Gazing into the midnight sky, stars washed over the heavens. Moons and planets were prominent as they watched over and protected the flourishing life inhabiting Dormus.

"Coranthia! Get your ass in here!" The voice pierced the stillness, igniting a dangerous fire within her–a call that pulled her deeper into the darkness she held within. 

As Coranthia Lauxsitain glanced up to the top of the steps she stood upon to meet the sunken eyes of the woman who unfortunately filled that so-called motherly role for the five of them, she grimaced.

She stepped onto the beige stone steps that led to the somehow even more beige stone brick building. It had always been an eyesore to her, especially with the letters etched into the front reading, CORPUS FUTUREM. Words Coranthia had always loathed, they had been repeated to her for what felt like thousands of times over again and yet she could never get a clear answer as to what it meant.

It was humid, as it often was during summer in Lyerion. The damp air made the loose yet snug fabric stick in places clothing should not be sticking. The fabric had always looked like rippling dark waves of water the way it wrapped around her body. As the light from the sconces at the large quarter round doors began to reach her, the fabric shifted once again in order to adjust to the more compromising brilliance. 

"Cora! If we don’t move it we’ll probably be sent back out," said with a little bit of emphasis to that last word. The voice was already steps ahead of Cora, eagerness radiating off the short figure. Leona’s figure.

She continued up the steps of what used to be a castle to her when she was no taller than a scribes desk. Now, it seemed so simple and dull compared to the architecture throughout the rest of Lyerion.

` "What has gotten you so off kilter recently? You are always so excited to deliver our trophies to Levi," said a male voice at her side.

She was excited, thrilled even. Today was a day of celebration, an achievement.

"I would be more on kilter if I didn't have to make up for your sloppy footwork, Jaxton."

"My foot work is anything but sloppy, maybe I can teach you sometime because clearly you need help with it," Jaxton said with a teasing tone.

Stopped at the middle of the staircase, Jaxton peered down at Coranthia with eyes that reminded her of the waters in the bay at dawn and a smirk that always made her want to lay him out on the floor. So, she did. 

One second Jaxton’s short silken blonde hair was billowing in the wind above Coranthia, the next, it was being smacked against the hard stone of the stairs with one sweeping maneuver of her leg against his. That leg was then placed on his chest pinning him to the ground.

"How's that for footwork, Armintine?" Coranthia said echoing the smirk that Jaxton had on his face a heartbeat ago.

"You can keep me here as long as yo-" 

He was immediately cut off by the approach of feather light footsteps. 

"Are you two done yet, because I would really like to get this over with," Leona said with a grimace that was now aimed at Jaxton, a hint of disappointment leaking from it.  

"She started it, you saw it yourself! I don't need you two to gang up on me for the hundredth time today."

Leona Bomani knew with absolute certainty who had started it, so she flipped her slick charcoal braid that seemed to engulf the night sky and strutted past them again, with elegant efficiency, into the stone fortress that was the Corpus Futurem.

"What's her deal?" Jaxton said as Coranthia lifted her leg and held out a hand to help him to his feet.

"You."

She locked arms with Jaxton as she swung a burlap sack over her shoulder then proceeded to stalk up the stairs to meet Florence and Leona.

"Ready to celebrate?" Leona said looking into Coranthia's pale, icy blue eyes.

"Ready." 

Coranthia turned into the largest room of the Futurem with not a single ounce of emotion showing. The room was always seemingly cooler than the rest of the manor, sending a chill down her spine, yet she walked into that room as if she was strolling through the sandy beach of the bay on a hot summer's day.

Follow the rules. Show no emotion. You are in control. She had repeated those words to herself all day in hopes that they would ground her. If she was being honest with herself, her spirit felt like it was thousands of paces from her body.

The gray marble that was on the walls of the great room also covered the floor, the room looked as if it was lined with mirrors. Mirrors that reminded her of how Leona liked to say "Coranthia’s bangs have gotten a tad too long for her liking and it's affecting her mood! Haircut day." She couldn't really argue, she liked her bangs to frame the sides of her face like curtains, nothing shorter or longer. Same went for the wavy dark brown hair that never went past her shoulders. Ever.

Coranthia's hand that was holding the bag was starting to cramp because of how tightly she clenched it. And she had good reason to. She was gaining her freedom today because of it.

After passing through the large arched doorway of the room, Coranthia glared at the serpentine stature of the figure at the center of the room. Him. The man that had made her the person she is today. A weapon. He sat on what always seemed to many as a throne; it was not a throne. In fact it was just a chair of polished dark wood with a velvety animal pelt strung over it. It wasn't that the chair looked like a throne, it was his presence that gave the chair its imperial demeanor. Three massive tables made of the same polished wood curved around his presence. 

Levi sat there with his dark hip length hair, dripping down his back and shoulders like oil. He had never had a clean shaved face but the facial hair never grew into anything more than stubble. It had always annoyed Coranthia, but not today. She had more important things to occupy her thoughts. She felt a smile attempt to appear on her face, but held it back because she was not going to give him that.

As the three of them continued to approach the chair, Leona strutted forward with feline grace, right up to Levi. She bent down and delicately placed a kiss on his cheek with the lips that were always flush with a darker rosy pigment. A light print of that kiss lingered on his face after. 

Leona had the widest grin on her face as she went to brush the pads of her left hand over the print. Levi cupped her hand in his. Jaxton and Coranthia internally cringed at the boisterous laugh that was abruptly ended by the loud crunching and cracking of bone.

