“Council meeting in 5!” Esmeray called out loudly, and Zayn watched her as she swiftly walked away and in the direction of the meeting room. They sighed, seeing a couple other council members follow her in. As they scanned the area to see who were all headed to where the meeting would take place, they didn’t spot one of the members. They turned away from where they were supposed to be going, now off to go get the other council member.

They arrived at the room, where they could hear the faint humming of someone behind the door. They raised their hand and gently rapped their knuckles against the door in a rhythmic tune.

“Oh sh- SHOOT! Hi, come in!” Zayn couldn’t help but be amused at the response, turning the knob and opening the door. The young girl watched cautiously to see who was at the door, but after noticing it was Zayn, she immediately went back to her project.

“What are you working on, Fenix?” They inquired, looking over from where they stood and watching her continue fidgeting with some sort of invention. She faced Zayn; her golden, yellow eyes shone with humble awkwardness.

"Oh, pff- it’s stupid. I’m just messing with some of these glowing gems to see if I could make some sort of light source for travel—more practical than torches and easily accessible in comparison to magic! I’ve studied the properties of these, and they can keep away corrupteds, even in small amounts!” She quickly began rambling on her project but stopped before getting carried away.

“That’s fascinating, although I hate to break it to you that I also came here to let you know the council is meeting.”

“Right now?” She whined in disappointment. The girl was far too young to be forced to be on council—only 14. But after what happened before, it was the safest option. The dark scars along her face still seemed so fresh in Zayn’s mind. Plus, she was still a royal and would be the one to take over the colony if Esmeray somehow died, as Fenix is her niece. They couldn’t be any more different from each other.

“Unfortunately, come on.” Zayn waved for Fenix to go first; they followed behind and headed to the meeting room.

Arriving at the room, there was a long table that stretched across the room, with 11 seats, one at the head of the table and five on each side. Most were filled at this point, aside from 4. Zayn headed to their designated spot, next to the head chair, while Fenix was just a couple seats down. Surprisingly, Zayn hadn’t spotted Esmeray yet, who they believed would have been the first one here as she headed this direction. “Where’s Esmeray?” Zayn asked, scanning the room once more.

“She said she’d be back; at this rate, she’ll be late to her own meeting.” One of the council members replied, irritated. Most people here seemed irritated or confused at the sudden meeting, which was understandable. Zayn assumed it had to be about the Oasis Colony and their distrust. They remained quiet as they listened to the other council members converse among themselves. The chatter died down when Esmeray finally returned, and everyone turned their heads in her direction.

“Thank you to everyone for making it to this last-minute meeting. I’ve needed to address this topic for a while now, and with more to discuss regarding our trip to the Oasis, I have someone new to introduce to our council.” She stepped to the side, allowing the new person to step into view. It took a second, but Zayn recognized the tall, pale figure. They were taller than Esmeray by a significant amount, and even she was tall. The dark symbol that hovered over their face confirmed who this was. How was it even alive? Zayn felt anger boil in their chest, swiftly standing up and slamming their fists on the table, unclenching their hands, and letting their claws pierce into the table under their grip. This caught everyone off guard. Everyone but Esmeray and the new person.

“WHAT THE HELL?! How is he even here?!” Zayn’s hands shook with rage, their ears pinned back, and their misty tail lashed violently in response to this person’s presence. Their wrist burned, but they didn’t flinch.

“Zayn, you are making such a commotion out of this.” Esmeray dismissed their behavior. “Everyone, this is Amaris. It’s the returning Sacred Monarch of the Healers of Impure Divinity organization, and they’ve been so kind to ally with our colony.” Zayn felt outraged at how calm Esmeray was; normally, they were well composed and never drew unnecessary attention to themselves, even when controversial discussions were happening. They opened their mouth, about to tell Esmeray to discuss this outside in private. But they saw the slight smirk that crept over her face, her narrowed eyes showed satisfaction at the reaction she received from this. Esmeray fully knew what she was doing, which only masked their anger with hurt. Of course, they knew she would do whatever it took to reach her own goals, but Zayn didn’t expect her to go as far as this. They took a quick glance at the council before settling down and sitting back down, resting their palms on the table with a cold, distant expression.

“Wonderful!” Esmeray ended the conversation; any other council member who may have wanted to say something stayed silent. Esmeray took her place at the head of the table, while Amaris sat across from Zayn. The burning in their wrist finally stopped. They rubbed their wrist for a moment while processing the situation, avoiding eye contact with him as they stared forward at the wall.

“Now, let’s move onto more important topics. Zayn was unable to convince Rosalind to secure an allyship with Singing Woods, and Starlit Caves continue to push against our borders. My guardians are growing tired.” She paused for a moment. “We need to get rid of them for good.” 

“Get rid of them? How?” A council member asked, and he looked concerned.

“If they can’t learn to keep to their own territory after we’ve warned them numerous times, we’ll kill them all."

