"If he finds you outside of that Tower, I have no idea what he will do."
Abigail opened her eyes and began walking again. This time, Thalia hurried along after her. The trip back to the tower felt much quicker than it should have. Only once did the girls need to duck into a room to avoid a group of Guards rushing by. Luckily, the Assistant seemed to still be disconnected from the Hive Mind. He was blissfully unaware of the turmoil in the Citadel, and was still happily deferring to His King Qutrax—who was still just Abigail. He still seemed unaware of Thalia's presence. Although the Assistant had been a great help to them, Thalia would not be sorry to see him go. His exuberant presence was at such odds with the tumult in her chest, it made her feel off-balance.
When they reached the bottom of the tower stairs, the group split up. Abigail took the Assistant with her as a guide back to Thruk's quarters. Thalia was instructed to climb the stairs as quickly as possible and secure herself in the Tower at all costs. In a whisper, Abigail reminded her that both Assistants needed to be destroyed to erase evidence of their tampering. Abigail would take care of their guide. Thalia would need to dispose of the Assistant they had left behind in the tower.
She nodded, and only paused a second before beginning her ascent back to her prison. Thoughts whirled through her mind so quickly it was hard to grasp hold of a single one. Her chest tightened uncomfortably, partly from the steep climb and partly from anxiety. By the time Thalia reached the top of the spiraling staircase, she was out of breath and panting hard.
To her surprise, the door was locked. Not knowing what else to do, she rapped her fist against the wooden door three times. She waited a split second, but nothing happened.
"Let me in!" She yelled as best as she could, still winded, "Open the door!" She beat both fists against the wood. When the door suddenly swung inward, Thalia fell through the threshold into a pair of strong white arms. She screamed.
A huge hand clamped down on her mouth. She was bundled in against the strong white chest of an Arktzirax Male. Her field of vision was taken up by that large expanse of white skin. Her captor pulled the door shut behind them as her pulled her into the room.
"Don't scream again, alright?" A deep voice asked. It was familiar, but it wasn't Xieol. It wasn't her crazy, patricidal mate. That was all that mattered. Thalia nodded, and the Arktzirax released her. She stumbled backwards and realized two things very quickly.
One: the Assistant in the corner was now a pile of broken glass and splintered metal, and two: Guardsman Cruft was in her Tower.
"W-What do you want?" Thalia backed away from Cruft slowly. When her back hit the door, she snaked her arm behind her and felt for the handle. It did not budge.
"Princess," Cruft started, but he seemed to notice her flinch. "I'm sorry, I forgot what your name is,"
"Thalia," She responded. "Not that it matters. Your friend is going to kill me, isn't he? Or did he send you to do it?"
The thought that Xieol might think so little of her that he would not even kill her himself was surprising. She had not considered that he may have more important things to do than murder his bride and would probably pass it off to a lackey, or have the Assistants do it. Being called "Princess" had given her an over developed sense of worth. Hadn't Thruk warned her about getting a big head?
"Xieol is not my friend. We were...Well, let's just say a lot has changed very quickly." Cruft's voice was strained, but he seemed to be making an effort not to alarm her. His voice was almost soft, "I don't have time to explain. Would you please just sit down? The door isn't going to open and your fidgeting is making me nervous."
"Making you nervous?" Thalia countered, "You still haven't said whether you're here to kill me or not."
Cruft's black lips peeled back from his teeth in a smile. Her discomfiture seemed to amuse him.
"If I was here to kill you, you wouldn't still be alive." He took a step back and gestured to the large circular bed in the center of the room. "Just sit down. I need to talk to you. We don't have a lot of time."
There was no reason to trust him, but something about the earnest tone in his voice moved Thalia. There could not be much harm in hearing him out. Hopefully. She kept wary eyes on him as she walked around the bed and settled on the window seat. She sat perched on the edge, straight-backed and ready to spring up if he attacked. She had no delusion that she would win in a confrontation with Cruft, or any Arktzirax, but she was determined to go out with a fight.
"I don't suppose you can let me out of here?" She asked stiffly. She already knew the answer, but felt compelled to at least ask, "Or tell me how to get out?"
