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"Where is your Loyalty?"

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"HE'S NICE," I signed.

'Only Nice?" my mom echoed, raising an eyebrow, "I fear that's too much of a vague description for my liking, darling," she huffed with a gentle smile, "care to elaborate?"

I chuckled at this shaking my head at this, looking down at the covers for a second thinking back to the first time I had ever met Lucas Bowne, in the library.

'Well, he has a good sense of humor,' I signed for a moment, letting the sentence hang as I remembered more,

"mischievous," I added thinking back to how embarrassed after our first meeting,

"kind," I added, then paused, "thoughtful, honest, incredibly good-looking," I added with a short wave of embarrassment,

"gentle, understanding, caring," I sighed my shoulder dropping,

"loyal, believes in what he thinks is right," I paused at this, feeling low,

'even if that hurts him every day,' I finished my eyes trailing up to my mother who looked at me thoughtfully.

"He seems...perfect," she began softly, and yet her tone held no change, "too perfect," she added, "no one's perfect."

That was true.

True beyond any other thing right now.

No one in the world was perfect because no one had it all. Daya seemed to be the piece that stopped him from completing his perfect world, and in some messed up way, Daya represented what Harvest was for me, or what barriers were for everyone else.

There is always something in life that you think, 'If I could just fix that' everything else would be perfect.

My eyes raised back to Mom who was watching me attentively and I shook my head with a low scoff,

'He's in love with my roommate,"  I chuckled lowly.

Surprisingly, though I tried not to let it affect me back then, it always used to irk me that Daya was the one whom he craved.

And although I knew even if I was given the chance to be that for him, I would suck at it, probably twice as hard as she did.

I always felt some sort of hurt that the place was already occupied. But now, the strange part was, that I didn't feel like that anymore.

The feeling that occupied the hollows of my chest was not one of selfishness. I simply wanted him free from her.

He owed that to himself. He just deserved better.

"Your roommate?" Mom echoed after a short silence of what assumed had caught her by surprise.

"Did Gravis just put you smack in the heart of Drama?" she huffed, glancing toward the door as if she would somehow be able to spot him before her eyes latched back onto mine.

I chuckled at this, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"So," she continued, " do you like him?"

I gave her a displeased look and she shrugged, "I mean you just described the most charming man in the world. Most times, the princess falls for Prince Charming you know," she hummed.

I frowned at this.

"W-we're just friends' I replied, my hands dropping to my lap, as I rubbed my wrists.

She held her hands up in mock surrender, "sure thing," she grinned, "if you can't tell it to me yet, you're probably not ready, or simply not sure," she added causing my eyebrows to arch.

"Just tell me this, has he used his abilities- whatever they may be on you?" she asked.

Before I could answer she added, "Be that for your good or against your will?"

I shook my head at this.

'He's a perfect gentleman," I signed back with a soft smile, "and he's green. Green's are shifters, so he'd probably kill me if he ever used his dilect on me, though he technically doesn't have one as he is a deception," I finished, confusing myself at the jumbled sentence, expecting her to look confused as well as I recall never really explained to her that not all the kids were Dilectus.

However, her current settled reaction made me realize she probably knew more than I thought she had.

"I see," she hummed, her eyes set on me for a few seconds, "so the roommate huh?" she repeated.

I sighed nodding.

"Is she pretty?" Mom asked, with a soft smile.

"Drop-dead gorgeous, beautiful, and smart," I replied lowly, the smile that had been on my face disappearing.

"I see," she repeated with a nod, "you speak of him as if you know him well," she replied her hands placed in her lap.

I looked up at her with a short chuckle, 'we're friends," I repeated with a soft smile.

"Ah yes, you did mention that," she replied with a knowing grin to which I chuckled, "and does your roommate know of your friendship with him?" she asked softly as my eyes slowly trailed back to her knowing eyes.

I hated that she was able to piece things together so quickly, and I scolded myself for not realizing this sooner even after I knew quite well how great of a queen she was just by using her head.

I swallowed harshly at this but shook my head feeling embarrassed.