Leona winced as she averted her gaze from the pale skin of a large, plump hand slowly moving away from her hand left suspended in the air. Her amber eyes landed on the limp and bent in the wrong place tan hand that belonged to her. She blinked as if in realization that it was in fact her own hand. Pain lanced up the nerves of her hand–her entire body. The only noise she allowed herself to make was a light giggle. 

"This is the best one she's done yet," Jaxton whispered in the direction of Coranthia.

"Should we ask Indira or Bly for the extra wrapping this time?" Coranthia whispered back.

Jaxton didn't respond. 

Coranthia looked back to the throne at Levi and Leona locking eyes, Levi's eyes always had what could only be explained as red flame in the dark pit of his gaze. They swallowed Leona whole. 

Levi, without showing any emotion from what he inflicted on Leona's hand, simply smirked in satisfaction, "You’re too sweet, Ms. Bomani." 

Every word was laced no, seething, with venom.

With a tiny upturn at the corner of his lip, he raised his left hand and with one fluid movement he shooed Leona away as if she were one of his servants. As if he hadn’t completely shattered her hand.

Leona willed her spine to stiffen even if the action required massive amounts of effort. She turned and went perfectly in line between Coranthia and Jaxton. Both of them knew she only had minutes.

The presence of her body next to Coranthia’s felt like tiny bugs crawling up her skin. The corner of her gaze flickered to the top of Leona’s head now aligned with her chin, that chin happened to also align to Jaxtons mid-biceps. Height order, just how Levi liked it.

Coranthia’s steps were smoothly executed towards the chair. Walking down the aisle she kept her pale blue eyes locked on his. Never faltering. It was as if flame and ice were clashing at the weight of the invisible battle begging to break free and rip through the room.

"One-hundred," Coranthia declared with absolute pride.

She finally loosened her grip on the burlap sack that had been plastered to her hand since the moment she obtained it. Two hours ago.

"Ninety-nine." Levi said it as if he predetermined the number was going to come out of her mouth.

Coranthia's complete control slipped for less than a second as that soul crushing number leaked out of him.

A wet thud echoed off the reflective floor of the great room. The bag collapsed to the floor and that was all the lack of control she’d give him.

"Ah, I thought I taught you better than to treat your mementos with utter recklessness. But as always, you can never fully listen." 

She was seconds away from showing him true recklessness. As she tried to reel in her disdain, her traitorous lips spoke with serene coolness. 

"What leads you to say that?" 

"Are you questioning me, Coranthia?" he pushed.

Yes I am. Yes I am! YES I AM! The words pressed on her tongue with the weight of a hundred meteors.

"Of course not, I would never question such a know it all."

Levi stood with remarkable grace for his height and overall demeanor. His body was towering over Coranthia leaving her in a shadow cast by his bulky body. The fire sconces indented in the walls formed a triangle every few paces of the great room; one of the triangles perfectly illuminated his more than pissed face. He shifted his focus to the sack on the ground that had a circular protrusion from it.

The tilt of his lips returned, "I bet you felt particularly proud of this one because of the foolish misapprehension you were under, weren't you?"

She never felt proud, and that was the truth. She locked that emotion down to the pit that contained most if not all, of her very being. If she were to allow herself to feel proud, it would definitely not be for this one. It wasn't even originally hers, Jaxton’s lousy foot work granted it to her. Which made her wonder how intentionally he had made those steps considering the significance of the big milestone. She knew Jaxton like his life was her own and his footwork was never lousy.

She bit out between clenched teeth, "Prick."

Without an ounce of hesitation Coranthia grabbed his left hand and twisted her whole body behind his. There wasn't even a second to process what she was doing as she pulled down on his arm, dislocating it from its socket. Giving herself enough leverage from the pull, she pushed her body up the boulder of a figure and thrust her knee into the back of his thigh forcing a growl to escape him.

Levi grabbed the side of her waist, his hand finding purchase on a fold of fabric. He tugged her off his back in one swift motion.

Her body tumbled to the ground and landed right next to a head. No, not just a head, a severed head. The eyes were still glossy. 

"This will also be joining the pit," she whispered as she locked eyes with the head of a thirty-five year old shop owner who, about two hours ago, used to live on the corner of Sloan and Prodence. 

Levi dragged his flame embedded eyes over the room before he sneered, "Ninety-nine. Now all of you get out, I don't want to see any of you in my space for a second longer."

Coranthia looked at him with utter disdain and disbelief. She opened her mouth and shut it in defeat, which to her really felt like muscle memory at this point. She looked toward Jaxton, then to Leona. Her eyes were starting to glaze and lose focus.

"Ninety-nine," she said with that lingering defeat in her tone.

Levi scoffed and turned back to his chair as Coranthia got to her feet. Using what dwindling control over her actions she had left, she hurriedly moved over to Leona and pinned her hands on her arm. Jaxton did the same as soon as he felt Leona’s stiffened spine falter.

"Indira. Now let's go," Jaxton mumbled.

Levi's voice boomed in a parting statement. 

"Oh, and Coranthia… don't act like I don't provide the air you breathe again. I have taught you better."

And with that, Coranthia turned her head to the General of Lyerion troops, shut her eyes and tilted her chin down in hesitant agreement. 

With the weight of Leona becoming increasingly heavier, Coranthia and Jaxton left the great room of the Corpus Futurem Conclave.