Still, the only thought in her mind was of her mortality. I’m dying. I am dying. There was one final twitch in her shoulder before her body stilled completely. She counted the lub-dub of her heartbeat - one, two, and three - before it stopped completely. Her tired body gave up and sank deep into the meadow. Her lungs emptied with a final exhale before her chest fell into a concave beneath her ribs. There was nothing then except her body, straddled lifelessly in a beautiful meadow, alone in the Forgotten Gardens.
Chapter 22: The Standoff
Terra no longer looked like a world Evan recognized. The King and Thea Thanatos were shackled, surrounded by Crown Soldiers while the Queen and Queen Mother presided over them like judge and jury, the soldiers their executioners. He’d never imagined the King was capable of betraying the Crown - his own family - and struggled to comprehend what was happening before him. Whatever plan they were operating on appeared to have failed. Was that it? Had everything gone horribly wrong? It was all he could do to not let his face register his fear. What was going to happen to his sister? To Zoe?
Just as perplexing was his seat on the throne, specifically the King’s seat. Irrespective of the King’s imprisonment, Evan had no business taking his place, sitting at the same level as the royal family. It wasn’t just the Queen putting their relationship on display, but the Queen Mother condoning it. How much did she know? Why would she even approve of such a show? There was something more going on that he was not privy to and it left him feeling on edge.
The Queen Mother was like a statue in her seat; perfectly straight and unmoving as she stared down at Thea with unrelenting eyes. Thea stood motionless in her captive state and returned the Queen Mother’s cold stare, her eyes betraying nothing of her inner demeanor.
Historically it was an unprecedented meeting. Two former queens, one long considered dead and the woman who took her crown, together again in a room full of people bound by honor to obey one family and do as commanded without question. Thea didn’t stand a chance with those odds.
Kyra was the first to speak. “Why don’t we give our guests some breathing room?” She motioned to the soldiers surrounding Thea and the King and they stepped back a few feet, never breaking formation. The two were left standing alone, their arms joined at the wrists in front of them.
“Very good,” she said, her voice cool and calm. “Now then, what is your name?” she asked the Elder woman.
Thea’s stance remained unchanged as her eyes moved from the Queen Mother to Kyra. Evan noticed a touch of warmth in her face as she looked to the Queen, her gaze softening almost imperceptibly.
“My name is Thea Thanatos.”
“Thea Thanatos is dead,” Kyra replied, her tone matter-of-fact, even cold.
Thea kept her eyes on Kyra. “You’ve been misinformed.”
“How do you recommend we verify the identity of a dead woman?”
Thea’s eyes cooled as they moved to the Queen Mother, what little softness she had shown Kyra gone. “Ask Korina. She knows exactly who I am.”
Kyra straightened in her seat. “You will address her as the Queen Mother and nothing else!” she commanded. The force of her words echoed around the room until it quietly died in the walls. The King bowed his head, his eyes cast downward in an attempt to avoid the eyes of either Queen.
Thea was unmoved. “Every Thanatos before me has worn the crown of Terra since the very birth of this world; killing us in no way entitled you to our birthright.” The Queen Mother sat unchanged as she stared down at Thea, the former queen’s words having no apparent affect on her.
“Yet I was Queen and now my daughter is.” The Queen Mother appeared to enjoy having Thea at her mercy. The vitriolic tone in her words had not gone unnoticed by Evan, who was wondering just how deep the animosity between the two women was.
Thea let a calm breath escape quietly through her mouth. “She may wear the crown in name, but it does not rightfully belong to her, Korina.”
Kyra stood and stared down at Thea, the height from the throne’s platform giving her considerable height and an imposing stature. “You will not be warned again!” she admonished. Around the room every Crown Soldier straightened. Evan never once witnessed the Queen raise her voice in such a manner, or move with such authority as she towered over the room from her throne. She resumed her seat but kept her eyes locked on Thea.
The Queen Mother relaxed in her seat and placed her elbows on the padded arms. There was a smug smile of satisfaction on her face that curled a knot in Evan’s stomach. “Take a careful look around you, old friend. This is not the Terra you remember from your childhood. We’re stronger, more advanced, and by all accounts better off without you.”