Golden Renegade- Chapters 7-9

CHAPTER SEVEN

AFTER NIBBLING ON the strange bitter food set out for them, Venus layed on the bed later, staring up at the ceiling. Epsilon and Polaris had gone off to shower together and Venus very stubbornly refused to go with them. For all she knew there were nothing but monsters roaming the castle halls. Polaris told her to lock the door from the inside before they left, and Venus felt somewhat safe there by herself. But she needed to be alone to sort out in her head everything that happened that day. Zeiniko was beyond puzzling; she couldn’t even remember his last words to her or what had happened at all. Waking up in a pool of blood still had her in shock, then to make it worse, Ila had to appear and beat her some more. Tears leaked down her cheeks. No one had abused her in such a way her entire life, and she was so angry at being treated cruelly, it made her feel a sadness she never felt before. She kept shaking uncontrollably and her heart raced in nervousness. Kaiyan appeared in her mind, his voice making his mother back off. She never knew what to think of him, but now she knew from seeing more of him that he was actually a good soul, probably out to protect her for some strange reason and expecting her friendship. But as kind as he was, there was something odd about him. Something out of place.
Venus moved to turn over onto her side when something poked her in the rib. She reached under her robe to realize it was Phyllis’ book she had taken earlier. Bewildered, she sat up and pulled it out. It was obviously old and looked beat up. It’s brown cover was beginning to crumble as if someone threw it into a fire. Out of curiosity she opened it, hoping she would able to read whatever was inside. The yellow pages were filled with some kind of foreign language and small scribbled drawings. Venus flipped through towards the middle, her heart thumping as if she was intruding on someone’s diary. Something caught her eye and she stopped on one page. In carefully scripted letters, it read:

Radiant blue- Excitement, happiness
Green- Envy
Yellow- Fear
Orange- Curiosity, confusion
Red- Anger
Purple- Pride
Grey- Sadness
White- Rage
Amber- ?

A tapping sound made her jump and slam the book shut. She looked toward the window and let out a shriek. Kaiyan stood outside, peering in. He hopped up onto the windowsill and opened the window to put his head in.
“Can I come in?”
Venus sighed in relief. “Okay.”
While he climbed down from the window and closed it, she shoved the book under a pillow. Then she turned to face him. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to visit.”
“What’re you doing outside?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re weird. Were you watchin’ me?”
“For two seconds. You were reading a book.”
“Well, yeah… so… what do you want?”
“I was wondering, because of what happened… are you afraid of us now?”
“Who?”
“My family.”
“Yea! I’m scared of all you Saiteimians! You’re all crazy!”
“I’m sorry.”
“Your mom is a witch, and that guy Zeiniko… he’s wicked mean. I don’t know what he said to me…”
“Don’t listen to him. He’s a liar.”
“Is he… your big brother?”
“No.”
“Who is he?”
“I don’t want to talk about him.”
“Oh…do you have a brother?”
“Yes. His name is Seizion. He’s nine.”
“Is he mean too?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a sister?”
“No, just a brother.”
“So your whole family’s mean?”
“Yes.”
“Were they always mean to you…your whole life?”
“Yes. Why do you ask that question?”
“I don’t know… sometimes people act funny.”
“What do you mean?”
“My grandpa… my dad’s dad. When Daddy was little, he said Grandpa was a lot nicer to him. Now he says Grandpa is tougher with him to make him manlier, er, something like that.”
“Are you saying…that people change?”
“My mama does. She changes everyday! But when I was in school, um…on Saihami, where I used to live…the kids were always really mean to me and I was really lonely. But Daddy told me that one day they would change and be nice to me.”
Kaiyan gazed at her for a long moment, with no expression on his face. Then he looked away and she saw his eyes change from deep blue to a translucent grey.
“What’s wrong with your eyes?”
“Nothing.”
“Hey, I can’t see ‘em if you’re lookin’ that way.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“Are you crying?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
“You don’t have to feel sad. My family will be nice to you.”
Kaiyan looked at her. His eyes were blue again. “Do you think I’m a bad person?”
“No. My dad says you’re a good kid. And you’re always nice to me, so I guess you’re not bad like everybody else ‘round here.” She tilted her head to the side. “But how come you never smile?”
He blinked. “I have to go.”
“Why?”
“I have to go.”
He ran to the window, opened it, and climbed out. Once he shut it, he disappeared from sight.
Venus sat in the bathtub later on that afternoon with the hot water up to her neck, wondering why his eyes turned grey enough to see through and why he ran away so suddenly. Strange of him to have watched her through the window. He seemed to be everywhere at once. She could almost see his reflection in the water.



At the break of dawn, Epsilon was summoned to Emperor Zeito and he was led by Papotis to meet him in a hallway in the back of the castle. Zeito was dressed in what looked like a soft grey sleeping robe with dark circles under his eyes.
“Heck, I’m not a morning person,” he said wearily. “I can never wake up and pretend to know what I’m doing. But you look like you’re awake, Evon, and ready to go. I’ve got a job for you.”
“Whatever it is, I’m on it.”
“Good. You’re gonna go down the stairs at the end of this hallway and you’ll find yourself in a room full of junk…or boxes of junk actually, and while you’re down there you’ll find Tyren, the Vecsyan delivery man. Once a week he brings in a new truckload of supplies and today is that day. Help him unload everything.” He yawned. “It’s a simple task, really. Just something to help you get used to what goes on around here. I’m goin’ back to bed. If you need anything, just holler. See you in a bit.” With this he turned and floated away down the hall.
Epsilon walked in the opposite direction and found a staircase leading downward. He descended it and stood in a room with piles of cardboard boxes. At the end of the room was a metal door, partway open. He peered out of it and found himself looking outside, with the musty air flowing in. Right outside the door there was a concrete platform with the back of a large truck up against it. Epsilon stood there watching the grey sky for a while, wondering if there was anybody around when the back door of the truck suddenly rolled up. A brown haired muscular man with a dark green shirt and torn work pants stood inside the truck, staring down at him.
“Epsilon!” the man blurted out once he saw him. Epsilon felt his stomach leap to his throat.
“Tell me right now how you know my name.”
“Mr. Ceti told me you would come. I’m here to help you.” He jumped out of the truck and held out his hand. “I’m Tyren. Great privilege to meet ya.”
“Likewise,” Epsilon said, shaking his hand. “Zeito told me I would find you down here. I didn’t think you would’ve known about me through Mr. Ceti.”
“He told me a Saihamic king would come to save us. He even described you down to the smallest detail, but I never believed him. Not once. Now the day has finally come and I’m just… beside myself in shock. That old man actually knew what he was talkin’ about.”
“Well, today’s your day,” Epsilon said with a smile.
“Indeed! Oh, let me start tellin’ you everythin’ before I forget and start rambling about other stuff. We can talk while we unload.” He leapt back up into the truck. “I’ll give you boxes, and you pile ‘em up.”
“Easy enough,” Epsilon said.
“Alrighty. Well, I’ll tell ya plenty,” Tyren said, beginning to pick up boxes and toss them down to Epsilon. “From the beginning, Mr. Ceti told me he had a good feeling about you. Said he was watchin’ you for a while… ‘poly over a month through his hidden cameras. He said you had everything goin’ for you, and a great intuition… so great that he had a feeling that you could see into his mind. At first I thought he was just jokin’ around, but he looked so serious I thought he was gonna slap me. He was kinda like a grandpa to me and the guy was old, but pretty stinkin’ smart. Finally I figured maybe he was onto somethin’, and he told me when you arrived to inform you about the ways of the Saiteimians, what goes on in the castle, and those who live in it.’ I thought to myself, ‘Ha! What’re the chances that this Epsilon guy is gonna make it that far?’ Then he gave me this look that make his face all wrinkle up and he said, ‘Do not underestimate what I’m telling you and do not underestimate this young man! He will appear before you someday!’ I thought, ‘Bull! But what if he does?’ Then the old gramps suddenly disappeared not too long ago. Haven’t seen him since. I’ve got a bad feelin’ that… somehow, whatever he was tryin’ to do, he got in trouble before accomplishing it.”
“He did manage to get a hold of me though,” Epsilon said. “That’s why I’m here.”
“But how did you get in here?” Tyren asked. “Everyone who comes in here who’s not Saiteimian gets lynched. Well, except for people with special jobs like me of course.”
“I gained the Emperor’s favor by being charming,” Epsilon answered, piling up the boxes neatly. “By that I mean acting superbly interested in Saiteimian affairs and ruling. Felt really stupid doing it but… I managed to talk my way through and catch the Emperor’s interest. Now I’m an advisor and so is my wife.”
“That’s incredibly great, I’ll tell ya. But let’s start off with Emperor Zeito, the Empress, and Zeiniko. They’re an interesting little trio.”
“Definitely. I take it that Zeito and Zeiniko are related?”
“Yup. They’re first cousins, and here’s a little story behind that. Their fathers were rivals. Zeito’s father was Emperor Xenikiro, and his younger brother was Zeiniko’s father, Sylas. Saiteimians choose the strongest bloodline to continue the royal family and it was a long family feud between them two brothers over who would inherit the throne and become Emperor. Eventually it went to Xenikiro, and he had a son who was to be future Emperor. Who was that kid you may ask? You guessed it! Emperor Zeito. Then a few years later Sylas has a son, and as if to get on his brother’s last nerves, names him Zeiniko. Well, once these two boys grew up there was another feud over who was the strongest, plenty of intense battles. In the end, Zeito won and became Emperor.”
“Zeiniko must’ve not liked being second best.”
“Actually he was fine with it, from what I heard. But you poly noticed he acts like he’s got somethin’ stuck in his crack all the time. That guy is poison. If you haven’t seen how bad he is now, it gets worse.”
Tyren paused and tossed another box. “Zeito is more fair-minded and nowhere near as cranky. He’s actually pretty laid back. So it’s not exactly shocking that he made you and your wife advisors. But he’s smart too, so you might wanna keep an eye on him. That brings us to the lovely Empress Ila.”
“Yes, I was wondering… how is the marriage between her and Emperor Zeito?”
“Pretty rocky. Ila actually wasn’t even supposed to be his wife in the first place.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Royal Saiteimians have arranged marriages to keep the bloodline pure in the sense of those possessing the most power stay at the top. Ila’s younger sister, Mia, was supposed to be wed to Zeito and become Empress. But right before the wedding day, Mia was mysteriously murdered and the killer was never found. Kinda looked like a suicide but everyone isn’t that stupid. Saiteimians don’t kill themselves unless it’s for a darn good reason.”
Epsilon looked at Tyren. “Who do you think murdered her?”
“I have absolutely no clue. These people have so many secrets I’m afraid to even poke around in this castle. Afraid I might find a dead body or somethin’.”
“So Ila obviously isn’t thrilled to be bound to Zeito,” Epsilon said. “Why would she want to be Empress so badly?”
Tyren froze. “Whoa, wait, you think… you think it was her?”
“Who else has a motive? Ila seems extremely competitive. Why would she let her own little sister pass her up on the opportunity to be Empress?”
“I never thought of it like that. But she can’t stand Zeito...”
“Which is why she’s after me.”
“After you?”
“She eyes me with this fascination that seems to give her an excitement.”
“Ha!” Tyren slapped his hands together. “So she makes passes at you?”
“Not yet, but I’m sure she will. Tyren, I must tell you something important; I have the ability to read people’s thoughts. Unfortunately, Saiteimians are harder to read. Their minds have all this clutter and disturbing images, and even their brain waves are different. It takes a lot of focus to get anything out of them. I have to practice this more or else I’ll be in trouble.”
Tyren raised his eyebrows. “No wonder Mr. Ceti chose you to save us! You’ve got a huge advantage over all these moron Saiteimians. I think you’ll save us, Epsilon. For sure.”
Epsilon smiled and set down a box. “May I ask what’re in these boxes?”
“Let me check the invoice.” Tyren pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, and looked it over. “Let’s see… soap, bed sheets, blah, blah, blah, pillowcases, lotion… more blah… candles, painkillers, birth control, oil…”
“Birth control?” said Epsilon.
“Yep.”
“Who uses that?”
“I’m not sure.” He eyed Epsilon with a grin. “You’re a mind reader, right? Would you happen to know?”
“I don’t even want to go there,” Epsilon said with a laugh. “… but I think knowing could be useful somehow in the future.”
“Really? Hey, whenever I’m around you can swipe some of this stuff,” Tyren said. “Nobody’ll notice.”
“I don’t think I really need anything on that list.”
Tyren flattened out a corner of the invoice in thought. “Zeito must’ve given you a room. Wait, don’t you have a daughter? I remember Mr. Ceti sayin’ you had a cute little blonde princess. Did you bring her here?”
“I did. I needed my family with me to accomplish what I need to do.”
“Exactly. So, you have two rooms, right?”
“Two rooms? Nope, just one.”
“Why not two? This castle has plenty. One for you and your wifey and one for your daughter. Are there two beds?”
“No. Just one.” Epsilon paused and looked at Tyren with a pensive expression. “With only enough room for two people.”
“That son of a gun,” said Tyren. “He’s up to something, I swear he is.”
Epsilon frowned to himself. “I think you’re right.”







“You did a good job unpacking the delivery truck, Evon,” Zeito said later on that morning. They were sitting in one of the grand dining rooms at a dark wooden rectangular table that spanned nearly the entire room and was so polished, they could see their reflections in it. A beautiful chandelier hung from the ceiling, with its crystals strung down in curtains. Epsilon watched the light reflect off the crystals. “Thank you, Emperor.”
“As for your daughter, it’s still not certain of what happened to her. I’m still trying to get to the bottom of it. My apologies. Anyways… I know you must be wondering about my son Kaiyan.”
“Yes. He stands out quite a bit from the rest of you.”
Zeito was quiet for a moment, then said, “He’s part of the reason why you’re here.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“What is his story?”
“He was born looking the way he does, with the light hair and blue eyes, and we had no idea what to make of it. Ila wanted to destroy him right away, but I decided against it. I had a feeling his unusual features made him unique, one of a kind. Turns out… I was right. But now I feel I was wrong to keep him alive. Evon, I tell you this because you are a rare Vecsyan. You choose to be different. My son is different, apart from his physical features. Once in while a rare Saiteimian is born, unusually powerful and very ambitious. They could be born at any time within the royal family and they become natural born leaders. In our language we call them ‘Kimtah’ Saiteimians. Their arrivals are much anticipated, since they come at random. But unfortunately, this last arrival hasn’t been a happy one.”
“Are you saying that Kaiyan is…”
“Yes. Kaiyan is a Kimtah Saiteimian. His eyes are supposed to change colors with his emotions, for this is a mysterious trait all Kimtah Saiteimians have. But I’ve never seen them change color myself, now that I think about it. Anyways, the blonde hair and blue eyes have never appeared in any other Saiteimian or Kimtah Saiteimian before. What is more is Kaiyan’s passive attitude. He behaves nothing like his kind. I don’t even think he would hurt an insect if it flew into his eye. This has never happened before, and it has been a problem I have been occupied with for years.”
“Zeito, how could you hide this from the rest of your kind? Would they not have a suspicion once they saw your son?”
For the first time and to Epsilon’s surprise, Zeito lowered his head and actually seemed to be ashamed.
“I haven’t let him outside the castle walls. I fear the criticism and humiliation this will bring if he’s let out into the world. No one even knows he’s a Kimtah besides those who live in the castle and they are all sworn to secrecy.”
“Have you discovered why he is so unusual?”
“We have run numerous tests on him. He functions just like every other Saiteimian. His DNA code is even the same; there isn’t any sign of light hair and blue eyes written into it. We concluded then, there must be another cause.”
“What sort of other cause?”
“An outside force… a power that is controlling him.”
“What could behind this power?”
“I have no idea. Trust me, however… I will find out. but I haven’t much time. All royal Saiteimians are enrolled into what we call ‘training battles’ at the age of six. Kaiyan is nearly eight years old and he hasn’t been in one battle. It’s starting to draw a lot of negative attention to me, and now everyone suspects I’m hiding him for a reason. And yes, they’re exactly right… because in a way, he’s a freak of nature.”
Epsilon sat silent for moment, amazed at his frankness when something came into his mind.
“Emperor Zeito, why is he the reason I’m here?”
Zeito looked up, seeming to have forgotten Epsilon was sitting in front of him. “You’re different, Epsilon. Couldn’t you show my son that you are a Vecsyan, but you choose to follow the ways of us Saiteimians? I want him to realize his full potential, even if he does look different. If he sees how you stand out from your own kind, hopefully he will follow your example and become the emperor he was destined to become.”
Epsilon closed his eyes for a moment, and in the racing haze of Zeito’s mind, he saw a child older than Kaiyan, with dark hair and dark eyes and smiled in what felt like greed, then disappeared under black waves. Epsilon drew in a breath and gave Zeito a nod, in which Zeito took to be approval.
“Thank you, Evon,” he said, leaning back and smiling as if he was relieved.




