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“Sorry.”He grins.“Did I forget to mention one of my many powers?”

“Your many powers?”I parrot, battling to wrap my mind around what’s happening.

“The one I broadcast is my extraordinary ability to store information.Here on Earth, you’d call that a photographic memory.That’s why Nia finds me so useful.I’m a walking library, to use your Earth terms liberally.”

“Let me guess.Your other powers are creating portals and managing freaky impersonations.”

“What can I say?As far as portals go, I learned from the best.”

My statement comes out as an accusation.“You used your photographic memory to learn how to open portals to Earth from the queen.”

He nods.“As for the rest, I improvised.”

My heartbeat is a staccato rhythm in my chest.“My mom… She wasn’t in an accident.”

“No,” he drawls.“Obviously not.”

Relief crashes through me together with fear.“What do you want?”

“What’s best for Zerra.”

“Is that why you helped the Phaelix abduct slaves from Earth?”I ask with sarcasm.

Not a single emotion shows on his face.“I did what I had to do.”

Using the wall behind me for support, I push to my feet.“To what end?What were you hoping to achieve with such a barbaric crime?”

“The Phaelix agreed to help me, but everything comes at a price.”

I gape as the insight hits me.“You were the man Sandy saw negotiating with the Phaelix in the jungle.”Loathing pushes up in my throat, leaving a bitter taste on my tongue.“What did they promise you in exchange for human slaves?”

“To help me overthrow the rule in Lona.”

I point a finger at him.“It was you.You orchestrated the Phaelix attack.”I go still as another thought burrows into my mind.“The poison and the bridge… That was you?”

“I tried so hard to get rid of you, but you kept on persevering like a pesky plague.”

“Why?”I ask, breathless now.“Why would you want to get rid of me?”

“Come on, Elsie.”He tilts his head.“Isn’t it obvious?Everything was going so well until you showed up.”

“You don’t really want what’s best for Zerra.”I curl my upper lip.“You’re just another power-hungry asshole who wants everything for yourself.”

He clicks his tongue.“Now that’s not true.Aruan is a non-believer.He disrespects the sacred prophecies of the scrolls.He was never fit to be a leader.”

“So you took the task upon yourself.”My smile is cold.“For purely selfless reasons.”

“Think what you like.My only interest is in protecting Zerra.”

The feverish light in his brown eyes is that of a lunatic, a man who believes in his own bullshit.

“Why didn’t you just try to kill Aruan?”I utter a laugh.“Oh, yeah, that’s right.He would’ve crushed you like a bug.”

“With you out of the picture, my cousin was as good as gone.A stone.Dead to any feelings.I watched him turn into nothing but an empty, useless shell over the years.”He says with conviction, “Now that you’re gone, he’ll go back to that.”

“You have no idea.”Another hollow laugh tears from my stomach.“You have no idea what you’ve done.”

“I know exactly what I’ve done.I’ve saved my world from a pending disaster.I’m preventing a terrible prophecy from coming true.”He closes the distance between us and puts a hand on my shoulder.“It’s nothing personal.I like you, Elsie.I really do.No, don’t look at me like that.It’s true.I’m not a monster.It’s going to hurt me to kill you, but it has to be done.Nia was on the right track when she got rid of you when you were a baby, but she didn’t do a good enough job.She was too weak.She should’ve done what I’m doing now.If she had the courage it took, we’d never be in this situation.Do you see now?Nia isn’t fit to be queen.Lona shouldn’t be ruled by weak Alit.”