"When you told me you love me, did you mean it?" Hailey said.
While standing in the throne room, she held Lena's crown. Her father's former possession.
"That's a dumb question," Lena said. "If you have to ask me that, you really are a fool. But you're not as moronic as that brother of yours."
Even though the High couldn't see her, Hailey fought the desire to glare.
"I'm not a fool," she said. "And it's not a dumb question. You're not always honest. You could've lied and that's why I want to know the truth. I need to hear it. I want to know if you meant what you said. I told you that I will always love you. I meant it."
Yesterday she had tried murdering Lena. That fact was proof she had stopped loving the High.
Did she love the High now?
Hailey knew the answer.
"You lied," Lena said. "Instead of loving me forever, you tried to kill me yesterday. You may be good to me now, but your brother has become a problem. My problem. He even poked my arm with his finger. I haven't forgotten that."
Hailey's mother put a hand on Lena's shoulder.
"If he gets too close to you, I'll push him away," the woman said.
Lena pointed her useless eyes at the floor. She ran a hand through her hair, and the orange strands didn't touch a crown. Hailey held the headwear.
"My father died yesterday," Lena said. She hit the throne's armrest on purpose, scowled. "I can't even grieve in peace."
"I'm sorry," Hailey's mother said. "Nick is giving both of us a hard time. I know exactly how my son is. Trust me."
As for Hailey, she rubbed her thumb against Lena's crown. It had touched her father's blond hair.
Lena's orange hair touched the throne's back, which was taller than she was. The throne stood six feet tall. It was appropriate for a ruler.
"Lena," Hailey said. "My question. Can you answer it? When you told me you love me, did you mean it? Or did you say it so I would want to serve you harder?"
A scoff came from the High.
"Is that what you think?" she said. She shook her head. "You're a fool."
"Fine," Hailey said. "Fine. Here's your crown back."
She stepped closer. After putting the crown on Lena's head, she moved away. Her mother caressed her daughter's hair, touching blonde locks.
"It's okay," Hailey's mother said. She hugged her from behind, kept her close. "You know, Lena, I'm not like your brother. I know you're great. I put that crown on your head because I know you deserve it."
Hailey had yearned for Lena to become like an older sibling to her. They had become sisters.
Nick, Hailey's only brother, had met Lena. Because he had refused to kneel for her, she had slapped him.
Lena was good at meeting Theo's children and then hurting them.
Hailey's mother stopped hugging her from behind. The woman headed toward Lena, stood beside the throne, then put a hand on the High's shoulder.
"I deserve so many great things," Lena said. "What I don't deserve is your son giving me a difficult time. He needs to be reminded that I am his High."
Hailey's mother moved her hand off Lena's shoulder.
"Don't kill him," the woman said.
Nick refused to show his mother affection, yet she didn't want Lena to murder him.
When Hailey and Nick were younger, she had sat on his lap, shared hugs with him, and they had played together. Hailey didn't wish to see Nick lay in a puddle of his own blood.
He was eighteen and he had become ruthless. Hailey couldn't deny it.
"Betty!" Lena said, shouting. "Nick! Get in here!"
The door to the throne room opened. Betty and Nick headed into the large space. They stepped hard enough that Hailey could hear their footsteps from her position near the throne. Betty moved faster than Nick, willing to do whatever Lena commanded her to do. With pleasure, too.
"What is it?" Betty said, talking when she stood five feet away from the throne. Nick stood beside her.
"Read my mind," Lena said.
She had decided she needed to communicate with Betty, without Hailey, her mother, or Nick being included in the discussion.
As Betty focused on Lena, Nick went to stand in front of Hailey. He put a hand on her bare bicep.
"You wanted to attack a Freeman base by yourself," Nick said. "You love that woman over there, but at least you're brave."
Nick had to stop treating his mother as if she had no son.
"That woman is your mother," Hailey said. "When are you going to stop acting like she's not?"
"Nev—" Nick started saying.
"I love you, Nick," his mother said. She donned a frown.
Nick moved his hand off Hailey. He clenched his fists. Betty kept her focus on Lena's face as Nick shook his head.
"Some people don't deserve respect, Hailey," Nick said. "Remember that. Okay?"
Hailey looked at her mother. Then she made eye contact with Nick again.
"Some people do deserve respect," she said. "If someone feels sorry for what they did to you, you should forgive them."
Nick patted Hailey's cheek.
