Royal Reboot: Level up, Your Majesty!

Chapter 46: The Masquerade (1)

The Masquerade 

1

Her lilac-polished fingers drifted along the delicate rose-gold chain until they reached the snowflake-cut amethyst at its centre. The gem shimmered faintly, like twilight holding onto the last edge of day.

Predictably, a violet spark flared at her touch. She drew back sharply. It always flared like that. Every. Single. Time. And still, she hadn’t gotten rid of it. She knew it was irrational, yet no amount of reason had ever severed the thread that bound her to this stone. 

Hearing the approaching footsteps, she snapped the necklace into its locket and tucked it into her crystal-studded clutch.

A curt knock followed, and she opened the door.

Standing there, like someone pulled from a luxury tailoring catalogue, was Theomund Whitlock in a white bespoke suit, his lavender pocket square matching her dress. He extended his hand.

“Shall we?”

“Save it for the ball, Theo,” she said, smoothing the off-shoulder neckline of her dress and brushing her French braid over her exposed shoulder.

Theo withdrew his hand without complaint, though she could tell he was embarrassed by the way he paused to adjust his cufflinks.

They walked in silence down the hallway, the white limousine already visible just beyond the main entrance. White. All they needed now were doves and an officiant.

She said none of this. Her sarcasm stayed precisely where she liked it: on ice. Her face remained neutral, not because she was trying, but because her facial muscles had long decided that any reaction beyond the bare minimum was a waste of energy. 

Efficiency, she told herself. Or laziness. Either worked.

She almost smiled at the memory of certain someone’s ever-so-witty remark about her… minimalist expressions. Catching Theo’s eyes widening like she’d just declared her love. She smoothened her face back into its default setting: polite indifference.

Right?

Eydis’s smug teasing replayed in her mind: “Your Grumpiness.”

And just like that, the smirk escaped. Damn it.

“Is everything alright, Astra?” he asked, giving his suit a quick look, his hands pausing as if to straighten an imaginary wrinkle. “I hope I’m not too underdressed for this event.”

She gave him a flat look. What, exactly, was so shocking? It wasn’t like she’d announced she was from another planet. Though, amusingly, someone had once accused her of that.

“An… infuriating feline, if you must know.” 

Theo blinked. “What do you mean?”

“You’re fine. Status is the only fashion that matters here.”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Well, lucky I brought a full-face mask, then.”

“Lucky you,” she said dryly.

The silence between them grew more awkward with each click of her 7-inches heels until Theo cleared his throat. 

“Thanks for coming up with this, Astra. Having you as my partner definitely simplifies things.”

“A logical choice.” She reflected on her previous conversation with Eydis, the one that had led to this brilliant pairing with Theo. 

Logical, that much was true. She had weighed her options and chosen the one that caused the least friction. If she hadn’t stepped in, Theo might have invited Eydis. Astra was fairly certain the girl had been on his mind during that student council meeting.

After all, he wasn’t the only one watching her.

Astra’s heart betrayed her at the thought, quickening at the memory of those enigmatic amber eyes that had studied her so closely. They had been cold and analytical, yet beneath them there was something else. Something warmer, softer. 

Almost genuine.

Astra had barely registered the warmth of Eydis’s lips before everything spiralled. The kiss made her uncomfortable, entirely wrong in every way.

Eydis was underage. She had been drinking. The power imbalance made Astra feel as though she had crossed a line she could never justify. Her mission at St. Kevin's left no room for distractions.  Especially not that kind. Especially not with her.

Not with Eydis. And yet…

“Remember the mission,” Astra muttered to herself as they reached the car.

Theo opened the door, stepping aside for her. “I remember. We’ll keep tabs on Athena during her private talk with Thomas,” He glanced at her delicate silk dress. “Aren’t you cold? Should I grab you a coat?"

“I am,” she replied, sliding into the back seat, “but not how you think. I’m fine.”

Theo settled in across from her and reached for the champagne. A tilt of Astra’s head was enough to make him pause.

“Right,” he said with a sheepish laugh, returning the bottle to the fridge. “Probably not the best idea. I guess I’m just…”

"On edge?" 

He fumbled with his cufflinks, the silver glinting in her peripheral vision. “That obvious?”