Venus soaked in the bathtub with her toes poking out of the water. She was still too afraid to leave their room by herself so Polaris sat in a chair in the room outside, waiting with a towel on her lap. Except Venus liked long baths and Polaris had dozed off, with her head against the wall.
Venus wiggled her toes. Her mother seemed a bit sad. She didn’t know if it was because of what Zeiniko had done or because she had woken up to find her father’s side of the bed empty. She ate her breakfast with a blank look on her face while Venus lay on the floor trying to see if she could make the back of her foot touch the back of her head. Once her mother was done eating, she sat there looking pale. Venus stared across the room at her own tray of food set up next to the door, but didn’t have the appetite to eat it.
The soap slid into the water, making it cloudy. Venus hung her head. She dreaded seeing Ila or Zeiniko again, but she knew she would. Once the week passed, she would have to start being a maid, according to Emperor Zeito. Maybe there was a way her father could talk him out of it. She tried not to think about it too much. She didn’t want the disappointment to be too great.
Her eyes fell shut and she slid down low in the warm water. The world could always wait when she was taking a bath. A reflection rippled on the surface of the water, causing her to look up. Kaiyan sat calmly on the edge of the bathtub. She opened her mouth wide, when he suddenly said, “Don’t scream.”
“What are you doing? Go away! I’m naked!”
“I can’t see anything. The water’s dirty.”
“It’s not dirty. It’s the soap!”
“I still can’t see anything.”
“Why do you always follow me?”
“I have to.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“What do you mean? Is Zeiniko coming again?!”
“No. But I have to protect you from him and everybody else.”
“Why?”
“Ella tells me to.”
“Who’s Ella?”
“A lady in my dreams.”
“Oh, whatever. What do you want?”
“Nothing. Just to protect you.”
“My mom is outside. She’ll protect me.”
“She fell asleep. You’re taking a long time.”
Venus frowned. “How did you get in here anyway?”
“Not telling.”
“Fine. Be that way.”
“You’re really strange.”
“What?”
“You’re always angry. Are all girls always angry?”
“No! Do all boys follow girls around all the time?”
“My brother does.”
“Then he’s stupid! Your whole family’s stupid! You should run away!”
“Maybe they can turn into good people.”
“Yeah right! Forget about them!”
“I can’t run away now anyway.”
“Why not?”
“Because Ella says to protect you.”
There was a long silence, and Venus began to wiggle her toes again. Kaiyan watched her, his eyes slowly turning orange. Venus gasped and asked, “Why do your eyes change colors?”
“Ella says I’m a special Saiteimian. That’s why they change colors.”
“Why are you special?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“Sorry, I just wanna know.”
“It’s okay. But I don’t know either.”
Venus watched the water for a moment, and then said, “Kaiyan, did Zeiniko hit me?”
“Yes. I should’ve stopped him. I can’t let Ella down. She says that if you die, I die.”
Epsilon walked into the outer room of the bathroom to see Polaris asleep. He walked over to her and stood watching her in silence, finally letting out a sad sigh. He gently shook her shoulder.
“Liana…”
Her head moved but she didn’t stir.
“Liana, wake up, doll…”
“Hmm?”
“You might wanna check on your daughter. She’ll get all pruny.”
“She’s fine, Epsilon…”
“No, there’s no Epsilon. I’m Evon.”
“Evon.”
He touched her hand. “Why are you so tired, love?”
“I’m fine.”
She was breathing strangely and her skin was very pale.”
“Liana… look at me.”
She opened her eyes and gazed hazily at him. Her eyes were bloodshot.
“You sure you’re okay, gorgeous?”
“I told you… I’m fine…”
She suddenly slid off the chair and fell to her knees. Before Epsilon could say a word, she vomited on the floor again and again until she was spitting up blood. He then heard a gasp and looked up to see Venus standing in the doorway with a white towel wrapped around her, her eyes round in horror. Kaiyan stood behind her, and when he saw Polaris on the floor, he covered Venus’ eyes with both hands.



Polaris lay on the bed, as pale as the sheets, with her eyes swollen shut.
“She’s been throwing up for almost an hour,” Epsilon said to Zeito, who stood beside him. “Now she’s just dehydrated and exhausted. She told me her stomach is killing her.”
“Unfortunately, there are no Gomeans in the castle today,” Zeito said. “It’ll take a while to summon one here, probably an hour or two. She’ll have to hang in there until then.”
“Thank you, Emperor,” Epsilon said with a bow.
Zeito nodded, drifted across the room and opened the door. “Evon,” he said.
“Yes, Emperor.”
“After your wife is healed, it would be better if she stayed in here all day.”
“…Alright, Emperor.”
Zeito smiled and shut the door. Epsilon thought his last words before leaving were a bit odd; as a Saiteimian, why would he really care? He decided to worry about it later. He knelt beside Polaris and took her hand into his.
“Liana.”
She pinched her eyes together and squeezed his hand, leaving nail marks in his skin.
“It hurts that much doesn’t it?” Epsilon said sympathetically, touching her face. She bit her lip and let out a cry that pierced his ears. He heard a sniffle from under the bed and Venus poked her head out.
“Poor Mama!” she said, wiping her eyes with her little hands. “I took too long taking a bath…”
“It’s not your fault, Venus,” Epsilon told her. “But you have to help me. What did your mother do right before she got sick? Do you remember?”
“She…she…she looked sad. She ate breakfast and stared at the wall…”
“Then what did she do?”
“I told her I wanted to take a bath…so she took me to the bathroom…”
“Did you eat any breakfast?”
“No… I wasn’t hungry.”
“Was the food delivered to the door?”
“Y-yeah…”
Polaris let out a groan, causing Venus to sob. “Ariah,” Epsilon said. “Go sit by the window and try not to worry. Your mother’s going to be healed soon.”
Venus got up and did as she was told, but Epsilon could still see her shoulders shaking and hear her sniffling.
“Liana,” he said quietly, pushing her hair out of her face. “Can you even hear me?”
Her lips moved and she drew in a sharp breath. “Evon…please… please… kill me.”
Epsilon felt his heart nearly stop. Sweat was beading on Polaris’ forehead, and her eyes opened to two slits. To his horror, the whites of her eyes were no longer bloodshot. They were as yellow as urine and a cloudy film was building over her irises.
“I can’t take this pain anymore…” she said in a whisper. “Just kill me… right now.”
“Don’t talk that way,” Epsilon whispered back. “You know I would never do that.”
“If you knew how much I am suffering enough, you would.”
“You will be healed soon. The pain will go away.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled something out just as a maid came in with a glass of water on a tray. As soon as he heard her, Epsilon quickly slipped what he had in his hand into his mouth before she could see.
“I’ve brought you a glass of water, ma’am,” the maid said, setting it up next to the bed. The maid faced Epsilon and bowed. “Sir, Evon… Master Zeiniko is waiting to speak with you in the hall.”
“Thank you,” Epsilon said with a nod. “But before I leave, I would like to give my wife a kiss.”
He leaned over Polaris as she peered at him weakly, took her face into his hands, and kissed her lips. The maid stood to the side quietly, expecting the kiss to be a quick peck, but this was not the case. It was much more, and Venus finally turned her head to see what the silence was about. The maid was blushing bright red and her father was finishing up the kiss. He whispered something in her mother’s ear, then stood up and said, “I’ll be right back.” The maid bowed, and Epsilon left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Once he was in the hall, he didn’t turn away from the door but stayed facing it. He felt a ripple run up his spine that made his hairs stand on end and his teeth clenched while he finally turned around. Zeiniko had a luminous smile on his face as he stood watching Epsilon, his black eyes gleaming like two pools of black ink.
“Evon,” he said. “I heard your wife wasn’t feeling well. I just stopped by to see how she was doing.”
Epsilon swallowed, trying to keep his jaw from jutting out in anger. “Not too good, I’m afraid. Seems she got sick right after eating the breakfast delivered to the door. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you, Zeiniko?”
Zeiniko’s smile now shrank to a smirk and he chuckled. “Sometimes it takes a while for new Vecsyans to stomach our food.” He gave Epsilon a nod. “Good day to you, sir Epsilon.”
He turned with his head held high and glided down the hall. Epsilon could’ve sworn he could see a bright red fire in his being that consumed him in arrogance, jealousy, and hate. He knew Zeiniko had intended to poison both Polaris and Venus. Fortunately Venus was spared, but Polaris practically seemed near death. But he could have easily killed both of them, so why didn’t he? For some reason, he seemed to have wanted to keep them alive, as long as they suffered in the worst way possible. Epsilon knew Polaris was in very great pain, but the pain killer he had given her would help ease it. He felt his ears turning red. He wanted to strangle Zeiniko. But that wasn’t part of the plan. Somehow he had to get around Zeiniko and if he couldn’t, he had to outwit him.












 CHAPTER EIGHT

DURING THE NEXT WEEK, Emperor Zeito would summon Epsilon and Polaris and take them on tours of his grand palace. Everyday it was a different section of the castle; they never saw the same rooms twice. Every floor had different color schemes; black and white, red and gold, blue and copper, and so on. It reminded Polaris of her own castle, only hers had more yellows, beiges, and oranges…the colors of her lipsticks. She smiled to herself when she thought of this, and noticed the Emperor was watching her but never stopped talking. Thankfully, the doorways were high enough to fit his huge stature through. He showed them his bedroom, with a bed almost as big as an in ground pool with black silk sheets and pillows. But what Epsilon found most impressive the giant mirror that spanned the entire ceiling and shards of mirrors all around as if someone had smashed one apart and the pieces clung to the scarlet walls. The Emperor had reason to be proud while showing them his domain. The only thing it was missing, Epsilon thought, was a beautiful courtyard full of flowers like the one he had on Saihami.
Emperor Zeito’s sense of humor took them by surprise. He seemed to enjoy poking fun at his life of luxury, his servants, and even his own wife, the Empress. Anybody would be a fool to oppose him, therefore, nobody did and all his servants of inferior races rushed past them in the halls with their heads bowed low. It was bold of him to talk to them about the Empress the way he did; as if she were insignificant and useless. What was more was that with every insult he made about his wife, he would give Polaris a broad smile.
Zeito kept his word on enrolling Venus into a Saiteimian school. After a week of mopping the castle’s marble floors as the youngest maid while being supervised by the grouchy girl Phyllis, she was put on the back of a delivery truck and driven down a road behind the castle. Less than two minutes later, the truck stopped in front of a beige brick building, which turned out to be the school. Venus was so nervous she couldn’t keep her knees from shaking and she nearly fell on her face when the truck stopped abruptly, then the back door slid up. Zeiniko stood outside in the weak sunlight, smiling at her in a fond way.
“My, my, my,” he said. “What are you doing on the floor? You look freaked out. Don’t worry.” He stretched out his hand to her. “You’ll be fine.” His accent was whimsical and Venus repeated each syllable in her head as if she was entranced. She took his hand and hopped out of the truck.
“School isn’t so bad,” Zeiniko said, as he walked her to the red rusted front door. “You just have to get along with the other Saiteimians and Vecsyans.” He opened the door for her and shoved her inside. “Wait here,” he said. “A student will come and bring you to your class.” He let go of the door just as Venus spun around and shouted: “Wait!” But the door slammed in her face. There was an eerie wail from down the hall and she turned around and pounded on the door.
“Mister Zeiniko! Please don’t leave me here! Please open the door!” She grabbed the knob and started yanking it, but it didn’t budge. She put her foot on the wall and kept pulling when someone laid a hand on her shoulder. She screamed in surprise and let go, falling flat on her back.
“Shhhh!” a voice squealed. “Not so loud, miss!” A boy with grey-blue eyes and chocolate brown hair tied in a long braid trailing down his back clamped his hand over her mouth. “Don’t scream, girl! The teachers’ll come and shoo us to class.” He took his hand off her mouth and she jumped away from him. “Who are you?”
“Gemini Aquarius. Nice to meet ya.” He bowed, and then said, “And what’s your name?”
“Ariah,” Venus said, annoyed. “You’re not Saiteimian. Are you Vecsyan?”
“Yep, and proud of it!” Gemini said, bouncing on his toes. “One hundred percent pure Vecsyan hunk. Check out these muscles!” He flexed his arm. “Look at that big sucka…”
“But your eyes,” Venus said, smacking his arm down. “Your eyes are bluish!”
“Yeah, you like ‘em?” he asked, batting his eyes. “They look like really clean drops of water. So cool!”
“Shut up! Why are you a Vecsyan with blue eyes? And why do you talk so much?”
“Oh! Because,” he said, tugging on the white collar of his black shirt. “I’m sort of special! Nah, only a few Vecsyans have my eyes. It’s very rare. As for why I talk so much… I dunno! I just like to!” He grinned and started swaying side to side. “How old are you, cutie?”
“Five and a little piece more than half.”
“Really? I’m seven and three quarters.” He winked at her. “That’s how you say ‘a little piece more than half’ the right way, babe.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m here to help you, sweetie. I know who you really are.”
“What?”
Gemini folded his arms. “You’re a princess from another world. I know all about you from Mr. Ceti.”
“Mr. Ceti? He was the one that sent that message for help, right?”
“Well, he almost did…” Gemini frowned for the first time and it made Venus’ heart sink. “’Cept he didn’t make it… so I had to send it.”
“You?”
“I was his helper. I’m really smart.”
“You?”
“Yea, sweet thang! Me!” He stretched his arms upward with a smile filling his face. “I’m so smart, it’ll blow yer mind.”
“I don’t care! What do I do? I’ve never been to this school before and this place is scary!”
“You follow me. I told my teacher I had to go get a new student, heh heh. I knew Zeiniko would be bringin’ you here.”
“How did you know?”
He clicked his tongue and smirked. “I have my ways. Now listen, little round face… to survive in this school, ya gotta stay away from the Saiteimians and blend with the Vecsyans. You know…pretend you hate your life of hard, hard work, oh so tiring…” He scrunched up his face into a hilarious exhausted expression, with his eyes rolling around in his head. “And don’t say you know the Emperor or that you know Master Zeiniko. People start askin’ all these stupid questions and stuff. Oh, and most importantly…stick wit me! I’ll even super-glue you to my arm if you want.”
“No thank you.”
“Aw, I would’ve been so darn happy. Now let’s get rollin’ before them teachers come sniffin’ around.” He grabbed her hand and started running. “Come on baby! We’ll be a dynamic duo!”
He pulled her down a shadowed hallway, up a flight of creaky wood stairs, and into a classroom. When he opened the splintered wood door, all the children in the room turned their heads and Venus wanted to fall through the floor. She tried to hide behind Gemini, but he pulled her out in front of him.
“Hey class of butt licks,” he called out like an announcer. “Introducing Miss Ariah Sweet cheeks!”
“Gemini, you piece of fungus,” a raspy voice said. “Sit your scrawny skeleton down before I turn you into a carcass!”
Gemini fluttered his eyelids. “What a lame insult, Mr. Ozyo. You can do much bettah than that, like for real.”
“Sit down!”
“Alright, but the new student sits next to me. That cool wit you?”
“Does it look like I care? I’m in the middle of a lesson on how to render unconscious an unruly slave, now shut up!”
“Cool!” He grabbed Venus’ arm and pulled her to the back of the room, with everyone’s eyes following. He sat at a dirty wooden desk with his name carved all over it and pulled up another desk for Venus. She sat down shakily as all the children turned around to stare. The room was obviously mixed with Saiteimians and Vecsyans and the Saiteimians stood out like red coals in ashes. Her shoulders shook while dozens of eyes glared at her and she shrank down in her seat. The air was stuffy and she felt trapped between the cracked concrete wall behind her and the scowling strangers in front of her. Just as she was about to crumble into tears, someone toward the front of the classroom stood up. Once they rose to their full height, Venus realized it was Mr. Ozyo, the teacher.
“Oy! Pay attention, all of you!” he said in agitation. He looked like a typical Saiteimian, only his jet black hair was very short and spiky, and the features of his face were misshapen, as if he had lost many fights. To make him even more awkward, he was the first Saiteimian Venus had ever seen who was actually overweight.
“This ain’t no show for you to be playing games, Mr. Aquarius,” he said loudly. “Now let’s forget that interruption ever happened. All of you that are Saiteimian, look up here…” He began speaking in Saiteimian and writing in Saiteimian gibberish with chalk on the board on the wall. Venus looked around. All the Vecsyans looked extremely bored, pretending to be awake when they couldn’t help laying their heads on their desks. Then someone poked her arm.
“Pssst! Big pretty eyes!”
Venus turned in her seat. “Gemini, I want my mama.”
“Aw, poor gal. I thought you were gonna say you wanted me! It’s alright to dream after all, heh? Listen, little girlie, I got a question for ya.”
“What?”
“Where’s the prince?”
“What prince? You mean…Kaiyan?”
“Is that his name? He’s as old as me and he’s not in school. I’ve never seen him. So where is he?”
“I don’t know. In his castle maybe?”
“You don’t get it, chickadee. This is important. The prince is almost eight, right? He’s supposed to be here in school. But nobody’s ever seen him! Do you know why?”
“I don’t know anything!”
“Do you see him?”
“Yes…”
“Then next time you see him, ask him! I really need to know why he’s not here.”
“Alright, I will.”
Gemini winked at her. “Chillin’! I’ll help you out, alright? Just trust me.”
Mr. Ozyo spent the next three hours talking on how to subdue an opponent by twisting their arms and answering the Saiteimian students who were raising their hands with questions while Venus sat gripping her desk and Gemini smiling away beside her. At lunchtime, the children of both races piled into the grey cafeteria and separated into cliques. Gemini sat in a corner with Venus, near a muddy window that kept rattling from the wind. Venus stared at her food in confusion while Gemini snapped his fingers to an unknown beat.
“Don’t worry if ya don’t know what it is, baby doll,” he sang. “Just eat it!”
“Gemini, you’re crazy.”
“I know, I know, I know…”
“Stop singing! Can you tell me how we’re gonna beat the Saiteimians?”
“Ooh, not too loud missy. We might get clobbered.”
“Nobody’s listening! Tell me! Is Kaiyan gonna save us?”
“Kaiyan…he’s the prince, right? Well, he’s supposed to.”
“He’s supposed to beat all of them!”
Gemini smacked his lips. “Yeah, as simple as wipin’ yer crack. Bam, bam, bam! Defeat ‘em all. But I heard he’s kinda weird. Somebody even told me he’s not strong enough to beat all of them. Those were just rumors though.”
“But he has help. He has some lady in his dreams tellin’ him weird stuff.”
“What? I’m lost.”
“Never mind. I don’t get it either.”
“It’s important that he gets rid of all of the Saiteimians though. And I need to know when he’s gonna do it.”
“Why do you need to know?”
“’Cuz, little girly. Us Vecsyans are part of the plan. Mr. Ceti told me exactly what to do. Just don’t forget to ask Kaiyan why he doesn’t go to school, ‘kay?”



