65. Aru

As the afternoon sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the rocky terrain, Aru glanced at his watch. He had twenty-five minutes until the queen arrived at the Oracle"s temple, and he could ask her what to do about the discovery of the royal twins.

With a sigh, he pushed to his feet and stretched his back. He"d spent hours hunched over, using hand tools to pry off components from the pod that he probably could do nothing with. Even seven thousand years ago, most were in a solid state.

"I need a break," he told Dagor. "I"m going to head up top and get some air."

Dagor nodded. "Take your time. I"ll keep going at it."

Aru clapped his friend on the shoulder and walked over to the ropes. The climb up was so practiced by now that he did it in a couple of minutes, and when he crested the top, he wasn"t even sweaty. The air was so arid that sweat evaporated as fast as it was created.

The crisp mountain air hit him like a physical force, the chill wind whipping at his face and his clothes. And yet the sun was shining brightly with no cloud in sight. Aru squinted against the glare, his eyes adjusting to the brightness after so long in the dimly lit confines of the cavern.

He made his way to the plateau"s edge, the sound of his boots crunching on the loose gravel almost indiscernible over the shrieking of the wind.

There, perched on a weathered boulder that offered a stunning view of the valley below, Aru closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, opening a channel to his sister.

There was only silence for a moment, the vast emptiness of the mental landscape stretching out before him. But then, like a candle flaring to life in the darkness, he felt the warmth of her presence filling his mind.

Hello, Aru, she spoke in his mind. The queen is here, but she is talking with the Supreme, so we will need to wait for her to be ready.

He had told Aria that he needed to talk to the queen, but he hadn"t told her why. Perhaps he should have. Aria was wise, and he valued her input. She might have offered him advice.

A few more moments passed until Aria said, The queen is ready, and she asks if you have the heir on the line with you.

I don"t. Not today. I"m still in the mountains with Dagor, and I can only take a break from him for a few minutes before he comes looking for me. I need to tell Her Majesty about the discovery we made. He paused, taking a deep breath. We found the Kra-ell pod, the one Syssi saw in her vision, and Jasmine helped us locate. It contains the twins, and they are alive, but barely though. All the others are dead.

So, the rumors were right, Aria said for the queen.

Yes, Aru confirmed. The royal twins survived because, as half-gods, they could enter stasis without the aid of the stasis chamber. That is why all the others are dead, and they are alive.

He paused, his mind flashing back to the grim scene they had discovered in the heart of the cavern. There were eighteen Kra-ell with them. Nine males and nine females, an unusual ratio for the Kra-ell, who typically put four males in the pods for every female to reflect the ratio of the genders in their population. I wonder what the significance of that is.

Aria was silent for a moment. The queen speculates that the twins" mother hoped that Ekin and Athor would find a way to even out the numbers in the next generation by altering the Kra-ell"s genetics. Athor was a talented geneticist, and Ekin was a gifted engineer.

The Eternal King"s offspring were superior to other gods, not just because the genetic material he contributed to them was so great but because they were engineered to be better than others. Even though his talented children had turned against him, the king ensured each child received the best genetic enhancements possible.

It"s possible, Aru said. But we can only speculate what the queen wanted her children to do on Earth. Once they are revived, we might learn more.

Or at least he hoped so. After being in stasis for so long without support, they could have sustained brain damage or memory loss.

His greatest fear, though, was that the queen would order him to murder the twins, and he wouldn"t blame her if she did. They were vulnerable right now, and if allowed to be revived, they could pose a threat to Annani.

The entire resistance"s hope rested on Annani"s shoulders, and the queen would not allow anything or anyone to endanger her, even if that meant doing the unthinkable.

As no further communication came, he continued. I need to know what the queen wants us to do about reporting the discovery. Dagor recorded what we found in each of the chambers we opened in a way that will show that they are dead, including a recording of no heartbeat or breathing, but while the Kra-ell bodies are perfectly preserved, the twins look like corpses. It"s not difficult to guess why.

The queen says that the king will want more definite proof of their state than the recordings. You will have to put the bodies on a funeral pyre and film them burning.

She was correct; altering the footage with artificial intelligence was not an option. Anumati"s technology would immediately reveal the trickery. The queen would most likely tell him to kill the twins and put them on a funeral pyre as well.

There was a long, heavy pause that seemed to stretch on for an eternity, and then Aria spoke in his mind, The queen needs time to consider all the options.

I understand, and I hate to rush the queen, but Annani"s people plan to revive the twins soon.

After another moment, Aria asked, When are they planning to do so?

They are waiting for the arrival of an immortal with unparalleled shrouding abilities and a private craft to transport the twins and the Kra-ell bodies back to the immortals" stronghold. They have a clinic with all the necessary medical equipment and experienced medical personnel. They plan to revive the twins there. They don"t want to take any chances.

How long will it all take?Aria asked.

I estimate at least three days, probably four or five. We are in a remote location, an eight-hour drive to the nearest airport. We will also need at least a day to transport all the stasis chambers out of the pod.

A moment later, the queen responded. Her Majesty will give you an answer by tomorrow.

Do not repeat what I say. Do you think she will tell me to end them?

I honestly do not know. She is not easy to read.