Page 81 of The Queen

Ghost took my horse from me and handed back the tablet. “That still doesn’t explain what they were waiting for? If she hesitated at first, what changed?”

Memories of her handing me to the soldier were stark in my mind. The deal was done when she delivered me. But why?

Lex’s gaze was like a physical thing when it landed on me.

I narrowed my eyes at him, curious. “What are you thinking?”

He stopped laying out the bedding pallets on the dry ground. “Was there more in Altaira’s record?”

My heart stuttered, not wanting to open the datapad again. “Yes.”

His brows rose as if saying, ‘Well, get on with it then.’

I scanned my thumb and plopped down on the log next to Shadow by the fire. “I’m not sure what to look for. It just says that the sickly daughter was a beta and had no mate. She did have one child, another beta girl, who took the crown after her mother’s death. That would be the current Imperatrix. During that time, they built The Hive. They entered into an agreement with Pharanax after Pharanax’s queen was… lost, and their planet’s core destabilized. Altaira was in bad shape by then, too. Mass extinction of plants and animals, pollution, and the thinning of their atmosphere drove their population into climate-controlled buildings.”

I dreaded reading further, but something near the bottom of the screen stopped me, and I felt the warmth leach from my face. “Without the omega bloodline, the planet was dying. They rounded up every omega they could find, searching for one that could save them. One that carried the blood of their last omega queen. Soon, they realized that no living omega could accomplish what they needed. Over the following fifty years, they resorted to breeding, cloning, and genetic manipulation, with little success.”

That was what The Hive was for. They weren’t only breeding an army of alphas. They were trying to save themselves. Even if it meant destroying everyone else.

“Wait.” I flipped back to Verden’s record to confirm what I’d seen in the tomb. Eran, Prince of Altaira, mated to Queen Opal of Verden. My family definitely carried Altairan royal blood. It was a long time ago, but maybe someone thought it was enough. There could be more recent ties buried in the records that I missed as well. But it had to be an omega. An unmated omega that was pliable enough to cooperate with their plans. “They were waiting for me.”

Grey sat down on my other side and handed me a nutrition bar. “That’s a possibility. They were very interested in your genetics. What brought you to that conclusion?”

I took it, but my mouth was too dry to eat. “Tests can tell what designation a child is likely to mature into, right?” I ducked his question momentarily, remembering Robin’s baby tested as likely to be an omega, but wanted to confirm it. My theory could be wrong, but I didn’t think so.

“Even a newborn will show markers for potential designations, but for accurate results, the older the subject, the better. There’s no way to be sure until they emerge at puberty.” Grey was studying me, probably wondering where I was going with this.

“But say you just wanted to be reasonably certain.” I nibbled the corner of the tasteless meal bar, waiting for his reply.

“Well, like I said, the older the better, but between the age of seven and nine, the accuracy of the indicators increase significantly.”

“So at eight, tests would give a pretty good idea if a child would emerge as an omega?” My skin prickled with dread.

Grey bowed his head, realization dawning. “There’s no way to be positive, but there is better than seventy-five percent certainty with blood tests over the age of eight.”

The timeline made sense once I considered that. They had to be reasonably sure. They couldn’t risk making a move until there was a high certainty of my designation.

“I have a theory.” I thought through my words before I continued. “First, Altaira sent Edeth to befriend my mother when she was a child and no malicious intent would be perceived. That’s how they fooled the shield. Yes, They wanted to destroy the records or steal them, but that was secondary to what they really needed.” I glanced around and they were all watching me intently.

“They needed an unmated omega with royal Altairan genetics. My mother mated young, and maybe Edeth couldn’t bring herself to go through with it before then, or maybe my father’s family had Altairan blood ties from previous generations and they hoped that would make the difference they needed.” I’d have to look more deeply into that later.

“Once I was born, they had what they’d been waiting for. And Edeth had more incentive. By then, she coveted the crown. With Titus in the picture, that was within reach. All she had to do was murder the queen, burn the library, and send me to the Hive. Along with all the other omegas they could find, just in case. It would be an easy thing to remove Lex’s mother from the picture then, too. I think I know what the Imperatrix is doing. She’s trying to breed their bloodline back into existence.”

The intent faces of my mates had morphed into scowls. Lex shot to his feet, throwing the nutrition bar he’d been eating into the woods with so much force that when it hit the trunk of a nearby tree, the whole canopy shuddered, and stalked into the darkness. I flinched at his anger, but I understood. He’d lost nearly as much as I had that day, and then grown up in the same house as the monster who’d done it.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Saphyra

My head was spinning, grasping at the information I’d found. There were so many more questions now. Could what they were attempting even work? It seemed unlikely, but was it any less than what I’d be willing to do to save my planet? There were times I thought I’d do anything, but maybe not that. Kidnap, murder, dooming other planets to wither and die?

No, maybe not that.

A crack of what sounded like thunder echoed through the sky, followed by a scattering of multicolored hexagons sparking between the clouds.

The armada hadn’t given up, but the shield was holding.

My anxiety was a pit at the bottom of my stomach, but it faded a little more with every failed attempt. Ghost’s insight into the defense technology bolstered my confidence.

---