Page 58

TREY

This day cannot get any more insane.

At the sight of Mia Wang, I almost bolt back into the kitchen to rush Arella out of here. I don’t, only because if a Keeper is here, that means the zovernment already knows about Arella and me. Now I’ve got the feeling they’ve known for a while.

Phil’s back stiffens as he narrows his gaze on the woman on his doorstep. “Can I see your badge?”

I’m surprised he can think clearly enough to ask for credentials. Phil has been on information overload since the moment I started my and Arella’s story with So, I used to be a ZIRDA agent.

Mia unbuttons the top button of her silky blouse, then drags the fabric to the side.

“Oh, you’re not just any Keeper,” Phil says as he glances at the branded crest over her heart. “You’re one of the top dogs.”

“Yes, Mr. Ward, I am. And no, I’m not here to take her away, nor am I here to arrest you. I’m just here to talk.”

Phil goes silent as he thinks. He must come to the conclusion that he has no choice, because with a sigh, he steps aside and waves for the Keeper to enter.

“She claims she’s not here to take away our little girl,” Phil says as we return to the kitchen.

“I heard that claim,” Roxy says, standing in front of Arella like she’s guarding precious artwork. “I don’t believe it.”

“You can relax, Mrs. Ward. I promise you, if we wanted to take Miss Rance away from you, we would have three years ago when we found out you had kept an Ordinary hidden in your home for most of her life.” Mia turns to me.

“You can relax too, Mr. Grant. If we wanted to take her away from you, we would have the first night you two met at your oak tree.”

My eyes have never been wider. How much does the zovernment know? Right now, it seems like they know everything.

Mia smiles warmly. “It’s nice to officially meet you all, and you again, Mr. Grant.”

I keep my expression tight. “Don’t know if I can say the same. Not until I know why you’re here.”

“May I sit?” Mia asks, pointing to one of the kitchen chairs. She doesn’t wait for permission before taking a seat and glancing around the room. “Your home is lovely. I’ve been admiring the gardens outside.”

Dammit. I haven’t had a chance to compliment Roxy’s gardens yet. Every moment in this house has been wild. I’ll be sure to mention her flowers before we leave—assuming I can leave, because I’m not stepping a foot outside this house without my girl.

Like Roxy, I don’t trust that Mia is simply here to talk .

I think that’s just a ploy to get our guard down.

When Mia gets the chance, she’s going to snatch Arella away from us and scrub our minds before we can stop them.

I won’t go down without a fight, and I’ve got a feeling Arella’s grandparents won’t either.

As impatient as ever, Phil grumbles, “How’s about we cut the small talk and get straight to the point? Tell us why there’s an Executive Keeper in my kitchen.”

“I advise you to keep your emotions in check, Mr. Ward.” Mia’s tone is tender yet firm.

“I have no problem leaving without explaining anything. To be frank, fifty of the Keepers voted to leave this situation be and to not intervene this early. The other fifty-one believed it would be in everyone’s best interest, especially Miss Rance’s, that we stepped in.

You’re currently looking at the person who made that swing vote.

So why don’t you all sit down so we can have a nice chat? ”

Arella is the first to move. She’s either brave as fuck or just doesn’t realize that having a Keeper here isn’t good.

She takes the chair straight across from Mia.

I sit down too, only because I need to be as close to my girl as possible.

If anyone tries to take her, I’ll be right there with a fireball.

Roxy takes a moment to weigh her options before finally settling onto the last open chair.

With a huff, Phil leaves the room. He comes back seconds later with a clanky folding chair and sticks it at the end of the table, next to his wife.

Then he plops into the chair with another huff as if he needs to make it clear that he hates all of this.

“Do you need to take another walk, Phillip?” Roxy asks.

“No,” he grumbles. “I’ll keep it together.”

The tension shooting at me from Arella’s grandparents makes me a tiny bit more confident that they’ll fight alongside me if this Keeper tries anything.

When I first got here, I felt like it was me against them.

Now it’s us against this Keeper—except I highly doubt Mia came here alone.

I’ll bet there are other Keepers and Enforcers stationed outside this house right now, waiting for us to make a move.

I expand my empathy power to check. Everything seems normal.

Does that mean Mia is actually here to talk?

