by M. K. Krys
Beacon was in his own world, enjoying the wind in his face, when Boots jolted forward so suddenly, he went flying off his board. He stumbled, nearly losing his grip on the leash. Boots started barking.
“What the heck, dude?” Beacon said, just as a pair of headlights blinked into existence up ahead.
“Someone’s coming,” Arthur said.
“Nothing gets past you,” Beacon and Everleigh said at the same time, then laughed. But Beacon’s laughter died out when Boots’s barking got louder and crazier. He’d never seen him act this way before. Well, he had one time, he remembered, thinking of that day outside the pawnshop. Beacon tried to shush the dog, but his barking just got worse the closer the car came, until Beacon had to dig his heels into the road and haul on the leash with all his might so Boots wouldn’t go racing off as the car roared past.
Boots didn’t stop until the car was long gone.
“Who was that?” Everleigh said, looking after the vehicle as its taillights disappeared into the dark. “I didn’t recognize that car.”
“More importantly,” Arthur said, “what’s wrong with Boots?”
A chill shuddered down Beacon’s spine.
It couldn’t be a Sov. They were all dead. The queen was killed, and—
Beacon gasped.
No. No, no, no. It wasn’t possible.
“What?” Everleigh said.
“The Sov left their home planet with the queen, right?” Beacon said.
“Yeah . . . ,” Arthur replied warily.
“So what happened to all the Sov they left behind? How did they survive without their queen?”
“The jewel’s power must have reached really far,” Arthur said, though he was frowning now, as if he couldn’t quite believe he hadn’t thought about this before.
“What if that’s not true?” Beacon said. “What if the jewel is only strong enough to cover one planet?”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Everleigh said. “Then everyone back on their home planet would have died when they came here with Daisy.”
“Unless Victor crowned another queen who could power the home-planet Sov before they left,” Beacon said.
“Then why wouldn’t he have told Daisy about that?” Everleigh asked.
“To keep her under their thumb,” Beacon said. “Think about it—if you’ve been told you’re responsible for the lives of everyone on your planet, would you be likely to act out of line? Disobey commands? Take any big risks?”
No one said anything.
“Victor kept her in the dark to protect himself,” he said. “The Sov aren’t all dead. And there’s at least one of them here in Driftwood Harbor.”
Boots’s barks filled the silence as they exchanged a terrified glance.
THE END
About the Author
M. K. Krys (as Michelle Krys) is the author of Hexed, Charmed, and Dead Girls Society. When she's not writing books, Michelle moonlights as a NICU nurse. She lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, with her family. You can visit Michelle online at michellekrys.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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