Royal Reboot: Level up, Your Majesty!

Chapter 69: Queen vs. A Honeyed Dilemma

Queen vs. A Honeyed Dilemma

“Seriously, you’ve vanished for a week!” Natalia elbowed Eydis as they walked through the early winter courtyard. The brittle crunch of orange leaves underfoot filled the silence Eydis left unbothered. “A week, Eydis! You were doing so well in class, and then… poof! What gives?”

Eydis drank her espresso, the bitter taste reflecting the half-formed thoughts swirling in her mind.

After the French press incident with Astra, which she was now mentally cataloging as "The Great Caffeine Catastrophe of 2050", there had been attempts at conversation. An effort to work out some arrangement, some path leading back to their world.

But it wasn’t just the arrangement that had her on edge.

It was Ast—

No. The Eye.

She lifted her head as if to prove the thought, and there it was… that grotesque, bloated mass of flesh looming in the sky, pulsating like a fevered heart. A nightmare made manifest, yet disturbingly inert.

Was it a vessel for her Sins? Could Pride have picked something this obscene to represent itself?

No.

Pride had taste. And a frankly exhausting obsession with aesthetic coherence.

This was something else. Something she had yet to name, yet to understand, but it was connected to her world. Astra confirmed it. Each time it had been struck, something had broken free.

Envy.  

Then Gluttony.  

Then Greed.

How many had escaped? But it was only the beginning, and it was also the key to regain her full power.

So why had she agreed to come back to St. Kevin’s, of all places? Because she needed to be in the loop. Because she needed Astr—no, required answers from—Astra.

She had been avoiding Astra.

She wasn’t afraid. She was assessing the likelihood of her brain spontaneously combusting from overexposure to certain… thoughts.

Nothing major.

Because ever since that day, something fundamental had shifted between them. Eydis had been excruciatingly aware of it.

And it could not be happening.

She was the Queen of Shadows. Astra was the Saintess of Light. Some boundaries were not meant to be crossed.

As they passed under an arch of ivy, Natalia’s voice interrupted the spiral of her thoughts. “What’s going on with you?”

Eydis turned toward Natalia with languid amusement. “Besides my triumphant return from the abyss?”

“Triumphant… what?”

Eydis waved a hand vaguely. Then, she redirected the conversation. “More importantly, where are your little marsupials?”

Natalia blinked. “Marsupials?”

“The koalas.” Eydis took a lazy sip of her coffee. “The ones permanently attached to you. Do they hibernate in winter?”

Natalia groaned. “Colette and Birgit.”

“Yes, them.”

Natalia folded her arms. “If you’re so interested, you could use their actual names.”

Eydis smirked. “I could.”

“It’s just the flu, seasonal, no big deal.” Natalia let out a slow breath, but Eydis caught the way she rubbed at her temple, her movements a little sluggish. A slight flush dusted her cheekbones.

She hesitated, glancing away, before flicking her gaze back to Eydis, looking oddly flustered. “Okay, not to be weird, but… are you wearing your contacts more? Because people keep staring.”

Eydis followed Natalia’s gaze to the crowd.

Students, boys and girls alike, were watching them. Not discreetly. Not even pretending to look away. Vacant eyes. Slack-jawed expressions. A few looked outright dazed, like they’d walked straight into a dream and forgotten how to wake up.

Ah. Right.

Her vision had sharpened with the return of her magic. She could see too much now: every hesitation, every unspoken thought resting just beneath the surface of their skin.

Well, not literally. That would be unnecessary. She’d never get anything done with that kind of power. How did Athena even tolerate it?

“Naturally.” Eydis shrugged, pretending nonchalance, but the moment her eyes returned to Natalia, she caught a flicker. The way Natalia shifted, her body angling just slightly toward her.

Odd.

Natalia blinked, gathering herself. “Naturally? That’s it?”

Eydis tilted her head, considering. Then, deciding to lighten the mood, whatever this was, she arched a brow.

“Would you rather I pretend to be shy?” She clutched her chest in mock horror. “Oh no, Natalia! Not my devastating good looks! Anything but that!”

She leaned in. “I could. If it would entertain you.”

Goosebumps spread across Natalia’s arms as she stiffened, stepping back quickly. “Oh, no. Nope. Don’t do that. Go back to ‘Naturally’! ‘Naturally’ was safe!”

Eydis smirked, pleased. “Pity. I had an entire monologue prepared.”

Natalia’s lips twitched, fighting a smile. “Of course you did.”

Eydis chuckled, then let her gaze drift lazily over Natalia, pausing. “Hm.”

“What?”

Eydis tapped a finger against her chin. “Perhaps they weren’t staring at me.”

“W-What?” Natalia asked.

Eydis stepped closer to make her point, studying Natalia with a gaze that bordered on invasive. To her credit, Natalia did not immediately wilt.

Interesting.

No braids this time. Crimson hair loose around her shoulders, untamed and rebellious. Makeup, too—eyeliner and a swipe of cherry lip balm.

Cherry. 

Cherry. Lip. Balm.

The Queen of Shadows almost flushed. Almost.

“Eydis… they weren’t staring at me.”

Eydis frowned. “They should.”

