Chapter 419: Aliens send word.

Zyra folded her lips, thinking it through. The story was short, just like the adventure had been. It didn’t explain why Elliot blamed Hunter for his injury on that adventure. Not that Zyra cared. He was dead, and that was the end of that.

She patted Hunter’s hand gently. "From what I hear, your father doesn’t sound like a bad guy at all. He saved your lives, patched up your annoying half-brother, and protected you by taking your memories. Elliot was lucky that your father did not kill him right away to protect you. Also, your father did not use your hybrid status to manipulate you into killing for the Somnivores, spying for them or recruiting for their side. He didn’t take advantage of you in any way and that says a lot about him."

Hunter nodded in agreement. "He really took good care of me that week. He taught me about the Somnivores and their history. The cave was packed with books which I read. I spent my days reading and learning about who I actually am. One day he pulled out a detailed drawing of the star key and the ship and asked if I had ever seen either of the two. When I said no, he didn’t push or tell me to go out and look for those things." He stopped and sighed. "I don’t think I hate him."

Zyra leaned in, staring at him intently. "So... what are you going to do now that you know the truth?"

Hunter stared at his own hands, looking utterly lost. "I... I really don’t know."

Zyra gave his chest a light, comforting pat. "Hey. Don’t stress yourself out right about it right now. We’ll figure it out together, alright?"

Hunter shook his head slowly, a bitter smile touching his lips. "It just pisses me off thinking about it. All these years of being blamed for Elliot’s injuries and it turns out that my birth father saved him! What the hell did my mother tell him? Did she know that my father had saved us and it angered her? I don’t understand how she benefited from making him hate me."

Zyra smacked her lips loudly, making a sharp tch sound.

"Don’t dwell on it." Zyra said, waving her hand dismissively. "Achilles has been telling you for sometime that Elliot was a lost cause! He was not even a bad person because of Sabrina’s influence or anything complicated like that. The guy was just a straight-up, certified devil! Your father saved his life and the first think he thought of was turning the man in." She rolled her eyes. "He was born a scumbag."

Hunter let out a long, heavy sigh, pulling Zyra back into his arms as another flash of lightning lit up the window.

"Yeah," Hunter mumbled, closing his eyes as he held her close. "I definitely believe it now."

They both lay there in silence, sleep was the last thing on their minds.

****

It was almost two months since the Eros stadium attack.

Many changes had been implemented across the new earth. Classes among humans had been abolished entirely. All clans were reshuffled and ill gotten wealth accumulated by the rich under unclear circumstances was seized and distributed among the low borns.

Strong punishments were enforced for anyone who tried to resist the changes, so the upper class adjusted with impressive speed. None of them wanted to lose their vast fortunes over a petty rebellion against the new order.

New nation leaders had been chosen through proper voting systems, the only vacant position was that of the Divine soul maiden which Zyra had strongly rejected.

Zyra’s city had expanded even further, stretching out to claim the entire southern part of the Wildlands. She had officially registered it as an independent nation with only one recognized clan_ the Scorpio clan. Thanks to the booming tourism that the Beast Valley attracted, investors had rushed into the Wildlands to claim a piece of the pie, rapidly building luxury hotels and resorts for visiting travelers.

The once-barren region had grown ridiculously developed in a shockingly short time. In fact, its growth rate easily surpassed every neighboring nations.

Zyra was happy with the sudden boom, provided one rule remained absolute: beasts within the city had to be protected and respected.

She was standing near the tall glass window of the topmost room in the Resource Center. It was a scorching afternoon, but the streets below were buzzing with life. Free iced lemonade and sugarcane juice stations had been set up on almost every corner around the city to beat the heat.

Zyra’s lips curved into a warm smile as she watched two tiny toddlers aggressively wrestling over a stick of candied strawberries on a stick, their faces completely smeared with sticky sugar.

"I don’t think my parents are going back to the Kaelion estate anytime soon," Achilles said, walking up beside her and leaning against the window frame. "My mother just submitted a request for another full month of leave to the company. And, she has requested for her tourist visa in Beast Valley City to be extended by 10 years! Nobody tours for 10 years!"

Zyra chuckled, nudging his arm with her elbow. "Achilles, you should probably prepare yourself. You’ll be getting a baby brother or sister soon. Your parents are running around acting like newlyweds on a second honeymoon."

Achilles rolled his eyes dramatically and let out a low, embarrassed growl. "Please, don’t put that mental image in my head. I don’t need to be traumatized."

Before Zyra could tease him any further, the heavy double doors swept open. The Grand Elder strode into the hall, followed by the power players of the new earth. The grand elder had personally called for this emergency meeting, bringing together the newly appointed nation leaders and the Mayor.

"Sit, everyone," the Grand Elder commanded, waving his hand as he walked toward the head of the round wooden table. "I have urgent news from the Somnivore world."

The newly appointed leaders hurriedly took their seats. Achilles pulled out a chair for Zyra before sliding into his own, crossing his arms with a serious expression.

"We have just received an official transmission from the Supreme Leader of the Somnivores," the Grand Elder announced, placing a black envelope at the table. "He wishes to hold a formal summit. His goal is to negotiate a peaceful treaty between our two races."

Silent glances were exchanged around the table. The silence didn’t last long.

"Absolutely not!" the Mayor blurted out, slamming his hand onto the table so hard his teacup rattled. "We cannot trust those shadow-dwelling leech-creatures! A peace treaty? Please! Trinity rejected these meetings for a reason."

"Let’s not jump straight to worst-case scenarios, Mayor," Zyra said calmly, tapping her fingers against her armrest. "Though I do share your skepticism. Reports coming in show that the humans who are living beyond the veil are indeed happy and fat."

"Fat?" Achilles screamed.

Zyra cleared her throat. "Not fat--like obese. Just, happy and healthy. It is prove that not all Somnivores are bloodthirsty. Trinity rejected the ceasefire and peace deals for personal reasons, not because she was worried about the human race."

"And Trinity’s Era is gone! " the Grand Elder said strongly, smoothing down his white beard. "It wouldn’t hurt us to at least hear them out. We bring our demands to the table and they bring theirs and we start from there. If we can bring back true peace to humanity, then we must do our best. If peace is impossible, then we fight one last war and wipe them out forever."