by LC Morgans
“I thought as much,” he replied, looking over to where a bitter looking Kronus stood watching them. He smoothed her hair back over her shoulders thoughtfully and fixed her with that intense stare of his. “Be sure to tell him where we’re at with the testing, and how you’re blood is simply the carrier, not the cure itself. Don’t try and handle him or skirt around the truth in any way, but make sure he knows your place is here with me and the others of your kind.”
“Kronus already warned me not to underestimate how far he might be willing to go to keep his cure safe. I just hope I make a good enough impression on him so he at least hears me out,” she answered with a shy smile.
“You don’t need to make any impression on him, only to make sure he listens to reason. I gather I’m not invited along?” Kyra nodded and Thrayke shrugged. “I figured. No one has seen him in years because he’s too proud to let anyone other than his family see how frail he’s become, but I guess Kronus sold you as some wondrous fountain of renewed life he simply couldn’t live without…” there was a sour edge to his tone now, but Kyra chose to let him off. Their rivalry over her had to be clouding his judgment slightly, but she had to believe Kronus still had her best interests at heart in spite of the feelings he may or may not still have for her.
“I’m going to give him his transfusion along with a vial of the cure we have so far. After that, I’m heading right back here. I promise,” she told him, and delivered one more kiss before climbing back up off his lap.
“At least take Lasiandra with you?” Thrayke asked, handing over a pouch with the needles and vials they’d need inside. “She can make sure you’re cared for properly whilst giving the transfusion.”
“I’ll do it,” Kronus’s deep voice suddenly interjected, and Kyra jumped. She hadn’t even heard him come over to them. “I can do it,” he said again, as though he thought by repeating himself Thrayke might be appeased. He wasn’t, and quickly got to his feet, squaring up to Kronus without a care for his high standing. Kyra shrieked in surprise when he pushed her off his lap and to her feet, watching in horror and fearing the two Thraks were about to let their angst out at long last.
“You think I’d let you take off with her just the two of you? We both know what your father’s capable of when it comes to securing his precious cure and he won’t care one little bit about her freedom. He sent us to a dying planet in search of answers, no matter the cost to human or Thrakorian life. All he cares about is saving himself, and he’d gladly drain every drop of Kyra’s blood if he thought it was worth harvesting!”
With a growl, Kronus stepped closer so that the two of them were nose-to-nose.
“Don’t you dare speak another word, Thrayke. Don’t you even think about muttering another treacherous syllable. I promised I’d keep her safe and I meant it, now step aside or you’ll find yourself in prison alongside Greegis and Rasmos before nightfall.” There was no hint of insincerity in his tone. Kronus had meant every word and Kyra knew it. Thrayke had gone too far talking about his father that way, but his words made sense and she finally understood why he was so on edge about her going to visit the dying King. He might be weak and on his deathbed, but she knew without a doubt not to underestimate King Thrakor’s ability to turn her life upside-down if he saw fit. But, she also had to believe that Kronus wouldn’t let that happen. He knew the truth—that she wasn’t the sole cure—and Kyra trusted that he would reiterate that fact if or when his father seemed intent on keeping her close to him.
“Let’s go, Kronus,” she murmured, walking away from the pair of them, and was glad when she looked over her shoulder and saw Thrayke step back in defeat. Neither said another word, but each glowered at the other right until the last second and Kyra just hoped they could get over their macho bravado before it ruined their friendship forever. After Kronus had caught her up, she leaned in to whisper to him on their way out the door, needing one more assurance before they set off. “Make sure I make it back to him, Kronus. You promise me, now…”
“I swear it on my life, Kyra. I’ll protect you while under my care and I will bring you home safely.” She nodded in acceptance and then didn’t say another word about it.