Natalia’s breath hitched. A loose strand of hair fell forward, and without thinking, Eydis tucked it behind her ear. It felt soft, with a slight dampness.

Not silk. Not like Astra’s.

And there was the sweet scent of honey lingering on the crimson strands. But it wasn’t the sharp, cinnamon-and-night-bloomed-blossom scent that clung to Astra’s hair. She would never admit that everything about Astra was—

A prickle ran down her spine. 

Something was watching her.

Eydis blinked hard. Her senses were misfiring. That was all. 

Natalia, meanwhile, had turned an alarming shade of red. 

“E-Eydis…”

“Did you change your shampoo?” 

“You… noticed?” Natalia’s voice was small, almost disbelieving, and the flush on her face deepened.

Eydis didn’t notice any of that, because her own thoughts were racing. What she felt against her fingertips wasn’t the same curiosity she felt with Astra. It wasn’t the one that made her want to trace warmth, softness, skin.

She withdrew her hand. But Natalia moved forward, then wobbled, her heel catching on the uneven stone. Eydis caught her effortlessly, steadying her at the waist.

Natalia’s hands pressed against her shoulders, eyes wide. “WOAH—oof…You totally did that on purpose.”

“Did what, exactly?” Eydis still held her steaming coffee, but the arm wrapped around Natalia felt even warmer.

Was it just embarrassment?

“Nothing! I mean—Cool. Yep. Totally fine!” Natalia tried to pull herself together. But when her eyes darted past Eydis’s shoulder, she froze.

“Eydis…”

“That’s my name.”

Natalia swallowed hard. “No, I mean—you’re right.”

Eydis sighed. “Natalia, be more specific.”

“Now I’m being stared at.”

“Of course you are.” Eydis took a step back. “You’re glowing, Natalia. Staring is the least they can do.”

“G-glowing?! What am I, a lightbulb?”

“Yes. Radiant. You’re positively… what’s the term? Ah, yes. On fire.” Eydis flexed her fingers, frowning at the lingering warmth from Natalia’s body. “Quite literally, actually.”

“I AM NOT ON FIRE—” Then, she nudged Eydis’s elbow. “No! I mean… Murder stare! Eydis!”

Eydis turned.

Across the courtyard, Astra stood motionless. The winter air stirred a silver strand of hair loose, but she didn’t tuck it back.

Astra’s crimson eyes didn’t burn. They gave nothing away. But there was a slight tension pulled at the corners of her mouth. One hand twitched. Her eyes dropped to Natalia’s hand, where it still rested on Eydis’s elbow. Her lips parted slightly, almost forming words. 

Eydis flinched. Her feet shifted without permission, her body tilting toward Astra.

But Astra had already turned away. A faint shimmer trailed behind her. Flecks of frost caught the light and disappeared before they hit the ground.

Natalia shivered, hugging her blazer. “Did you feel that? Why is it suddenly freezing?”

Eydis watched Astra disappear around the corner, her eyes darkened.

The Saintess. The force of nature.

“A walking weather system,” she said, trying to sound casual, like that explained everything.

Natalia frowned. “What does that even mean?”

But Eydis had already slipped her arm through hers, guiding them toward class.

“It’ll pass.” She shrugged off the cold as if it were nothing, but it wasn’t, not when her thoughts kept drifting back to that moment…

The almost.

The almost-touch. (They had touched.) But it wasn’t enough. 

The almost-smile. (Astra had smiled.) But Eydis had wanted more.

That quiet afternoon in the greenhouse, too warm, too close. It had felt like a secret place, untouched by fate or war. 

She remembered Astra drinking her terrible coffee in one go, pulling a face, pretending the taste appalled her. Not quite convincing. Because there had been a secret smile hidden behind the rim. Astra must have thought it escaped notice.

Eydis noticed. 

She had been watching. Attuned. To Astra.

To her, above all others.

And that realisation…

It terrified her. What terrified her most wasn't the noticing itself. It was how, even now, after everything that had happened, the memory still tugged her lips into an unwilling smile.

She tried to push it aside. It lingered anyway, obstinate as honey refusing to sink in coffee. A trace of sweetness that didn’t belong, but wouldn’t leave either. 

A taste she had, at last… reluctantly acknowledged. 

And recognised it for precisely what it was.

She wondered, truly wondered, if her world would shift if she let herself indulge. Would she surrender to it, let it seep into her, let herself drown? Or would she, in the end, turn away—insisting, as she always had, that she preferred her coffee dark, bitter, untouched?

That thought tasted like danger. 

Her thoughts skipped to the moment Astra stirred honey into a fresh cup. Slow movements, almost tender, as though guarding the sweetness from melting away. When she slid the mug across the table, something fragile passed between them.

It was as though Astra wanted her to taste what she felt. To share in it. She had been watching Eydis silently as she took the first sip. 

Sunlight washed across Astra’s face and, for a breath, she seemed light enough to drift clear of every weight the world had placed on her. Such a trivial thing. Two women, silent over coffee. And yet, it had been the easiest thing in the world.

The taste remained, a touch that would not let go. Eydis felt the gravity of it shift—

And realised, too late, that she was already falling.

“It’ll pass,” she repeated, less certain each time.

It must pass.