Venus soaked in the bathtub at the end of the day. This time she had gone to the bathroom by herself; she still felt guilty about what had happened to her mother the last time she took a long bath. Fortunately, her mother was feeling much better thanks to a Gomean that healed her. It felt like something bad was going to happen again, but she couldn’t figure out what. To take her mind off it, she started to think about Gemini and his relentless cheerfulness. Wasn’t he a slave? He had to be because at the end of the school day, he called to her, “See ya, baby cakes! I’m off to work!” And he ran into the woods behind the school. Then Venus remembered that she had forgotten to ask him if he had any family. Oh well. Tomorrow was another day.
She had to wonder about when he said Kaiyan was never seen in school. Kaiyan had a way of appearing at random anywhere Venus went in the castle, so she knew he would find her sooner or later. She never told the grouchy girl Phyllis that she had seen him several times either. Kaiyan didn’t look like the type of boy that wanted too much attention drawn to him. Besides, Venus knew Phyllis hated Saiteimians. It was probably better not to tell her anything.
Venus closed her eyes sleepily and slid down low in the water until it was up to her nose and started blowing bubbles. When she opened her eyes again, there he was…Kaiyan sitting on the edge of the bathtub wearing a burgundy robe.
He stared at her while she stared back with only her eyes poking out of the water and his eyes slowly turned orange. Finally she sat up to get a breath of air. “Orange eyes. You got orange eyes, Kaiyan.”
He blinked and looked up at the ceiling. “Sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
He looked at her and his eyes were blue again. “Just being polite.”
“Anyways…I went to school today! And it sucked.”
“Really.”
“Yes, really. So how come you weren’t there?”
“I don’t go to school.”
“Why not?”
“Father doesn’t let me. He’s embarrassed of me because I don’t act like a Saiteimian ruler.”
“So, uh…don’t you know you’re supposed to beat all the Saiteimians?”
“Ella never told me to do that.”
“Well, you are supposed to, duh. Everybody knows you’re supposed to.”
Kaiyan sat there looking at her, without blinking. “Everybody?”
“Yeah! Me, my ma, my dad, my whole planet, and even Gemini knows!”
“Who is Gemini?”
“He’s a Vecsyan kid I met in school today. He’s kinda weird.”
“No one ever told me that.”
“Yup, you gotta beat them. Destroy, destroy, destroy! Then the slaves are free and everybody can be happy again.”
“Why should I destroy anyone? Can’t they change who they are?”
“The Saiteimians? Are you crazy? They’re evil. They’ve done alotta bad stuff to people. Can’t you beat them? I thought it would be really easy for you.”
“I have to ask Ella.”
“Oh my gosh! Who the heck is Ella?!”
Kaiyan stood up. “The lady in my dreams. She helps me. I know that someday she’ll tell me why I’m different from my race. She must know why I’m special.”
Venus folded her arms and snorted. “If she’s so smart, how come she doesn’t tell you why you never smile? Gees.”
“Why I never smile?”
“Yeah! Don’t you ask her that stuff? Like, why are you a nice Saiteimian, but how come you never smile? Don’t nice people smile a lot? And mean people look mad all the time, right? Oh yeah! And ask her how come you don’t laugh either.”
“Why I don’t laugh?”
“Yes! Man, you’re so confusing. How come you can’t just tell me why you don’t laugh and smile? You should try it. It’s really easy. Like this… ha ha ha!”
There was a long silence and Kaiyan simply stood like a statue, staring at her. “I should go.” He turned around and started to walk toward the door. Venus grabbed a towel nearby to wrap around herself and stood up.
“Come on, Kaiyan!” she shouted after him. “You’re the prince! You got a lot of power, right? How come you can’t save everyone so I can go home? I wanna go home so bad… how come you can’t just save us?”
Kaiyan didn’t say a word. He just reached over and switched off the bathroom light. Venus gasped and the light turned on again. The room was empty.



That day the Emperor met Epsilon on one of the grand black marble balconies that overlooked the city. He looked especially happy, as if he was a giddy little child that found a treasure chest. “Seven is the age when royal Saiteimians enter training battles, Evon,” he said. “Training battles sharpen their battle skills and they’re held in the Battle Arena at the south end of the castle. Crowds of Saiteimians come to see the battles and cheer on their favorite warriors. But Kaiyan hasn’t entered one battle yet.”
“Is that because of how he acts?”
“Yes. But I’m going to enter him anyway. Word about Kaiyan is starting to leak out and it would look awfully suspicious to my people if a Kimtah Saiteimian was not participating in the training battles. Therefore…a week from now, despite his defiant attitude, he’s gonna be in the ring.”
“That would be a good show, unless he refuses to fight.”
“It’s possible. But one of the rules is the loser always dies by the hand of the winner. I doubt that he’ll lose.”
“You have seven year old children doing that in the ring?”
“Of course, Evon. It’s good practice. The world is cruel. They can’t have it easy just because they’re kids. Saiteimians can have no weaknesses. However… if Kaiyan refuses to fight, I suppose I’ll have to force him.”
“How would you do that?”
“I’m not quite sure yet,” Zeito said, leaning over the balcony railing. “I don’t really pay attention to him. I’ll have to leave that up to Zeiniko. He is an expert on that sort of thing.”
There was a brief silence, and then Epsilon said, “What if Kaiyan humiliates you in front of the crowds, Zeito?”
Zeito stood up straight, and pushed his black cape aside. “Kaiyan is the most powerful Kimtah Saiteimian alive on record, Evon. I have to do what I can to fix his ‘mental’ issues at all costs.”
“By ‘mental’ issues you mean you think something is controlling him. Have you found out what it is?”
“Not yet. It would have to be an enemy’s forces at work. But who is strong enough to manipulate a Kimtah Saiteimian? We can’t find the source of that power.”
“I suppose it would have to be one powerful enemy.”
“Possibly… but I’m not thinking about that right now. How was your daughter’s first day at school?”
“I haven’t had the chance to ask her about it.”
“She’s probably with her mother right now, eh?”
Epsilon hesitated. “Most likely.”
“That wife of yours is awfully beautiful.”
“Well, of course. I wouldn’t have married her otherwise.”
Zeito chuckled. “Emotions had something to do with too, I’m sure.” He slowly turned around and leaned back against the railing. “It’s a bit strange though. You both seem to have ambition in you. But she has a different kind of ambition… the kind an Empress has.”
“I don’t understand what you mean, Emperor.”
“Evon… I can see you as general of an elite army. You’re smart and motivated. But you don’t have the drive to be an Emperor. However…I can see your wife as Empress.” He raised his chin at Epsilon. “She walks with pride and speaks in a refined manner. That is a true Empress.”
Epsilon peered at the Emperor through narrowed eyes for a long moment, feeling uneasy. Then he looked over the Emperor’s huge shoulder and asked, “What’s the name of that city down there?”
“That,” Zeito said, without turning around. “…is Sidonia. It’s the largest city on the planet. You should visit it sometime and see the sights. You’ll have to be escorted by one of my soldiers though, or you might not make it back out of the city alive.” He began to laugh. “Why you makin’ that face, Evon?”
“Oh… no, I wasn’t aware I was making a face.”
“You looked disturbed. Don’t worry about it; everything will be fine. But don’t forget…in one week, come to the Battle Arena and you’ll see some real entertainment.”

When Epsilon returned to his room, Venus was asleep on their bed but Polaris wasn’t there. This was very unusual and he kept poking his head out into the hallway to see if she happened to be returning from the bathroom or elsewhere. After an hour, he became even more worried and his constant pacing woke Venus up. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.
“Daddy, where’s Mama?”
“I think she went to use the bathroom, kiddo. Go back to sleep.”
“Oh ok…” She fell over and thumped her head against the pillow. A few minutes later she was asleep again with her thumb in her mouth.
Epsilon threw open the window. The two suns had been shining fairly brightly that day, but as the hours dragged on the brown clouds began to gather and the air grew musty. Epsilon’s anxiety grew and he kept fidgeting, drumming on the window sill with his knuckles until he woke Venus up again. She was about to ask him where her mother was when a maid knocked on the door and brought in three plates of food on trays. Venus shouted with glee and ran to get her plate of food. Epsilon couldn’t take it anymore. He finally dove into Polaris’ thoughts.
One thing he saw right away was a hallway with a red carpet, white marble walls, and gold trim and he felt himself stiffen. This was the floor where the royal family slept. Someone was talking and he recognized it was Emperor Zeito’s voice.
“It’s not as it seems,” he said. “I can see how you would get the wrong impression of me. But you should understand what I must deal with…”
“Daddy?” Someone tugged on the bottom of his robe. Epsilon looked down. “Yes, Venus?”
“Can I tell you about my first day at school?”
He let out a sigh. “Yeah…go ahead.”
They sat across from each other on the bed with their legs crossed. Zeito had assured Epsilon that the food poisoning incident with Polaris would never happen again, but just in case, he took a few bites of Venus’ food anyway. Once he decided there was nothing wrong with the food, Venus began to stuff her face and talk about her day. She told him about Mr. Ozyo, the mean-looking Saiteimian kids, and Gemini.
“This Gemini kid knew Mr. Ceti?” Epsilon asked in surprise.
“Yep… he said he was the one that sent us that special message for help. And! He said the Vecsyans are gonna help Kaiyan beat all the Saiteimians.” She swallowed and said, “Did you know that, Daddy?”
“Actually…no, I didn’t. But I’ll find out more about it.”
“Um, Daddy? Where’s Mom?”
“She’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”
When Polaris did come back hours later, the room was dark and she switched on the lamp beside the bed. Venus had curled up and fallen asleep in her father’s arms and she thought Epsilon had fallen asleep as well, until she saw him looking right at her. “Where were you?” he asked sharply.
“I had some thinking to do.”
“What kind of thinking?”
“Does it matter?”
“You left Venus here. Alone.”
“She was fine. Someone was guarding the door.”
“I didn’t see anyone guarding the door.”
“Well, maybe you didn’t see them, Evon, but they were there!”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“How dare you call me a liar!”
Epsilon shook his head and lay back down. “Good night.”



Gemini was absent the next day causing Venus to truly feel like an alien from another planet. All the Saiteimians stared at her like predators while the Vecsyans seemed puzzled by her shuddering at her desk. She sat in the corner of the cafeteria, chewing on something off the tray that tasted like seaweed, feeling out of sorts. Mr. Ozyo gave out thick books and piled them high. Whenever she dropped one in the hallways, instead of picking it up for her everybody would start kicking it around back and forth. At first she tried to chase it down to no success, and then gave up on the idea of crawling through a forest of legs to get a pointless book. In class she pretended to pay attention to confusing babble while doodling pictures of herself ripping her own hair out.
At the end of the day Venus raced out of the school and hopped onto the delivery truck which was her bus back to the castle. It was perfect for covering up the fact that she lived at the castle and preventing people too curious for their own good from asking too many questions. Tyren himself drove the delivery truck, and this time he let her sit in the front seat with him. She’d never been in a vehicle that rode on wheels and was amazed by how fast they could go. Tyren couldn’t help laughing at how excited she was bouncing on the seat.
When they got to the castle, Epsilon was there to meet them. He told Venus to go tend to her chores and went off to talk with Tyren.
“That little girl of yours is a cutie,” Tyren said. “So, what’s up?”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about a Vecsyan kid named Gemini. My daughter told me he knows a lot about Mr. Ceti and my mission.”
“Oh, Gemini! Yeah… man, that kid is a genius. He’s wicked smart, Mr. Ceti chose him as a student. They plotted a plan to help out Kaiyan defeat all the Vecsyans. It’s a very top-secret plan so not many Vecsyans know about it, but I heard a league of Vecsyans have been working underground to invent some kind of lethal weapon that’ll shake this planet up… literally.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Well, um… see, I didn’t really know the details until recently ‘cuz I heard they’re almost done with this weapon thing. In fact, the plan is they’re going to create a huge distraction, so big that every Saiteimian across Sidon will come here to Sidonia. The main objective is to get all the Saiteimians in one spot. Meanwhile, all the slaves will take cover in the mountains to the north and that’s when Kaiyan comes in and does his thing and blows everyone away.”
“So… it’s like setting out bait and then crushing them all at once,” Epsilon said. “You Vecsyans are very clever.”
“The real clever ones are the brains of this plan, Gemini included. Gemini has some rare friends that help him out too. They’re kinda like his bodyguards,” Tyren said with a smile. “You should meet them sometime.”
“Maybe I will. Thank you, Tyren. I don’t wanna keep you too long or someone might get suspicious.”
“See ya, Evon,” Tyren said, getting into his truck. “Keep me posted!”
Epsilon waved and went back into the castle. He had just run up a flight of stairs to head to his room when Venus raced around the corner and flew into his arms.
“Dad! Help! Help me!”
“What? What’s wrong?”
She didn’t say a word but just kept her face buried in his robe and pointed behind her. Someone was standing in the hallway, a boy older than Venus, dressed in a black and gold royal robe with piercing eyes. Something about his proud stance was strangely familiar and he had a familiar sinister smile on his face.
“And you are?” Epsilon said to him. “Wait…don’t tell me. I know exactly who you are. You’re Prince Seizion, Kaiyan’s older brother. Am I right?”
The boy nodded. “Right. And you must be Sir Evon. I’ve heard about you.”
“Really? Only good things I hope. Would you happen to be scaring my daughter?”
“I was actually only trying to say hello.”
“Well…she’s a bit shy. Give her some time.”
“Alright,” Seizion said, still smiling. “Another time then.”
“You know it’s funny…” said Epsilon. “You don’t look like your father. You look a lot more like Zeiniko.”
The boy shrugged with a grin. “It’s in the blood. Good bye.” He turned and disappeared down the hall.
“That kid is pretty freaky, huh?” Epsilon said to Venus. “Don’t worry about him, baby doll. Go do your chores, eh? He won’t bother you anymore.”
Venus pulled her face out of his robe. “You sure?”
“Yep. Run along now.”

