Sorry about the wait. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.
Dedicated to: Flamehair and kj4ever.
<center>Chapter Four</center>
“But people did get hurt, Evans. Seventeen of my people are dead. And it happened as you came into Copper Summit. That’s not a coincidence. So tell me why should I believe you when you say that you are not responsible. Why should we believe you?” Elias returned, wanting for these children to see his point of view in this. Nothing like this had happened since that day in 1958, which he shuddered to think about. They were too fucking careful to let something like this happen.
“If we wanted any of you dead, you would be. Liz didn’t have to save Serina, but she did. It’s because of Liz that Serina is alive and okay.” Max insisted, understanding where Elias was coming from. But they hadn’t been responsible for the explosion that had happened. He had no idea who was responsible for it. And it had been very interesting timing that on the day that they came to Copper Summit, there was an explosion. Could Courtney have been involved with Nicholas? Made it so it would seem that they were the ones responsible for the explosion?
“He’s got a point, there.” Nathan said, cocking his eyebrow at the small brunette who had healed Serina. Interesting little thing Liz Parker was. Neith. Damn, who would have ever believed it? But Liz had been responsible for healing Serina and then promptly passed out from a lack of energy. From what Nathan deduced, it was something that Liz wasn’t used to doing.
Serina looked at Liz and wished that she could smile. Wished that she could throw her arms around her and be a sister to her. But her sister was with her so called enemies. There was an Antarian word that came to mind, it was kepela, which meant standing on two opposite sides of the river. And it was what she and her sister were doing. They were on two opposite sides. She had joined Khivar after the death of Neith, and hadn’t ever believed that she would have been reborn. Now she and her sister were supposed to be enemies. But her sister had saved her. Saved her life, which was probably one of the only reasons, Elias hadn’t killed any of them. His temper was legendary.
“Thank you for doing that, Liz. But tell me why you did it?” Kellen asked, speaking up for the first time. He didn’t know how else to express his gratitude to her for what she had done. He would never forget the sight of Nathan holding a lifeless Serina in his arms, her blood soaking into his shirt. Serina meant a lot to him and that was something that he was never going to get over. He hated that feeling of helplessness, knowing that there wasn’t anything that he could have done to spare her the pain that she had been. Hell, he didn’t know what he would have done if Liz hadn’t healed her. He probably would have killed them all. That was something that Elias had taught him, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
“Why shouldn’t I have done it? I know who Serina is to me. We weren’t the ones who did it. You have a traitor in your midst.” Liz countered, her eyes never leaving Kellen’s. His eyes were the same color as Max’s. It was strange to look at him and know that he had no idea about the future life they had almost created. That they had created children in another lifetime. He had no knowledge of Daric, no idea of what importance Daric had been to all of them.
“What are you talking about?” Serina blurted out, unable to help herself. Where was all of this coming from? A traitor? No, every last one of them was loyal to Kellen and the cause. That Kellen was going to one day go back to Antar and rule the day that Khivar died. Kellen was going to go back with the royal four. That was his destiny. They all knew it and they all believed it. There was no traitor. That was an unthinkable thought.
“Yes, please explain yourself.” Elias said simply, giving Serina a harsh look. Her temper was something that closely resembled his own. She was brash and quick to lash out sometimes. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree with that one.
“I guess this is where I start. I was raised away from Max and the others. I was raised by my protector, we can call him Nasedo. He informed me once I got to the breeding stage that I was to do whatever possible to get to my king once we found him. That he was my husband, and that we were to have a child. That it was all part of the deal for us to go back to Antar. A deal that he had made with Khivar. Do you know what I’m talking about?” Tess spoke up for the first time, looking at Nathan sadly. If she had done that, if she had purposely gotten pregnant by Max, it would have ruined her life. Ruined everything for her. Her chance to be with Nathan. She couldn’t understand why she had done it in that other time line. That other life. Had she really been so desperate? He had been here on Earth the entire time.
“Pregnant by him? Why would Khivar want a child from you and Max?” Elias questioned with a dubious tone. She didn’t sound as if she was lying, but it didn’t make all that much sense to him. He sure as hell had never had any contact with her protector, so the idea that Khivar had been in touch with her protector was a little preposterous. She seemed convinced of it, so maybe her protector had lied to her about the entire thing. Maybe used that lie to keep her in line. So certain that she and the little king were supposed to be together.