"No," Cruft responded, his lips pulled back in a sad smile, "I wouldn't have locked the door if I were going to let you out. I...feel for you. I have known Xieol for a long time. He has always been temperamental and recently he has been...changing."
Cruft took a deep breath before continuing, "He was not always like this, and I have been holding out hope that this change is temporary. I see now that my hope was in vain. He has changed in a deep, fundamental way and not for the better. You are going to have to bear the brunt of his temper. For that, I am very sorry."
"Then let me out."
"I cannot do that." Cruft's pity evaporated and he looked at her with a clinical eye, "My Prince is behaving madly, but that does not change the fact that the two of you are the best hope the Arktzirax have. I may feel for you, but I will not let my entire race face extinction due to my emotions. We are not all like him, you know. The Arktzirax are as diverse as the human race, or any other race for that matter. Xieol may not be a prime example in some ways, but he does not represent us as a whole. He may be flawed, but that does not mean our species is not worth saving."
The look in his eyes was pleading, but Thalia just stared back blankly. After a second of rethinking his words, heat rose in her cheeks. She stiffened further on the window seat.
"What?" He noted the blush on her cheeks and cocked his head to one side.
"I don't have any idea how 'diverse' humans are." Thalia returned through her teeth, "I've only met around fifty girls my own age. I have never even seen a male of my own species."
"And I have never seen more than a painting of a female of mine," Cruft returned, but without any heat.
"That is not my fault!" Thalia said, "What did I do to deserve this? What did humans do? I understand that you want to save your people, but what right do the Arktzirax have to destroy my race just to save themselves? Are you all really that blind? Do you really think you are so much better than me?"
It was his turn to look at her oddly.
"We are the advanced species." He said, "The offspring we are producing through our programs are better because of it. We are bettering the human race by mixing it into our bloodline. We are not destroying it."
"By enslaving us? By making us—mate—against our will? By locking us up in space ships, and towers, and drugging us to make us think we are happy about it?"
"I have never spoken with a human before," Cruft seemed confused. "Their mates do not allow it, and unmated females are kept away from us. I always assumed you were much like the Assistant droids. I did not imagine you could converse in this manner, but you seem...quite intelligent."
"I am of moderate intelligence for my kind," Thalia said with a grimace, thinking back to her days on the Quarantine Ship. "All I'm trying to say is that I am not a robot, and I am not a piece of meat. I may be a different species, but I am a person. I am every bit as good as you or your people—"
"You are nothing," Came a dark voice from the door. Xieol stood there, dark storms of grey, red and black whirling beneath his skin. Cruft visibly stiffened, but did not turn to face his Prince.
"You are less than an Assistant," Xieol continued, "less than cattle, and I am done waiting for you to accept that. You do not need to accept it. What you think does not matter."
Thalia floundered for a response. Her rage, shock and fear created a thick cloud she couldn't seem to think through. Xieol was not waiting for a response. He had already turned to Cruft as if she had ceased to exist.
"Guardsman, report," The Prince barked at Cruft.
"The Hive received conflicted reports regarding the movements of the King," Cruft had turned to face Xieol. He kept his eyes respectfully lowered as he continued, "Two assistants were taken off the Hive's radar an hour before the King's assassination. One is still missing, the other I tracked to this Tower. I arrived to find the Assistant malfunctioning and threatening the Princess. I acted in her defense by destroying it."
Xieol's black eyes swept over the room. They took in Cruft, standing near the bed, Thalia perched near the window and the dismembered body of the robot in the corner. When his eyes seemed to linger on her, Thalia lowered her own to the floor to avoid giving anything away. She did not know why Cruft was lying, but she was grateful that he was concealing her escape attempt.
"Then you will be happy to know the other malfunctioning Assistant has been found," Xieol told Cruft, but kept his eyes on Thalia, "Its body was found in General Thruk's apartments. There was strong evidence of tampering. It is obvious that the General has been using the Assistants to spy on my father, and today used the same method to conceal his whereabouts while he assassinated the King."
Thalia let out a gasp. Her head snapped up so quickly her neck cracked. The only outward sign of surprise that Cruft showed was a slight tightening of his white shoulders. Xieol's eyes shifted to the guardsman and bored into his smooth white head.
