Chapter 27
MYRA
After days of silence, Myra followed Kolen down the dark, cold hall. Anxiety pounded in her throat as she twisted her hands together, and her footsteps echoed around them.
While Myra had been held inside the cell, she felt the presence of those outside, striding down the hall toward Dr. Thorne's work rooms. Excitement swept across the ground.
At first, Myra had struggled to identify it as such, for she had been deprived of the emotion for so long. Yet it came at her like a lightning strike, piercing and blinding. And she knew then, without a doubt, that the experiment had been successful.
She couldn't help but wonder what she had started.
For days, she waited for the king to call her again. During that time, guilt ate at her. It gnawed on the insides of her stomach and twisted in her throat.
Myra tried to reason with herself. She tried to find the silver lining--that at least with her help, the man wouldn't be in pain and could live in ignorant bliss.
But Myra didn't deserve to identify a reason that would grant her peace in the decisions she had made. Because although she told herself she obeyed the king to protect Mynhos and prevent him from experiencing further harm, how was Myra supposed to live with herself knowing she had aided the king once again?
The truth was, she deserved to suffer inside a cell for the rest of her life.
When Myra and the guard reached Dr. Thorne's work rooms, the king was already waiting for them. If the emotions wafting from the king and staining Myra's skin didn't give away Domitius's excitement, the wide smile would have.
The stretch of his lips made Myra's stomach turn, and bile rose in her throat.
"Your Majesty," Myra said with a short bow. "Did it work then?"
"Oh, it worked wonderfully."
Myra swallowed, shifting on her feet as she kept her gaze rooted to the floor. If the king was in a good mood, perhaps now was the best time to ask. "Can I see my brother again?"
"In due time," Domitius said.
Lips parting, Myra finally lifted her gaze. "But you said--"
At his fierce look, Myra snapped her mouth shut and reined in her irritation as she folded her hands behind her back and dug her nails into her palms.
"You may have done well, but your job is far from over. Your brother is safe," the king said, walking to the door as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. "For now."
"Is there...is there more coaxing that the man needs then for the experiment to be complete?" Myra asked, hating that she didn't even know the previous man's name. But since he had been either unconscious or unable to speak due to the gag whenever she had seen him, there had been no time to gain his name.
"No. The Pontian's transformation has been completed."
"The man was Pontian?" Myra breathed.
"Indeed." The king smiled, but rather than soothing her concerns, it only made them worse. "We are creating something spectacular together. I have been trying to discover a way to accomplish this transformation for decades. With access to Freniza's abundance of scientific research on hybridization and your gift, I have finally succeeded."
"Hy-hybridization?" Myra asked, stammering over the word as the fear dripped into her voice. The nausea rose, and she had to press her hand against her stomach to stifle it.
Domitius nodded.
"Among rulers, it is a well-known fact that the Frenzians hold deep wells of knowledge within their castle walls. But this knowledge expands beyond their advancements in armor and weaponry. The research Sebastian has taken over in his father's absence deals with genetics. Hybridization, to be exact.
"Over the centuries, many farmers have done this accidentally by cross-pollinating different plants, producing new variations. The former King Lothian, however, was particularly interested in the hybridization of animals, specifically dragons."
"I thought dragons were only legends?" Myra asked, dumbfounded.
"Perhaps they are merely legends now , but there was a time when they roamed the world freely. Lothian had made great strides in his research, but what he lacked in gumption, his son excelled at. When he showed Sebastian his research, his son went beyond the research and started experimenting.
"Sebastian has been able to create something akin to a dragon by morphing the genetics of other animals. He calls it a drakonis. While I do not care so much about their pursuit to recreate the legendary beasts, I have found their research beneficial in other ways."
Myra's heart hammered in her chest as Domitius cocked his head and continued.
"You see, I have studied gifts like yours and Kalisandre's for decades, ever since my father informed me about them when I was a mere child. Your gifts are a result of the gods' blood within your veins. But I could never understand why these gifts have always been concentrated in Pontia.