The next day at school, Venus pounded on Gemini’s head with her fists for being absent the previous day. “You idiot! Where were you? It sucked when you weren’t here!”
“Chill, girl! I had to work a triple shift! Gees! You’re gonna bruise my brain!”
“Well, anyways! I talked to Kaiyan and he said he doesn’t come to school ‘cuz his dad doesn’t let him. His dad is embarrassed of him, he said.”
“What a dork! That Emperor is stupid. I kinda need to talk to somebody, but I can’t get inside the castle. I guess I’ll just have to uh… yeah… I think I’ll do that.”
“What? Why can’t you just talk to me?”
“No offense, missy, but girls have big mouths. And you’re just a little girl.”
“You’re not a grown up either!”
“True, but I was born with a ton of brains. I gotta cut class right now and get outta here.”
“Where the heck are you going?”
“I gotta meet up with some people.” He raised his hand. “Mr. Ozyo! I gotta pee! Really, really bad!”
Mr. Ozyo let out an enormous snort. “It’s first period! Why didn’t you go before? Fine! Go!”
Gemini winked at her, nearly tripping over his desk, and ran out of the room.
During lunchtime Venus was so angry her cheeks turned red. She hated sliding her tray across the front counter where a sleepy Vecsyan woman slave plopped orange food on her plate and then having to go sit in a corner by herself. Where did Gemini go? He always acted as if his pants were on fire. She sat at her seat for a minute then went out into the hall, pretending to go to the bathroom. There was a tiny window next to one of the stalls and she stood staring at it. Then she noticed a big stone holding the rusty bathroom door open and her stomach started to jump. Gemini broke the rules, so why couldn’t she? She grabbed the stone and went into the stall next to the window. The toilet was slippery from urine but she managed to carefully climb onto it and pound the window with the rock. It cracked, then shattered and she could see the brown grass outside. There were still shards stuck to the window frame and she used the stone to crush them. The grass outside was so long that if she stood on her toes , she could grab onto it and use it like a rope to pull herself up. It took a lot of squirming and pulling but she finally managed to get through the window. Once she was out, she wiped the dirt off the front of her robe with her hands and looked around. It appeared that she had ended up behind the school and facing the woods.
“Ariah?” someone said. Venus turned in the direction of the voice. “I found you Gemini!”
Gemini ran up to her and grabbed her shoulders. “What the heck are you doing here? You have to go back inside!”
“No way!” she said, smacking his arm. “You left me alone. How could you do that?”
As soon as she hit him, three other boys standing behind him with stern faces suddenly stepped forward. Venus looked at them.
“Who are these guys? And what’s their problem?”
“These are my friends, Ariah,” Gemini said happily. “Meet Shen-li, Jarron, and Dominic.”
“Who’s who?”
“This is Shen-li,” Gemini said and the boy he was referring to gave her a nod. He was wearing huge shades that covered half his face and his hair was bright auburn like the carpet in the throne room.
“Why are you wearing sunglasses?” Ariah asked him. “It’s not sunny.”
“He has to cover his eyes,” one of the other boys said in a solemn voice. He was short and skinny with light brown hair and eyes as gray as storm clouds. “My name’s Jarron.”
“And I’m Dominic,” the other boy said. He was the tallest and bulkiest with black hair and tan eyes. He folded his arms with a mean look on his face. “Who are you?”
“I’m Ariah. I’m Gemini’s friend in school,” Ariah said. She pointed at Shen-li. “Why does he have to cover his eyes?”
“That’s kinda a secret, baby doll,” Gemini said with a crooked grin. “Privileged information, like the adults would say.”
“I can keep a secret,” said Ariah. “You think I can’t?”
Gemini scratched his head. “Um…”
“It’s alright,” Shen-li said suddenly. “I’ll show her.” He took off his shades and looked at her. “Can you see?”
Ariah peered at his face and gasped. “You have black eyes.”
“That’s right!” Gemini sang. “That’s because Shen-li is half Saiteimian. Ain’t that special?”
“But… doesn’t that make him evil?”
“No, please don’t think that,” Shen-li said, wearing a worried expression. “I’m like my mother. She was a Vecsyan.”
“If any of the soldiers see his eyes they’ll kill him,” Gemini explained, smiling all the while. “That’s ‘cuz Saiteimians are never supposed to mix with the other races. It’s against the law. But Shen-li’s mom told him before she died that his dad was a Saiteimian. And not just any Saiteimian! She said he’s from the royal family. Ha! Too much drama if ya ask me.”
“But how did she die?” Venus asked sadly.
“Someone beat her to death,” Shen-li said, putting his shades back on. “I don’t know who.”
“But! Ya can’t dwell on them thoughts,” Gemini said. “Shen-li is very useful. ‘Cuz he’s half Saiteimian, he’s got all these cool powers. But we all have our talents. Like Jarron here…he’s an Ivikan. He’s wicked nimble and fast. And Dominic… he’s an Orbalic. He can absorb other people’s powers and use it against them. Cool, huh?”
“I guess. I’m just confused…”
“’Course you are, girlie,” Gemini said, putting his hands on his hips. “But listen up! I heard Prince Kaiyan is gonna fight in his first training battle soon. It’s this thing the royal family does and the princes fight other Saiteimian guys in a ring to practice their fighting skills, get it?”
“Sort of.”
“Good. Now… if Kaiyan doesn’t fight, he’ll poly get in trouble. If he gets in trouble, we’ll have a problem.”
“Why?” Venus asked.
“Because his dad will poly get mad and… uh, he’ll hurt Kaiyan. So can you do us a favor?” Gemini reached into his pocket and handed her a folded up piece of paper. “Can you give this to your dad for me?”
“Okay.”
“Now go back to class, cutie. We have some stuff to do and I don’t want you getting in trouble. Go on.”
Venus eyed the four of them carefully then went back to the broken window. Gemini cheerfully waved and ran off with his friends. She waited until she couldn’t see them anymore then dashed around the school and onto the dirt road. The ground was flat with no trees and the castle was a couple miles away, practically blocking out the dim light from the two suns. Dust flew up behind her as she ran and she had to hold up the bottom of her robe to not trip. After a while she stopped to catch her breath. The wind started blowing and it made this eerie hollow sound that gave her chills, and she began to run again. Finally she reached the enormous back gates of the castle, but there was no one around. Weren’t there always supposed to be guards on watch? She pressed her face between the black metal bars.
“You’re supposed to be in school.”
Venus pulled back and looked up. Kaiyan was crouched on the top of the wall.
“Can you let me in?” she called up to him.
“I can’t open the gates.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not allowed outside the castle… just like you.”
“Then why are you way up there?”
He slowly stood up and jumped. The wall was nearly fifty tall and she shrieked for was sure he was going get hurt from falling from that height. But he landed on his feet with his knees bent, then stood upright. Venus looked at him carefully. He didn’t seem to be in pain at all.
“You left school?” he asked in his monotonous voice.
“Yeah, I hate it! Please help me get inside. Daddy will be mad at me.”
He stared at her for a moment, then turned around and knelt down. “Get on my back.”
She hesitantly climbed onto him, just as she used to do with her father back on Saihami when he used to play with her. Of course Kaiyan was much smaller than her father, and she felt uneasy. “But…I’m too heavy for you…”
He didn’t say anything but just staying squatting for a second then leapt upward. Venus gasped and squeezed her arms around his neck. The wind blew her hair back and when she opened her eyes, they were on top of the wall. Then Kaiyan jumped down and she felt weightless, like when her father used to toss her in the air and catch her with ease. It was with the same grace that he landed, and Venus was speechless. He had landed so gently that if she were a sleeping baby, she wouldn’t have awakened. She slid off his back in shock, and he turned his head to look at her.
“Go back inside.”
“But… where? I don’t see a door anywhere.”
Kaiyan suddenly raised his head up in alarm. His eyes lightened to yellow.
“Kaiyan, what’s the matter?”
“No, not now…” he said, as if he was talking to himself and his eyes grew lighter. “Just go away…”
“Me?” Venus asked. “Are you talking to me?”
“No, he’s probably talking about me,” a familiar voice said. Venus turned around to see Zeiniko leaning against the gates with his arms folded. He smiled, looking very pleased. “You two are becoming good friends, aren’t you?”
Venus’ heart began to pound and she slowly backed away from him.
“Oh, don’t run away,” Zeiniko said. “If you did, you wouldn’t get very far. Isn’t that right, Kaiyan?”
“What do you want?” Kaiyan asked sharply.
Zeiniko squinted at him. “Could it be? Do my eyes deceive me?” He stood up straight and walked toward Kaiyan. “Your eyes are yellow. I’ve never seen that before. What does it mean? Oh, that’s right… fear.” He chuckled. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen your eyes a different color, and of all colors… it’s the one that’s translated into the primal emotion.” He looked at Venus. “Little Ariah, do you know why Kaiyan is afraid?”
Venus swallowed, but couldn’t speak. Her knees shook.
“Well, he’s certainly not afraid for himself, is he?” Zeiniko said, smiling. “He has no reason to fear for his own life, unless… he’s afraid for someone else.”
“You won’t even come close…” Kaiyan said quietly. “…to what you did last time.”
Zeiniko reached over and grabbed Venus by the hair and pulled her toward him. Venus let out a cry and Zeiniko covered her mouth with his gloved hand. “Go ahead and try to stop me. I dare you.”
Kaiyan stared at him so intensely; it was if he wanted to sear a hole in Zeiniko’s face. And in one blink, his eyes turned a fiery red. He didn’t look like himself anymore; his calm disposition had changed into a frightening rage and Venus felt tears coming out her eyes. Zeiniko laughed and it echoed off the castle walls.
“Maybe you aren’t so numb, Kaiyan. Maybe you actually do have feelings… and I just found your soft spot.” He let go of Venus and she fell on her knees. She jumped to her feet, turned around, and kicked Zeiniko in the shin.
“You meanie! I hate you! Get lost!”
She kicked him again, and was about to kick him again when Kaiyan took her arm and pulled her away.



Epsilon wasn’t pleased that Venus had escaped from school and prepared a lecture for her in his head, but decided against it when he read the letter she had gotten from Gemini. It read:

Mr. Eridani,
We, the Vecsyans, are almost done on our project. It’ll be finished in about a month and a half.
Mr. Ceti sure would be proud! Prince Kaiyan has to try to live until then. If he doesn’t fight in his first training battle, his parents might get angry and destroy him. If you can stall for time, please do it! We want to make sure everything goes according to plan and finally be set free.

Gemini and Vecsyan team

Epsilon pondered as he burned the letter with one of the candles he took from a lamp in the hallway. Gemini was right. If Kaiyan didn’t fight, he was risking his life. Somehow, he had to stay alive for at least another month and a half. Epsilon tossed the ashes from the letter out the window and watched them float away. He had to talk to Kaiyan and set out looking for him.
He didn’t think he would find him easily for Kaiyan was always hiding in the shadows, but to his surprise, he found him in a place he never expected… Zeito and Ila’s room. The door was open a crack, which Epsilon thought very strange, and when he peered in he saw that the balcony doors open. Kaiyan stood on the grey granite balcony, gazing off at the gloomy black city in the distance. He didn’t seem to hear Epsilon walk out onto the balcony, and Epsilon shut the doors behind him. He walked toward Kaiyan then felt a gentle breeze on his back, and hesitated.
“Do you really plan on fighting?” he asked.
“I don’t want to fight anyone,” Kaiyan said, without turning around. He was quiet for a moment and said, “I haven’t seen Ella in my dreams for a long time.”
“That’s one thing I have to talk to you about,” Epsilon said, leaning forward on the balcony railing beside Kaiyan with his hands clasped. “I think I’ve figured out who this ‘Ella’ is.”
Kaiyan looked at him, with his usual vacant expression then looked back out at the city. “Who is she?”
Epsilon drew in a long breath. “Well, to put it simply…you told me you keep seeing this strange woman named ‘Ella’ in your dreams, who resembles my wife and tells you things such as not to become evil, to protect Venus, and that a man named Evon would come and help you, which turned out to be me. What if I told you that a long time ago, your race came to my home planet and started destroying everything and at that time, the queen there was named Capella?”
He watched Kaiyan’s face but he didn’t pick up a reaction, so he went on talking. “This Queen Capella was very powerful, so when the Saiteimians began killing her people she decided to make a big sacrifice. She used her life energy to try to destroy them. But it didn’t work… it only destroyed some of them. But they ran away, like scared little babies, all the way back to their planet anyway and nobody knows why. But the best part is… before Capella did what she did, she said one day a Saiteimian would come to betray and destroy his own kind. Don’t you wonder who that Saiteimian is?”
Kaiyan’s now focused his blue eyes on Epsilon’s face. “You mean… she picked me to destroy my own race?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“But I thought you said she died.”
Epsilon shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe everybody thought she did. But maybe she didn’t.”
“But why? Why me?”
Epsilon smiled. “She must’ve picked you because of how strong you are. You just don’t know it yet. This is a lot of information to drop on a little boy like you and that’s probably why she didn’t tell you all this before. I can read thoughts, Kaiyan. That’s my power and I’m still practicing with it. Queen Capella can probably read yours too, and get inside your dreams. She chose you from the day you were born to be the one to end all this suffering the Saiteimians are causing. She must’ve taken over your mind and made you different. You’re a good kid, Kaiyan. You’re nothing like your family or your race. They don’t understand what’s wrong with you. What they don’t know is that Queen Capella is controlling you. That’s why you are the way you are.”
Kaiyan’s eyes narrowed. “Is that why I can’t laugh?”
Epsilon was taken aback by this and he had to think for a moment before replying. “You know, I honestly don’t know about that.”
“So what should I do?”
“There’s a plan in motion. The Vecsyans are on your side. I don’t know all the details but… in another month, they’re going to draw all Saiteimians around the globe to this city, and that’s how you’ll be able to destroy all of them.”
“All of them?”
“Every single one. Until then, try to stay alive. I know everyone expects you to fight and win your first training battle, but try to do the right thing. I know you can.”
Kaiyan stared off into the brown sky and said, “I’ll try.”