***
The journey to Thrakor’s capital of Kor was spent in tense silence and Kyra was glad that it was a relatively short journey. She was on edge the entire time so couldn’t quite bring herself to marvel out loud at the huge city when they arrived, but she couldn’t deny it was an impressive sight. The Planet Thrakor itself had been lovely to finally see, with its incredibly thick forests made of every shade of green she could imagine contrasted with the bustling areas colonized by their kind. Their were cities so metropolitan all Kyra could see was the glinting of the sun against the vast skyscrapers more than double the size the Thrakorian’s had erected back on Earth. There was also the immeasurable ocean she could see off to the east. So vast and deep the water looked black beneath their craft as it whizzed alongside it on their way to the capital. More beautiful than she’d ever imagined, Kronus and his families world had flown by them as they’d traveled, and Kyra found herself wishing they might have had the time to stop and explore along the way. Perhaps on the return leg, or so she hoped.
Taking it all in, Kyra didn’t say a word or ask questions, but she remembered how Kronus told her many areas weren’t even inhabited by the Thrakorian’s themselves—seemingly for no other reason than they hadn’t been chosen for development. The planet was so large that it appeared they had space in abundance. Another thing Kyra envied his kind for. It was too easy to remember back to a time when human homes were squeezed amongst one another while overpopulation meant supplies and fuel became harder to obtain without scrounging from the government for handouts and an easy way of life.
The capital of Kor was a wonder to see, far from anything she had imagined, and it was easy to recognize just how primitive her race had been in comparison to the Thrakorian’s and their evolutionary advancements. The city had been a beacon in the distance as they’d travelled, a bright spot on the horizon, and as they’d flown nearer, the expanse had quickly taken up the entire view from Kyra’s window.
Almost every member of the Thrakorian high society lived there, as did the men and women atop their armies and sectors. There was a huge building at the center of it called The Hub, which Kyra knew was King Thrakor’s main residence, and their destination. Consisting of numerous towers and wings, and reportedly coming in at taking up over six hundred square meters of land, The Hub itself was bigger than the island of Manhattan had been back on Earth. Kyra couldn’t even begin to imagine ever finding her way around such a huge structure herself, so was glad to have her royal escort there to show her the way.
As The Hub and its surrounding city properly came into view, she found herself envying the lives Kronus and his kind had known, but she also wished they’d realize the truth of what they’d left to die on Earth. Yes, there had been chaos and an unruly indigenous race for them to contend with, but her kind was more than just its failures and its flaws. The innocence and purity of an entire civilization had been gone in a blink of an eye. All their progress, halted. Generations of advancement and the human evolution from mans earliest ancestors to the Homo sapiens had been wiped out overnight. Lives had been taken in an instant while all the Thrakorian’s had done was take their prize and flee.
They reached The Hub and their craft then docked in a private bay atop one of the huge skyscrapers the likes of which she hadn’t been inside since being on Earth. Much like when they’d been back at her initial meeting with Thrayke, she immediately felt small and powerless amidst the intimidating city and Kyra blindly followed Kronus’s lead through the maze of corridors and security doors. They then headed down and further into the vast building, and all the while she was watching his feet, clutching the pouch containing the vial of precious cure to her chest.
“Excuse me, miss. I need to see what you’ve got there,” a voice broke her trance-like state when they came to a sto
p outside a door. She looked up to find a heavily armed Thrakorian guard scowling down at her. Kyra jumped and handed over the pouch right away, but Kronus snatched it off him.
“She’s with me,” he commanded and the Sentinel immediately backed off. After punching in a code and going through some other kind of facial recognition software Kyra found fascinating, they were finally allowed to enter, and as soon as they reached the other side, she understood the need for such high security. Inside, King Thrakor was lying in the center of a huge bed, yet his tiny body seemed to take up only a quarter of its epic size. He was bald. His skin and eyes were pale and sunken, like he’d lost far too much weight, and Kyra had to wonder how it was he’d remained alive as long as he had. King Thrakor looked ten times worse than his son had when he’d pretty much died on that gurney just days before and his shallow breaths gave away his impending passing. “Father,” Kronus whispered, drawing Kyra closer with him.
