“Wexxon would never,” I replied as I shook my head. “And I…I think I came here by mistake. I…I don’t know. I was in a room, back on Earth. Maybe they were running some kind of experiment.”
“…Can you tell me exactly what happened?” Palqeet seemed genuinely interested in my origin.
And I shrugged as I filled her in on the details. “I walked into a room. The door shut behind me. And then, everything felt…thick. So thick that I couldn’t really breathe. And then, I woke up in the purple sea.”
“Do you have any idea what kind of experiment they could’ve been running?”
“No,” I admitted. “It was my first day on the job. Well, on my internship. Maybe if I would’ve stayed on a bit longer, I would’ve been able to figure it out for myself.”
I then looked over at Palqeet as I asked, “Why? Do you think there’s something else to it?”
“I…” Palqeet’s mouth opened and closed, like she was going back and forth about what she wanted to say.
And I playfully nudged her in the arm, encouraging her to speak. “You can tell me, Palqeet. I’m not going to say anything to anyone. Who else would I even tell besides you, anyway?”
“I wonder if there are more of you,” she murmured. “I wonder if…I wonder if there could be more like you, Rachel. I’m sure by now you’re aware of our proximity to a black hole. It’s just something I’ve been wondering about, whether or not there’s something that connects the dots.”
“I’ve wondered about it, too,” I replied, with a light smile. “But I’m not sure there’s anything to it. Honestly, this whole thing could’ve just been a freak accident. And there’s no way to test it, not without risking—”
“Oh, I never planned on going that far.” Palqeet waved a hand between us. “It was just an idle thought. Something meant to discuss while we ate. That was all.”
I then raised my shoulders before taking a bite of my meal. “Sure. An idle thought. But…if it happened again, if we did get another person from Earth on Xelxar…we should form our own investigative community.”
“Just you and me?” Palqeet smirked.
“Just you and me.” I smirked right back. “Besides, if my time on Earth taught me nothing else, I learned a long time ago that women go a lot faster when they’re traveling together.”
“And what about friends?” Palqeet asked. “How far would you say they go?”
“Friends go even faster than that.” I flashed Palqeet a bright smile, something warming in my chest, something besides the soup that still sent wisps of smoke into the air between us.
“…Rachel?”
Wexxon.
He said my name.
He was saying my name as he sat up in bed, his arm wrapped around his waist. I’d been fast asleep when I’d heard his voice, carrying over to me so softly I’d been certain it was part of a dream. But when I finally opened my eyes, my gaze soon meeting his own, I couldn’t help the way I’d jumped right into his arms, my head burying into the crook of his neck.
“It’s okay, my little warrior,” he murmured, trying his best to comfort me as he ran his hand through my hair. “I’m here. I’ve survived yet another battle—”
“Don’t,” I cut him off as I looked up at him. “You could’ve died, Wexxon. You have no idea how close you were to—”
“No. I know how close I was.” Wexxon smiled. “But it was a calculated risk, my love. If I hadn’t done it, Reddin would’ve killed me on the spot.”
“It felt like he was killing me, too,” I whispered. “When I saw the way you fell in the arena…Wexxon, the crowd was cheering for you to die.”
“Of course they were,” he replied. “In the world my brother created, he was their hero. It’d be the same if a warrior tried to slay me in the arena, too.”
“…What’s going to happen to all those twisted people?” I asked, nuzzling even further into Wexxon’s side. “Are they going to live out in the woods forever? Are you going to force them to come back into the city?”
“Nothing’s going to happen to them.” Wexxon shrugged. “As long as they keep to themselves, as long as they leave us out of their…festivities. I’m not interested in trying to rehabilitate those uninterested in being rehabilitated. Even worse when they subscribe to a version of the truth that is at odds with what we believe in the main city.”
Wexxon then sighed before he went on. “Did they…do you know what they did with my brother’s body?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I didn’t stick around long enough to see. After Aldvirion came to take you back to the castle…I don’t remember much after that.”
“He should be buried alongside our parents,” Wexxon murmured. “If it’s even possible.”
“…You still care for him?”
“I’ll always care for him, my love,” Wexxon answered. “It cannot be helped. Even in the end, even when he wanted me dead…he was still my blood. He’ll always be a part of me.”
Wexxon then paused for a moment, his next words coming out slow. “I was…wondering.”
“Wondering?”
“Do you think it would be too biased for me to introduce a new rule for the arena?”
“What kind of new rule?”
“A rule where siblings are not allowed to face each other, ever,” he continued. “As there is no spouses, no siblings. No one should have to spill the blood of someone they love, not for the entertainment of the crowd. Not for the pride of Xelxar.”
“…I think that’s a perfect new rule, Wexxon.” I smiled up at him as I replied. “No one should ever have to go through what you went through with Reddin—”
“And no one should ever have to endure Reddin’s shame.” Wexxon nodded as he spoke.
“Long live Wexxon the Great.” I smiled even wider before I pressed a soft kiss against his cheek.
And I felt Wexxon pull me even closer to his chest, both his arms firmly wrapped around my frame.
Chapter Seventeen
Wexxon
After I’d woken up, it’d taken me a few more weeks to fully heal.
It’d also taken me a few weeks to convince Aldvirion that my new rule about siblings in the arena should be implemented. He’d spent hours trying to convince me that my decision would’ve been seen as emotional, and I eventually convinced him that I truly didn’t care how it was seen.
All I could think about was Reddin’s face when I’d finally put my blade through his skin.
And in that moment, I realized that no one on Xelxar deserved to know how that felt, even if they were siblings who were certain they hated each other. There wasn’t enough hate in the world to erase the feeling of taking someone’s life, not when they shared one’s blood.
“…Wexxon?” Rachel’s voice was hesitant as she stepped into the training room, her stomach now slightly protruding with our child. “I’m sorry. I’m not interrupting you, am I?”