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She stills.“I can’t forget him, Elsie.I don’t want to.”

I understand why she needs to remember Vitai.However, the queen was clear about the conditions of sending them home.

Rubbing Eucabeth’s arms, I ask gently, “Won’t it be better like this?”

She purses her lips.“I’d rather live with the pain than without the memory.”

Yes, I get that too.I would’ve felt the same.But if Kian doesn’t delete her memories of Zerra, she can’t go home.And she can’t stay here.Which will leave the king and queen with only one option, one I don’t want to think about.

“You don’t have a choice.”I emphasize the statement with a gentle shake.“Please, Eucabeth.Don’t throw away a chance at a new life.You haven’t come this far and survived everything you have just to…” I swallow the rest of my sentence, unable to say it out loud.

Even as she lifts her chin with determination, reality settles in her eyes.Eucabeth is a fighter.She’s not going to sacrifice her life for the sake of a memory, no matter how strong her attraction to Vitai is.I’m hoping it’s just a fixation because he healed her.I want nothing more for her than to move on and find someone else.

“It’s time,” the queen says for a second time, her tone insistent.

I take Eucabeth’s hand and wipe away the tears that roll over her cheeks.“You have to be strong.Let the last thing they see be your smile.”

She squares her shoulders and takes a shaky breath.

“That’s better.”I lead her toward the group.“I’m going to miss you.”

Irina comes up and puts an arm around Eucabeth’s shoulders.

I shoot Irina a grateful look.“I’ll miss all of you.”

“Even me?”Sandy asks, walking to my side.

I take in her glowing complexion.“I should’ve told you.”

“I understand why you didn’t.”She pulls me in for a quick hug.“I overreacted, hun.It just came as a shock.”

“I know,” I say.“I hope you’ll always be happy.I have no doubt you’ll make a success of whatever you decide to do.”

“Hell, yes.”She juts out a hip.“That sounds just about right.”

“I’m not going to miss these memories for a second,” Alexa says.“I’m only too grateful to forget this part of my life.”

“What happens when we arrive on Earth?”Karl asks.“Where will we be?Can we pick a destination, or will you drop us somewhere randomly?How much will we remember of our history on Earth?”

I repeat what Aruan’s mother explained to me.“You’ll be left where you were taken, and you’ll remember everything up to that point, minus the abduction.It’ll be like selective amnesia.But you’ll remember your name, where you live, who your family is, and everything stored in your memory before you came here.”

“What will we tell people?”Alexa asks.

“You won’t know what to tell them,” Kian says.“You won’t know what happened to you, and you won’t understand why you’ve lost a part of your memory.It’ll be just as big a mystery to you as to everyone else.”

Karl looks at Kian from under his eyebrows.“So we’re just supposed to pick up the pieces and carry on?”

“How you live your life is up to you,” Kian says with a flat smile.

“We’d better get going,” the queen tells me.

“Wait.”Karl holds up a hand.“How will your queen know where we were taken from?”

“I’ll show her,” Kian says.“I already know the places where the Phaelix snatched you from reading your minds.”

Alexa shivers visibly.“That’s so freaky.Can we just get this over with?”

We hug each other, wiping away tears as we say goodbye.Alexa volunteers to go first.The queen calls up a portal.Kian is at her side, presumably planting the location in her mind.