"I hate that you're not like me," he said.
As Betty aimed her gaze at Nick, Lena smiled. It seemed like the Watcher had stopped reading the High's mind.
Nick floated. His body slammed against the nearest wall. An unseen force, the same one that had moved him, kept him pinned.
His blue eyes were shut.
"Nick!" Hailey said. She clutched her blonde locks, and she couldn't control her heart's rapid beating.
"He's not dead, Hailey," Betty said. Hailey fiddled with her fingers. "I can see his heart. It's still beating. Nick is unconscious, my High. I'm keeping him pinned against the wall."
Hailey's mother grimaced. She turned, bowed her head.
Lena laughed.
"Good job, Betty!" she said, excitement running through her voice.
Betty grinned. Her craving to please Lena ran deep, and it was as obvious as the floating boy. Hailey's only brother.
"Nick, I know you can't hear me!" Lena said. "But I want you to know that you aren't clever. You're far from it. Here's some advice. Don't poke a girl whose Watcher has all the Saves, you moron. Be grateful that I'm not going to order Betty to kill you. You're only alive because I need you to be. Some people in this room love you, unfortunately."
Hailey nodded. Her mother kept her gaze pinned on the floor.
"I'm your High, Nick!" Lena said. "I'm High Lena Majestic, and you are going to kneel for me. You're going to do it right now. Betty, bring him closer to me, then make him kneel."
Nick's unconscious body levitated closer to Lena.
When he was close enough to her, Nick's knees met the floor. His head stayed bowed.
"I'm making him kneel for you," Betty said.
Lena stood. Her eyes pointed at Nick, but she couldn't see. Hailey's mother had working eyes. She wasn't like Lena. Regardless, she chose not to watch what Betty did to her son.
"Mother, tell us Nick's age," Lena said. "I already know it, but I want to hear you say it."
"Eighteen," Hailey's mother said, facing a wall. "Nick is eighteen."
"Eighteen years of life," Lena said. "Nick, you're a bit older than I am, but you're not better than me. You never will be."
She patted her chest.
"I'm the Blind High," Lena said. "I highly doubt that I'll see again. And I might never get my powers back. I might never get any new ones, either. But I want everyone here to know that I'm in charge. I'm one of the six Highs. My father made me into a ruler, and he also made a son. A pathetic one. Betty, you can stop making him kneel. I said what I wanted to say."
"Of course, my High," Betty said.
Hailey's mother turned. She saw Nick.
Betty forced the boy onto his back. Hailey's mother scurried toward him, and kneeled. She moved Nick's head onto her lap. Her fingers stroked his blond hair. Unconscious, Nick wasn't able to stop her from touching him.
"My vicious boy," Hailey's mother said. She shook her head. "You have to stop being the way you are."
"You're right," Lena said. "You should find Nova. She would love you. She would give you hugs and kisses, no doubt. Your vicious boy won't. He hates it when you touch him, and he won't even tell you he loves you. Nick isn't like me."
"I have to help my son," Hailey's mother said.
"A better son would deserve your help."
The woman frowned. The girl didn't. Hailey's mother stayed on her knees, Nick's head on her lap.
He had treated Hailey as if she had fought Lock Tannis and failed to kill him. Nick had spoken to her with disappointment.
"He hates that I'm not like him," Hailey said. "That's what he said."
"Some people don't deserve respect, Hailey," Lena said. "That's what Nick said. Ironically, he's one of those people."
As her mother stayed busy with paying attention to Nick, Hailey looked at Betty. She had tried burying a dagger into Lena. The Watcher's mentee.
Betty.
If she aimed stabbing spite at Hailey, the girl hoped it would dissolve.
Would Betty hug her?
Lena's Watcher. Years ago, she had gone to Still, and she had left the planet with Saves. All of them. She hadn't been born as a Pure, but she might as well have been.
Hailey approached her.
"Betty," she said.
The Watcher watched her.
Hailey hugged the woman. As Betty embraced her back, Hailey sighed.
"Thanks for forgiving me," she said, keeping Lena's Watcher close, like her mother had done to her. The blonde woman didn't hug Hailey from behind. Not anymore. "I'll always be sorry for what I did to Lena."
I know," Betty said.
The Blind High.
She had heard Hailey's words. The younger girl hadn't disrespected Lena with her words. No, she wasn't Nick.
The High didn't sit on the throne.