Venus’ stomach was doing somersaults when her father carried her to the Battle Arena that weekend. She was peering at her mother, who looked terribly nervous, when two Saiteimian guards open two enormous iron doors for them and Venus’ mouth fell open. The Battle Arena was an immense stadium, shaped like an oval with thousands of seats and filled with bustling Saiteimians. In the middle was a square fighting ring, marked by black lines on the blonde wooden floor. Overhead was a giant glass dome that revealed the caramel sky.
Epsilon spotted Emperor Zeito waving at him from a raised platform in front of the ring and they went down the concrete stairs toward him. Emperor Zeito and Empress Ila sat in two elaborate chairs made out of silver with black velvet cushions on the platform made out of reddish wood so shiny, it reflected the glare of the giant white, sphere-shaped florescent lights that encircled the glass dome above. Beside them sat Prince Seizion with a grin on his face.
Once they reached Zeito, he said, “You’ve all come just in time. I’ve saved these for you.” He gestured to his left where there was a row of empty seats. It was when he did this that Epsilon noticed Zeiniko standing on Zeito’s left side, gazing down at the ring.
“Why, Zeiniko,” Epsilon said. “Don’t you have a seat?”
It took a while for Zeiniko to respond, but finally he pointed his eyes at Epsilon and said, “I could but I have the delightful job of being the announcer.” He turned his head so that they could see a small headset on his right ear.
“Well, you certainly have the voice for it,” Epsilon replied, smiling. He put Venus down and led her by the hand to their seats with Polaris on his other arm. Polaris glanced at Zeiniko to see him looking directly at her with a strange expression she didn’t know how to interpret. Once they were seated, she nudged Epsilon in the ribs with her elbow.
“What’s wrong with that man?” she whispered.
“Who?”
“Zeiniko.”
“What do you mean?”
“He seems odd.”
“He’s always odd. How should I know what his problem is?”
“Can’t you read his mind?”
“Saiteimian minds are a bit more complicated, my dear.”
This actually seemed to calm her down, and she began to slowly rub her hands together on her lap in a way that caught Epsilon’s attention. She did fidget sometimes, but Epsilon had never seen her do this before.
“Look, Daddy,” Venus said, pointing down at the ring. “There’s sand.”
When they looked they realized that the floor of the ring wasn’t made out of blonde wood, but was actually covered in sand. Black sand marked the ring’s boundaries in perfectly neat rows.
“Where do you think they got that sand?” Epsilon asked Polaris. “From one of their beaches, maybe? That’s if they even have any beaches in this miserable world…”
“Are you asking or talking to yourself, Evon?”
“I was asking, but since you’re gonna be so snippy I’ll just talk to myself.”
“I’m in no mood for your foolishness.”
“Who’s being foolish? I’m just expressing a thought.”
“And I really don’t care.”
“There’s no need for you…” Epsilon’s voice trailed off. He noticed Zeiniko eyeing them with a little smirk.
“Finish your sentence!” Polaris snapped. “You always zone out in the middle of a conversation!”
There was a huge boom, which turned out to be the enormous stadium doors being closed and the crowd became hushed. Zeiniko’s thunderous voice came over the speakers on the walls, echoing all the way up into the glass dome. He spoke in Saiteimian and the crowd immediately took their seats. Venus stuck her thumb into her mouth. The lights, the noise, and the thousands of people made her nervous. Zeiniko went on speaking in Saiteimian for a little while, and then it appeared he presented Emperor Zeito and Empress Ila for everyone stood up and bowed in their direction. Once everyone took their seats again, Zeiniko began to speak louder with emphatic gestures. Then he raised his outstretched hand and the crowd shouted in either impatience or anticipation; Venus couldn’t tell which. The torches surrounding the fighting ring lit up, and Zeiniko clenched his hand into a fist. The flames from the torches then blazed so bright, it singed Venus’ face and blinded her. The crowd began to cheer wildly now and when she opened her eyes, there, in the middle of the ring, stood Kaiyan.
He wore his usual emotionless expression but was clad in black armor similar to Zeiniko’s with a gold symbol gleaming on his chest. Zeiniko spoke again, and suddenly a Saiteimian boy stepped into the other end of the ring. His armor wasn’t as elaborate; to Venus it looked a little like a dark blue life jacket someone would need when they fell off a boat. The boy was introduced as being named Rondi and he looked hefty and mean. He was twice Kaiyan’s size and his face was scrunched up as if he were constipated. He stared at Kaiyan like he wanted to crush him then slowly pulled out his sword in a dramatic way and held it straight up over his head to make the audience cheer. Kaiyan turned to the side to look at Epsilon then his gaze fell upon Venus. His face was empty; not even his blue eyes spoke to her. Epsilon shut his eyes to focus. A smoky fog hung in Kaiyan’s mind that he couldn’t find his way through. It grew thicker and thicker until everything disappeared.
The startling sound of a bell resounded throughout the stadium and Rondi sped across the ring at Kaiyan. His feet scarcely touched the sand yet he left a deep trail behind him, raising the sword up to strike. He moved so fast, Venus’ eyes almost couldn’t keep up with him and she let out a shriek in fear that Kaiyan wouldn’t have time to defend himself. But Kaiyan stayed where he was standing, pulled out his own sword with his right arm and struck it against Rondi’s blade before it could even touch him. The motion looked so effortless, but it made Rondi sail like a pebble through the air across the ring and land on his head. The audience began to roar so loud, it hurt Venus’ ears. Epsilon smiled to himself in amusement; it was actually very impressive to watch and he was in awe. But when Kaiyan threw down his sword, Epsilon knew what was coming next.
Kaiyan looked up at Emperor Zeito and said, “Vudran, Y tuh’d fuhd di vykrd. Yd ych’d nykrd. Cdib dryc puddma hif.” The crowd was cheering too loud to hear what he said, but Zeito’s face turned solemn. He stood up to his full height and said, “Oie fymm vykrd. Ti hid tavo sa.”
“Oie luh’d suga sa vykrd,” Kaiyan replied. “Y naveca.”
Zeito looked at Zeiniko and made a gesture with his hand. Zeiniko nodded but before he could speak, someone in the crowd shouted, “Dra bnyhla navecuc di vykrd!”
They yelled it so loud, it reached Zeiniko’s headset and blared out of the speakers. The audience began to make all sorts of displeased noises that grew louder and louder and Zeito frowned in disdain. His black eyes narrowed, and he shouted at Kaiyan in a frightening tone, “Vekrd in tya!”
Kaiyan let out a loud gasp and the armor around his stomach cracked. His eyes became translucent and he glanced over his shoulder. Rondi had gotten back on his feet and thrust his sword through Kaiyan’s back while he was distracted. It happened so unexpectedly, a shocked silence hung over the crowd and no one moved or spoke. Zeito stood with his mouth taut while Ila let out an abrupt, angry sigh and Zeiniko watched with his arms folded. Kaiyan slowly fell to his knees and let out a gurgling cough. Venus’ eyes glazed over. He had to be in great pain, but his face was as blank as it had always been. Why was no one trying to help him? Why did he look like he didn’t care he was about to die? Her seat suddenly felt like it was made out of needles and she jumped up. Polaris reached out her arm but Venus pushed it away and ran out of the aisle.
“Venus!” Polaris shouted.
Tears rolled down Venus’ cheeks as she jumped down the stone wall that surrounded the ring. She fell onto the sand then got up and ran so fast, her shoes fell off. She slid on her knees to where Kaiyan had keeled over and grabbed his shoulder.
“Kaiyan! Can you hear me? Kaiyan! Don’t die! I don’t want you to die! Your family doesn’t care, but I do! You were always nice to me… you shouldn’t give up! Please don’t die!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Epsilon saw Zeiniko signal to Rondi with his hand and the boy slowly approached Venus. Epsilon’s heart began to race and he quickly jumped over the aisle and leapt into the ring. But once he was halfway to his daughter, something stopped him and pushed him back. He growled in frustration and ran toward her again but was thrown back. It was as if an invisible wall was blocking him from getting to her, and he looked behind him. Zeiniko had his arm out and his open palm facing Epsilon with a devious smirk on his lips. It was him; Zeiniko was holding him back.
Epsilon shouted at the top of his lungs at Venus to run, and just as she turned her head to look at her father, Rondi drew back his fist and hit her in the face. She fell back so hard, sand flew in all directions and Polaris screamed. Epsilon felt himself being released and he could finally move. When he reached Venus and grabbed a hold of her, her face was covered in blood and her body was limp. The heat from the torches stung his eyes as he shook her, trying desperately to wake her, but she didn’t respond to his voice. A pain shot through Epsilon’s chest and he looked around, feeling faint and frantic at the same time with the deafening noise and blinding lights… when he heard someone cough weakly. To his horror, he saw Kaiyan lying on the sand nearby, slowly bleeding out. His eyes were as gray as death, and he stared at Epsilon’s face, unblinking. He moved his mouth but nothing came out, then swallowed and said, “Ella said if she dies, I die.”
Epsilon could scarcely draw a breath for he was in such shock, when Kaiyan’s tiny pupils suddenly began to dilate. They grew larger and larger until his irises were two black marbles. Epsilon felt his blood go cold, but then it froze to ice when the roots of Kaiyan’s hair turned black and the darkness slowly spread until each strand of hair was as black as oil from root to tip. Then to his astonishment, Kaiyan stood up, reached around, and pulled the sword out of his back. He threw it down to the sand, looked at Epsilon, and smiled. This made Epsilon sick to his stomach… for it was the first smile had ever seen on Kaiyan’s face but also the same exact wicked smile every other Saiteimian wore.
In Epsilon’s mind, the situation couldn’t get any worse, but now it seemed it was about to. He cradled Venus in his arms to keep all harm away from her. She was warm, but her heartbeat was fading. To top it off, the boy who had always tried to protect her was standing there with a vicious look in his eyes.
“Kaiyan,” Epsilon said quietly. “Walk away. Please…just walk away.”
Kaiyan’s demeanor had totally changed and he emitted a malevolent aura that made Epsilon tremble. He was looking at Venus in contempt, and then slowly shifted his gaze to Epsilon. “You’re traitors. You tried to use me to kill off my own race,”
he said, talking above the noise from the audience. “You took over my mind to make me destroy them all. I am an elite royal Kimtah Saiteimian and there is no way in this world that I’m going to let you take control of me again.” He picked up his sword and pointed it at Epsilon’s face. “I should’ve gotten rid of you when we first met, but I was under your power. Now I’ll have no problem making you suffer.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Epsilon replied. “You have a choice. You don’t have to be like them.”
They heard footsteps and Zeiniko came and stood between them. He stared quizzically at Kaiyan. Blood was seeping into the sand, but Kaiyan seemed unfazed with his eyes fixed on Epsilon.
“Are you alright, Prince?” Zeiniko asked, sounding slightly puzzled. “Would you like to forfeit the battle?”
“No, no, no,” Kaiyan said sharply. “I’m not finished. I’m not forfeiting.”
“What about your wound?” Epsilon asked. “You can bleed to death.”
“I don’t care,” Kaiyan snapped. “I’m not leaving ‘til I finish this fight.”
“Regardless,” Zeiniko replied sternly. “Sir Evon’s daughter has been injured and should be healed at once.”
Kaiyan shook his head. “No, don’t! It was her…she was holding me back.”
“What’re you talking about?” Epsilon asked.
“As soon as she was knocked down,” Kaiyan said. “I felt like I had woken up from a long, deep sleep. Can’t you see? This is how I’m supposed to look…this is who I’m supposed to be!”
Just then a Gomean woman rushed up and bowed. She reached out to touch Venus and heal her but Zeiniko pushed her arm back saying, “Hold on…” At this Epsilon felt panic wrench his heart into his throat and he grabbed the woman’s wrist and pressed her hand to Venus’ forehead. The color returned to her face and her eyes opened. Epsilon let out a sigh of relief, when Kaiyan suddenly gasped again. He fell back onto the sand and lay still. Zeiniko wore a pensive expression as he looked at Epsilon with his eyes slanted as if he were putting the pieces to a puzzle together in his head. Epsilon tried to keep his head lowered for everything he felt was written on his face for everyone to see; he couldn’t even try to hide how nervous he was. When they gathered around Kaiyan to see if he was dead, they found he was only unconscious… with sand in his gold hair.




 CHAPTER NINE

WHEN EPSILON GOT BACK to his room, he searched frantically for the communicator Pollux had given him. He turned all the clothes drawers upside down and peered under the mattress.
“What are you doing?” Polaris asked him. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Have you lost yours?” he snapped. “Do you realize what just happened in that fighting ring? If we don’t do something quick, we’re finished. Kaiyan practically blew our cover and now we’re looking very suspicious…where is that thing? Where did I put it?”
“What thing?”
“Mom,” Venus said, sitting on the bed. “What’s goin’ on? Is Kaiyan okay?”
“He’s fine,” Polaris replied, folding her arms. “Evon, explain to me what just happened.”
“I’ll explain,” a woman’s voice said and when Epsilon turned to look, a beautiful honey-blonde woman in a long red dress stood beside the window, gazing at him. He froze when he saw her green eyes; they looked so much like Polaris’ before she ever put on her brown contacts and he lost himself in them for a moment. He heard Polaris gasp then realized who she was. He knelt down to bow but the woman stopped him.
“I’m not a queen anymore, Epsilon,” she said. “You don’t have to bow.”
“I bow out of reverence and respect,” he told her.
“You…” Polaris said in surprise. “You’re Queen Capella?”
The woman smiled kindly. “I’m not queen anymore. You are, darling.”
“Have you come to visit us and to finally enlighten us on this whole situation?” Epsilon asked.
“Yes. That’s exactly why I’m here.” Capella replied. She walked to the center of the room with her long, sleeveless red dress trailing behind her. Then she paused and turned to look at Venus.
“Do you like stories, princess?” she asked her.
Venus nodded, her eyes wide in awe. Capella smiled but there was a sadness in her face that she could not hide. “Good. I’m about to tell all of you the story of how everything began with us and the Saiteimians.” She drew in a deep breath and began to speak.
“Hundreds of years ago… when the Saiteimians invaded Saihami, they began to rip the planet apart. I had to do something, and I had to do it fast. Life energy is very powerful and I decided to give all of mine up to destroy them. When you gather all your life energy together inside you and release it, you can cause extreme damage to everything around you. That is what I did. If I was going down, I was going to take the Saiteimians with me. It was a foolish hope of course because I was nowhere near strong enough to destroy them all.” She paused, and said, “I destroyed plenty of them, but I had used up all my energy. There was nothing left of me. So, in a manner of speaking…I died that day. But I have another gift. I can draw energy from living creatures and objects. Once I sacrificed my life, I borrowed energy from Saihami’s two moons. I was going to make the Saiteimians pay and I had to keep living to do that.”
“That brings us to Kaiyan,” said Epsilon.
“Yes,” Capella said calmly. “Kaiyan is the key to getting rid of the Saiteimians. He is simply an unusually strong Kimtah Saiteimian, nothing more, nothing less. Therefore, I decided he was perfect for the job and I seized control over his mind once he was born. Basically, I turned him into a puppet. I can make him say and do whatever I want… and, as you have noticed, I also changed his hair and eye color. Every detail about him is my doing.”
“There is a missing link here though,” Epsilon said. “It involves what just happened in the Battle Arena.”
Capella moved in closer toward Epsilon and Polaris. “That is another issue I have to explain,” she said in a hushed voice. “It involves your daughter.” Polaris looked at Venus with worry, but Capella said, “Don’t worry, darling. She’s not in any danger at the moment.”
“When Venus was unconscious,” Epsilon said. “Kaiyan completely changed.”
“Yes, that is to be expected,” Capella replied. “You see, honestly… I wasn’t entirely powerful enough to take control of Kaiyan. Gaining control over a Saiteimian is not easy. It requires a massive amount of power. The first couple years of his life were extremely exhausting for me and as he grew older I struggled to not lose my hold over him. Then your precious little daughter was born and I decided she would be the one to take the burden off me. You see… as long as Venus is alive, Kaiyan is under my control. If she dies, I’ll lose my power over him and he’ll go back to being evil.”
“I don’t understand,” Epsilon said. “Why does it matter if she’s alive or not?”
“Your little daughter’s life energy is what I’m using to keep my power over Kaiyan alive,” Capella answered. “In the battle ring, your daughter briefly fell into a coma. She was close to death. That’s why Kaiyan changed.”
“I can’t believe this,” Polaris said in disbelief. “I never imagined this would happen.”
“I want to know more about Kaiyan,” Epsilon said suddenly.
Capella tipped her head to the side in question. “What is it that you want to know?”
“The boy acts very robotic. He doesn’t laugh or smile or give any hint of feeling. Why is he like that?”
“Because that’s just the way I want him to be. His only purpose is to destroy his race and nothing else.”
“So are you saying that while he’s under your control, he’s incapable of having emotions?”
“That’s right.”
“Then everything we’ve seen of the boy up until today was fake?”
Capella seemed taken aback at this. “What do you mean fake?”
“His whole character, his act…it was fake. It was just you putting words in his mouth.”
“I don’t put words in his mouth. He just responds to people the way I want him to.”
“Then he reflects you, not himself.”
“In a way, yes.”
“Also… if he doesn’t have feelings, his eyes shouldn’t change color.”
“That’s also correct.”
Upon hearing this, Venus raised her head and looked at her father. Epsilon glanced at her and Capella followed his gaze.
“King Epsilon,” she said. “Tell me right now what’s going on. Something is obviously bothering you.”
“I don’t think the boy is as emotionless as you think,” Epsilon told her. “He said this to Venus the other day about destroying his race and I quote… ‘Why should I destroy anyone? Can’t they change who they are?’”
Capella looked beyond shocked and Epsilon paused, then said, “Are you telling me that when he said that, he was responding the way you wanted him to?”
“No, why would I want-“
“Do you really have complete control over the boy, Queen Capella?” Epsilon asked solemnly. “Because that statement alone is a crack in the armor you put on him.”
“He’s a puppet, Epsilon. When he’s under my control, he’s an empty shell.”
“I doubt he’s as empty as you think. Something isn’t right.”
“If you think that something is wrong, bring me proof. Then we can talk.”
Epsilon remained silent for a moment while Polaris shook her head with worried lines in her forehead. “What do we do now, Queen?” she asked. “The Emperor and Empress must be suspicious of us. If they find out who we really are, they’ll kill us.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that for now. Zeito isn’t hasty. He’s most likely going to approach you, Epsilon, and ask you exactly what happened today. Focus more on keeping your daughter safe.”
“Queen,” said Epsilon. “I have one more question.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you choose to borrow power from Venus?”
Capella gave him a little smile and said, “It’s best I answer that another time.” She walked toward the window and disappeared before their eyes.