Mia flashes us an overly sugary smile. It makes me trust her even less. “Where should I start? I’m thinking this situation calls for a little Zordi history lesson. How does that sound?”

We all look at each other, then back at the Keeper and nod.

“Miss Rance, my understanding is that you can recall bits and pieces of the things that happened before you were scrubbed, is that right?”

Arella flicks her eyes to me with a look: Do I lie?

I give her a look back that says I have no idea.

Arella is smarter than I am, so I trust whatever decision she wants to make. She turns back to Mia. “Yes, that’s right.”

“Do you remember if Mr. Grant ever explained what caused the Grand Separation in 1326?”

“Not really.”

“Great. Let’s start there. The Grand Separation is what divided our kind from Ordinaries.

What Zordi schools teach their students is that the separation was started by Ordinaries poisoning our alcohol, causing two million people to die within a year.

Zordi schools also teach that we cannot reproduce with Ordinaries.

While there are truths to both statements, neither is completely true.

Yes, Ordinaries tried to eradicate us, but for a valid reason: We were killing their women.

” Mia stops there, letting us process that last statement.

“You’re lying,” Phil says, breaking the silence. “Our kind would never do that.”

Mia flashes a smile toward Roxy. “Have I lied, Mrs. Ward?”

Roxy lets out a little sigh. “No. Not once.”

Since Roxy has no reason to lie about this, I believe her.

“I should add that the killings were unintentional,” Mia says.

“What does that mean?” I ask. “How did our kind unintentionally kill Ordinary women?”

“I’m so glad you asked.” Mia straightens her back.

“Let me explain. You’ve been taught that Zordi sperm does not recognize an Ordinary egg as a suitable host for reproduction.

In addition, you’re taught that Ordinary sperm is not strong enough to penetrate a Zordi’s egg to conceive.

While that is mostly true, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Occasionally, there are Zordi sperm that are less picky.

There are also some Ordinary sperm strong enough to fertilize the Zordi egg.

“Back before the Grand Separation, the chances of conception were much higher than they are now. About one in every ten pregnancies between our kinds successfully produced a healthy child. Due to our separation over the centuries, the gap between our biological makeups has grown even farther apart, making one in every hundred pregnancies between our kinds viable. Again, difficult, but not impossible.”

Roxy’s jaw falls. “Are you saying there are people out there who are half and half?”

“No,” Mia says. “The children are always born as one or the other—Zordinary or Ordinary—never both. As soon as the embryo is implanted, it has already determined for itself whether it’s going to be a Zordi or an Ordi.”

“Can we get to the part where you explain how our kind was unintentionally killing Ordinary women?” Phil asks.

“Yes. When a Zordi female becomes pregnant with an Ordinary male, there are usually no complications. The Zordi body can handle growing either type of fetus. The problems only arise when it’s an Ordinary who becomes pregnant with a Zordi fetus.

It’s too hard on the Ordinary mother’s body.

If the mother doesn’t die during the pregnancy, she usually doesn’t make it very long after the birth.

The chances of survival are about fifty percent. ”

Everyone at the table snaps their gaze to Arella, who has suddenly gone pale. I take her hand into mine, but it does nothing to ease the panic in her eyes. I don’t blame her. Inside, I’m panicking too.

We’ve been trying to get pregnant since we got back together. Both of us are more than eager to start a family. Because it didn’t happen right away like the first time, I was beginning to think it wasn’t going to happen at all.

Yesterday morning, Arella’s test came back positive, which I remember from prior experience means she’s positively pregnant , not positively not pregnant. We’ve barely had time to celebrate it, and now I’m being told this could kill her? Having a baby is not worth losing her again.

Mia continues as if the rest of the table isn’t losing their goddamn minds.

“Before the Grand Separation, there were already plenty of Ordinaries who believed that Zordis didn’t have a place in this world.

Can you imagine how much deeper that belief became whenever an Ordinary woman died from giving birth to more of our kind?

The worst of them was Sir William Knight.

Do you remember learning about him in your Zordi history classes? ”

“Yes,” I say. “He was an Ordinary supremacist who believed all people with powers must be eradicated at all costs.”

“Correct,” Mia says, “and anyone who agreed with his beliefs joined his anti-Zordi cult. Unfortunately, when enough racist people unite, cloaking their bigoted message behind Christianity, they gain enough followers to become a problem.