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With Lena's butt off the chair, Hailey looked at its blue seat.
Lena had told Hailey she had sat naked on the throne. Like the nearby crown, the chair belonged to Lena. She could sit naked on it if she wanted to.
Hailey couldn't, unless she wished for Lena to punish her.
The unconscious Nick had kneeled for Lena. The Freemans never had. They supported Lock Tannis. He was their Great Leader. Hard red formed his throne. Hard blue formed Lena's.
What was it like to sit on a throne?
"What's that like, Lena?" Hailey said. She and Betty stopped hugging. "You have a throne. What's it like?"
"It's a symbol of my greatness, obviously," Lena said. "Just like this."
She tapped her crown.
"It's too bad that these symbols of my greatness can't force Nick to kneel," Lena said. "I have a Watcher for that, fortunately."
Nick, unconscious, didn't respond. His alertness was as gone as his respect for his mother.
"As for what it's like to have a throne, it's amazing," Lena said. "I'm a High. I deserve to have a throne and a crown. I also deserve to mourn my father in peace, but Nick doesn't think so."
She smiled.
"Mother, where are you?" she said.
"I'm right here, on the floor," Hailey's mother said. "I'm with Nick."
His head had struck the wall and unconsciousness had claimed him. His eyes were closed. If he awakened soon, Nick would see the space station again. He would do what Lena couldn't.
"Well, get away from Nick," Lena said. "You're going to take me to him."
Hailey's mother moved away from Nick. When she was close enough, she grabbed Lena's hand. The woman guided her toward the spot where Nick lay.
Seconds passed.
"He's right here," Hailey's mother said. Her shoes were near Nick's leg. Lena stood beside her. "He's right in front of you."
"Good," Lena said, then kneeled.
She assaulted Nick's chest with her fists.
Her mother grabbed her. Hailey's heart hammered as the woman forced Lena away from Nick. Her vicious boy.
"Get off of me!" Lena said, restrained. "I'm not done hurting him!"
"I'm not going to let you go," Hailey's mother said.
As for Hailey, she kneeled next to Nick. After slipping her hand into his shirt, she put it against his battered chest. Hailey healed it.
She held Nick's hand.
"I healed you, Nick," she said. "I'm sorry she did that to you. Lena, you didn't have to do that!"
"You beat up an unconscious boy, Lena!" her mother said. "You hurt your brother!"
Hailey got to her feet, turned. Lena stood across her. Hailey's mother hugged her from behind, her arms acting as restraints.
The woman released Lena, and she made the girl face her.
"You hurt my boy," Hailey's mother said, gripping Lena's arms.
Without touching her, Betty could kill Hailey's mother. She stood not far from Lena, ready to come to her defense.
"He was unconscious and you hurt him," Hailey's mother said.
"Obviously." Lena said.
She had slammed her fists against Nick's chest, and the act hadn't smothered her with remorse. Her hatred for her brother hadn't vanished. Hailey had used her power, her only Save, on Nick. Despite his unconscious state, he was okay. He was fine.
"It's okay, Mother," Hailey said. "I healed Nick. You don't have to hurt her."
"Get your hands off me," Lena said, restrained. "What? Do you want to hurt me? Do you want to hurt the girl who hurt your son?"
"I'm not going to hurt you," Hailey's mother said. She touched the crown Lena wore, then moved her hand to the girl's pale cheek. "But it's obvious that Nick isn't the only one who is too ruthless."
The woman moved her hand.
"This isn't what I wanted," she said. "I want my children to get along. It's already bad enough that Anne is with the Lock Tannis Church. I want to get her back, and I need to. I also need my kids to stop fighting."
"The fighting will stop when your son leaves," Lena said. "Well, the fighting between your children will stop when he leaves. There are people who want to kill us, and they're never going to stop hunting us. Lock Tannis is one of them. We have to fight them."
"You can't. You know why."
Lena hadn't been born blind. Yet she had been sightless during her first meeting with Hailey, and her blindness hadn't fled. It stuck with her.
Blind. That was what Lena was.
Saveless. Lena had no powers. Planet Still had stolen her ability to fly and her power to heal wounds. The planet had turned her green eyes gray. It had made her black pupils the same color as her eyes.
"Right," Lena said. "I can't join a battle."
"Because you'll die if you do," Hailey's mother said. "And I can't let that happen. I don't want it to. Leave the fighting to us and everything will be fine. I think that I'll even see your condition go away. What Still did to you ruined your life, but you're going to be okay. One day."
