Sceptra smirked, relishing in the rebuttal. Ira was his closest friend and had been there in his despair, as he grieved the onlyone who truly understood him—the one who had seen the soul beneath the shroud of death.
“It is for their own good!” Leo shouted, his chair toppling over as he stood. Gold sparks of light danced around his hands and feet, crackling across the glass table. “This is for order. Iwillhave order.” His face was fuming now, staring down the Stars, daring them to challenge him.
“No,” Sceptra replied, his voice only slightly louder than a whisper, yet the entire room stilled.
“No? You who relish in death? Of course you would choose chaos. It only brings you more bodies to Solrend,” Leo spat, clenching the edge of the table as he stared at Sceptra.
“I do not rejoice at death, brother. Unlike you, I believe in choice as I also believe in justice. And, unlike you, I do not manipulate my duties to the realm to suit my wants. I was charged with shepherding the dead, so I do.” Shadows curled around his hands as he answered, his voice placid despite the growing hatred inside him.
“Justice? You mock me, brother. I am the embodiment of justice, for justice creates balance.” Leo smiles again, puffing out his chest.
“Like the justice you so graciously bestowed on Cordia?” Sceptra rose from his chair, no longer able to fight back his wrath. His hands shook with anger, shadows pouring from his palms, enveloping him in darkness.
“That isnotthe same!” Leo shouted, control slipping from his voice.
“No? Then tell me, oh Star of Balance, what judgment did you cast on her killer? Her own steward who betrayed her?” Sceptra’s voice rose with every word, shadows billowing around his feet and crashing around the chairs of the Stars next to him.
Constantia rose as well, looking at Sceptra and back at Leo, bewildered.
“What does he mean?”
The soft melodious voice cut through the heated argument as a painfully beautiful figure dressed in navy robes rose from her chair, her body quivering as she looked at Leo.
Before he could reply, Sceptra answered first, “Tell her. Tell Andromeda how her beloved sister died and how you did nothing to avenge her.”
“No, please. Leo. Tell me this isn’t true?” Andromeda’s voice cracked as tears welled in her eyes.
“She went against my command! She wasn’t supposed to be there!” Leo yelled, golden light arching from his hands and his hair.
“What do you mean?” Sceptra paled as he stared at Leo, his heartbeat quickening. The shadows continued to creep along the room, slivers of black slithering over the windows and dulling the golden room.
“I… I…” Leo stuttered, his eyes widening.
“Answer me!” Sceptra shouted, feeling his eyes turning their devilish red as more shadows filled the air.
“I sent the Leviathan,” Leo blurted out. “It was me. I sent her steward to destroy the ships. The mortal ships were straying too close to Solrend. She did not know I sent it, and she went anyway. To save them. To save the pathetic mortals. It is her fault. If she had only listened to me, understood the necessity of control, she would not have been destroyed.”
Leo’s eyes darted between the Empyrean, seeking vindication.
But all that met him were the stares of disbelief and malice.
“You…you killed her,” Sceptra muttered in shock.
“It was not my fault. I was doing it for the good of—”
Leo’s words were cut short as shadows burst from Sceptra and ensnared the Star of Balance. Long tendrils of blackness blasted through the chairs and shattered the table, glass flying in all directions. The thick wisps latched around the golden-armoredfigure, curling around his entire body until only his face was visible.
The other Stars scattered backward, some screaming as they fled.
Sceptra could faintly hear Ira yelling at him to stop, but that was simply not an option.
Not now.
More waves of shadow erupted from his core, flooding the entire room until there was barely any starlight left. Leo gasped, choking as tendrils wrapped around his neck, cutting off any more worthless excuses. The guards outside the Council chamber pounded on the door in a feeble attempt to break through the shadows, but it was no use.
Sceptra’s feet crunched over broken glass as he stepped in front of Leo. The golden Star’s eyes widened, fear glossing over his pupils. He struggled against the black constraints, trying to summon his golden light to no avail.
There was no amount of light that could fight off the darkness of a broken heart.