“Kill them?!” Fenix spoke up for the first time in a while. She looked horrified at the idea and at how Esmeray could even suggest such a cruel thing. “No! No one deserves to be killed just for struggling to survive! They are all suffering there; just leave them alone!” She looked around at the other members, trying to find someone who agreed with her. Some of the people whispered amongst themselves before Esmeray spoke up again.

“Zayn’s been right about one thing: we can’t afford enemies.” She turned to Zayn for their opinion. Zayn finally looked back at the people here.

“That’s not what I meant by saying that, and you know it.”

“Although hasn’t killing been your solution to get rid of that for years? We wouldn’t have the enemy anymore if they were gone.”

“There’s a difference between killing specific people and slaughtering a whole colony. It would be too much of a risk to your own colony to do such a thing. It’s not an efficient way to solve this conflict.” They countered. “We will try something else.”

Esmeray groaned at Zayn for disagreeing before regaining her confident demeanor. “Amaris! We haven’t heard from you; what are your thoughts?” Zayn clenched their fists but stayed silent.

He cleared its throat. “Thank you, and I have to agree with Esmeray. It is quite possible, especially with this, Zayn, here.”

Zayn quickly glared at Amaris. “If you are looking for someone to do your dirty work, look elsewhere.”

“Elaborate.” Esmeray commanded and shot her attention back towards Zayn. It felt like all eyes were on them, burning into their skin like the toxic corruption that plagued this world. Everyone was silent as they awaited for Amaris to continue. They despised this.

“This being could easily take out at least the rulers and many more there. Get Zayn to kill them first, then we can assist afterwards.” Discussion arose from the council. Zayn’s head spun as they felt themselves slip deeper and deeper into the depths of their mind. The sound of rushing water filled their ears. It felt like they were drowning. Sparks flicked off their hands, and their palms glowed. They snapped from their dissociative state and sharpened their glare at Amaris.

“I’m not an object; I’m not just a weapon or a tool you can all use. While I’ll help protect your colony, this is where I draw the line.” Zayn looked at Esmeray now, their expression cold and tired. The sparking died down, but it still occurred every now and then.

“That’s rich coming from you.” Esmeray taunted. “Either way, let’s take a vote. All in favor of leaving the enemy be, continue risking our guardians’ lives.” Zayn scanned the room, only seeing Fenix instantly raise her hand to vote. Their stomach sank, and they looked down at the table.

“And now, all those in favor of showing we aren’t a colony to be pushed around and finally putting an end to these unnecessary border fights, with any means necessary," Amaris stated the second option. People shuffled as they, one by one, began raising their hands. Their palms stopped glowing, returning to normal as they sank back into their seat in defeat.

“How delightful to hear! To wrap up this meeting, I want to inform you all that Zayn and I will be leaving in a bit to gather more information from that temple. We will set up a time to execute our plan in the upcoming days. As of now, everyone's free to leave.” Everyone began getting up and shuffling out of the room; some quickly introduced themselves to Amaris before leaving the room. Zayn walked out before anyone could get their attention, going up to their room and searching for a pen and paper. Once they located the two items, they scribbled down a quick note. Underneath, they made sure to add ‘Burn This’ at the bottom. They folded the note into a small square, leaving their own room and making their way to Fenix’s room. They slide the note under the door before leaving to head downstairs again.

Downstairs, they could still hear Esmeray and Amaris talking in the meeting room. They cautiously stepped by the doorway. “Esmeray, shouldn’t we be leaving now?”

Esmeray turned around, and Amaris quit talking. “Actually, I think we need to have a word.” She waved her hand as if calling Zayn over. They hesitantly stepped forward into the room. The doors flew shut behind them. “You made a mess of my meeting, dear. Lashing out like that."

Zayn scowled, crossing their arms with a roll of their eyes. “Yes, because at the start of a meeting was a great time to introduce a new council member and allyship with, oh, I don’t know, this a-” They felt hands that pried them to the edge of the table, slamming their head against it. They fell to the ground with a gasp, holding a hand to their head. But it began healing swiftly, not leaving even a small scar.

“Is that really how you want to introduce me?” Zayn could feel the sensation as if someone had their hands over their shoulders. The dark feeling of despair started to creep into their mind.

"Now, listen to me. I've put up with your attitude long enough, but that ends now. You are supposed to complete your mission. All I've asked for in return is to support my colony. If you ever try to challenge me in a meeting again, I'll be sure that you'll never regret it. Hear me?" Esmeray lectured in a dark tone, leaning forward slightly as she looked down at Zayn.

“My mistake.” Zayn grumbled as the sensation went away and their mind cleared up. They stood back up and crossed their arms.

"Excellent! Now, we will be leaving." Esmeray commanded as she walked past Zayn to head out of the room. Zayn could feel Amaris' glare piercing into their skull. They stayed silent and followed Esmeray out. Their mission had taken a turn they weren't expecting.