I tucked the vial into my pocket, saying, “I have an idea. We’ll go to my brother at NordHaven and introduce ourselves as defectors from VBione Corp. We’ll say that the cure was already made, but Emell was withholding it. This pins the whole fiasco on her. They’ll have no choice but to arrest her. Even if the investigation into Mama’s death goes nowhere, at least Emell will be behind bars.”
“I like your thinking,” Roki said. “Let’s get to it!”
We left Lithern Shrine feeling like the saviors of the world, holding hands as we soared across the sky toward NordHaven. Once there, Roki unmasked us. The butler announced us to the household, and Tissa arrived after fifteen minutes, Rein and Forschi in tow. The canines barked with excitement.
“Hello. We’re in mourning and meant to be in quarantine, so this had better be good. How can I help you?” Tissa asked. The dogs flopped down on the floor, their wee eyes watching me expectantly. Tissa looked like a whole new person. Had she always worn so much makeup? Her clothing seemed to be getting frillier and frillier each time I saw her.
Yes! I wanted to scream. Yes, Tissa. You can give me a hug!
But I had to keep my composure. I said, “My name is Cerna, and this is my associate Roki. We were the lead designers on the cure for the KS3 virus. We finished human trials yesterday, but the owner of the company, Emell, has refused to allow the cure to be released to the public. We think she’s bent on world domination or something. So we reproduced the cure on our own and brought it straight here, hoping that Gaard-Ma and Gaard-Elder would help distribute it.”
It was a lot. Tissa gaped at me, looking like I had just slapped her in the face. “You’re serious?”
“We are,” Roki said. “The queen herself tasked us with this before—”
“Then get in here right now! What are you doing dallying outside like a couple of salespeople?” Tissa gestured for us to enter, then shouted into her visin, “Raad, we have a cure. Forget the quarantine and get down here as soon as you can.”
Tissa gave us a sad look. “Sorry, but as you know, Gaard-Elder’s sister—you know, the queen of Geniverd—was killed last night. He’s obviously not in the best shape.”
“We understand,” I said. I was overwhelmed by the wish to reveal myself. It was hard not to.
Tissa turned to Roki. “Funny, the late queen had a friend called Roki.”
Luckily, Raad joined us in the parlor at that moment, and Roki didn’t have to reply. When we handed over the cure to him, I wanted to hug my brother and erase the sadness from his eyes. I wanted to celebrate our triumph with my family and friends, but I couldn’t. I had to sit before them as a stranger and give him all the gritty details of Emell’s operation.
“And you’ll sign a testimony saying Emell designed KS3, unleashed it on the people of Geniverd, then refused to release the cure?” Raad asked.
“We will,” I said.
Raad didn’t answer. He was in go mode. He held up his finger for silence as he called someone on his visin and started talking. “I need a team to meet me at the VBione Corp main factory to reproduce the cure for the KS3 virus … Yes … Yes, the cure. I also need a team to arrest Emell again. This time we’re not letting her go. I’ll be at the factory in fifteen minutes.”
Raad ended the call, leaned forward, and squinted at me. “You remind me of my sister,” he said. “Not your body or your face, but your eyes. Yeah, you have the same eyes. It’s like … I don’t know how to explain it.”
Raad shook his head, got up from the sofa, and said, “I’m sorry, Cerna, I’m grieving and acting weird. But I have to go now to deal with this cure situation. Thank you for bringing it to me. I’ll have someone write a testimony for you to sign. Probably tomorrow. Emell will never see the light of day again for what she’s done.”
I was glad to hear it. Raad and Tissa left, the dogs following closely behind them. Roki and I lingered a moment in the empty parlor. “I’m happy we’re finally getting justice for Mama,” I said. “I’m also happy Raad will be the one to save the world, not Emell or Lordin.”
“Me too,” Roki said. “Can you imagine if they had gotten away with this? It would have been a travesty. Still …” Roki sighed, clearly stressed out. “There is the war in Nurlie to deal with. Surrvul is throwing money around and operating from the shadows. We have a lot of loose ends about to catch fire. And speaking of fire, I need to see a friend of mine. I never did tell you I have a dragon for a friend. Anyway, I don’t know what to do.”
“Dragon … Do you mean the one from the news reports, the one burning down noble mansions and clan retreats all over the world?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Roki said with a half smile. “We have too much to figure out. My fire-starting friend can wait.”
“Okay,” I said, and took Roki by the hand. “We will figure it out together. Now that I’m a Min, there’s nothing in the world that can stop us.”
He smiled, took my other hand, and drew me to him. Our eyes met, and it was like an explosion in my heart. Then I realized, Roki and I are finally together. There are no secrets. I’m a Min. I have hundreds of years to be with Roki.
We were standing with our noses almost touching, the heat between us undeniable. Then Roki said in a soft voice, “We have five centuries to explore these feelings. But I was thinking …” He bit his lip, trying not to smirk. “I was thinking that when the selection comes around for the next Crown
