Chapter 26: A Zepal a day keeps the Sith at bay.
I tap my fingers against the metallic surface of my desk, the rhythm a poor attempt to distract myself from the gnawing stress in my heart. "Being disqualified really pisses me off because it fucks up my plans to destroy the Kesyk family. I know it started out as a mission given to me by Mother, but, Fuck, I really want to Deathstar her whole planet. She needs to know what happens when you think you can hurt me. She will be the end-all-be-all example." I huff in anger.
The knock on the door disturbs the stillness, and I freeze, a flicker of annoyance sparking within me. 'Who'd be so bold or foolish enough to disturb me now? Oh wait, it's probably Sola. She told me to stop sleeping in my room, so she's probably coming to get me.' My heart beats in anticipation of our new nightly ritual.
Pushing back from the desk, I stand and stride across the room, the door opening with a hiss. Sola stands there, her smug smile a beacon of confidence in the dimly lit corridor. But it's the sight of Viscountess Zepal hovering just behind her, twisting her hands together in what blatantly reads as nervous anticipation, that raises an eyebrow.
"Vex, a surprise, isn't it?" Sola's voice dances with amusement while Zepal's eyes dart everywhere but to me. "May we come in?"
"Of course," I say, stepping aside to grant them entry. My gaze lingers on Zepal for a moment longer than necessary; the sight of her discomfort is a small, petty satisfaction.
The door slides shut with a whisper, sealing us inside my goon sanctuary.
'ironically, since I've been in school, I'm pretty sure my porn addiction has completely been cured.' I look over at Sola while she stares at the viscountess with an unhinged look, and then she shifts her eyes to me. She saw the way I admired her and gave me a soft and loving smile. 'It's no surprise I stopped edging.'
As I shift my attention back to Viscountess Zepal, I notice an itch beneath my skin.
'Kill her. Be the Sith you are meant to be. Kill her and take the throne.'
'It's too early for the throne.' I respond to my inner Tyler Durden.
"Zepal has something she wants to tell you, Vex," Sola says, her tone light but layered with an unspoken command. Sola pushes Zepal my way like a mom forcing their child to apologize. Head held low. Zepal swallows audibly, and I find myself almost curious about what pitiful excuse she'll offer up.
The silence drapes over us like a shroud, thick and suffocating. Zepal's lips part, trembling as the words claw their way out. "Vex, I am terribly sorr—"
"Enough of that," Sola interjects, her voice slicing through the tension. She steps closer to me, a smirk playing on her lips. "Tell me, my love, what would soothe your wounded pride? How much flesh is penance worth?"
I can't help but chuckle, humor laced with a dark edge. "An arm might do," I quipped, the jest bitter on my tongue.
Before the echo of my words fades, Sola's saber hisses to life, its crimson glow illuminating Zepal's stricken face. The air crackles with energy, and then, with surgical precision, an arm falls to the ground, severed cleanly. Blood pools like spilled secrets, and I feel my heart skip, not in horror but in morbid amusement. To think she'd actually do it. I don't know why I doubted her in hindsight.
'Truly a woman after my own heart. I'll need to reward her lately. She has been so good to me.'
"Please..." Zepal's voice is a mere whisper, her body swaying from the shock. "Vex, I beg you..."
"Quiet," I say, the word a command. My mood shifts, curiosity pricking at me like thorns. "I want something from you, Zepal. Tell me why Duke Kesyk is so interested in Ares II."
Through gritted teeth and gasps of agony, she manages to speak. "The... the Duke believes there's a rare mineral... on Ares II. Something valuable."
"Valuable?"
I repeat, letting the word roll off my tongue. My fingers twitch, itching for my own saber, but I restrain myself. She is a viscountess, after all.
'Is that why the Jedi was there? For some stupid mineral?'
Sola's eyes narrow, the air thick with unspoken truths and the heavy scent of blood. Her saber hums, a violently beautiful melody, and in a flash, all of Zepal's remaining fingers join the arm on the floor. Sola does it with an artist's flair, almost as if she's painting a masterpiece with splatters of crimson. 'Cute.'
"Pathetic lies," Sola barks, her voice a chilling sing-song. "Your emotions scream louder than your words, Zepal."
"Stop, please!" Zepal howls, staring at the stump where her fingers used to be. "I'll talk! I swear!"
"Then spill it," I growl. My heart's a drumbeat in my chest, pounding out a rhythm of anticipation. The truth is here, within grasp, and I'm aching to seize it.
"Kesyk... he's after Ares II because..." Her words are drowned in sobs, but she fights through the pain, driven by the primal urge to survive. "He wants to kill your father, Syko Eras, and claim your mother, Hela. He's always loved her. Obsessed..."
The admission hits like a slug to the gut. Of all the reasons, this one reeks of a pathetic, twisted romance. My insides curl into a tight knot, the kind that only violence can unravel.
"Love," I spit out the word like it's poison. "Such a stupid reason to start a war."
Sola's eyes flicker with surprise.
I turn away, my thoughts a whirlwind of disgust and rage. 'Dad, a target? Mom, a prize for some lovesick Duke? It's almost laughable, in the most horrific sense.' My fists clench. 'Duke Kesyk, my goal was to shatter your daughter. But you….. To attack my family for such a petty reason when you already have a wife even… Your planet will be barren. Even after you die, your domain will not be able to sustain life. Mark my words.'
"Get out," I say, barely recognizing my own voice, A far cry from what it sounded like in Boston. I need space, time to think, to plan. But most of all, I need to not see the broken mess of Zepal anymore, her pain too loud in the silence of my room.
Zepal hobbled away, probably to the med bay. She left her flesh here. That kinda feels like littering in a way. I turn to Sola, the disgust churning in my stomach like a storm. "Can you believe this? A damned fool's errand for love."
Sola steps closer, her eyes reflecting a fire that might either consume or caress. "I can," she whispers, and the space between us evaporates as she presses her lips against mine. I melt at the touch.
"Good boy," she murmurs against my mouth, her praise dripping with dark amusement, "For not killing her. Had you done so, it would have been quite a mess to clean up. Probably would have even started a war." Her touch is a balm to the seething rage inside me, pulling me back from the edge of an abyss I'm all too familiar with lately.
"War sounds like a hell of a lot of work." I sigh as her fingers trail my neck. It's relaxing and I surrender to her embrace, my body molding into hers. The heat of her body promises shelter from the cold fury that has settled in my bones.
"We need to rethink tomorrow," I say once we part, my mind reluctantly shifting gears. Strategy over sentiment. 'We can play after we work.'
"Agreed," Sola nods, her gaze sharp and calculating. "The good news is that Kesyk's infatuation changes nothing. The bad news is we lost our best chance at getting the clearance codes needed for the orbital defense platform."
I tap my fingers on the table, drumming out some weird Jizz song I heard recently. "How do you think Zenna will do tomorrow?"
"I really don't know. Last year Ya-ta didn't take part in the tournament as she was apprenticing with her father. To be honest your sister is a monster, so she probably can win. She won last year's tournament despite being a first year."
"Fuck it, let it ride then."
"What?" Sola asks with confusion.
"Let's see what happens with Zenna. If she knocks out Ya-ta then that's great for us and we can basically follow the old plan to the T. If she doesn't knock her unconscious we can just figure it out tomorrow." I shrug tired from an annoying day.
Sola thinks for a moment. Her eyes dart in front of her as she processes her thoughts. "Okay," She speaks calmly. Suddenly I see her dawn a shit-eating grin. "It's time for bed, Vexxy."
Like a trained dog, I respond to my beautiful fiance and follow her into paradise.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone