Epilogue
Rath
“So Rath, Tusk, enjoy rattling around in that big, old shard with your lying, duplicitous, so-called soldiers…”
I pause the video, having watched it a dozen times over. Krush’s expression is so unbearably smug and triumphant it should anger me, but all I can feel is a certain level of admiration. “We’ve been outplayed.”
We knew there was some feral korabi activity in central Megaris. We never linked it to Krush and Jax. We thought they would hide, or perhaps run away to live harmlessly out in the wilds. Nobody thought Krush cared enough for the throne to reclaim it, let alone build an entirely new one.
Tusk is furious, and in denial. “We still have the official capacity. Rath is the legal king of Megaris. When it comes to external trade and diplomacy…”
“Krush will have those channels open soon enough. He will force them to choose, and they will not choose us. We have no legitimacy.”
"She's pregnant,” Lyric gasps. “How is that possible?”
“It shouldn’t be possible,” Tusk growls. “Korabi and humans are not genetically compatible. Humans have forty-six chromosomes. Korabi have a hundred and twelve. Whatever she is pregnant with is not the next heir to the korabi throne. It is a monster. Let them have their imaginary happily ever after. Theirs would not be the first beautiful romance ruined by the arrival of an infant.”
“Fuzkin’ hell,” Lyric breathes. “That's dark. It’s also possible that nature has found a way to blend the two species and create something greater than either. Their child could be something beautiful, a melting moment between our two species, a genetic bridge across the divide. It’s possible they will find real joy in raising their family, and usher in a new era of peace in Megaris.”
Tusk gives me a long-suffering look. “These humans are obsessed with romance,” he says. “It is perhaps their greatest weakness.”
“And also their greatest strength,” I reply.
It is romance that brought Jax and Krush together, romance which prevented him from slaughtering her, and romance which has allowed them to remain strong in spite of what should have been overwhelming adversity.
I have been bested, but I have never been so proud, or so pleased. I can see Tyvian hovering at the edge of the crowd. He flickers a wink at me. We had one mission, a very long time ago, and I’d say we just succeeded at it rather well.
* * *
Three years ago…
“Rath. Boy. Come to me.”
My king is unwell. He has not been healthy for some time. It is becoming quite obvious that his end is coming one way or another. Krash was once a powerful monster. Now he is a wizened monster, and perhaps more dangerous than ever.
“What is it, sire?” I go to one knee, prepared to do whatever he commands.
“My son is no king. He is lazy and he is entitled. He will need to be forced to claim the throne through his own means. If he is allowed to simply succeed me, he will let Megaris fall into indolence and decadence. Millions of lives will be ruined.”
“What would you have me do, sire?”
“You must make it difficult for him, do you understand? You must be the villain in his play. You must become the thing he needs to destroy. There is no other way.”
Back in a Megaris with two palaces, one of them made of trash…
Tyvian sidles up to me. “I don’t think this is how Krash intended for this to play out, but I think it works.”
I took Tyvian into my confidence a long time ago. There are a small handful of us, korabi knights who are sworn to keep Megaris safe. Our order is a secret from everybody besides those who are part of it. We do not act in our own interests, or in the interests of any monarch. We act to protect Megaris, and we do so at any cost.
There are still a few loose ends to be tied up, if not tightly bound, at least briefly teased out.
“What about the human housewife?”
“She is in the human suite, still grieving her old life.”
“Any indication she is a ruthless assassin who wore a korabi suit to murder one of the potential brides?”
“Not yet, but I do think there is more to Margaret than meets the eye. She is a woman who has suffered greatly, and in my experience, females who suffer become more adept at keeping secrets than the most well-trained spy. Tusk believes he tracked the assassin to her house. It may be that she was involved. I just don't know how.”
“Something to keep an eye on.”
“Yes.”
I smile at my oldest friend. “We’ve served king and city, even if none of them know it, and all is well. For now, at least.”
“Happily ever after, wouldn’t you say?”
“I would,” Tyvian smirks. “I would.”
Jax and Krush have their happily ever after, but life goes on in Megaris and there are many more tales to tell, like the one of Margaret, the human housewife dragged from painful obscurity to korabi custody who finds herself in Tyvian’s care. Or the tale of how Tusk is very certain he does not mind that at all because he is absolutely not invested in the crying human because he is above that sort of thing. He does not like humans. He certainly could never find himself in love with one. Right?