"No, I won't," Lena said. She waved her hand in front of her face. "I can't see my hand when I do this. That's always going to be my reality. You can tell me that everything is going to be okay, but that won't happen. I'm blind. I'm stuck like this. Forever. My Saves are gone, too, and I doubt that I'll gain any new ones. Why won't you understand? This condition of mine is here to stay."
A few days ago, Hailey had met Lena and received pain instead of a sweet hug from her sister Nova.
She had made Hailey into an aunt.
Nova had found a baby Freeman, named him Ben, and loved him. Hailey assumed Nova loved the boy. If she was fortunate, she would meet the baby. Hailey didn't have to use Freeman Killer on Ben.
Her uncle, Ken Herman, loved his sister's kid. His niece. Hailey had to love her older sister's baby. Her nephew.
No one had to use Freeman Killer on Ben, Hailey believed. Nick carried a different opinion. His desire to slaughter the Freemans would make trouble rage.
Hailey's mother put a hand on Lena's shoulder, and walked past her.
"Betty, can you please take my son to Hailey's old room?" Hailey's mother said. "Put him on the bed, too. Nick has spent enough time being unconscious on floors today."
"Of course," Betty said.
She and Nick vanished, teleporting.
If Hailey's father had been in the room, he could have taken his son to Hailey's former room. The man had all the Saves. But he wasn't in the room and Betty was the most powerful ally Hailey could use.
Lena smiled. Her mother went near her.
"I made Nick get taken down two times today," the girl said.
"Yes, today has been really eventful," Hailey's mother said. "You met your brother. You killed two people. And you reunited with Betty."
"I still can't see, though."
Hailey looked at the throne. The light bathed the chair's blue hardness, and only one person in the room hadn't sat on it.
Her mother had sat on the throne. Lena had done the same.
The High wore her second father's former crown. Hailey owned a sword called Freeman Killer, but she didn't have a crown.
A few days ago, she had met Lena. She had shown her adoptive sister royal power.
Hailey had gotten on her knees for a person Nick viewed as a tyrant, and Zoey had kneeled for Hailey. But she hadn't sat on a throne. And no Soynite was obligated to kneel for her.
More words came, Hailey's mother talking. She directed her words to Lena.
Zoey had kneeled for Hailey, and it was something Lena hadn't wanted to happen. The High didn't wish for anyone to kneel in respect for her sister.
Someone moved toward the throne, a symbol of royal power.
A woman and a blind ruler exchanged words as Hailey took steps toward the chair.
After coming close to it, she placed a hand against the armrest. It was hard against her palm and fingers.
She turned.
Then, as her mother and Lena kept their attention on each other, Hailey brought her butt closer to the throne's seat.
She could do it. She could sit on Lena's throne, which belonged to High Lena Majestic. Hailey could move her bottom onto the chair. She could do what her mother had done.
Her hands went to the armrests.
As if Lena had told her she would kill her if she sat on the throne, Hailey's breath trembled.
The chair wasn't hers.
She straightened. And she took quick steps forward, putting distance between herself and the High's unoccupied throne.
"Hailey, why are you walking so fast?" Lena said.
She stepped past Hailey's mother. She pointed her pale gray eyes at Hailey, but saw nothing.
"I was going to sit on your throne," Hailey said, choosing honesty over deceit. "I didn't do it, though. It would've been wrong and I know that."
"You sneaky piece of trash!" Lena said. Her hands formed fists. They shook. "That's why you were showing interest in my throne. You wanted to sit on it. You're not going to get what you want, because I'll never let you sit on my throne. Do you hear me?"
Hailey's mother furrowed her brow.
"Wait, Lena," she said. "I have an idea, actually. Maybe a show of compassion will do some good. For you. If you let Hailey sit on your throne, maybe your condition will go away. Don't you want Still to see you as worthy?"
"Obviously." Lena said.
"Let her sit on your throne."
"Get over here, Hailey."
Hailey, who had almost sat on something she shouldn't have, obeyed Lena.
"I'm here," Hailey said, standing in front of the throne's owner. "And Mother's theory might be right. It's a good idea."
"Get your butt on my throne," Lena said. "Hurry up."
Hailey turned. She advanced toward the only piece of furniture in the room. The blue chair. Her blind sister's throne.