After Capella left, there was a long silence between Epsilon and Polaris. Venus sat sucking her thumb in confusion while her parents avoided eye contact and stood around looking listless. Her mother seemed angry, biting the inside of her lip and shaking her head like a rattle. Finally she let out a big sigh and said, “You already know what I’m going to say before I say it.”
“Yes,” Epsilon answered.
“I’m going to say it anyway. Why did you have to bring Venus to the training battle? And why are you asking questions about Kaiyan and not asking about how to protect your own daughter?”
Epsilon chuckled. “Always putting the blame on me. It’s what you do best.”
“Wipe that smirk off your face! And another thing…from now on, you have to ask my permission first before you go inside my thoughts.”
Epsilon felt his smile breaking. “Are you joking?”
Her face became very stern. “No, I’m not.”
“For what reason?”
“Out of respect for me.”
“Respect? Where does this come from all of a sudden? You think I don’t respect you?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I have a headache.”
She turned around and went over to the dresser to change. Venus looked at her father. He had a frown on his face that made her want to cry. It was pain and sadness mixed together, tucked into the rut on his forehead and the creases around his eyes. Her mother changed into a pink lacey nightgown with pink gems along the straps and when she climbed into bed, Epsilon’s eyes followed her. Then his anger began to swell and he had to look away.
Venus sniffed the air. “Mama, you smell like cologne.”
Polaris gave her a look. “It’s your father’s.”
“N-no, it’s not,” Venus said.
Epsilon turned around. “What did she just say?”
Polaris looked at him anxiously then reached out and slapped Venus across the face. Yelping in surprise, Venus bowed her head and began to cry.
“Polaris,” Epsilon said in surprise. “Why’d you do that for?”
“She cursed and I slapped her. Simple as that. ”
“Are you crazy? I didn’t hear her curse!”
“Then you’re deaf because she did!”
Epsilon shut his eyes and said, “Come on, babe. Let’s go…let’s go for a walk.”
“I don’t want to go.”
“I’m not asking. I’m telling.”
“Go by yourself!”
Epsilon stared at her and drew in a long, deep breath with his jaw jutting out. “Where did you get that nightgown?” he asked finally.
She looked worried all of a sudden. “It’s mine. I’ve always had it.”
“Don’t lie to me. I’ve seen you in everything and nothing but not once have I ever seen you in that nightgown.”
“Do I have to spell it out for you? It’s mine!”
He gestured for her to stand up. “Take it off.”
“What?”
“Take it off!”
“No!”
“Take it off or I will.”
Polaris didn’t answer him but stayed where she was, staring at him coldly. Epsilon made a sudden lunging motion toward her and she leaped out of the bed so fast that she stumbled and fell on her knees. He caught up with her and grabbed her ankles. “Venus, look the other way,” he said.
“Stop it!” Venus cried. “Stop fighting”
“Look the other way!”
Venus began to scream and Epsilon got up, snatched her off the bed, and shoved her underneath it.
“What are you doing?” Polaris shouted at him. “Leave her alone!”
“Don’t talk,” he snapped at her. “Just get up.”
“I will not!”
“Get up!”
“No!”
Something snapped in his head just then like brittle firewood, and he felt all his blood rush to his face. His arms moved by themselves at a frantic speed and took a hold of Polaris’ shoulders. He didn’t see the expression on her face, only hearing when her head hit the carpet…two, three, four times. Then he stopped in shock and drew in a breath, but the overwhelming scent of cologne struck him and stung his eyes. His vision blurred and his throat closed up, causing him to gasp. He knew exactly who always wore that cologne smell. Every scream that pierced the air was blocked out and his hands clenched shut. After several more thuds, the screaming suddenly stopped. He tore away the pink garment in front of his eyes and left the room.
An eerie silence enveloped Epsilon’s mind as he walked along and he remained dazed until Empress Ila stepped into the hall ahead of him. Then he awakened from his crowded thoughts and realized how strange it looked for him to be carrying a nightgown around. He stopped, trying to figure out what to do…either stand there or run. But Ila had already turned and caught sight of him. Her eyes lowered to the nightgown hanging from his hand and she suddenly looked surprised.
“Evon!” she said walking toward him. “You scoundrel!”
“Empress,” Epsilon said with a bow. “You look well today.”
“Don’t play innocent with me! Where did you find my nightgown?”
Epsilon stared at her. “This…this is yours?”
“Yes! It has been missing for some time. I knew someone stole it! I just didn’t expect the thief to be you.” She flashed him a devilish smile. “Couldn’t resist, could you?”
“No, I didn’t-” Epsilon began, but the way she was smirking at him was making him blush and he blurted out, “Since when do you wear pink?”
“Behind closed doors,” she replied, snatching the nightgown from his hand. “By the way…your face is pink too.”
Epsilon bowed his head and quickly moved past her as quickly as he would walk before she said anything more. He rushed down a staircase of white marble and without thinking, went into the entrance hall. He found himself staring at the metal throne room doors, wanting to scream. What didn’t make sense was starting to make sense, and he didn’t want to believe any of it.
The throne room doors suddenly opened, and Zeiniko strolled out. He saw Epsilon, and a smirk spread across his face.
“Well, if it isn’t Sir Evon,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting you to come out of your room for a while, especially considering what happened today.”
Epsilon peered at him without saying a word. Zeiniko gave him an odd look.
“Something wrong, Evon?”
“No…nothing’s wrong.”
Zeiniko looked at him for a long moment, and said, “Zeito wants to see you.” He turned and left through one of the doors of the entrance hall.
Epsilon found Zeito in the throne room, sitting sideways on his throne with his legs hanging over the armrest. He was mumbling something to himself but stopped abruptly once he saw Epsilon. He didn’t seem to be angry, though he looked as if he had been brooding for a while to be sitting in such an odd way on his seat. His dark eyes flicked toward Epsilon and he slowly clasped his hands over his chest.
“Ah, Evon,” he said. “I tell you…the crap I have to put up with. I’m sorry about what happened to your daughter. Kaiyan has been healed and is fine. He doesn’t remember anything about what happened in the Battle Arena though. I couldn’t hear anything above the crowd. But what really bothers me is that no one can explain to me what happened when Kaiyan changed, not even Zeiniko and he was standing right there! It’s enough to drive one mad. So I was hoping you could tell me what happened if you don’t mind.”
“All I can really tell you Emperor is that his attitude and appearance changed dramatically,” Epsilon said. “It was totally unexpected and bizarre.”
“Did he say anything to you at all? I saw him pointing his sword at your daughter.”
Epsilon hesitated. “He wasn’t his usual himself…”
“But did he say anything?”
There was a silence. Epsilon couldn’t tell him what Kaiyan really said because it revealed his true identity. He wanted to make something up but for some reason was having trouble collecting his thoughts. He couldn’t think of anything to say.
Then Zeito said, “Strange…Zeiniko couldn’t give me a straight answer either. Well…I didn’t want to do this but I suppose I have no other choice. I’m going to hold a meeting with the seven kings of Sidon to decide what to do with Kaiyan. I want you and your wife present. They’ll most likely arrive here tomorrow at noon so meet us in the north tower at that time. You may go now.”



The following day Epsilon and Polaris dressed in formal chocolate brown Vecsyan robes with vertical gold stripes and gold sashes. A maid stayed behind to watch over Venus and they took an elevator to the top of the north tower, which took several minutes because of how tall it was. Epsilon let his eyes close wearily. He didn’t sleep at all the night before. Polaris didn’t let him anywhere near the bed. He didn’t protest; she had reason to be angry. There was a bruise on her cheekbone and he couldn’t remember exactly how it got there.
When the elevator doors finally rolled open, a long hallway stretched out in front of them with red walls and a white ceiling dangling crystal chandeliers over a gold carpet leading up to two gold doors. When Epsilon pushed through the doors, they found themselves in a large room where the farthest wall was made entirely out of glass with a view of the city below. In the center of the room was a long oval table made out of wood polished to a luster with a number of men sitting around it. Each one looked much like the other; large, muscular, with black hair and intimidating displeased faces. They all wore elaborate black robes with the same silver symbol on their chests and backs. The only one who wasn’t wearing black was Emperor Zeito, who sat at the farthest end of the table in a giant gold and red velvet chair. This time his robe was red with a gold symbol on the front and Ila, who sat to his right, wore a robe that matched his. Zeiniko sat to Zeito’s left, shrouded in black, holding his gleaming sword so that it was standing on the tip of its blade on the black marble floor and twirled it by the handle with his fingers in a slow rhythm.
As soon as Epsilon and Polaris entered the room, everyone’s head turned in their direction and Epsilon felt his stomach twist, but he forced a smile and bowed.
“Evon and Liana, come and sit,” Zeito said. “I was just talking about you two.”
Epsilon looked at Polaris, who completely ignored him, and they walked around the table to take two seats next to Ila.
“Emperor, I hope you told them good things about us,” Epsilon said as he sat down.
“He can say whatever he wants,” one of the Saiteimian kings said from the other end of the table. “I still think it’s foolish to have two Vecsyans as advisors.”
“Now, now, now, Ryu,” Zeito said with a little smirk. “Let’s be nice. There are reasons why I chose them to be my advisors, which I don’t have to explain right now. Let me introduce you to the seven kings, Evon and Liana.” He pointed to each of them one by one as he went around the table, naming them all. “This is Elio, Marli, Faron, Ryu, Minoru, Lanari, and Symas. We’re all here to discuss Prince Kaiyan.”
“That boy is one big disgrace, Emperor,” King Elio said. “Why haven’t you destroyed him yet?”
“He’s very powerful,” Zeito replied. “I don’t think it would be wise to waste such power. I’m not about to make such a hasty decision, especially with what happened recently.”
“What exactly happened?” King Symas asked. “All I heard was that Prince Kaiyan lost his first training battle.”
“He didn’t exactly lose,” Zeito answered. “There was a little accident during the battle and Sir Evon’s daughter was injured. Then Kaiyan completely changes and all of a sudden he has black hair, black eyes, and he points his sword right at Sir Evon’s face.”
“And…?” King Symas said.
“He said something…I saw his lips moving,” Zeito said. “But I couldn’t hear because the crowd was making so much noise. Sir Evon and Zeiniko were right in front of him but they can’t tell me what he said.”
“It’s not that we can’t tell you, Zeito,” Zeiniko said suddenly. “It’s just that what he said made no sense. Sir Evon was too stunned to understand what was going on, and all Kaiyan said was a bunch of gibberish. That’s it.”
“But what do you mean by gibberish?” King Minoru asked.
“Fragments of sentences,” Zeiniko said, and looked the other way.
There was a silence and Zeito said, “What did he say in those fragments?”
Zeiniko made an annoyed face. “You know… it’s like you Zeito, when you’re drunk and you start slurring and talking all this crap about what you did right before you became Emperor-”
“Alright, that’s enough of that,” Zeito interrupted. “Nobody asked you to run your mouth.”
“Ha!” King Faron snickered. “You two make great cousins.”
“Anyways, the point is that there’s hope that Kaiyan can become a normal Saiteimian,” Zeito went on. “We just have to find out what’s holding him back. Speaking of which… since we have run so many tests on him and everything is coming back normal, the problem is obviously not biological. Something or someone is controlling him.”
“Now this is getting interesting,” King Lanari said, shifting around in his chair. “All we have to do is play the guessing game and guess who’s controlling him.”
“I say it’s the Vecsyans.” King Marli said. “They’re clever enough to pull anything off.”
“But they don’t have any powers,” King Minoru said. “Unless… maybe they implanted something in Prince Kaiyan’s brain. That doesn’t seem likely though.”
“None of the races we know have the power to take over a Saiteimian,” King Ryu said. “We have to think of something or someone further away.”
“Yes, but remember that Kaiyan changed in the fighting ring.” King Elio said. “Something there must’ve affected him.”
“Does it really matter?” King Symas said. “It could have been anything that affected him.”
Zeiniko suddenly laughed out loud and everyone looked at him. He went on laughing until Zeito finally asked, “What is so funny, Zeiniko?”
“Oh, I just made up a funny joke in my head,” he answered. “But you guys can go on talking.”
“If you weren’t twirling that sword so skillfully I would think you’re drunk, Zeiniko,” King Faron said.
“Not yet,” Zeiniko replied. “Maybe later.”
“Zeiniko,” Zeito said. “I’m about to send my boot up your…Liana, what’s that on your face?”
Everyone looked at Polaris, and she slid down slightly in her chair.
“Is that a bruise?” Zeito asked. “What happened?”
“She walked in to a door by accident,” Epsilon said.
“Ha!” King Faron chuckled, wagging a finger. “Now she must’ve been drunk!”
“Enough of that. This discussion is about my son,” Zeito said loudly. “Who thinks I should kill him and who thinks I should keep him alive and find out what’s wrong with him? Raise your hands.”
There was silence, and Zeiniko asked, “Are we supposed to be raising our hands for option one or two?”
“Zeiniko, I am seriously considering knocking your teeth out,” Zeito said.
“Well then, before I lose my teeth…” Zeiniko said. “I suggest that you force him to act like a prince. Work him hard everyday ‘til he bleeds. That’s all I’m gonna say.”
“Since you’re suggesting it then why don’t you do it, Zeiniko?” Zeito said. “You have the knack for finding people’s weaknesses and torturing them.”
Zeiniko drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Your wish is my command.”
“I’m getting a massive headache,” Zeito said. “We’ll continue this discussion tomorrow.”
He stood up and everyone immediately got to their feet and bowed. A smile crossed his face, and then he headed toward the glass doors that led out to the balcony.
Epsilon felt someone looking at him and when he turned, sure enough Ila was gazing right at him. “You were awfully quiet during that discussion, Evon,” she said. “Is something wrong?”
“No...everything’s fine.”
She smiled and looked Polaris. “Be careful to not walk in to any more doors, honey.”
Polaris suddenly stood up with a frown, brushed past them, and walked through the glass doors to go out on the balcony where Emperor Zeito stood staring off at the grey sky. Epsilon turned around to see Zeiniko chuckling.
“What’s up, Zeiniko?” he asked, sounding angry. “Did you think up another funny joke?”
“No, not this time,” Zeiniko said, standing up. “I just sit back and watch everything play out.”
He walked away and Epsilon felt his blood pressure rising. His head began to throb and after that he found himself standing in front of the elevator, punching in the button with the down arrow.
“If you hit that thing any harder it’s going to get stuck,” a woman said.
“I don’t care,” Epsilon mumbled as the elevator doors rolled open. He stepped in, turned around, and leaned back against the chrome wall. Ila stood in front of him with her mouth taut.
“You’re suddenly in a sour mood.”
Epsilon tipped his head back to look at the lights in the ceiling. “Don’t talk to me…please.”
The elevator doors slid shut behind Ila, and she looked at him with a nonchalant smirk.
“Your wife won’t be coming back to you soon, will she?”
He didn’t speak, and she slowly stepped forward and stood beside him, looking up at the lights like he was. “Don’t try to hide it, Evon. I know what’s going on.”
“Do you really?” he said. “Well, let’s hear it. Come on, Empress. Tell me.”
“It’s not hard to figure out… with my nightgown missing, you walking around with it, and her showing up with that bruise on her face.”
“That wasn’t intentional.”
“Oh, I’m sure it wasn’t.”
Epsilon turned around and punched the wall next to her head. “I don’t hit women,” he said, looking her right in the face. “I didn’t hurt her on purpose.”
“You can’t lie to me,” she said. “When I saw you walking down that hallway yesterday you were enraged. I could see it on your face.”
He didn’t say a word and she went on peering at him. He was so close to her he could see his reflection in her black eyes and he suddenly had a flashback of when he was back at Saihami, and the staring contest he had with Polaris.
“You didn’t even flinch when I punched the wall,” he said. “Let’s see how long you can go without blinking.”
Ila began to laugh. “You’re serious?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Alright.”
They froze where they were, staring at each other. He had never had the chance to look at a Saiteimian’s eyes so closely; they truly were as black as night. Over a minute passed and neither of them had blinked.
“When I look at you, Evon,” Ila said finally. “I don’t see coldness. I see warmth.”
“Do you really?”
“I don’t understand it.”
“You don’t need to understand it. You just feel it.”
Her face softened. “Zeiniko is up to something. You must be careful.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I don’t know. Whatever you do, don’t trust him.”
“I’ve never had any intention of trusting him.”
“Good.”
The elevator doors opened and she walked out.



