“What are you doing here? How did you get in here?” Qas Sogok is on his feet, glaring at us.

“Ms Pink?” I gasp as Ariz sets me down. Glazia and Cartu are standing side by side, poised for a fight and Ariz takes his place beside me. Ms Pink puts her tea cup down and rises from her seat, turning to face us. Standing there in a long pink trench coat over a creamy white flowing top and leggings tucked into knee high pink boots, she looks exactly as she did three days ago.

“Taeyeon,” she says, her pink eyes gleaming at me.

“Ms Pink, what’s going on?”

“Tiffany Pink, why are they here?” Qas Sogok demands to know.

Eying Qas Sogok warily, I take one step forward. “Ms Pink, have you been here the entire time?”

“You ask too many questions.” Ms Pink walks to me, eyes still gleaming. Her hand slides behind my neck and tugs me close.

I lean in and hug Ms Pink, relieved to find her safe and free of pain.

“Princess Pan Ni, are you alright?” Glazia asks calmly.

“Yes, of course.”

The Sovereigns exchange looks but none of them voice any objections or raise questions. I find it strange. Weren’t they convinced that Ms Pink is in danger? Why don’t they seem surprised to see Ms Pink safe and sound with Qas Sogok? Then again, the behaviour of supers have never made any sense to me.

Looking into Ms Pink’s eyes, I notice a strange flicker in her pinks. But before I can ask Ms Pink about it, dozens of black uniformed men materialize and surround us in the dining hall. Ms Pink holds me close to her while the Sovereigns form a defensive triangle, their backs against one another.

“Qas Sogok. Explain this,” Cartu growls.

“Isn’t it obvious? You have trespassed on my property. This is my security team. They will you out safely.”

Ariz snorts. “Do you need this much security to us?”

“In human terms, this is V.I.P. treatment,” Qas Sogok replies and nods at one of the uniformed men. Like water released from a dam, the uniformed men dash in on the Sovereigns.

“No!” I yell, turning to Ms Pink for help but she makes no move. “Ms Pink?”

Ms Pink’s hand tightens around my neck. “Stand still.”

“But—”

“Shh.” Ms Pink’s finger silences me. “Do as I say.”

Something is wrong. The feeling comes from deep inside and hits me hard. Something is not right. The pink in Ms Pink’s eyes. The way she speaks to me. But I can’t put my finger on it. Did Qas Sogok cast some kind of spell on her? Or is she acting in front of Qas Sogok? Ms Pink did say she was going to pretend to be on his side. But at the cost of three of her closest Sovereign allies? Or does she have a plan to help them later?

Looking up from my thoughts, I am shocked by the sight before me. The three Sovereigns are fighting hard. Moving too fast for bullets from surrounding guns to catch, Ariz and Cartu are tearing body parts with their bare hands, while Glazia is ripping through bodies and pulling out their hearts with her claws. Claws? But there are too many to fend off and the fight ends when the uniformed men managed to stab something into the Sovereigns’ necks.

Not two seconds later, all three on their knees and clutching their necks. What did the men stab the Sovereigns with? Poison?

“Ariz! Glazia! Cartu!” I scream as they slump to the floor, seemingly unconscious. “What did you do!” I yell at Qas Sogok, quite forgetting my precarious situation.

“They will be transported back to where they belong,” Qas Sogok tells me as his uniformed men drag the Sovereigns out of the dining hall. “You are welcome to stay here.”

Ms Pink squeezes my arm and tugs me back. “Be quiet.”

“You.” Qas Sogok turns on Ms Pink. “Explain why they turned up here.”

“I told you they would come if I stopped sending them a code.”

“How did they find this place?” he growls.

“They are Sovereigns. They have their ways.”

“Anyway, they’re gone now. Three fewer votes. And they brought your human here. Just what we need.”

A chill runs down from my head to my spine. What does Qas Sogok need me for? And why did he say ‘we’? Who else is there?

“You got what you wanted,” Ms Pink adds and I stare at her, not understanding a goddamn thing.

“You have been worth all the trouble.” Qas Sogok smiles and it sends a shudder through my guts. “Tomorrow, we shall advance to Demortams. We have a Federation to overturn.”

A Federation to overturn? What?

A ton of questions run through my mind as Ms Pink hauls me away from the dining hall.

“Where are we going? What’s going to happen to the Sovereigns?”

“Qas won’t kill them.”

Qas, huh. Ms Pink has definitely made some progress in her mission.

“Where are you bringing me to?”

“My guest room.”

“Your guest room?”

“Yes.”

X

By some kind of instinct, I know it’s not safe to talk. Not even when it’s just the two of us in Ms Pink’s guest room. But there are things I can ask.

Looking around at the excessive embroidery on every single piece of fabric in the room, I wonder out loud, “Is this where you’ve been staying the past few days?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re working with Qas Sogok now?” I ask while picking up a cushion embroidered with lace and elaborate floral design and hugging it.

“Yes.” Ms Pink’s eyes flicker pink like a broken lightbulb. It’s not right.

“Ms Pink—”

“You ask too many questions, human. Sleep. You have a long day tomorrow.”

“Are you sure the Sovereigns will be okay?” I ask again, unable to let my worries go.

“Yes.” Ms Pink tosses me onto my back. “Now, sleep.”

X

Demortams. Again. It would be best if I don’t have to come to this place anymore but I have a horrible, sinking feeling that this is only the beginning.

There’s Yuri, wrapped up in thick leopard fur again. Sintix and his crystal wand still look the same as well, along with Miras and Kharne. Seriously, do they have a wardrobe full of the same clothes or do they simply wear the same thing without washing their clothes? On the other side, decked out in different clothes than what I last saw, are the other half of the Federation members. At least they appear to change their clothes.

The Sovereign, Parliament and are in attenda