Llewellyn laid me down on his bed.
"Really?" I said.
"Your face is all red," Llewellyn said, amused, hovering over me.
Well, I mean, try not to be embarrassed after being bridal-carried all the way to bed!
I tried to yank him down on top of me. Instead, Llewellyn just said, "Scoot over," and slid into bed next to me.
Uh.
It was way too early to sleep. Maybe he wanted us to…? But it didn't look like it.
We stared at each other for a second. Then Llewellyn tugged me closer until we were almost nose to nose, and then… kissed me again.
Oh. Okay.
We made out for a long time. Our towels fell off at some point, but we didn't care and just kept kissing.
"Hey," I said after a while, when Llewellyn's lips had gone red and swollen and his eyes half-lidded.
Llewellyn hummed questioningly.
"There's something I need to tell you."
I had thought of keeping this for myself, but discarded the idea immediately. I trusted him, and it'd be helpful if he had the full picture too.
"What is it?" Llewellyn said.
I hesitated. There was someone else I thought should probably hear this too, to reassure him that I had indeed been okay, if nothing else.
"Let me go and collect Penguin first," I said. "He's probably still waiting."
Llewellyn nodded. "We should put some clothes on too."
Uh. Good point.
Llewellyn leaned in for a last kiss, looking amused when my face went hot again, then got up and threw some clean pajamas at me.
I still thought it was too early for this but… I mean, it did feel comfortable to just lounge around like this.
I put them on.
Once we were back in bed with Penguin and Lumos comfortably placed between us, I started telling Llewellyn what had happened after I'd died… or well, minus my spiraling in the void.
Penguin looked up at me with wide eyes and chirped. Llewellyn also looked surprised.
"See?" I told Penguin. "I was fine. I was just unable to interact with the world the way we do now."
Penguin chirped again, still somewhat confused, and burrowed deeper into my chest, rubbing his little head against me. I patted him gently.
Lumos meanwhile had curled up against Llewellyn.
"Do you think that was the real Queen Seolene?" Llewellyn asked, frowning. "And what did she mean by your own Authority?"
"I have no idea," I said. "You're the one who met her. How is she usually? And to be honest, I don't feel any different."
Llewellyn pondered this.
"She's okay," he said. "Very elegant and clever, but not unkind. There have been rumors that she's actually a Transcendent; I just never looked into them or took them seriously."
Wait, there were?
Llewellyn hummed.
"I try not to get involved with anyone in positions of power because I don't trust them. Look at the Alliance. The more someone purports to be acting in the interest of the people, the more rot there is underneath. However, I don't necessarily think this applies to her. Rumor has it that she's basically incorruptible and that she takes her vows very seriously."
"You mean the vows taken by Innishae's rulers?"
I was sure I'd studied these in school, but I couldn't remember them anymore.
Llewellyn nodded.
"Yes. The first is Deok-chi, or Virtuous Rule—ruling with care and competence, without resorting to coercion, fear, force, or subterfuge. Next is Beon-yeong, Virtuous Prosperity, the idea that the ruler must do their best to foster flourishing, prosperity, peace, and progress, doing their best not to exploit any living being. And Seon-haeng, or Virtuous Deeds: the ruler has to vow to lead by example, focusing on ethical action, deeds, behavior, and leadership. I can't remember if there are more, but those should be the main three."
He was right, I remembered now. They could basically be summarized as: don't use force or manipulation; make sure the people thrive; and act with moral integrity. They were considered the core of Innishaean political philosophy.
This was also why Innishae had always maintained a policy of geopolitical neutrality, offering refuge to displaced intellectuals and artists rather than engaging in alliances or disputes.
Also, if I remembered correctly…
"Wasn't there a rumor that those vows are magically binding? As in, once taken, they cannot be violated?"
"There is a rumor," Llewellyn said. "But whether it's really true I can't say. The vows were introduced with King Eoghan's reforms, so at the beginning of the 20th century. It's not that long ago, but it's still pre-System. Did they know about Magic already? Could they have come up with a magically binding contract for the ruling class? How? I'm not that sure. And why would anyone have signed that?"
"But it's not the ruling class as a whole, is it?" I asked. "The only person who takes the vows is the King or Queen."
Llewellyn paused. "You're right," he said.
We both pondered this for a moment.
"But why the hell would she have my Authority?" I said, just as Llewellyn said, "Why would she have your Authority?"
We both snorted.
Also, wait. Maybe I could ask the System what that was?
"System," I said, "is there something magic-related called 'Authority' that people have?"
The System chimed.
[System Notification: The System is not authorized to disclose this information.]
Llewellyn and I both groaned.
"Why?" I asked.
[System Notification: The System is not authorized to disclose this information.]
Goddamnit.
I sighed.
"Are you aware of what happened to me?" I asked.
[System Notification: User Ryo was briefly registered as deceased before his status was reverted.]
"And are you aware of what happened to me while I was recorded as deceased?"
There was a pause.
[System Notification: User Ryo seems to have gone through an Out-of-Time experience. The event falls outside current classification.]
Uh? So the System could tell as much?
"Do you think this has anything to do with Gléonwon?" Llewellyn asked suddenly.
Wait. He was right. Hadn't Gléonwon been designated as an Out-of-Time Dragon? What did that even mean? Did he come from that place too?
"I… did see dragons there, briefly," I said. "When I was being pulled back. But I don't know how that's relevant. We also still don't know anything about that Shard of Sleeping Magic or that Wave of Fear or the rest. Are those Out-of-Time phenomena too? System?"
[System Notification: The System is not authorized to disclose this information.]
I sighed.
Llewellyn also looked frustrated.
"Besides, if I'm really involved in some time stuff I'm not aware of, and that's how she got my Authority, why would she go on and on about time being an illusion?"
"Can't both be true at the same time?" Llewellyn said. "Time might be an illusion, but if we order takeaway now, it will still take about an hour to get here."
I snorted. "Is that your way of saying that you're hungry?"
"Well," Llewellyn said, reaching for his phone and opening the takeaway app. "We haven't eaten yet."
He was right.
We placed an order for Korean food, then stayed in bed until it arrived.
Penguin seemed to have calmed down once he realized that only my body had been temporarily hurt but I'd still been okay, just somewhere else for a bit; and after some more nuzzling he'd jumped off the bed and gone to play with Lumos in the living room.
As soon as they were gone, Llewellyn and I started kissing again.
I really couldn't get enough. Nothing had been solved but it didn't matter. I just wanted to press closer and touch his hair and anywhere I could reach.
It just felt so good.
Llewellyn pushed me flat on my back, pressed my wrists above my head, and kissed me again.
"…"
Uh. Apparently it got better.
I moaned.
I was really struggling with the way Llewellyn looked at me whenever he pulled back. If he didn't stop, I was going to—
"If you keep looking at me like that," Llewellyn said, swallowing, "I really won't want to let you leave."
"…"
My heart was really going crazy.
Was feeling like this normal? Was this how people felt when they…?
Ah, it really was too much! If it wasn't for how Llewellyn was pinning me down while we made out, I'd really feel completely unmoored.
I craned my neck up to steal another kiss and Llewellyn complied, pressing me down into the mattress again.
…Suddenly, something weird happened.
The itch in my chest flared. Then… something else.
I couldn't explain it. It wasn't the itch, but… I didn't know what that was.
It felt…
I swallowed.
There was an overflow of Magic from my chest, pouring toward Llewellyn; and an instant later the reverse, from Llewellyn to me.
My whole body shuddered. I heard Llewellyn take in a shocked breath too.
Then…
[System Notification: Would you like to initiate a bond?]