Episilon was about to return to his room but a thought suddenly struck him like a jolt of electricity and instead he went down to the storage room. Piles of dusty boxes lay everywhere and he found the one he wanted in a corner labeled, “Sleeping Pills.” He searched around some more and found another box labeled, “BCPs”.
“Sorry, Ila,” he said to himself, as he slowly peeled off and switched the labels on the two boxes. “I know how much you hate your husband, and with good reason…but you’re still my enemy.”
A box slid off one of the stacks and fell to the floor. A glass bottle flew out and shattered, and the strong scent of cologne filled the room. The smell was all too familiar. It was the same scent Polaris had been carrying around lately. Every time she came near, it would surround him and sting his nose. It was the same cologne Emperor Zeito wore.
At this point, Epsilon didn’t want to think; he just wanted to sleep. It was one of the ways he handled stress but it was highly unlikely he was going to get any rest with the way his chest was hurting. When he returned to his room, Polaris wasn’t there and Venus was taking a nap. He thanked the maid who watched over Venus while he was gone and sat down beside his daughter. She had her thumb in her mouth as she slept.

He left her alone to take a shower in the bathroom down the hall. Several times as he stood under the hot water with the steam rising from his skin, he thought about invading his wife’s thoughts. But she wanted her privacy and his respect so, as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. There was a gap broadening between them and he hated it. Nothing he said could bring her closer; it seemed the more he chased her the farther away she ran. Thus when he looked in the mirror, he saw a pitiful, pleading expression on his etched into his face and switched off the bathroom light.
Polaris walked in an hour later wearing a blank expression. She didn’t look at Epsilon and went over to the dresser to get her bathrobe. Then she left again and didn’t come back.

The next day the seven kings were seated around the table in the north tower again with the morning sun streaming through the windows on their stern faces. Zeito, who looked like he hadn’t slept well at all, announced his decision.
“After much deliberation,” he said. “I’ve decided there’s no need to discuss this issue any further. I’m going to give Kaiyan one more month to correct his behavior. Zeiniko will in charge of training him. If he doesn’t change after a month, he will be considered unworthy of the royal bloodline and destroyed. Does anyone have any objections to this?”
No one answered him. Epsilon had an urge to object but doing so would have made him look suspicious. It didn’t help that Polaris was giving him a cold stare that made his stomach knot itself. The seven kings hadn’t much to say other than praising Zeito for making such a wise decision. Then Zeito stood up to leave and the seven kings bowed and exited the room. Ila and Zeiniko followed Zeito out to the balcony while Epsilon and Polaris remained seated at the table.
“That was awkward,” Epsilon said to her.
She didn’t speak.
“Liana, why are you staring at the table?”
She got up, shoved her chair in, and headed toward the elevator.
Epsilon sighed. “I’m about to lose my mind.”
The seven kings stayed another night to dine with the Emperor and filled themselves with enough wine to cause their delirious laughter to rattle the halls of the castle. It sounded like they were celebrating as if they had already transformed Kaiyan into the best warrior and leader of all time. The little boy was supposed to be their hero but little did they know that he was their archnemesis.
After the seven kings departed. Emperor Zeito put his plan into effect. The first order was for Kaiyan’s back to be tattooed. It sounded odd for Zeito to do such a thing, but it turned out that it was actually tradition for every Kimtah Saiteimian to have their race’s symbol tattooed onto their back. Zeito asked Epsilon and Polaris to come and watch as it was done for some strange reason so they had to stand together in a little room while two soldiers held Kaiyan face-down on a metal table and another soldier stuck a needle into his skin. At first Epsilon thought it was just going to be a small design and take a few minutes, but it took three long hours. When they finished, the symbol spread across Kaiyan’s shoulder blades like wings and all the way down his spine.
Next it was arranged for Kaiyan to have sparring sessions with Zeiniko.
“It’ll make for good practice,” Zeito said with a smile. It came as no surprise that while Zeiniko taught Kaiyan how to master the sword, he couldn’t resist slashing him up in the process. Every time Epsilon saw Kaiyan, he was wrapped in white gauze and bandages.
“Every warrior must have a high tolerance for pain,” said Zeito. “He’ll get used to it.”
Epsilon tried not to get involved with any of Zeito’s plans. They were willing to push Kaiyan as far as he could go, seemingly almost to his breaking point. Each day they made him lift repeatedly massive stone weights that weighed thousands of pounds. After that they began to make him run laps with the extra weight, and then he was made to jump over objects while carrying the weights. Last of all, he was tested on how far he could throw the weights. Then they added more weight and started the whole process over again.
With Kaiyan so busy training, Venus rarely got to see him. At school, Gemini listened sympathetically as she told him how much she missed Kaiyan’s mysterious appearances and hearing his bored voice. Gemini tapped his pencil on his desk with his head resting in his hand.
“I kinda wish my friends were here right now too,” he said.
“Are you even listening to me, Gemini?” Venus asked.
“Sure I am, buttercup. I’m just thinking to myself.”
“Why don’t your friends come to school?”
“Only Vecsyans and Saiteimians go school. Nobody else.” He threw his pencil at the boy sitting across from him.
“Hey!” the boy snapped. “Cut it out!”
“Sorry, man. Just felt like throwin’ it at ya,” Gemini chuckled.
“Gemini, you’re weird,” Venus said.
“Nah, I was actually calculating how I could hit him in the head at this angle,” he said. “I like when things go the way I plan. Speaking of which… I hope everything goes the way we planned at the end of this month.”
She had no idea what he was talking about and didn’t bother to ask.

As the weeks dragged on, Venus became more and more depressed. She kept thinking about Kaiyan training hard and not getting any rest but never saying a word. He wasn’t the type to complain and even if he was exhausted, his hollow eyes wouldn’t show it. At the same time she wondered when she would go back home to Saihami and if things would ever go back to being like they were before.
When she took up her broom to start sweeping one day, grumpy Phyllis appeared out of nowhere asking her where her old book was.
“Remember the book you saw me reading the first day you came?” she said. “Do you know where it is?”
Venus looked at her feet. “Ah, I don’t know.”
“That book is really important! It belonged to my great grandpa. He did research on Kimtah Saiteimians and wrote everything he knew in that book. If I can’t find it, I’m screwed!”
“Oh. If I find it, I’ll give it to you,” Venus said, chewing her bottom lip nervously.
Phyllis frowned and stomped off. Was she ever in a good mood? Venus stood around for a while, holding her broom. She felt guilty about lying to Phyllis, but she if she had told her the truth, Phyllis would have probably smacked her in the face with the broom.
Venus began to sweep one of the castle’s corridors, but her mind kept wandering. She had actually forgotten all about that old beat up book. She thought for a moment then froze. Phyllis said that the book held research on Kimtah Saiteimians. Did that mean that the strange list of colors in it had something to do with Kaiyan? She ran back to the bedroom, pulled the old book out of one of the drawers in the dresser, and sat in front of the window with it spread open on her lap. Grey meant sadness. Yellow meant fear. Red meant anger.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around lately,” a voice said and Venus looked up. Kaiyan was sitting on the windowsill. “I’ve been busy.”
Venus slammed the book shut. “It’s okay.
“Why do you always hide that book from me?” Kaiyan asked. “I already know what it says.”
“How do you know?”
“I read it when you weren’t here.”
Venus’ jaw fell open. “You snuck in here?”
“Don’t be surprised. I know that book belongs to Phyllis. I’ve seen it before. I never wanted to read it until I saw you reading it.”
Venus frowned. “But how could you-“
“I’ve been thinking,” Kaiyan interrupted. “…About good and evil. They don’t belong together. Someone can’t be good and evil at the same time. But I believe evil people can change…all they need is a reason to.”
There was a silence and Venus said, “Maybe you’re right.”
“I don’t want to be like my family and my race,” said Kaiyan. “No one has to die. We should learn how to change.”
“You’re acting weird,” Venus said slowly. “Did something bad happen?”
“No, but you might not see me for a while. Tomorrow is my next training battle and I have to make a decision.”
“About what?”
“You’ll see.” His face suddenly became very solemn and he said, “I hope you and your family get back to your home Saihami safely.”
Venus’ eyes widened. “You can come with us, Kaiyan. You can see what peace is like. I’ll show you after you destroy all the Saiteimians.”
He didn’t say a word, but his water blue eyes suddenly dulled to grey. “I have to go.”
“Why are you sad?”
“I’m not sad. I’m not anything. I never will be.”
“What a lie!” Venus said, standing up. “You’re my friend. You’re a really weird friend but the only friend I ever had. That’s something!”
Kaiyan didn’t look at her. He kept his gaze to the side until his eyes turned blue again.
“No matter what I do tomorrow…” he said “…don’t hate me for it.”
Before Venus could say a word, he opened the window and leapt out of sight. She let out a growl of frustration then opened and flipped through Phyllis’ old book. Once the page of colors and their meanings in emotions came into sight, she ripped it out, folded it up, and stuck it in her shoe.



