me  on  the  front  line." leandra  was  strong,  stronger  than  most,  but  how  much  could  she  fend  off  alone?  or  their  guards?  what  startled  her  the  most  that  arwen's  visions  had  come  to  pass,  they  were  vague  but  the  smoke  and  something  coming...this  is  what  her  seer  had  seen.  the  winged  beasts,  and  their  world  nearly  burning.  "i  caught  daxton  just  moments  prior,  but  i'll  go  with  you  to  locate  our  general.  my  siblings  will  be  escorted  inside,  i  will  remain  out  here."

"i have conferred with a few of the other commanders as well." albeit, not completely on purpose, in some cases, the opportunity seemed to just fall into her lap. and though her main concern was with her own court, she valued the opinions of the other seconds in command and knew that being on the same page as them was wise. "i do not have any reason to believe that we are in imminent danger, but i will not let my guard down. none of us will let our guard down." she had not let her guard down since they arrived at the capital and she was sure aline knew that she was not going to take her finger off the pulse, especially now, "have you spoken with any of the other high lords?" leandra wanted to be sure that they were on the same page.

"  i  trust  you  are  up  to  no  good.  "  rhys  greets  as  he  finds  his  cousin.  between  all  of  his  dawn  relatives,  it  was  atlas  that  was  perhaps  the  one  he  was  closest  to.  he  saw  sera  far  more,  but  atlas  and  he  had  too  many  similarities  to  compete  with.  with  everything  going  on,  the  emissary  to  winter  needed  someone  to  talk  to,  someone  he  could  fully  relax  with  and  not  think  about  how  useless  he  was.  atlas  was  precisely  that  person.  "  at  least,  i  hope  one  of  us  is  having  fun.  "

atlas smiles, clapping rhys fondly on the shoulder as he approaches, "rhys! you look well." he tells him, "you know me... always up to at least a little bit of trouble." intentionally or unintentionally. thankfully, he feels like his cousin is not one to judge, that he can appreciate a little bit of trouble — the fun kind, at least. "i am definitely having more fun now that you're here." he's always enjoyed the company of his cousin, especially now, with all the troubles facing the realm. it feels good to know that he has someone on his side, "how are you faring? how are things over in the winter court?"

there was a beast in each high lord, every fae knew that, or at least he thought they did and it was taking every part of him right now to not introduce the new high lords beast form to the rest of the citizens of prythian because what in the cauldron was that? letting his breathing settle for a moment he avoided looking at his brother for a moment, until he could do it was a level of neutrality on his face. "well i'm not unconcerned." he offered his expression tight as he spoke. "don't like that one bit...can you check on our sister, i haven't seen her and i want to find the other high rulers."

well i'm not unconcerned, there were times like these that he wished his older brother was easier to read. atlas wanted to be in on whatever was going on, he wanted ambrose to trust him with things like this. he figured maybe he had to prove himself a bit more before being fully involved. "yes, i can check on eowynn. i'll... i'll check on sera, too." though, he was sure the night court was ensuring her safety, "do you think whatever those things were will come back?" he paused, "sorry for asking so many questions, i have just never seen anything like this before. have you?" he asked, hoping for some sort of reassurance that this would pass, that they would all be alright.

ADRIA ARJONA as Maddy Masters HITMAN (2024)

❝ leandra? ❞ her name is somehow venom and syrup, heavy-laden on his tongue, a challenge to his reality.

"it's  not  just  you,  were  it  not  for  you,  i  was  certain  this  evening  would  a  slowly  passing  one."  the  youngest  lord  of  day  understood  the  atmosphere  the  events  have  caused,  but  sour  moods  were  not  going  to  change  their  predicament.  he  was  homesick,  perhaps  not  to  the  extent  that  ced  was,  for  dec  it  was  missing  his  nieces  and  nephews.  he  could  count  on  atlas  to  be  the  life  of  the  party  ride  beside  him.  "let  us  hope  the  next  party  will  be  in  one  of  our  courts.  though  i'm  tempted  for  us  to  pitch  the  idea  of  us  arranging  the  next  soiree."  declan  grinned  meeting  his  friend's  gaze,  "your  brother  might  have  some.  my  brother?  he  has  far  too  many."  although,  tonight  it  seemed  ced  appeared  in  a  better  mood  than  usual,  which  of  course  left  the  youngest  aster  too  curious  of  the  cause.  "have  you  tried  this?"  he  handed  the  other  a  oddly  blue  hued  drink,  "looks  heinous  but  it  is  tasty."

"what i wouldn't give to have an event back at one of our courts..." he sighed with a shake of his head. he liked traveling and he liked being around so many friends and family members, but he longed for the crisp mornings of dawn and the sense of calm that came with home. plus, being stuck here didn't make it feel like some nice getaway. kind of the opposite, actually. "maybe a party by us would make it feel like home." atlas chuckled, shrugging a shoulder. he was tempted to throw one just to get the attention of his brother, and maybe to help him let loose. he lifted his eyebrows at the sight of the drink, taking it from the other, "are you lying just so you can see my face when it tastes horrendous?" atlas teased, lifting the drink to give it a sniff, "it doesn't smell too bad..." the color mad him wary, but was too intriguing to pass up at the same time, "bottoms up." he brought the drink to his lips, taking a healthy sip.

when  the  rumbling  came  to  a  permanent  halt,  the  high  lady  had  been  quick  on  her  feet  to  locate  her  siblings,  ensuring  they  were  unharmed  and  accounted  before  her  gaze  found  the  commander  of  the  summer  court.  a  woman  who  did  little  to  mask  her  dislike  for  her  high  lady,  but  a  woman  that  certainly  had  earned  her  current  position.  she  knew  little  of  others  who  are  as  fearless  as  she  herself  was,  and  leandra  was  one  of  them.  those  winged  creatures  were  gone  for  now,  but  the  high  lady  was  well  aware  their  troubles  were  nowhere  near  over.  they  would  be  back,  along  with  this  entity  that  currently  wished  to  toy  with  them.  "if  you  see  our  general,  instruct  them  to  remain  with  my  siblings,  they,  and  nor  our  guards  are  not  leave  their  side."  her  tone  leaving  no  argument  as  her  brassy  hues  met  the  commander's.  the  two  that  remained  with  her  alina  had  sent  off  to  the  other  dragomirs.

"i have already sent some extra guards their way," leandra nodded, straightening her spine and standing tall, "i will be checking in intermittently as well." she promised. she looked around, stepping closer to alina and lowering her voice, "you, too, should try to stay out of the fray. we do not know if they will come back or what's next. do not put yourself at risk." she did not wish ill upon the high lady no matter her disdain, "i am planning on finding our general and spymaster shortly to discuss what we should do next."

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