Aspen
"I feel very exhausted on all fronts. Not sure if I will be able to handle the rest of the lessons today without a serious nap soon." She moved the headphones enough that she could hear me in one ear while the other kept listening to the recording on repeat.
"I will see if we can rearrange the day to accommodate your request. Now you may not want to answer my next question, but I must insist that you do try to answer it however you can. Since you have previously consented to emotional suppression during our session if I deem it necessary so you don't end up back in the clinic, I will now do that to help you not spiral so easily while we talk." I rock back and forth a bit as I determine the best way to approach my question.
Opening one eye, she sighs, then sits up, placing the headphones on the table. "Thanks for the recording and the emotional regulation. If I am to guess, you want to talk about the fractured sensations. Well, I don't actively remember anything. I just know how my body felt in those moments."
She reached out, grasping my hand firmly. Her emotions were tranquil for now, but I guess she wants a physical anchor as we worked through this.
"Things are still fragmented but clearer. This reinforces that I need an account of how exactly past me lived. A lot was hidden by me, Koba, and Minette. Maybe others inside or outside the Dillard Enclave had a hand in it. Otherwise, how did you all not know the truth? I need to know the truth, Aspen." Moonbeam had such a vise-like grip on my hand that I could feel my bones creak.
If a broken hand will help her feel better, I will endure, but I sure hope it won't come to that. I placed my other hand on top of hers, reassuringly. "Worry not about that, Moonbeam. We are still investigating everyone—and everything. We will soon have more answers for you and us."
"What we have learned recently is that Koba is still hiding out in his apartment. A doctor has visited him a few times, and so has Crown Consort Sullivan, but no one else has been allowed entry. Not his friends, his sister, or other family members. The Matriarch Maeve and 2nd Crown Consort Xerxes are on the East Continent for business and, according to our sources, won't be back for a few more months. They annually tour their businesses around this time and should be back in time for end-of-the-year gatherings."
Nyx was calm and looked thoughtful as she processed what I said. Then—with a confused expression, she asked, "How many parents do Koba and Minette have?" I took a moment to process the question before coming to the conclusion that no one had given her a family tree of the enclaves and clans yet.
"Ah well, the core family of the Dillard enclave is Matriarch Maeve, Crown Consort Sullivan, 2nd Crown Consort Xerxes, 3rd Crown Consort Azalea, Scion Koba, 1st Lady Minette, and the adopted son/cousin, 1st Master Noxton." I had to chuckle at Nyx's bugged-out expression.
"From what we have gathered, while Matriarch Maeve and 2nd Crown Consort Xerxes are the biological parents of Koba and Minette, 3rd Crown Consort Azalea was used as a surrogate to carry and birth them due to the Matriarch not wanting to ruin her figure. Where 1st Crown Consort Sullivan fits into the picture no one has quite figured out but he does appear to have the best relationship with 3rd Crown Consort Azalea. It is an open secret that despite Matriarch Maeve wanting the Dillard family to appear harmonious, we all know it is just a facade.
So we will use that to our advantage. Korran, Azrail and Nimra have decided it would be appropriate that when the Dillard Matriarch is served the betrothal dissolution papers, we will help the Dillard Enclave have less time on their hands to plot against others by initiating a few harmless accidents and rumors." Nyx's smile mirrored mine in mischievous satisfaction.
"I was not expecting all that information, but I am looking forward to them being kept busy elsewhere." She took a drink of her still-warm brew as we let the quiet settle for a while before I spoke up again.
"As far as your body, has it been feeling different physically? I noticed your essence reading was showing there was some pressure building up in your veins." She hesitated. "Hmm…I've been feeling warm. Warmer than usual. It started yesterday. Líma told me to mention it to you because she felt concerned." Well, that is a potential red flag. Let me do a deeper scan on her system.
Now that I was looking for it, I saw what both I and the bands had missed before. The multiple knots in her essence veins had loosened. Some had even fully unraveled. Oh my. This must be the reason behind her 60% sync ratio and why the reading said there was pressure accumulating in her system.
Moonbeam hasn't been expending the excess essence. I will have to inform others that we will have to begin training her in practical essencecrafting so she will expend the excess and keep the pressure to a minimum while she is still recovering.
I forced my voice to stay calm even though I now realized what Nyx's instinctive tension was foretelling. "Congratulations, Moonbeam. Some of the blockages have undone themselves. Your system has begun self-correcting." Her brows lifted. "That's…good, right?"
"Yes," I said—and then I had to add the truth. "But it also means more essence is trying to circulate. Any additional stress could overload the still-knotted areas." I reached across the table and took her hands. "Listen to me carefully. If the warmth increases at all, you stop what you're doing, call Líma to stabilize you, and then contact me. Understand?"
She nodded, serious. "Good. This process can't be rushed. Forcing could fracture your system and cores. I'll notify Nimra—we'll need her help with active alignment now. I'll also notify everyone to increase essencecrafting in your lessons to help mitigate the pressure."
Bracing myself for what we must do next, I exhaled then informed Nyx of the next step in her recovery. "Nyx… since the knots have begun loosening naturally, the stasis the nanotech is holding your Velintra symptoms in will turn the support into interference. To truly heal, your body and essence need to process what has been done to it. With your body accelerating its healing, this is a sign that your body is possibly strong enough to handle processing the side effects on its own now. While we don't have to remove the nanotech today, just know the sooner the better." Her eyes went wide then looked thoughtful.
I did not rush her. Because once she decided to remove the nanotech, everything would theoretically progress at an accelerated rate. Just when I thought she was going to wait, she nodded. "I'm ready. My gut says I should do it today."