Zoe Thanatos(90)

“Look, I know everything has changed for both of us. For everyone, really. I can’t imagine how disappointed you feel knowing that Evadine went behind your back to aid Thea and Owyn.” She squeezed his hand in her own. “I’m just as shocked as you are to learn of his betrayal. We expect so much more from our families, and even more from the people we love. That being said, I can’t deny how happy I am that you’ve decided to stay in Terra.”

It wasn’t as if he had a choice. With both Evadine and Zoe in Terra there was no reason for him to be anywhere else. Kyra didn’t need to know that the woman he had told her about was the very one lying in a chamber in a Reproduction Unit. Like Eva and Owyn said, everyone had a part to play, and he was merely playing his.

“Evadine has always been like family to me and while her transgression is not minor, I’m willing to overlook it for the sake of our relationship.” She smiled as though she genuinely believed what she was saying. Even if it were true, he knew that Evadine would have balked at the suggestion. Still, it was difficult to tell with Kyra what was real, and what was not. He had no doubt that her feelings for him were real, but couldn’t help but wonder what his sister’s fate would be otherwise.

She continued. “Evan, you’ve always been loyal and faithful to me. That’s more than Owyn could ever do. And I think you know by now how I feel about you. How I’ve always felt about you. I love you. You can’t begin to imagine how much light you brought into my life. I was lonely; in a passionless marriage to a man I could barely stand. And then you changed that.” It was the version of Kyra he loved the most. Not the Queen, but the Woman. What could he say?

“Evander Nero, you’re the man I choose to be with. And if you’ll do me the honor of choosing me as well, I would love nothing more than to make you my husband, and the King of Terra.”





Eva sat alone in a cell deep within the Military Complex, wondering how long she’d been there. Dull light illuminated from thin strips of glass in otherwise concrete walls. A blunt headache in the back of her head was forming from the constant adjustments her irises were forced to make. There was barely enough room to stand so she sat with her legs folded, alternating sides to avoid the loss of blood flow to each limb. It was difficult to remain hopeful in such bleak surroundings.

Had she heard Hector correctly? Did he really find Zoe ‘nearly dead’ in the Forgotten Gardens? When Zopyros sent her back to Royal City Zoe was fine. What happened in so little time that rendered Zoe ‘nearly dead’? Could it have been some kind of trap? No, that didn’t seem likely. No one apart from Thea and Owyn knew who Zoe was, and she doubted anyone else would go to such elaborate lengths to incapacitate her. What would happen to her now that she was in the custody of the Crown? Was that part of the plan all along? The King only said Zoe would know what to do, nothing else. Had Thea anticipated such a turn of events?

Poor Thea. She’d spent half a generation planning for her lost daughter’s return and now it seemed as though she wouldn't even get the chance to see her one last time. She couldn’t imagine any scenario where Thea wouldn’t be put to death. From everything she witnessed the Queen Mother would see to it that Thea was gone, and for good. She wasn’t likely to fail a second time.

It didn’t seem right that the Queen Mother could get away with her crimes. Her only real source of power was the Crown Soldiers, her ‘paid thugs’ as Thea had aptly named them, and without them she would never have managed to usurp the Crown from the Thanatos family. And to think that the Residents of Terra just collectively accepted the new paradigm of a royal army. From her observations of other words she knew that what set Terra apart from them was its peaceful nature. One power hungry woman had changed the entire history of their world just by militarizing it.

Zoe was the key to making everything right again. As the rightful heir to the Crown of Terra she was the best candidate to lead the charge. If she could rally the Residents into action, to fall behind her and stand up for Terra, the new regime could certainly be toppled. Terra was changed once; it could be changed again. They just needed their champion.

Nearly dead. She couldn’t possibly have come all the way to Terra just to die. It had to be a part of the plan. Zoe would wake up and be in a Reproduction Unit, undoubtedly surrounded by Crown Soldiers. What then?

And what about Evan? By the looks of things he was still in the good graces of the Queen and Queen Mother, and that seemed to keep him safe. But with Owyn stripped of his title there was a vacant seat on the throne, and Eva knew Kyra well enough to know that she wouldn’t let it stay empty for long. Would Evan accept a proposal to be the King? To be her husband? Could he make that sacrifice in spite of his feelings for Zoe?