“My child is the rightful heir to the throne of Antar.” Max countered softly, not liking the tone that the older man was giving him. The man who called himself Elias had a harsh look about him. Dark eyes that followed everything, eyes that didn’t miss a beat.
“Now that’s a matter of opinion, now isn’t it?” Nathan said with a laugh, as he tried to keep the tension to a minimum, but he knew that he was doing a bad job. There was tension coming from just about everyone. Everyone was on their guard. Not that he blamed any of them. But all just seem too coincidental that when they arrived, an explosion occurred on their compound. “Sorry, bad joke.”
Tess cracked a smile at his words and knew that she was going to love this guy. She would love him for Nathan, as he was now. Not for the memory of the man she remembered. She wished that they would get this all over with already and she could talk to him. Just the two of them. See what would happen.
“Back to the point. You’re saying that Khivar made a deal for you to get pregnant with his baby so you could go back to Antar. But Khivar knew the truth about you and Nathan, so why would he want that?” Serina remarked, wanting to get things back on track. She didn’t want to see some little love fest between Nathan and Avalina. Even though it was kinda sickening sweet in a way.
“Because he still wants Liz for himself.” Max stated simply.
“An heir to the throne is an awfully useful puppet.” Elias said with a nod of his head. It made some sense, but still how the hell had Khivar been in any sort of contact with Tess’ protector. And why hadn’t he been informed about the entire matter. Or maybe it was just something that had been discussed a long time before they had even come to earth.
“Are we really going to buy all of this? Our people are dead. We have a morgue filled at the moment and it’s because of them. It’s not a coincidence.” Kellen said harshly, not wanting to hear anymore of this talk. He had to think about his people and what was right for them. The only reason they were alive was because of what Liz had done for Serina. He didn’t want to hear talk about what Khivar wanted. Khivar wasn’t here on earth, he was. And he was supposed to be the leader down here.
True, he did remember things from Antar. Like how he had felt about Neith, which was something that he wasn’t too happy to admit. It had been like an obsession with her. It was one that he wasn’t too eager to get back into. It wasn’t what he wanted, and besides, she wasn’t even the same as she had once been before. That was obvious in every move that she made. She was completely different from Serina. Complete opposites. Liz Parker was a quiet type of girl whereas Serina was loud and always ready for a fight. It was hard to keep that girl down, while Liz looked like she might topple over if hit.
“Kellen. . ." Serina started, not knowing what else to say. Just as she feared, Kellen was looking at Liz with such interest and it made her sick to her stomach. Why was this happening again?
“I still haven’t heard anything that makes me not think of you as my enemy. Serina was hurt, she could have died. It’s because of Liz that you are alive at this moment. If she hadn’t healed Serina, I would not hesitate to kill you.” Kellen said deadly. He didn’t bother giving Serina his attention when she called his name; he wanted to make himself crystal clear to these people standing in front of him. He wanted for them to know that while he was not Khivar, he was still someone that wouldn’t back down from a fight. He would not allow for anything to happen to his people. They were counting on him. Nathan was counting on him, Serina was counting on him. The image of her bleeding in Nathan’s arms would not leave him.
“That right there should have showed you that we are not your enemy.” Isabel finally spoke up. There was something in Kellen’s eyes that worried her. He had a dangerous look in his eyes. It didn’t appear that anything they had to say would make him feel better would make him believe them. That scared her. What was he capable of?
“As nice as that was, that is the only thing keeping you alive at the moment. Do you have anything to say in their defenses, Courtney? As to how they got past our security?” Serina remarked, not liking the way that Kellen was taking all of this. Quite frankly, he was scaring her with his tone. She had never quite seen him this way, not even when he had discovered the truth about her and Nathan.
“Yes, I helped them get through it all. They are telling you the truth; we are not responsible for what happened. There is a traitor in the mix, probably more than one. Just think about it, some of the people that came down to Earth didn’t even know each other. I never knew who Vanessa was before coming down to Earth. Do you know why, Kellen? Do you remember Cillian? I think that Khivar has his own plans for all of us. Plans that you don’t know about. Or do you, Kellen?” Courtney explained, wanting to set things straight. Serina knew that they had all been taught the basics of human technologies, as well as other things that might come in handy to them, such as bombs. They all knew how to make human bombs, just in case.
“Hey, don’t talk to him that way!” Serina said, coming to Kellen’s defense. She didn’t like the insinuations that were being made. Kellen had lived his life for the rest of them, he had always been there. Steadfast and strong, he had always cared about everyone.
