Adonis had just returned from meeting a few friends of his and was headed back to his room when he’d caught Iris peeking into his sister’s bedroom.

After she had left, he was about to make his way towards his bedroom when a servant came rushing towards him.

"Your highness, your father summons you," the servant said.

"Summons me?" He asked with a tone of uncertainty.

"Yes, your majesty."

Adonis sighed, "Lead the way."

They trod down the stairs and walked towards his study. When they arrived at the door, the servant knocked.

"My king, his majesty the prince has arrived."

"Let him in."

Adonis nodded at the servant and let himself into the study. Octavia was in the room. She stood above their father and pointed out a few things on a scroll while their father sat, staring at it with a frown.

She was not the only one in the room with him. Prime Minister Diomedes was seated in one of the chairs opposite his father on the other side of the table.

"You sent for my father?" Adonis said, interrupting them.

"Son, I’m glad you’re here," his father said without looking up, "sit."

Adonis sat down beside the prime minister while he looked between the three of them. "Father, is everything alright?"

His father remained silent, switching between scrolls as his frown deepened. Then after a while, he looked up at him, "No," he answered, with a grave expression.

Adonis furrowed his brow as his gaze travelled through all three of them again. Alarm bells began to ring in his head.

"You’re scaring me, Father. What’s the matter?"

"Your sister has just brought to my attention that we might have a spy in our midst," He said.

Adonis cocked his head slightly and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you already knew this?"

"I didn’t," he said and shook his head. "Your sister wanted to do a few investigations of her own, so she asked the prime minister not to tell me that she already had a few people working on it."

Adonis glanced at his sister, and he saw a corner of her mouth curl up in a smile. The alarm bells in his head began to blare out of control.

He looked intently from his father to the prime minister and then back to his father. " And what were her findings?" he asked in a low tone.

"She thinks it’s one of the girls," her father said, "and all evidence points towards them."

Adonis’s heart sank in his chest. "And did you bother conducting an investigation of your own?"

"Your sister has proven most efficient, Adonis. This is all the evidence she has provided," he said, and showed him a few pieces of paper and some scrolls

Adonis looked at Octavia; she had donned a serious expression, all traces of the smile gone.

"Yes, brother," she said. "If you have doubts, I’ll give you as much evidence as I can provide."

"Which of the girls is it?" He asked abruptly.

She’d turned her full attention to him, and he could see the glint in her eye. "For now," she said almost mirthfully, "we haven’t pinpointed the culprit down to any one of them, but we know it’s someone among them. We found multiple correspondences addressing the kingdoms. I am working tirelessly, so I wouldn’t accuse an innocent."

You already are you, you liar, he thought.

"Or do you know something we don’t?" She asked. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

His father and the prime minister turned and looked at him in anticipation.

It took a while, but he finally answered. "No," he was curt. His blood began to boil.

His father sighed. "Well, hopefully we find out who it is soon enough and rid ourselves of this treachery," he said. He leaned back in his seat. "The two of you may leave us. I have important things to discuss with my prime minister."

"Yes, Father," they chorused.

Adonis stood up from his seat, bowed, and left the room. Octavia immediately followed suit.

"Brother," she called after him sweetly when they were finally outside, but he resolved to ignore her. "Adonis!" She thundered, her voice reverting to the viciousness he knew.

He turned back, glared at her, grabbed her by her arm, and dragged her to the council room. He pushed open the door and went in, then cast Octavia violently against the wall, knocking the breath out of her lungs.

Beams of moonlight escaped into the room, amplifying the eerie nature of the council hall when it was dark.

"What are you planning?" he growled. His voice was low and menacing.

"And why would I tell you that?" She asked as the corner of her lips twitched into a smile.

"If you try to do something funny, Octavia..."

"What will you do?" She asked, as she pushed away from the wall and stood alarmingly close to him. "What do you think you can do, Adonis?" She broke out into a grin.

"You wouldn’t like to find out."

"I promise you, brother..." she poked at his chest. "I will always be one step ahead of you. No matter what you think you know. So you better be afraid."

She studied him for a while, brushed past him, and left the room.

Adonis clenched his jaw, grunted loudly through his teeth, and hit the wall in front of him. He paced the room, combed a hand through his hair, and desperately thought about what he would do to wipe the stupid grin off his sister’s face.

He had momentarily forgotten her previous antics before they went to battle, but right now, everything she had done previously came pouring back to him; it got on his nerves.

He stopped pacing and exhaled. He would save his strength for now. He willed himself not to be angry and then left the room.

Then he heard her voice.

"No, no, you don’t need to worry. "I’d like to be on my own for a while," he heard Astrid say.

He waited for the girls to leave, and then he began to follow her. Seeing her had somehow soothed his beating heart.

"Your majesty," someone called, stopping him in his tracks. He looked as Astrid’s shadow grew longer and longer, then he sighed and looked at the man.

"How can I help you, soldier?" Adonis asked. They discussed for a bit about some security protocols before he left Adonis alone.

Adonis immediately rushed towards the path he had seen her take. He walked and walked, greeting soldiers as he passed, but didn’t see a sign of her. He’d almost turned back but decided to check the cliffs.

He walked idly toward the banquet hall and stopped in his tracks. His hands clenched shut, and his eyes blazed at the scene in front of him.

It was time to deal with a problem long overdue.