"Sounds complicated," she stated.

I nodded at that a silence roaming between us for a moment before she broke through it, her tone gentle and firm.

"Don't get too involved, Hunny," she began as my eyes trailed to meet her gentle ones.

She tilted her head to the side giving me a soft smile, accompanied by her knowing loo, "he's smart enough to make his own decisions and she's your roommate, where's your loyalty?" she questioned.

I felt guilty at this, feeling in the pit of my stomach that she was right.

And though I could honestly say that I never tried to take Daya's place in Lucas' life, neither had I ever forced him to look at what she was, if anything, I preferred when he could talk to me about anything else.

Either way, no matter what it was, Daya was my roommate.

Everybody would see me as a dishonest sneaky person if anything ever happened between Lucas and me, when I, above all people, knew they were into each other.

And I simply did not want to be labeled that kind of girl.

My eyes met my mom's at the feel of her hands on mine, 'what if she's horrible to him?' I signed, eyes set in hers desperately.

'Should I be loyal to a roommate who can't even make the effort to be my friend, or should I be below to him, a person who has shown me he is a friend, over and over again?" I asked her, my hands falling lifelessly onto my lap after I asked.

She leaned in forward taking both my hands in hers, "I'm not saying to bend over backward for her," she replied, tucking one of my loose curls behind my ear, her hand caressing my chin.

"Being loyal can also mean being truthful. If you're harmlessly close to him, why should you hide it? And if she's so horrible to him, why does he stay?" she asked, "from the sounds of him, he looks like he's strong enough to walk away-"

My mind pictured Lucas Bowne, not the Lucas Bowne I had met, but the one I knew now, drained from the Crimson Blood Moon.

The funny part was Harvest had been right.

Then, when he was as tall and as radiant as the sun, looking stronger than ever, he had been weak when it came to Daya, but now in his weakest form, he seemed to have developed the strongest will

My mind flashed back to the moment we shared earlier right before Daya interrupted us.

"He wasn't," I replied cutting her short, holding her gaze, 'but I..." I let out a loose breath my hand still in the air, "I think he is now."

Mom seemed to contemplate this statement with slow nods accompanied by a low hum as she pursed her lips.

"And why do you think he is? Is it because he genuinely knows that she's not good for him, or because he thinks he's found someone better?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

My mind flashed back to some statements that Harvest made.

NAIVE.

That word stuck with me.

He had accused Lucas of using me and thinking back to the comment he had made earlier about wanting to continue where he left off made something sink and click inside me.

Mom was right.

All Lucas needed to focus on now was being happy and free, not jumping into another boat with none other than me- someone who had almost drowned in a lake.

"And is that someone better ready?" she asked.

My eyes snapped back to her and she read me as I read her like an open book.

I was not ready.

We stayed in silence, only our lofty breaths filling the air when a sudden knock on the door startled us, being pushed open not a second later, Gravis filling the frame.

"Gravis," Mom began, watching him.

"My queen, Princess," he began turning to me, "it's time to leave, it's already late," he began respectfully.

I turned to the window surprised that it was already dark.

I had spent the whole day with my mother.

She smiled at me holding her arms open for me, to which I propelled myself, hugging her tightly. her hands brushed in my hair, leaving a kiss there,

"Oh, you'll be back," she chuckled as I prolonged the hug, I nodded, as she held my hands.

"I'm so proud of you Talanda, very proud. My brave little girl," she watched me, in her eyes held a thousand stars of pride.

I smiled at this, as she gave me one last kiss and bid me farewell with a promise that I would be back soon.

As I was leaving I noticed that the white roses were gone from the room

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I walked in the sheer darkness, eyes looking straight ahead at the bright light of the scepters.

Everyone was probably inside by now as it was a cold night.

I tried to warm my hands by rubbing them together and walking faster to reach the scepters when a voice startled me.

"You've been hard to find lately, tell me, have you been purposefully avoiding me?" came the arrogant English accent of the boy in black.

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Y'all ready for the boy in black 🌚

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