33. CHAPTER 33
MOON
The cathedral looked exactly as it had on initiation night. Tall Gothic spires. Intricate stonework climbing into a pale sky. Cold air off the steps.
Vivienne was waving from Aster Court seating. I pulled Cillian with me.
“Am I getting déjà vu? Is he really sitting with us, hyung?”
“Yes, Sawyer. He’s my fiancé now.”
The outgoing Patronage Seats waited at the altar, four figures in formal black, each holding their Court’s symbol. Professor Korolev stood next to the faculty.
I leaned in and whispered to Sawyer, “Did you finally let the whole grade thing go?” I nudged my head toward the professor.
Sawyer didn’t even glance over. “Yeah, yeah. Gave up. Not worth the effort.”
“Excuse me,” a girl with long blonde hair said. I didn’t recognize her. She wasn’t Aster.
“Hi, Cillian. You forgot this last night.”
Sawyer, Vivienne, and I all whipped our heads around.
“It’s nothing like that,” Cillian said quickly. “It’s part of the story I’ll tell you about later.”
I hated that he’d started this whole thing. I hated even more how possessive it made me feel. I didn’t think he’d cheated. But I didn’t like that someone else had his attention when I couldn’t reach him. She had his phone. He’d left me on read.
“Hey, Moonshine.” He put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me in. “I lost it, and she returned it. That’s it.”
“Don’t worry, Hyun,” the blonde girl added. “He just lost it at the mansion. That’s all.”
I let my knee press against his. “What mansion?”
Vivienne was standing up, crowding us, when Misha ran in, looking frantically around the Thorn Court seating.
“Cil?”
“I’m over here.” Cillian waved once in the air, gesturing for him to come over.
Misha passed the blonde girl. “Bianca, what are you doing over here?”
“Returning Cillian’s phone. He lost it at the Glass House.”
“The Glass House?” The words left all three of us at once. Heads turned.
Cillian didn’t seem fazed.
“Cil, fuck. Last night. I will explain, but where the fuck is Declan?” Misha barely enunciated the last words.
I looked around Thorn Court. Where the fuck was Declan?
“What did you do at the Glass House? And where is Declan?”
Cillian cracked his neck once. “Prince, listen. I will tell you. But not here.”
Sawyer leaned in front of me again. “Were you invited to the Glass House?”
Vivienne sat back. “You know what? I’m resigning. It’s impossible to run PR with you guys.” She crossed her arms and leaned back in the pew, just shaking her head.
“Well, I just wanted to return your phone, Cil. You two are cute together though. Okay, bye boys.” She left the pew and headed back to Thorn Court seating. Misha stayed seated with us, and Sawyer sat back.
“Will the following Patronage Seat winners please stand.”
“Aster Court. Moon Hyun-seo.” All of Aster clapped as I walked up on stage. The Aster representative pinned the gold and ivory four-point star over my heart, and I moved to stand next to last year’s winner.
“Dahlia Court. Seraphine Martin.” Dahlia clapped and cheered as she walked up. They pinned the powder-blue dahlia with a gold key through the stem over her heart.
“Vesper Court. Camille Caron.” Vesper cheered loud. They pinned the silver moth with obsidian accents over her heart.
“Thorn Court. Anton Smirnov.” Thorn went wild. Misha was cheering from our section, heads turning in confusion.
“I’m Thorn Court. He’s my guy,” Misha said sheepishly.
The four of us stood together for the first time as the incoming Seats. Then the senior Patron stepped forward, voice carrying through the nave.
“Year One earned you a Seat. From this day forward, you speak in your Court’s name. You will earn Favor. Forge alliances. Command resources. Sanction Blood Writs. Protect your Court’s interests above your own.”
He looked at each of us.
“By year’s end, one Court will raise the Black Chalice. Alright then, let’s hear from our new Patronage Seats. Moon Hyun-seo.”
Applause started, and I heard Sawyer whistle in the crowd, along with Mikhail. I stepped up to the podium, the gold and ivory star heavy over my heart.
“Thank you. Thank you.”
Okay. Here goes.
“I thought strength meant standing alone.”
The nave went quiet.
“Evermourne taught me otherwise. This year tested every certainty I had. Reputation. Legacy. Control. I believed excellence was enough. That alliances created weakness.”
I paused, letting the words settle.
“They don’t. Pressure reveals character. Legacy isn’t protecting the past. It’s making sure the people who come after us inherit something stronger. The strongest alliances are rarely the easiest ones. And sometimes the person who changes your future isn’t the one who agrees with you.”
My gaze flicked briefly to the crowd. To Cillian.
“I confused perfection with strength. Distance with control. Independence with leadership.”
I looked back at the crowd.