“I can talk to him any damn way I please to. I’m questioning my leader, who I am supposed to be following to my death. I don’t want to be bullshitted.” Courtney countered, not caring about Serina’s anger. Her life was at stake, over this game that Kellen could be playing. She wasn’t sure what the right thing was at this point. Where exactly she stood? With Max or with Kellen?
“Since when have you ever been bullshitted, Courtney?” Elias asked, with a tinge of anger in his voice. Who the hell did she think she was questioning him or Kellen? He had done his best to keep Kellen out of things when he was younger, and it was only in the past few years had he brought Kellen into the circle. That had been by Ceyla’s request. He assumed that she had wanted to keep Kellen a kid for as long as she could, before the entire thing was thrust upon him.
Serina felt the anger building up inside of her at this point. What the hell was Courtney talking about? How had she ever been lied to? Everything that had happened had occurred because of their quest to find the royal four and the granolith. Nothing more and nothing less. There was no way that she was going to believe that she had been lied to throughout her life. Elias was like a father to her, he had always been there. He had stood by her side, taught her how to fight, how to be a strong person. She was who she was because of that man.
If he had lied to her, the others, it would make her entire life nothing but a lie. And she didn’t know what she would do if her entire life was a lie. What would that make her? What would be for her if it wasn’t true? Elias loved her and only wanted the best for her. Courtney didn’t know what she was talking about. Courtney didn’t know Elias the way Serina knew him. Her father would never lie to her, would never deceive her.
“I have given my entire life for this cause. For us to find the royal four, to find the granolith, with some hope in going home. Getting back to some semblance of the life I once had. I have helped search across the west for our goal. And then I find out about secret meetings with Khivar and wanting to get Tess Harding pregnant for a child. Something that you never told us about. You and Khivar have secret plans that we don’t know about. And in my book that is being bullshitted over.” Courtney replied, her eyes burning with anger. Over everything that had happened.
“Courtney, you should know by now that we will never get our lives back. So much has happened. I know that you lost your husband in the war, and he’s never going to come back. I lost my wife, so many of us lost so much. And it’ll never come back. I am going to get to the bottom of everything. This entire notion of Tess getting pregnant with Max’s child.” Elias informed her, not wanting to think back to what his life had once been on Antar before the fighting. He had been happy. But that was a long time ago.
Serina took in a harsh breath at Elias’s words and contemplated her life. What was she waiting for? She knew that whatever had happened once upon a time on Antar, had been just that, once upon a time. She was a different person. She was no longer Semiramis. The left behind sibling of Neith. She was more than that. She was Serina, and she had been raised alongside Nathan and Kellen. They were her family, they loved her, and they would do anything for her. Did everything else really matter? Liz and Kellen? When it all came down to it, Kellen would put his people before himself. She knew that. And that was something that Courtney should also know.
“It won’t ever happen. I am not going to have a child with Max. Not now, not ever.” Tess threw in. If Elias had been in on the plan with Nasedo and Khivar, she wanted for him to know that she wasn’t playing with what she said. If she would have a child, it would definitely not be with Max Evans. Though, she couldn’t imagine ever being a mother. She didn’t think that she was suited to have children someday. She would prefer to be that cool aunt to many kids. She hadn’t had a suitable role model on what it was like to be a parent. Nasedo hadn’t shown her the slightest affection. Sometimes she felt that she was incapable of feeling. So what good would she be for a child?
Nathan clenched his jaw at her words. All of this was crazy to him. Why the hell would Khivar have told Tess’ protector for her to get pregnant? Damn it, he hated to admit that it did make some sense to him. It had always been Khivar’s intention to have Neith back in some shape or form, so why would he want to take the chance that the former king and Neith might eventually make their way back to each other. With Tess around, with each of them thinking that they had a duty to their people, it would make it harder for the king to go off with Neith. Had Khivar really pushed aside Nathan’s own happiness for his own selfish reasons? Nathan had the feeling whatever was the truth; he wasn’t going to like it. There was something going on, something that he and others obviously didn’t know. And as much as he wanted to hear more from the royal four, another part of him wanted for them to leave so he would be able to confront Kellen and Elias about all of this.
“Look, I suggest that we put all cards on the table. You obviously think that I am involved in Tess’ protector wanting for her to get pregnant. Which where is your protector?” Elias countered, wanting to get some answers rather than continue this run around.