"You hide it well,” she said, softer than usual.

His shoulders slumped slightly. “Not as well as I hoped. You’re… not what I expected,” he confessed before sitting up straighter. “This spy business feels like a game I’m not built to play. Athena is taking a huge risk and I’m just here dressed for show.”

Caught off guard by Theo’s unexpected openness, Astra said, “Your presence alone is enough.”

“Is it? Without you, I'd have been..."

"It likely wasn't trying to kill you." 

“Wait… how do you know that? What aren’t you telling me?” Theo asked.

Astra's hand unconsciously moved to her clutch, where the amethyst necklace lay hidden. Eydis’s voice returned to her mind.

"But for you, amethysts.” Eydis had said, her amber eyes glinting with a secret depth. Astra had been thrown by how someone so young could look so… timeless. "Serenity and intuition.”

And that answer had hit somewhere it shouldn’t have. The kind of closeness that felt far away, like the pull of the sea. 

Astra’d heard plenty of compliments. She’d been compared to diamonds and told her eyes gleamed like rubies.

But amethyst? Why would someone say that?

Theo looked at her. "Astra? You looked... worried there for a moment."

Only then did she realise she’d been frowning. “Something feels… off about tonight.”

“Why do you think that?”

Astra reclined in the plush leather chair, watching as the neon lights transformed into streaks of colour against the night sky through the panoramic glass roof.

“It’s just a hunch,” she said, leaving it at that.

Theo, sensing the boundary, didn’t question her; only watched her with the kind of quiet trust that didn’t need explanations.

Her thoughts wandered again, to the sea and its endless waves, the stars scattered across the sky, and to a voice that refused to let her go.

She knew that voice. 

And she was terrified of it.

The limo slowed.

City Hall came into view, reporters already bottlenecked at the gates, taking photos. Their shouts rose when the driver lowered his window to scan the invitation. She took the chance to scan the street.

The venue was usually open to the public, but not tonight. Still, as a reporter angled his lens toward their license plate, Astra noted the obvious.

Privacy here was decorative at best.

The gate buzzed and opened. The limo rolled forward onto the cobblestone path. Security guards lined the entrance, their faces partially obscured by enormous sunglasses, because, of course, authority correlated directly with the size of one's shades, especially after sunset.

Familiar symbols were tattooed on their necks, the same ones worn by the guards at the main building. Ex-military, un-Gifted. They might hold their own in a fistfight, but they were utterly useless when things turned… unnatural.

"Cosmetics," Astra said quietly. It felt unprepared. Amateurish.

No, too amateurish. Astra couldn’t decide if this was born from naïveté or arrogance. She scanned the perimeter again, searching for the signs of Gifted security. But there was nothing. 

How could someone like Thomas climb the ranks so quickly?

“What's on your mind?" Theo asked, reaching inside his blazer to pull out a full-face silver mask.

“Let's just say, I’m overdressed for this.”

The limo halted beneath a grand arch carved from pale cream stone, a 19th-century Renaissance Revival masterpiece resisting the futuristic skyline.

The historic city hall, despite its age, still carried a prestige that few venues could rival, at least, according to Athena. What bothered Astra was how Thomas had managed to book the place so easily.

Right out from under his brother, Noah Blackwood. Bold, personal, and petty.

Speaking of Noah, where and when was his fundraiser? There was hardly any media buzz, just why—

“Shall we head out?” Theo asked, seemingly calmer now.

Astra glanced outside, where a procession of luxury cars inched forward, the drivers no doubt fuming at the delay. Theo held the door open, hand halfway offered before he seemed to think better of it.

“We shall," she replied, her hand deliberately resting in Theo’s as she exited. She watched as his shoulders easing with relief. 

Is rejection a foreign concept for you? she quipped to herself.

Stepping into the crowd of old money and heavy perfume felt like returning to a half-remembered dream, she answered curious glances with polite smiles that felt like dance steps long rehearsed. 

Theo’s presence by her side made the moment both new and strangely familiar. The autumn breeze teased his silver hair, highlighting the strength in his marble-smooth features.

He looked like a prince—no, more like a knight in brilliant armour.

Déjà vu surged through her. The sensation was so strong that Astra had to suppress the urge to withdraw her hand.

Had she been through this before?