“Leadership is making difficult choices. Accepting criticism. Protecting your people. Choosing progress over comfort. This year taught me that the greatest risk isn’t changing.
It’s refusing to. As your Patronage Seat, I will protect Aster’s legacy, not by preserving it exactly as it is, but by ensuring it remains strong enough to face what comes next. ”
I stepped back from the podium. The other three gave their speeches. Then the masked Patron returned to the stage.
“Before we conclude the night with the annual winner of the Black Chalice, let’s address the matter of the Blood Writs.”
They announced three successful Blood Writs, each giving Vesper another ten points. Thorn gained ten from one successful Writ. Aster gained ten.
“Now onto the failed Blood Writ. The following Blood Writ was accepted by Aleksei Lovchy, lawfully transferred to Cillian Ashbourne, and subsequently transferred to Declan Carrick. Responsibility now rests with its final bearer.” The crowd went silent. We all turned to look for him.
“Declan Carrick. Will you step forward?”
“He’s not here,” someone from Thorn Court yelled.
I looked at Cillian. What the fuck aren’t you telling me?
Why did I feel guilty? Fuck, Cillian. What did you do? He kept watching me with those steady eyes.
“The bearer has failed to present himself. The Blood Writ is therefore declared failed.”
Thorn students immediately booed.
“Twenty-five Favor is deducted from Thorn Court.”
“What the fuck.”
“Declan, you fuck.”
Another masked Patron carried out the Black Chalice and stepped beside the speaker.
“For excellence in Favor. For command. For influence. The Black Chalice is awarded to…”
“Vesper.”
Vesper went wild, jumping, shouting, throwing hats and anything else they could throw into the air.
Students, faculty and everyone started spilling out of the cathedral. Vivienne came running over to the stage.
“Hyun, honey. You killed it.”
She kissed my cheek. “We’re going to rule Evermourne, just like we did Harvard. We got this.”
She glanced back toward the crowd, then at me. “I’ll see you at the end-of-year banquet tonight.”
“Yeah, see you there.”
She squeezed my arm and left with Aleksei. Sawyer waved a quick see-you-later. Cillian was already coming over. He’d loosened his tie, ditched the jacket, and rolled up his sleeves. Why do opposites attract.
“Your Courtliness.” He took my hand and kissed it.
I rolled my eyes. “Please never say that again.”
He kissed me. “Let’s get out of here.”
He pulled me in by the shoulder, and we walked down the aisle together, leaving the cathedral. The sun was finally out. We walked in quiet.
“What are you thinking, prince?”
I took a deep breath. “I need to call my father. And I’ve decided to tell him I’m choosing you. If he wants to write me out of the will, that’s fine. I’ve thought about some other opportunities to pursue, and—”
Cillian kissed me, cutting me off. I pushed at his chest. “Cillian.”
“Baby, I told you I’d always take care of you. I went to see your father after Ireland.”
“You were in New York?” My brain was already spinning through every worst-case scenario.
Maybe he’d done something worse. I hadn’t talked to my father since the call when Cillian left for Ireland.
I panicked and pulled out my phone. Cillian snatched it from my hand. I reached for it. He held it higher.
“What did you do to my father?”
“I talked to him. Asked to see him. That’s all.”
“What did you talk to him about? He’s not someone you just go see.” I loosened my tie. It was getting noticeably harder to breathe. Cillian grabbed my cheeks.
“Breathe. Let me talk before your mind jumps straight to the worst thing possible, prince.”
I forced myself to breathe.
He kissed my forehead and took my hand, pulling me toward the benches, somewhere more private.
I sat facing him. He placed a hand on my thigh.
“Baby, I went to New York the second I heard he was threatening you. I grew up gay. Always was. Never dated girls. Never cared. Heard it all. Faggot, queer, the rest of it. Already got called Ashbourne trash and Irish mobster, so one more name didn’t move the needle much.
People still tried to make it hurt. People who didn’t even know me.
I stopped giving a fuck what they thought.
Then I saw you in Saint Lucia. Fuck. You were the most—”
“Don’t say beautiful. Don’t be a cliché.” I punched his shoulder lightly.
Cillian only moved closer. “Was going to say repressed.”
I punched his shoulder again, harder this time. “Shut up. I’m not repressed.”
“You hid yourself your whole life, Moon. In Saint Lucia, you were ashamed of wanting me. I went to your father because I knew what he was asking you to do. He wasn’t asking you to choose the company.”
I looked away. How can someone like him be so fucking sensible? He pulled me back by the jaw to look at him.
“He said I could have you. Marry you. But I had to prove I could protect you. From people in my life.”
My stomach hollowed out. He was about to speak when I cut him off.
“No.” I shook my head. “Cillian… I don’t know if I want to know.”
“That’s okay, baby. I’ll carry it.”