Zoe Thanatos(87)
Someone gasped, grief-stricken and horrified. He couldn’t tell who it was. Maybe Thea or Eva, possibly the King. For all he knew it was him. They found Zoe. Nearly dead. It took every measure of strength he had left to stop himself from crying. He fought past the dread, the nausea, and concern for Eva, but still his eyes began to moisten with tears. No! It can’t be!
“Did you identify the Resident?” the Queen demanded, her tone impatient and excitable.
From behind them a woman chuckled. Thea Thanatos was doubled over, her head bouncing up and down from the fit of laughter that poured out of her. She was maniacal. Her torso shifted backwards until her head was tilted, the laughter reverberating around the room.
“Your paid thugs are awfully stupid,” she roared through her laughter. “But then again you were never the smartest when your ambition was greater than your perception, Zara.”
The Crown Soldiers’ silence was broken, a low grumble erupting as they turned to each other, talking amongst themselves.
“Get her out of here!” the Queen Mother screamed at the Soldiers, her face bright red with fury as she pushed them towards the Elder.
“Who else could it be, Zara?” Thea yelled at Kyra, her voice still filled with the sound of her crazy laughter. A dozen Crown Soldiers descended on her, forcefully bowing her head forward and grabbing on to her restraints before dragging her out of the room.
“Take them, too,” the Queen Mother demanded, pointing at Owyn and Eva. A Soldier put his hands on Eva’s shoulders and forced her out of Evan’s grip. Somewhere behind him another Soldier grabbed his arms and held them tight behind his back, preventing him from going after her.
“No!” he screamed, watching in horror as his sister was dragged from the room, Owyn being pushed from behind her.
“Evan!” Eva screamed. “Evan! Please!”
Chapter 23: The Shape of Things to Come
How things had changed over the course of so little time. It was as though the entire world as he knew it had been flipped upside down, and he was merely trying to keep up. Evander Nero was stuck in the middle with no hope of coming out of the situation in any better condition.
Thea Thanatos was going to be executed. It was only a matter of time. Somewhere along the way the stress of losing her family and planning to restore her beloved daughter to her birthright had become insurmountable. She was a broken woman.
Owyn Straton was stripped of his title as King and imprisoned pending official deportation to the outlying cities. There was no telling what would become of him. His days in Royal City were over and he would likely be stripped from the memories of Terra’s Residents, much like the Queen he had given up his life to help had.
Every Resident who tried to help them restore the Thanatos name had been severely punished. Most were sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of their lives, their identities stripped of their family names, each of them effectively erased from the collective memory of Terra.
It seemed to be a common theme in the Straton regime to erase the names of those who dared stand up to their rule. Even the mighty Thanatos family, the very founders of the royal cities and Terra itself, were not immune to the punishing unkindness of the Straton Queens.
He had to keep faith that they would not do to his sister what they had done to the others. He knew in his heart he would do anything to save Eva from the punishing fate the Queen would likely bestow on her if he didn’t cooperate. Perhaps it was his intimate relationship with the Queen that was keeping his sister alive and him free of suspicion. He knew the Queen did not doubt his fidelity to her. Rather, she had him in quite a unique position. With great sacrifice he could save Eva’s life and keep her close to him, but at a tremendous cost. Without a doubt she was worth it, but he knew she wouldn’t want him to sacrifice his own life for hers.
Then there was Zoe, unconscious inside of a chamber in a Reproduction Unit, her health being repaired from the nearly dead state she was found in. Evan couldn’t even imagine what would happen to her once she was awake. In the ruckus of Thea’s last outburst she, Owyn and Evadine were taken into immediate custody without further questioning. The Queen’s desire to know the identity of the mystery woman found in the Forgotten Gardens was not matched by her need to see those who plotted against her locked up behind closed doors. Subsequently, Zoe retained the temporary fortune of being anonymous.
He doubted there would be much deliberation about what to do with the life of Zoe Thanatos. The Queen would see it simply: Thea Thanatos spent her life preparing for the return of her long-lost daughter and, with the help of the former King, orchestrated her return to Terra with the intention of retaking the Crown. It didn’t matter that only most of it was true. It was the narrative he knew Kyra would employ and reason enough for her to dispose of Zoe once and for all. Unless he could save her. Again.