LOMBARDY DISTRICT, MILAN IN ITALY, PIAZZA CASTELLO MILANO ESTATE. THE WEB OF DESIRE'S DOMAIN...Uranta Fortress... 2 AM.
Uranta Downs sat motionless in the dim light of her private quarters, her spine straight against the velvet-lined back of her mahogany throne-like chair. The quarters, carved into the heart of the Black Lattice,her portion of the Piazza Castello Milano Estate,hummed with a silent rage.
Candles flickered low across shelves lined with tomes of lawless knowledge, coded scrolls, and volumes bound in flesh-toned leather, their spines inked with gold.
The night after the Eros Empire's gathering had left a sour taste in her mouth. Archon Xandros' estate had been a theater of excess, of power flaunted and denied.
She had gone to him with reason, with fire more like anger, with the weight of the mission branded into her tone,and he had brushed her off.
That glint in his eyes when he told her, "You assumed you had everything to begin with."had burned into her thoughts.
But she does have everything,she hissed inwardly.Her fingers drummed against the desk's edge.
Greta...can Greta pass the test? She doubted.
Well, Greta's good when it comes to missions that has to do with sex but anything related to thinking,she doubt that.
Oh,how she fucking misses Honeywell and Kolly.
Greta,she trained...Kolly she built and Honeywell?!
She fucking trained,built and molded her.
But sadly she has only Greta,and if Greta fails...if her exec do not pass...Uranta's rank would fall. She would lose everything she'd spent years conquering.
She turned to the antique phone bolted beneath her desk drawer, a device rigged through channels not even Archon could trace. With deliberate hands, she dialed a number engraved only in her memory.
One ring. Two. A pause.
"Queen?" A voice purred respectfully but it has a seductive lace underneath.
Uranta's lips curved faintly. "Honeywell. We need to meet. Tonight. No delays."
A breathless pause followed, then a whispered affirmation. "As you command."
---
The rendezvous was prearranged, a hidden chapel buried beneath the ruins of a forgotten monastery in the outskirt regions of the Lombardy District.
The stones bled cold. Moss grew between the cracks of fallen pillars. The ceiling had long since collapsed, but a cellar remained, locked behind a rotating altar that required both intent and blood.
But tonight, Uranta used neither. She arrived cloaked in midnight fabric, her signature heels clicking softly over ash-dusted stone. When she entered, Honeywell was already there, perched on a crumbling pew, legs crossed, one hand holding a chipped chalice filled with dark wine.
Honeywell stood when Uranta approached, her gaze reverent but not afraid.
"You've lost weight," she said softly, eyes scanning Uranta's sharp silhouette. "The Empire's stress really wearing you down?" She asked worriedly.
Uranta tilted her head. "More like Archon's arrogance."
Honeywell grinned, lowering herself again without invitation. "He always did like the sound of his own voice. You've got blood in your jaw."
"I bit it back," Uranta said, folding her arms, staring past Honeywell. "But I've decided. Greta's out. Not officially, not openly. But she will not pass."
Honeywell blinked once, sheer surprise, she knew Uranta called her because of the mission but then she didn't know that she'll eliminate her exec without any second thoughts...
...well, she may have had second thoughts but even though," Greta's good my queen, she never disappoints in missions and she was even the sweetest amongst three if us back then. "
"But she's naive. There's a difference."
Naive?! Greta's not naive,she wanted to scream out loud but she just stopped herself,she may have her own clan now but Uranta is still her boss and she can wipe her and her clan without blinking an eye.
Wait,if Uranta is not allowing Greta tru the test then what exactly is her plan.
"And you want me back in?" She asked taking a breather,this may be what she wants to do and it's not a crime in the society, since she was the one that groomed her.
Uranta walked toward the broken altar, trailed her fingers across the worn surface. "Not exactly. I want your clan in. If one of your lieutenants...Kolly to be precise...passes the test, the Empire will recognize it as your victory, which still leads back to me."
Honeywell set the chalice down. Her eyes were sharp now,it had a flip of relieve. "It would be seen as your legacy."
"Precisely. A win without exposure."
The chapel was cold, but between them, tension brewed like boiling oil.
"So?" Honeywell asked, leaning forward. "How do we plan it? We can't manipulate Archon...too many eyes."
" Who says we're manipulating Archon?" Uranta laughed in self mockery. " If he can be manipulated then I would've done it years ago."
Uranta's eyes turned sharper in calculation..."No tampering. Just precision. Preparation."
Honeywell's gaze flickered. "No tampering. Just precision. Preparation." She repeated, having a smile on her face as she suddenly had an idea on what her boss is planning.
"Perfect." Uranta smiled.
She stepped forward, close enough to lower her voice. "This meeting? It never happened. Your name? Never mentioned. If word gets to Archon, I will bury you. Understand?"
Honeywell's smile didn't falter. "My Queen, I'd bury myself before I disappoint you."
Uranta let the corner of her mouth twitch. It was the closest she'd come to a smile in weeks.
"Monthly check-ins. As usual. But this time, I want transcripts. Every training. Every slip. I want to know your candidate inside and out."
Honeywell pulled a folded parchment from her coat. "Already ahead of you. Here's the preliminary profile. Encrypted. Code-stamped."
Uranta took the paper without glancing. "Good."
They sat for another hour, drafting the invisible web they would spin. A plan rooted in intellect, wrapped in layers of plausible deniability. No blood. No rash moves. Just meticulous planning and perfectly timed silence.
By the time Uranta rose to leave, the weight in her chest had shifted. Not lifted. Shifted. Replaced by calculation.
Honeywell rose with her, brushing dust off her coat. "You always find a way, don't you?"
Uranta didn't reply. She just pulled her hood up, turned to the stone stairs, and vanished into the night.
She didn't need to find a way.
She was the way.