Chapter 432: Road to D-day.

Zyra was taken back by Tori’s response and quickly corrected that it was not her father that she was going to ask about, especially because Tori made it clear that she had no clue where he was or what had happened to him.

Tori arched a perfectly shaped brow, looking a bit disappointed. "Ah. More questions about Zena, then?"

Zyra nodded, her chest tightening with worry. "Something is bothering me, Tori. Big time."

Tori tilted her head, her expression softening just a tiny bit. "Shoot. What is it?"

Before Zyra could say another word, Loveline slid across the room like a secret agent pretending to pass off as a server. "Juice, anyone?" she chirped cheerfully, handing them each a tall glass.

Tori took a big, happy gulp of hers. What she didn’t know? Loveline had laced her glass with a tiny splash of oath sap as directed by Zyra. Just a little drop, but enough to make sure Tori spilled the absolute truth without realizing she was doing it.

Zyra watched Tori wipe a drop of juice from her lower lip. Right on cue, she went straight for the jugular. "Tori did you know the truth my mother wanted to tell the grand elder? Does it... does it have anything to do with Hunter?"

Tori’s face shifted instantly. Her eyes widened, and she looked genuinely impressed. She let out a low whistle. "Damn, Zyra. Look at you doing your homework. Paint me shocked." Leaning in closer, Tori dropped her usual sarcastic armor. "Look, Zena couldn’t hide the truth from Elder Kaelion anymore. She had finally found a way to stop your dark blood from manifesting. That secret was the weapon Sabrina was using to blackmail her. So, after taking care of her little problem, let’s just say the chains came loose."

Zyra pinched her lips together, feeling a heavy knot form in her stomach. "I knew it. That awful woman was threatening my mom." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Tori let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head. "I told Zena a million times not to run to Trinity crying for help to seal the dark traits in your blood. But no! Zena thought Trinity was her BFF. The second Zena whispered that you had dark blood, Trinity ran straight to Sabrina. And boom_ blackmail city." She crossed her arms, her voice dropping to a murmur. "I don’t even know how Zena pulled it off, but she found a loop. She sealed your bloodline completely. You wouldn’t awaken, and no one would ever find out. Not even blood tests at the Main 7 Academy could prove that you had dark blood."

Zyra blinked. All the pieces of the puzzle suddenly slammed together in her head. "Ooh, everything makes total sense now," she whispered, her shoulders dropping in relief.

Tori reached out, pressing a comforting hand firmly on Zyra’s shoulder. "Hey. Listen to me. I am never, ever going to give up until we find Zena. She’d do the exact same thing for me if I went missing."

Zyra let out a nervous, breathless chuckle, rubbing the back of her neck. "Uh... that’s sweet and all, Tori. But what if the Somnivores have my parents and decide not to just, you know, cheerfully hand them over with a polite bow?"

Tori wrinkled her nose, her eyes flashing with pure rebellion. "Then we make them."

Their eyes locked. In that split second, a massive weight lifted off Zyra’s chest. All that paranoia about the Demerides twins? Total waste of energy. They were truly on the same side. Zyra narrowed her eyes slightly, shifting gears.

"By the way... do not tell anyone else who Hunter really is. He wants to reveal his true nature on his own terms when he’s ready." Her tone wasn’t a request; it was a pure, unfiltered warning wrapped in a polite smile.

Tori immediately raised both palms in defense, laughing. "Relax! Calm down, fierce divine maiden. It is none of my business and definitely not my story to tell unless he becomes a threat to humanity."

Zyra raised an eyebrow, not fully convinced. "Wait. Does Holly know about this?" She narrowed her eyes further. "Because let’s be real, your sister has a mouth looser than a pair of stretchy sweatpants."

Tori burst out laughing, nearly choking on her oath-sap juice. "Oh, hell no. Holly doesn’t know a thing. If she did, half the world would know by dinner time."

*****

In the days that followed, preparations for the big meeting continued at full speed. While the others ran around reinforcing security in Cornsaw and drawing up grand strategies, Zyra and Beauty were off in their own corner, quietly laying down their own secret game plan.

There was just one major problem, and it was a huge pain in the neck: the Somnivore supreme leader had dropped a massive condition. Neither side was allowed to bring any weapons to the meeting.

Naturally, the human leaders freaked out. They were extremely reluctant to agree, and some even loudly suggested canceling the whole thing altogether. "Are you out of your minds?" Lady Viola had sputtered during a meeting. "They want us to leave behind our half-life beasts as well! That’s the only thing making us strong! We’ll be sitting ducks!"

"And why are they setting up new conditions now?" Tori said, "I do not like this."

Zyra was not having it. No matter what crazy rules were set, this meeting was happening. She wasn’t letting anything get between her and finding her mom.

So, she stepped right up and took control. "Relax, everyone. I have a way to transport the beasts in without the Somnivores ever knowing."

Holly, who was sitting nearby intensely fiddling with a bright, colorful cube toy, stopped twisting it for a second and looked up with wide eyes. "Ooh! How?"

Zyra gave her a flat look. "You don’t need to know."

Holly squinted, shrugged, and went right back to aggressively eating fruits.

Luckily, the majority of the leaders trusted Zyra and bought her confidence, though a few paranoid people still sat in the back muttering reservations under their breath.

Days moved by quickly after that. With each passing sun, Zyra felt a tug in her chest_ like she was getting closer and closer to her mother.

One evening, she was sitting by the freshly constructed fish fountain, tossing small stones into the bubbling water. "May my mom be safe... May my mom be safe..." she muttered under her breath, chuckling slightly to herself. She only called them "wishes" because Gilby had insisted with absolute seriousness that the fountain was actually a magical well.

"Throwing rocks at fish isn’t usually polite, you know," a gentle voice chimed in.

Zyra turned to see the grand elder walking up. He took a seat right next to her, closed his eyes with extreme dramatic devotion, and tossed a tiny pebble into the water.

Zyra smiled, amused by the sight of the grand elder playing along.

"Alright, spill it. What did you wish for? I will be your fairy grandfather today." He looked at her and waited as if they had all the time in the world.