“He’s dead. He died a few months ago. Which, we are under the impression that you and your people are responsible for his death. Seeing as I found a skin lying near his body.” Max informed them harshly. He believed that it was the works of those skin rogues, those working closely to Khivar that had been responsible for Nasedo’s death. But what he wasn’t sure was of the involvement of the people who were standing in front of him. Courtney hadn’t known anything about a plan to kill Nasedo, but this Elias was evidently the top dog. But where did that Nicholas person Lonnie talked about stand?
Serina suppressed the shock that she felt at his words. What the hell was this shit? She seriously didn’t know what was going on anymore. The royal four and her sister come blowing into their town and start tossing things around that just didn’t make any sense. Khivar wanting Tess to get pregnant, and now that they killed their protector. They didn’t want to harm the royal four, at least that was what she had been told. But who knew what Khivar really had planned for them? He didn’t want for them to come back to rule Antar, that was for sure. She didn’t like any of this. The doubt that was forming in her head.
Serina looked over to where Kellen was standing, and what she saw frightened her. There was a look of complete anger on his face, but it was the quiet anger. Kellen’s anger frightened her, because it was very rare when he got mad, when he exploded. But when it happened, it was something that took them all by surprise. She knew that he wanted to say something, but he was suppressing it with every ounce that he had in his body. She had long believed that Kellen preferred to keep everything to himself. That if he somehow showed what he was feeling that it would make him weaker in everyone’s mind. And they couldn’t have a weak leader.
“You found a Skin near his body? Who else saw it?” Nathan injected, crinkling his brow at the notion. The shedding of skin was something that only happened to someone that wasn’t hydrated, which was pretty easy to happen because of the heat. Back when Elias and the others had first come down, more than one person had died because their body hadn’t been able to adapt to the heat. But since then, they had figured out what to do to make sure that never happened again.
“No one. I was alone.” Max countered. He had a bad feeling about the way all of this was going. It seemed that nothing was going to be resolved. He didn’t want to be enemies with these people standing before him. He didn’t want to have to do something that he would regret. It was bad enough what had happened with Lonnie and Rath. But if push came to shove, than he would do whatever was necessary to make sure his family was safe. Every last one of them.
“So we’re taking you at your word?” Serina said sarcastically, wishing that Kellen would say something. She wanted to throttle him; she wanted him to voice his opinion. Just to have anything come out of his mouth. She was afraid it was not only because he was processing everything that they were saying, the belief that Khivar was behind that insane plan of a pregnant Tess, but also because of Liz’s presence. Was he enthralled by her sister? Why did this have to happen all over again?
Even with all that Serina knew, she had some hope that this time around maybe that Kellen would not be enchanted with her sister. That maybe, just maybe she would have the chance that she had never completely had on Antar. Damn it. That was something that she didn’t like admitting to herself. The feelings that she had for Khivar back on Antar, a life that wasn’t hers really. Khivar had been in love with Neith, while she had been captivated by him. There had been something about him that had drawn her to him. She had a thing for guys with sadness in their lives, she guessed.
“We don’t need to lie.” Michael said roughly, not liking her tone. He didn’t give a shit if this chick was Liz’s sister, he didn’t like her tone.
“Like I said, we have to take you at your word. Like, that’ll do us any good.” Serina sneered, she didn’t like Rath. Not the hair that surrounded him, not the way he was standing, she didn’t like anything about him. She suppressed the urge to get up in his face and do something. She knew that was asking for trouble. But then again, she had always been the type of girl who asked for trouble. That seemed to be her calling card wherever she went.
“One of your people killed our protector. He came to me half alive, and told me that it was one of you. That they were coming for us. And that wasn’t a lie. Because Vanessa Whitaker was in town. And she tried to kill my sister, she tried to kill Tess. No one can deny that.” Max said harshly, getting tired of this same old song. It was like he was talking to a wall, no one wanted to believe what they were saying. They were all getting so frustrated. They didn’t want to believe that any of their people were traitors.
“I don’t believe a fucking word that is coming out of your mouth. My people want the same thing that I want. None of what you are saying is the truth. Get the fuck out of my sight before I kill you myself for what happened today. Get out now!” Kellen bellowed, not able to keep it inside of himself anymore. He didn’t want to hear anything more from these people. He just wanted them away from him.
TBC. . . . . . . .