"You should be a lot nicer, Lena," Hailey's mother said. "Your unnecessary rudeness might be stopping you from being cured."
"Don't say that!" Lena said.
Hailey approached the throne. She sat.
"I'm sitting on it," she said. The seat was hard against her bottom, but she smiled. "Lena, are you still blind?"
"Yes, you piece of trash!" Lena said. "Mother's theory didn't work. Get off my throne."
As her sleeveless shirt touched the chair's blue, Hailey rubbed her hands against the armrests. Her heart pounded. But she didn't face an armed Freeman warrior. No, she sat on a throne.
It was hard against her butt. Yet it was great and royal, majestic like the crown on Lena's head.
"Okay," Hailey said. "I'm getting off."
She stood.
"It didn't work," Lena said, sounding like someone had told her Nick had regained consciousness. Her frustration was clear. "I told you, Mother. I'm going to be like this forever."
She stomped the floor.
"This universe isn't ending tomorrow," Hailey's mother said. "There's always going to be time to get you cured, baby."
"When I lost my sight and my powers, the universe might as well have ended," Lena said. "Now I spend my days listening to people come up with theories. There are all of these theories about how to get rid of my condition, but none of them work. I don't get what I deserve. But I did get a sister who tried to sit on her High's throne. My throne!"
She scowled, and walked past Hailey's mother.
"Where are you, Hailey?!" Lena said, as she moved her hands in front of her.
Hailey clapped. Lena moved toward her.
"Hailey, you were going to sit on my throne, without my permission," she said.
"Keep going," Hailey said. "I'm right here. Follow my voice."
"I am, you piece of trash."
Lena came to a stop in front of Hailey.
"What did I tell you?" the High said. "I said that no one will ever kneel for you. No one will ever kneel for Hailey Majestic. I definitely won't. And neither will the Freemans. No one will ever serve you. You serve me. I thought you did, at least. You were going to sit on my throne, sneaky fool. Is that what you are now? A girl who wants to sit on her High's throne and have the power that she does?"
Her mother came close.
"Answer me!" Lena said, clenching her fists.
"I'm sorry," Hailey said.
"You're sorry. I should've known that I couldn't trust you. You tried to kill me. And now you're a sneaky girl who wants to be better than I am. That's not going to happen."
Hailey moved onto her knees. She bowed her head.
"She's kneeling for you," her mother said. She touched the High's shoulder. "Lena, relax. Please."
"Stop commanding me!" Lena said, hurling her words at her mother. "Your daughter here was going to sit on my throne without my permission!"
Hailey lifted her head.
"I didn't, though," she said, as her knees remained against the hard floor. "I only sat on your throne when you gave me permission to. I'm not a High. I serve one, but I'm not her."
No matter what happened, Hailey would never be the Blind High.
"And you never will be," Lena said, spite rushing through her voice. "Why did you try to sit on my throne?"
"You said no one will ever kneel for me," Hailey said. "Zoey did. When she did that, I understood what it was like to have royal power. I wanted to see what it would be like to sit on a throne."
She looked at the throne, which no one sat on. Not even Lena was on it.
"I had to sit on your throne," Hailey said. "I needed to."
Lena didn't lose her scowl.
"You wanted to," she said. "I need to sit on my throne. Not you. That chair over there belongs to, and this crown belongs to me. It felt good, right? You had fun sitting on your High's throne, didn't you?"
Hailey sat on the throne. She had smiled.
The Red Throne. If Hailey saw its owner, Lock Tannis, she would have to kill him. The right to sit on his throne would transfer to her. It needed to.
Peace.
Hailey had to bring it.
"I did," she said. "And there's another throne I want to sit on. The Red Throne. I have to kill Lock Tannis. If I do that, the Freemans will kneel for me and this war will end. Because I'll make it end."
Lena's scowl had vanished. She smiled.
Her mother didn't.
"You're serious," she said. Hailey nodded. "I don't doubt that you can kill him, baby. Lock has to die, and a descendant of Hase Majestic needs to do it."
"No," Lena said. "Any great Soynite deserves to be the next leader of the Freemans. A descendant of Hase doesn't need to sit on the Red Throne."
"But—"
"Leave," Lena said. "Get out of this room. Now."
Hailey's mother crossed her arms, faced the blue wall. She unleashed a sigh. When she left the throne room, Hailey and Lena were still in it.
Kneeling, Hailey made no attempt to leave.