King Thrakor gave a wave of his hand, dismissing his servants and nurses, and he looked over at the pair of them without any expression on his grim face. His eyes were grey and vacant. The King was present and watching the pair of them, but not reacting to their presence, or so it seemed to her. “Father, I’ve brought General Millan to see you as promised.” Kyra stepped closer and when she reached him, put a gentle hand on his father’s shoulder. He snapped back to reality with a shudder.
“You’re late, girl. Why did you keep me waiting?” the old man demanded and Kyra had to force herself not to snap out a snide retort in response. She inched closer, trying her best not to recoil when Thrakor peered up at her and she could see the yellowing of the once whites of his eyes.
“It wasn’t my intention, your majesty. I came as soon as I could. I understand you want to try the cure Thrayke and our team has developed?” she asked, taking a seat beside him while Kronus hovered a couple feet away. He seemed incredibly uneasy, but left them to talk without interrupting them or making excuses for how long it’d taken for him to come and get her.
“My son certainly seems healthier following the blood you gave him. But first, I want to know why it is that you’re here—on my planet that is,” he croaked, and Kyra smiled coyly.
“Well, that’s simple. I’m here because I fell in love and was brought to your planet by the Thrakorian who has my heart.”
“Thrayke?” he asked, clearly already having been informed of their relationship, and Kyra nodded. “From what I understand, he brought you here illegally and then lied to his master, my son, about your whereabouts? I’m in a right mind to punish him—”
“I’m human Gentry, and therefore entitled to be here, sire,” she interjected without a care for his status, only that he dismissed the idea to punish Thrayke for stowing her away. “Thrayke only hid my whereabouts to protect Kronus’s feelings. He thought he’d failed me on Earth and has told me himself how the weight of it burdened him tremendously. Your son honored me by mourning my death and it seemed better for all of us to let it stay that way. Thrayke had no choice but to let him grieve because he thought it was for the best that Kronus move on. In hindsight, things could’ve been handled differently, but isn’t that always the case?” King Thrakor didn’t answer. He simply turned his head slightly and peered up at his youngest son with a frown.
“So, you’re the reason he broke off his engagement to Mariah.” It was a statement rather than a question, but still Kyra could do nothing but gape at the old man in surprise. She shook her head, peering back over her shoulder at Kronus in surprise, no response forming on her lips. “I sent him on a mission with a clear objective and a plan for when he returned, and yet he’s not the same boy who left my care twenty-five years ago.”
“I’m sorry,” Kyra murmured, scratching her chin anxiously. This was not what she’d expected King Thrakor to drill her on during their meeting and couldn’t deny that what he was saying was true. If it weren’t for her, Kronus would’ve married his betrothed on his return home.
“Don’t be sorry, child. You brought him out of his shell, he simply didn’t know how to handle his emotions once they were unleashed. His mother and I tried everything we could to force him to express his feelings and accept a less strict lifestyle, but he never followed our lead. I swear that boy was born a hardened warrior,” he replied, his expression suddenly growing warmer. “Tell me though, why do you not love him in return?”
Kyra flushed and knew her cheeks had to be bright red. She couldn’t deny how even on his deathbed, Thrakor was a force to be reckoned with, and so she didn’t dare hide any truths from him.
“Oh, I do love him. Well, I tried to anyway,” she answered with a laugh. “He didn’t make it easy for me to care for him. In fact, he pushed me away at every opportunity. It’s as if every time he feels any emotion at all, he closes off twice as much. I wasn’t strong enough to keep trying, so I walked away when he pushed that last time.”
“And into Thrayke’s arms?”
“It’s not quite that simple, but yes. He didn’t give up on me, or give me up. He fought to keep me safe and refused to believe in anything other than a future in which we were together. I still love them both in their own way, but Kronus and I both agreed long ago that we have no future together.”
“Father, please understand. Kyra and I are friends, nothing more,” Kronus added, but he was ignored. Thrakor continued to stare at Kyra, eyeing her up and down while taking her in, reading her in ways she couldn’t even begin to imagine.