Seeing the bright lights of the Battle Arena and smelling the sweat of thousands of Saiteimians there gave Venus chills. She couldn’t stop herself from trembling. Yet she sat with her parents in the same seats they had sat in before, only this time Polaris wouldn’t let go of her arm if it meant her life. The air was thick and Epsilon tried to calm his nerves. What happened last time wouldn’t happen again.
The night before Queen Capella had appeared to him, Polaris, and Venus and explained everything that was going to happen. She said she had told Kaiyan in a dream that the day of the training battle was the day for him to fulfill his role as the chosen one. He was to wait for a signal before unleashing his power and destroying all the Saiteimians. That signal was to be given by Gemini, who was ready and waiting to use the secret weapon he had created to draw all the Saiteimians on the planet to Sidonia. Queen Capella then masterfully used her power to enter the minds of all the slaves on the planet and inform them of what was going to happen and to be prepared to flee to safety. Epsilon was in awe of her power. She was worlds above him and his ability to read minds.
Once Zeiniko, who was once again the announcer of the training battle, had gone through the ritual of presenting the royal family, Kaiyan made his entrance. For a moment it felt like a dream repeating itself, with the agonizing suspense that it would turn into another nightmare. But instead, before his opponent was even introduced, Kaiyan made the first move and drew his sword. He peered at his family sitting above with a hard stare and used both hands to bend the blade in half. His palms bled from its sharpness and he dropped the sword on the sand.
“Vudran,” he said in a powerful voice. “Oie luh’d pnaug sa!”
At this Emperor Zeito drew himself up in his chair, his face tight and black eyes squinted as if he was about to erupt. He gave Zeiniko a brisk nod and Zeiniko headed toward the ring. The audience began to murmur and Epsilon suddenly felt nauseous. He sensed a different vibe coming from Zeiniko…an even worse one than usual.
While strolling toward the ring, Zeiniko stopped, turned, and walked back toward where Zeito and Ila sat. Prince Seizion watched him intently then slowly got out of his seat and moved away from the royal family platform.
“What is going on?” Polaris asked Epsilon.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “Something isn’t right.”
Once Zeiniko reached Zeito, he went around his chair and stood behind him with a glowing smile on his face. Whatever he was so happy about, it couldn’t have been good and he grinned down at Kaiyan. Then he laid his hands on Zeito’s shoulders.
“Oh, my cousin, my cousin,” he said, his voice vibrating all the speakers in the stadium. “Do I have one heck of a treat for you today.”
“Zeiniko, what are you doing?” Zeito asked.
“I’ll explain,” Zeiniko said, patting him on the back. “Just sit there and shut up. Can I have everyone’s attention? I want you to look at this man right here. Yes, that’s right…Emperor Zeito. He just ordered me to kill his own son, but I’m not going to. See, he thinks his little rebellious son is the problem here, but he’s not. Zeito himself is the problem. If you were smart Zeito, you would’ve figured out the truth about your own sons. First of all… Prince Seizion isn’t your son. He’s mine.”
The crowd began to buzz and Zeiniko said, “Wait, I’m not finished. Secondly, your little ‘Kimtah’ Kaiyan is being controlled by a powerful enemy. How stupid could you be for not figuring out who that enemy is? They’ve been right in front of you the whole time. But why should I tell you who they are? If Kaiyan wasn’t under their control he would be the most vicious and powerful Saiteimian alive and you would use him to your advantage. That’s something I can’t let you do. Today is the day I take my rightful place as Emperor and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
The audience was shouting now and Venus covered her ears with her hands. Epsilon’s heart began to beat so fast it felt as if his ribs were about to burst apart and Polaris grabbed his arm, digging her nails into his skin.
“What do we do?” she asked, her face white with fear. Epsilon looked around anxiously, breaking out into a cold sweat when a little boy wearing a brown cloak and hood on his head came rushing down the aisle.
“Mr. Evon,” he said struggling to speak over the noise. “I have a message for you…you and your family have to get out of here right now.”
“Hey, I know you,” Venus said pointing at the boy. “You’re-“
“Get out of here now!” the boy said. “Follow me!”
Epsilon grabbed Polaris and Venus and they ran up the stairs together. The boy followed closely behind and whenever someone blocked their way, he would stretch out his hand and everyone trying to stop them would be pushed aside. When they got to the enormous stadium doors, the boy pushed them open with ease and ran down the hall.
“Hurry!” he shouted. “We’ve got to get out of here!”
They raced down the hallways, still hearing the pandemonium in the Battle Arena, until they reached the entrance hall.
“Kid, once we get outside they’re gonna be after us,” Epsilon called. “Where do we go?”
“I’ll show you!” the boy said over his shoulder.
They ran between the four black marble pillars when an arm whipped out from behind one of them and hit Epsilon in the face. It knocked him off his feet and he fell on his back.
“You can’t leave now,” Zeiniko said, coming out from behind the pillar. “We haven’t had a little chat yet.”
Polaris gasped in horror and pulled Venus close to her. The hooded boy lunged toward Zeiniko but Zeiniko raised his palm and the boy was suddenly thrown back against a wall.
“Boy, I didn’t even have to touch you to take you down,” Zeiniko said “Pitiful.”
He reached down and grabbed Epsilon by the front of his robe and pulled him to his feet.
“So come on. Let’s talk,” he said in Epsilon’s face. “Did you think I wouldn’t figure out who you really are? Huh? You are a smart guy, Evon, I’ll give you that, but you’re a fool for thinking you could pull this all off without getting caught.”
“Zeiniko!” a voice shouted, and one of the doors in the entrance hall swung open. Zeito marched in with Ila behind him and he looked ready to draw blood.
“Zeito, you’ve come just in time to join the conversation,” Zeiniko said with a smile. “Here’s your traitor right here.”
“You’re the traitor, Zeiniko!” Zeito bellowed. “You’ve just humiliated me in front of my people and now you’re trying overthrow me! How can you even dare to do such a thing?”
“That’s easy,” Zeiniko replied. “I don’t like you, I never did like you, and I never will like you. You and your wife over there. You two are idiots. All these years and you never figured out the truth, but let’s talk about it. Ila is very pretty, no doubt about it...even prettier than her sister, Mia. But Mia found out after she was engaged to the Emperor that her little sis was going to have a baby boy and the father was the Emperor’s cousin and she became so jealous that she decided when she became Empress, she would force them out of the castle. Now as chief advisor, I couldn’t have her forcing my son and me out of the castle. So I silenced her for good and her little sister took her place as Empress, pretending to be pregnant from the Emperor himself. Fooled you good, didn’t she?”
Zeito looked at Ila in contempt. “You always were deceitful and useless.”
“You’re the fool for not noticing,” she snapped at him.
“Don’t be so sour about it, Zeito,” Zeiniko said, smirking. “You know as well as I do that we have marriage reserved only for royalty and to keep the bloodline pure. Nothing we did was illegitimate at the time. Not that you care anyway. ”
“So what now? Are you two going to run off together?” Zeito asked him.
“No, I think she’s useless as well,” Zeiniko said. “Now that disgrace, Kaiyan? He’s totally your son and one big failure. You didn’t see that he was being controlled from the beginning and when some suspicious Vecsyan family comes around, all you do is stare at the pretty wife. You didn’t suspect Sir Evon for a minute… or should I say King Epsilon?”
With this he reached into one of Epsilon’s eyes and pulled his brown contact out.
“Look,” he said holding Epsilon so that they could see his face. “The blue-eyed ruler of Saihami himself… King Epsilon Eridani. Their ancestors were quite the pests to our race many years ago. You should have paid more attention to the castle archives, Zeito. ”
He pulled Epsilon closer and said, “Where you looking for something a month ago?” He reached under his cape and pulled a little black box out. “Could it have been this?” Epsilon’s heart sank. He was holding up the communicator Pollux had given him.
“”You don’t need it,” Zeiniko said, closing his hand and crushing it. “I’ve already dispatched my soldiers to your planet. It’s my way of repaying you for trying to destroy us.”
“Who do you think you are, Zeiniko?” Zeito said. “Have you forgotten your place?”
“Oh please, Zeito, wake up,” Zeiniko said. “My place should be on the Emperor’s throne.”
“What makes you think anyone would accept you as Emperor over me?” Zeito asked.
“You’re a fool, Zeito,” Zeiniko answered. “You’re completely oblivious to everything. You see only what you want to see. You welcomed King Epsilon and his family here. Have you forgotten that we’re not like them? Look…” He gestured to Polaris and Venus, who were clutching each other and shuddering. “Look how they cling to each other when they’re afraid. It’s pathetic. What were you thinking when you got involved with these people, especially King Epsilon’s wife?”
“I would like to know as well…” Epsilon said in a quiet angry voice. “…what went on between you two.”
“Zeiniko is getting ahead of himself,” Zeito replied. “Nothing happened between us. I have no reason to lie about it.”
“Nevertheless,” Zeiniko said. “It was as if you wanted to become one of them, displaying weak emotions. There’s no room for weakness in an Emperor. And as for you, Empress… you’re just like him. You fell for King Epsilon as well.”
“Yes, but nothing happened between us either,” Ila said.
“What does it matter?” said Zeiniko. “Both of you were blinded by these people. How could that happen? We’re a race that lives only for power. We care about ourselves and no one else. Since when did everyone go soft? Am I the only one here that sees this?”
“You’re so full of yourself, Zeiniko,” Zeito said. “If you rule with such an attitude, your kingdom will fall apart.”
“On the contrary, my kingdom will be twice as strong as yours,” Zeiniko said. “And now that everyone knows how weak you are, they’ll gladly accept me as Emperor.”
“This isn’t over yet,” said Zeito. “Finish King Epsilon so I can deal with you next.”
“No,” Ila suddenly said. “Don’t…don’t hurt him.”
“Listen to that, Zeito,” Zeiniko snickered. “She doesn’t want me to kill him. Isn’t that sweet?”
“I’m pregnant,” Ila blurted out. “…with triplets.”
“Well, well, well!” Zeiniko laughed. “I wasn’t expecting that!”
“Who’s the father, Ila?” Zeito asked. “Is it Evon?”
“No, it’s you, you fool!” Ila said to him. “Someone switched my birth control pills with sleeping pills.” She looked at Epsilon. “Was it you, King Epsilon?”
Her voice sounded pained, and Epsilon gazed at her for a moment before saying, “I only wanted to create a distraction for you, Ila.”
“Clever,” said Zeiniko. “Not that it matters, really. I’m gonna get rid of them two once I’m done with you, King Epsilon.”
“How do you plan on doing that?” Zeito asked. “Have you forgotten that we’ve fought before and you lost?”
“That was a long time ago,” Zeiniko said. “Plus this time you’re against me and my army.”
“Where’s Kaiyan?” Epsilon suddenly asked.
“Seizion is keeping him busy,” Zeiniko answered. “So don’t think he’s going to rush in and save you all.”
They heard a groan and turned to see the hooded boy getting up. The hood slid off his head and his red hair fell over his face. He looked up at Zeiniko and gritted his teeth.
“Hey kid,” Zeiniko said. “I couldn’t help noticing your black eyes… and that red hair… I remember seeing it before. Was your mother’s name Bella?”
The boy looked shocked. “Yes.”
“Ah, that Bella,” said Zeiniko. “She was a pretty one. It’s too bad she was Vecsyan. Then I wouldn’t have had to shut her up permanently for running her mouth.”
“Oh no,” Venus whispered, remembering the day she met Gemini’s friends and the boy that was half-Saiteimian. “Shen-li!” she cried.
Shen-li glared at Zeiniko. “You’re my father?”
Zeiniko smirked. “Do I disappoint you?”
“No!” Shen-li shouted. “My mother would’ve never been with someone like you!”
“She didn’t want to be but she had no choice,” Zeiniko said. “You wouldn’t understand, kid. I never knew she gave birth to a son though.”
“How many kids you got running around, Zeiniko?” Zeito asked. “You can’t even keep track.”
Zeiniko looked at Epsilon. “By the way, King Epsilon, your friend Tyren won’t be delivering here ever again. You can’t deliver if you’re dead.”
Epsilon stared at him with hate. “You’re a monster.”
“Yes, that’s how Zeiniko is,” said Zeito. “He can’t do anything without creating a giant mess.”
“Gemini,” Shen-li suddenly said. He pulled up his sleeve and spoke into the watch on his wrist. “Gemini… do it. Now!”
Zeiniko looked at him. “What’re you mumbling about, kid?”
“Now, Gemini! Do it now!” Shen-li cried.
Zeiniko’s smile faded and a pensive expression crossed his face. “Who are you talking to?” He dropped Epsilon and began to walk toward Shen-li. “What are you trying to do?” he said louder.
“Now, now, now!” Shen-li screamed.
A low rumble echoed throughout the room, and the floor trembled under their feet. The four pillars cracked and the lights flickered.
“What’s happening?” Zeito asked.
“Run!” Shen-li cried. One of the lights fell and shattered beside them. Epsilon grabbed Venus and Polaris and ran for the castle’s main entrance. A crack split through the marble floor and stones began to fall out of the walls. When they reached the castle’s doors, there was a thunderous crash and they looked behind them to see that the entrance hall had caved in. Rubble and dust flew down the hallway toward them at such a speed that they couldn’t escape it and covered them. It was suffocating and so thick, they couldn’t see each other until the castle’s massive metal doors buckled and fell. Suddenly brown sunlight poured through the swirling dirt, and Shen-li ran outside calling for them to follow him.
“What is going on?” Epsilon asked him as they ran.
“Gemini set off ‘Nodis’,” Shen-li said coughing and spitting up dust. “The secret weapon he and his team have been working on all this time.”
They dashed down the hill to watch in terror as the castle’s immense walls and gates slowly crumble to the ground, creating enough noise to wake the dead. The ground shifted under their feet in waves, causing them to stumble repeatedly and clanging echoes coming from the distance nearly made their ears blister. The skyscrapers of Sidonia were collapsing into piles of twisted metal.
“We have to go north!” Shen-li shouted. “Come on!”
They climbed over the rubble left from the disintegrated wall and ran around the castle. While they were running, they heard an enormous piercing sound and looked to see the giant dome over the Battle Arena stadium shatter. The huge glass pieces seemed to fall in slow motion and the crowd inside made a commotion that was deafening. When they reached the back of the castle, Tyren’s truck was parked next to the loading dock with clouds of smoke puffing out of the muffler. Shen-li rushed up to it and opened the driver door.
“You drivin’, kid?” Epsilon asked.
Shen-li nodded. “Gemini didn’t have the key of course, so he did something with the wires and left the engine running. Please get in.”
The four of them climbed into the truck and Shen-li pushed the gas pedal to the floor and drove down the dirt road toward Venus’ school. The truck kept bumping up and down as the ground shook and Epsilon’s head banged against the window.
“Crap, that hurt,” he said, wincing. Polaris looked at him worriedly but didn’t say a word and Venus peered at Shen-li who stared straight ahead as he drove.
“Who sent you, Shen-li?” Epsilon asked, rubbing his head. “You arrived just in time at the stadium to help us out.”
“Gemini sent me there,” he replied. “He said I should go to the training battle in case anything bad happened. But he didn’t know that all this was going to happen…”
“You mean about Zeiniko?” Epsilon asked.
Shen-li nodded. “We didn’t know Zeiniko was going to betray Emperor Zeito, especially today. I never thought Zeiniko was my father…”
“I’m sorry about that,” Epsilon said. “I know that was hard to hear.”
“It’s okay,” Shen-li said quietly.
After a moment Epsilon asked, “Where are we going?”
“We’re going to the mountains in the north. It’s safe there,” Shen-li said. “But we have to drive through Sidonia first.”
“Will that be a problem?” Epsilon asked.
“It might,” Shen-li said, speeding past Venus’ school, which was a heap of bricks.
“What about Kaiyan?” Epsilon asked. “When will you give him the signal?”
“When the Saiteimians begin to gather,” said Shen-li. “It shouldn’t take too long.”
Epsilon glanced out the window. “Yes…that Nodis weapon is causing a lot of destruction.”
“’Nodis’ is ‘Sidon’ spelled backwards,” Shen-li said. “Gemini made up the name.”
“Where is Gemini?” Epsilon asked.
“He’s hiding underground,” Shen-li replied.
The truck suddenly barreled down a hill of rocks, and slammed into a series of metal shacks. Polaris let out a shriek and covered Venus’ face with her robe. Streams of people ran past; most were bone-thin and sick with yellowed skin and sunken eyes. They clawed at the windows and doors of the truck, screaming in foreign languages and throwing debris at the windshield.
“We’re back in the city. This is the section where all the slaves live. They must be running to safety,” Shen-li said. “We just ran over some of their homes. They probably think we’re Saiteimians.”
“They’re all skeletons,” Epsilon said staring, and just then someone spit on the window where he was sitting.
“They hate Saiteimians,” Shen-li said. He didn’t slow down and drove right though the crowd, beeping the horn. The slaves leapt out of the way and finally he turned onto a cement road, swerving around heaps of burning steel left from the collapsed buildings. Smoke seeped into the truck and Polaris began to cough.
“When is all this shaking going to stop?” Epsilon asked, rolling his window halfway down. “I didn’t think Gemini was going to cause such chaos. He’s practically flattened the entire city.”
“It’ll stop when he turns off Nodis,” Shen-li answered. “…He’ll shut it down soon.”
He drove over a mound of crushed concrete and up a steep hill. For the next half an hour they were on that hill, speeding higher and higher up and when Venus peered out the window, she could see the entire city of Sidonia. It no longer looked like a city but more like a burning graveyard and the sky was darkened from all the smoke.
Shen-li then stopped the truck abruptly and jumped out.
“Come with me,” he said. He ran up the rocky hill and when they got out of the truck, they saw that he was running toward a small cave. The opening was small and Epsilon had to stoop to fit through, holding Polaris and Venus’ hands as he walked. A lantern was lit in the rear of the cave and Shen-li sat beside it. He let out a heavy sigh and hung his head.
“What now?” Epsilon asked.
“We wait ‘til all the Saiteimians come to Sidonia,” he said quietly. “Then Gemini will give a signal to destroy them all.”
“That might take a while,” Epsilon said, sitting on the stone floor. Polaris and Venus sat beside him, watching Shen-li stare at the lantern. They sat in silence for a long while, calming their racing hearts and listening to Sidonia collapsing. The ground still shook, and the pebbles scattered around the floor of the cave bounced up and down. Shen-li drew up his knees and buried his face into his arms.
“What’s wrong with him?” Polaris whispered to Epsilon.
“He’s depressed,” Epsilon said silently. “He doesn’t want to believe Zeiniko is his father. Just like I don’t want to believe you and Zeito had a thing for each other.”
Polaris looked into Epsilon’s eyes. Since Zeiniko had pulled one of his contacts out, one was brown and the other one was blue. The blue one she hadn’t seen in months and she gazed into it before saying, “What Zeito said was the truth. Nothing happened between us.”
Epsilon nodded to himself. “Alright.” He lay down to take a nap. Venus looked at Shen-li. She could’ve sworn she heard him crying, and she knew exactly how he felt.



A loud horn woke them up an hour later and the ground stopped trembling. Shen-li rose and cautiously peered out the entrance of the cave.
“Looks like an army is gathering together at the castle,” he said. “They’re arriving in swarms. It won’t be long now.”
Epsilon poked his head out. “Half of the castle has been demolished and the city is almost completely destroyed. They must be enraged trying to figure who is causing all this.”
The top of the castle’s north tower suddenly exploded with a resounding boom, shooting fire and rubble high up into the air and Polaris let out a shocked gasp. Epsilon looked at Shen-li. “What in the world was that? Was that the signal?”
“No,” Shen-li said, his black eyes searching the horizon. “The signal is supposed to be a f-“
They heard a loud hissing sound, then an echoing pop. A bright red orb floated in the air over the smoking city, lighting up the sky.
“A flare…” Epsilon said.
Shen-li jumped up. “I have to cover the cave entrance quick.” He ran outside and disappeared for a minute before coming back carrying a huge rock that was bigger than him. He turned around and walked into the cave backwards, covering the entrance with the rock. They huddled in the back of the cave, expecting more deafening explosions.
“This is it…” Epsilon said. “This is when Kaiyan is supposed to destroy all the Saiteimians.”
They sat and waited anxiously. The lantern flickered and Polaris shut her eyes. Epsilon held his breath while Shen-li pulled his hood over his head and covered his face with his hands. After a while Venus glanced up in puzzlement, and Epsilon looked at Shen-li. “This is taking a lot longer than I thought.”
Shen-li brought his hands away from his face, appearing puzzled and a voice then spoke coming from his watch. “We have a problem.”
“Gemini?” Shen-li said. He held up his wrist and spoke into his watch. “What’s happening?”
“He’s not doing it,” they heard Gemini’s voice say.
“Who?” Shen-li asked.
“Kaiyan,” Gemini said. “He’s not destroying them.”
“Why not?”
“He doesn’t want to.”
“What?” Epsilon nearly shouted. “He’s refusing?”
There was a pause and Gemini said, “Yes. He said he’s not gonna do it.”
“No, no, no, this is not supposed to happen,” Epsilon said his voice cracking. “Tell me please this isn’t happening.”
“I’m sorry,” said Gemini. “I have to create a distraction…I have to power Nodis back on. I’ll contact you later.”
Polaris looked at Epsilon, her eyes glazing over. “Do you know what this means?”
He felt his heart begin to hurt as if someone shoved a knife through it and left him helpless to die. He pinched his eyes shut and forced himself with all his might to focus and break the barriers on Kaiyan’s mind.
“Forget your emotions, Kaiyan,” he said out loud. “They’re clouding your judgment. You have to do this for us and for everyone. Please don’t let us down. Everyone’s counting on you. Please help us. We’re begging you!”
A response suddenly came back to him.

Stay out of my head.

Epsilon opened his eyes. “Shen-li, is there a way we can reach Gemini if we leave now and drive back to the city?”
“There’s an underground tunnel near here that leads to where he is,” Shen-li said.
Epsilon drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He looked at Venus for a long moment and pulled the other brown contact out of his eye. Then his sea blue eyes grew teary and he slowly smiled.
“Hey, love,” he said stroking her cheek. “What do you wanna be when you grow up?”
Venus looked at him in bewilderment. “A princess, I guess.”
He swallowed and nodded, gazing at her with pride. “Then that’s what you’re gonna be.”
Something struck her over the head, and Venus felt herself fall to the cold stone floor. Everything before her eyes went black and all that could be heard was the sighing wind carrying the smell of destruction with it.



Venus had a dream so vivid, it felt more real than reality itself. She saw her parents sitting side by side, smiling smiles that obviously masked their pain, and her father spoke:

“Hey, baby girl. Please forgive me for hitting you. I had to make you fall asleep and I’ll tell you why. Ours plans didn’t work like they were supposed to today. Kaiyan didn’t destroy the Saiteimians so now the Vecsyans are going to war against them. Some Saiteimians are going to Saihami to destroy it and our people are going to war against them too. War is a very bad thing for a little girl like you to have to live through. It’s too dangerous for you to go home and it’s too dangerous for you to stay here. So, with Gemini’s help, I’m sending you away… far away where you’ll be safe. You’re going to a place called Earth and you’re going to live there for a while. Someday your mother and I might catch up with you. But I don’t want you to suffer from missing us so I’m taking your memory away. When you wake up, you won’t remember us or anything that has happened. Your mother has left you a gift. When you wake up, it’ll be hanging around your neck. It won’t make sense to you, but someday you might get your memory back and you’ll know why she gave it to you. We love you very, very much, Venus. Good bye.”