"After all, when the gods came to the mortal world, they traveled and lived throughout Vaneria. And yet, only Pontians have been found to have these unique abilities. For centuries, the Pontians have kept their secrets by secluding themselves from the rest of Vaneria. They have harbored their gifts and kept them from the rest of the world.
"Many think the Great War started one hundred years ago because of a dispute between lords. However, it was actually because the rulers on that little island were afraid their truth would be revealed to the world. They wanted to keep the power to themselves. Selfish of them, don't you think?"
"But I am not a Pontian," Myra whispered, the words slipping out subconsciously.
Domitius smirked, the sinister twitch of his lips only increasing Myra's anxiety. "Ah, you see, that is where you are wrong. Your mother, in fact, was a Pontian."
Myra's brows twisted together. She didn't believe a word the king was saying, and yet...
She thought back to when she first stepped onto Pontian soil. Once on land, as the salt in the air twisted around her, the kingdom felt...familiar. It reminded Myra of her mother, as if spring bloomed there every day.
Myra had thought it was because Domitius hadn't tainted the island, but perhaps she had been wrong. Maybe there was more to it.
"But how do you know that?" Myra asked in disbelief, voice shaking.
"The details of the matter are unimportant. You and Kalisandre are similar in that sense. Always looking for the details. Always wanting to know everything and wanting to understand everything." Scoffing, Domitius waved his hand in the air. "This is the only thing that matters. For decades, I have tried to figure out a way to replicate the abilities, but I have been unsuccessful until now."
The king stepped toward Myra, and she had to force her feet to stay in place as the fear drifting from the room twisted around her ankles.
"You have proven to be most useful. And now that we know that you can do what we need you to, we have rewarded you." He smiled from ear to ear.
"Rewarded me?" Myra repeated, her stomach turning.
"Come." The king turned to the door and opened it, ushering her forward. "Let me show you."
Aghast, Myra stared at the door, blinking.
She did not wish to see whoever it was that lay inside. Her mind was already spiraling.
Somehow, her feet carried her forward even though every nerve in her body screamed for her not to listen to the king. To stop the madness and stop aiding him, for if Myra couldn't break the cycle now, there would be no hope for her ever.
Dr. Thorne set down the syringe and bowed low as Myra and the king entered.
"Your Majesty, everything is in order. We are ready to begin when you are," he announced.
"How is his temperament today?" King Domitius asked brightly.
"It is..." Dr. Thorne hesitated and squinted through his glasses at the ceiling as he searched for an answer. Finally, he sighed. "It is the same as it normally is, Your Majesty. However, I am hopeful that he will tire himself out soon enough. One can only fight for so long as we have seen."
His beady eyes landed on Myra. But before Myra could retreat, Domitius stepped behind her, his presence overwhelming her.
"Isn't that the truth?" King Domitius said in agreement.
Dr. Thorne nodded and turned toward the curtain dividing the room. As the curtain was drawn back, Myra's tongue turned leaden, and her jaw dropped at the sight of the new man strapped to the table.
And for a fleeting moment, relief washed over her because it was not her brother who lay upon the table as she feared but rather the King of Frenzia. Rian's wine-colored hair stuck to his forehead, his brown skin was ashen, and his green eyes were wide and bloodshot as he swept his gaze across the room in a panic.
"Your Majesty?" Myra whispered in horror, her voice no more than a faint breath. "I--I do not understand. He is not a Pontian."
"Good observation," Domitius mused. "I admit, that has been my goal for so long that I did not fathom that there could be other possibilities. But Sebastian's youth has enlightened me. We do not simply seek to harvest powers; we wish to transform normal civilians."
He folded his hands behind his back as he peered at Rian. "The king here has been asking too many questions, and it is time we give him some answers. What better way to do that than to let him go through one of the transformations himself? Let his research and fixation for the legendary creatures finally be of use."
"Does--does the prince know?" She swallowed.
King Domitius chuckled darkly. "The prince delivered King Rian here himself."