"Mother doesn't want me to kill Lock Tannis," Lena said. She ran a hand through Hailey's blonde hair. "That's because I'm not like you. But I'm not going to apologize for not being a descendant of Hase, and I'm not going to apologize for yelling at you."
"I don't expect you to," Hailey said. "But you should apologize more, Lena. Maybe becoming humble will give you back your sight and your Saves. You're not worthy."
"Be careful, Hailey," Lena said. She gripped Hailey's hair. "I'm fond of you, but be careful."
"It's the truth," Hailey said. "Planet Still doesn't think you're worthy. Are you really going to try hurting me because I told you the truth?"
Lena released her hair.
A noise left Hailey's mouth, coursing with frustration.
"I'm still kneeling," she said, the floor hard against her knees. "Can I rise?"
"No," Lena said. "I'm going to kneel, too."
She kneeled. Blind and royal, her eyes pointed at Hailey's face. Ten years ago, Betty had told Lena what her sightless eyes looked like. No one needed to tell Hailey what her own eyes looked like.
She knew her eye color, but she didn't know if Zoey had a beating heart.
Was she alive?
"Do you miss Zoey?" Hailey said.
"What do you think?" Lena said.
Maybe Zoey had found her birth parents, Archer and Holly. Hailey had met those two a long time ago. But the invasion had raged, and Archer and Holly had failed to reach the Soynite royal palace.
Where were they?
"You disappointed me," Lena said. "You said you will always love me. That turned out to be a lie."
"And you didn't answer my question," Hailey said. "After I saved you from those Freemans, you said that you love me. Did you mean it?"
Lena put her hands on Hailey's cheeks, leaned forward, and kissed her on the lips.
"You saved my life, younger sister," Lena said. She stood. "Rise."
Hailey rose.
"Lena," she said. "Listen, I don't care what Mother said. I don't agree with her. You're right. A descendant of Hase Majestic doesn't have to sit on the Red Throne. I would love to see you become Great Leader Lena Majestic."
"I deserve to," Lena said, as if the Soy Maker had told her she deserved to become the next Freeman ruler. "I don't care what Mother said, either. Of course I'm right. I can never be wrong. Mother is extremely devoted to Father and his bloodline. It's why she only wants a descendant of Hase to kill Lock Tannis. What are you supposed to do, Hailey, when your mother doesn't want you to become the new leader of the Freemans?"
She smiled.
"You ignore what she wants," she said. "If I could, I would kill Lock."
Lock Tannis. A long time ago, he had slain Vice Reaper. A Soynite had become the Freemans' ruler. Many Freemans had left Free.
"Do you still think Freemans who support Vice Reaper took Father?" Hailey said.
"Of course I do," Lena said. "I haven't been able to come up with a better theory. I think that Vice Reaper supporters have our father, and someone has to get him back. If that Watcher of yours were here, I would make her find Father."
Hailey shook her head.
"You don't know Vera like I do," she said. "I was never able to make her look for Father. She always refused to."
Underneath Hailey's shoes was a blue and hard floor. Above her head was a high ceiling.
Did her father stand in a room? If so, what did it look like? Did it have gray walls and a gray floor? Did he hear Soynites wailing in pain?
"I need to see him again, Lena," Hailey said, unable to stop her voice from shaking. "If Freemans are hurting him..."
She embraced Lena.
Hailey couldn't hug her father, and her concern for his safety went undisguised.
She shut her eyes as Lena hugged her back. Hailey bathed in comfort, savored the High's warmth.
The hug broke.
"I'm sorry for what Still did to you," Hailey said, inspecting Lena's blind eyes. She put a hand on the High's shoulder. "And I'm sorry for what I did to you, in this room."
Zoey had slit Hailey's throat to protect Lena. Boris Endman's granddaughter would fight to defend the Blind High. Hailey would do the same.
She hadn't succeeded in finding her birth sister. But she had found a different High, one with beautiful eyes and courage. Hailey had ended up loving her. They were sisters.
"I don't want to think about that," Lena said. "Not right now. And I am going to make Father kneel for me. He's going to kneel, and I'm going to make sure that he survives, too. I don't want him to die. Neither do you. The Freemans are out there, and they have our father. A Freeman killed my first one. But they're not going to kill this second one. I don't want them to, at least."
"What if Father is dead?" Hailey said.
"If he's dead, you better be ready to put Freeman Killer to good use."