“And so you came and were then kidnapped while hidden in Thrayke’s quarters? Sold back to your creator and defiled?” Kyra shuddered and wrung her hands.
“You put it so coldly, sire. But yes, I suppose I was,” she begrudgingly agreed.
“But now you seek permission to run your previous master’s laboratory alongside your treacherous lover and create a colony of humans under his care? What guarantees do I have that you won’t revolt and bite the hand that feeds you?”
“With all due respect, your majesty, I’m not a rebel and neither were any of the humans currently on ice in the depths of that facility. We were brought here—most without a choice—but there will never be any doubt as to who we’re loyal. I don’t have any delusions that you’d stand for any form of uprising, but neither would Thrayke. He’s worked wonders already and cultivated relationships with the men and women working within Greegis’s old facility. Your son’s old friend deserves to take control and be given the chance to oversee the lab and the people there.” A flicker of a smile curled at King Thrakor’s lips and Kyra almost cursed herself for daring bite back at his obvious taunt. He knew now how the seeds for their colony had already been planted. How they’d already dared to dream of a future there side-by-side, but she wasn’t sorry. Kyra wanted Thrakor to know the truth and believe it when she told him there was no ulterior motive.
She took a deep breath and risked reaching across for the frail man’s hand. Kronus let out a strangled croaking sound from behind her when she dared touch him, but King Thrakor didn’t pull away. If anything, he curled toward her, leaning in a little closer. “I’m not the cure, sire. That lies within the humans in cryo-stasis at the facility. My blood is the current carrier for their cure, and in time we believe their blood will evolve and develop like mine so it can be used as a direct source for the vaccine. That’s what we need your permission to develop. This colony is not so we can be free to build a civilization of human immigrants, or start our own government or rebellion. We simply need a place in which the men, women, and children might survive and flourish. And in turn, your cure will evolve. These humans’ children and grandchildren will then continue to cure your kind for generations to come, and surely that’s exactly what you want?”
“What guarantees do you give me, General Millan?” Thrakor asked a second time and Kyra shrugged.
“There are none. There’s only me asking you to put your trust in both myself and the promises from Thrayke and our team that we will do everything in our power to continue
developing this cure.” She stared at him, imploring the sick old man to at the very least believe in Thrayke if not in her.
“That’s not enough. I require evidence that the cure is capable of being developed, as well as proof that the humans’ blood is transitioning with time like you presume. Your blood cured Kronus, but is it temporary or permanent? I need conclusive answers before I’ll agree to anything concrete. We’ll start with you giving me what you came here for.” Thrakor was back to his initial coldness and Kyra couldn’t be sure whether they’d made progress or not, only that it was evidently time for her to give him the cure they had created thus far, so she put out her arm to the otherwise silent statue behind them.
Kronus stepped forward and immediately got to work. He hooked them up with a joint tube, which immediately began transfusing Kyra’s blood into King Thrakor’s system. He then injected him with the vial of serum Thrayke and the other doctors had cultivated and afterwards, the three of them could do nothing but sit back and wait.
The trio rested quietly while the combination of Kyra’s blood and the serum got to work beneath Thrakor’s pale skin. Watching him like a hawk, Kyra saw as within a few minutes he already seemed a healthier color, but then it was her strength that was waning. The doctors back at the facility had warned her not to transfuse for longer than ten minutes in any one sitting, but she’d been bleeding for eleven minutes already. It was time to stop, however she couldn’t bring herself to be the one who asked. Not when it was the King she was hooked up to. Kyra let her head fall back against the chair in her drowsiness. She then closed her eyes and was vaguely aware of the needle being pulled from her arm and pressure being applied to the small hole.
“Rest now, Kyra. I’ve got you,” Kronus whispered as he tended to her and she followed his heartfelt command. She didn’t sleep. She simply rested her exhausted body while her healing ability did its thing, and as she sat there, she listened in on the conversation going back and forth around her.