Hailey hadn't found her father.

Vera the Bloodhound was with her, and so was the High named Jill.

Theo Majestic had been in Hailey's life. Had been. In truth, he had gone missing years ago. Hailey had found Lena and Jill, but a reunion with her father evaded the girl.

He had delivered her when she was a baby. The man had done the same to three other blond-haired children. Hailey's siblings.

Their father had vanished.

Wherever he was, Hailey couldn't ask him what had happened to him. She couldn't confirm if Lena's theory held the truth.

Eleven years was a long time. Its duration spanned from the invasion to the present. For over a decade, Hailey hadn't landed her gaze on the father she loved.

Instead of making a welcome arrival to the space station, he remained absent.

Jill.

She had left. That High hadn't fled the space station, but she had moved out the bedroom. Hailey didn't expect to see Jill riding on Nick's back soon.

Hailey's father had gone away from the space station, Vera, and Hailey. His third child.

"Vera," Hailey's mother said.

She stepped into the room. There she was, surrounded by a blue floor and blue walls, near her daughter and the girl's Bloodhound.

"Lilly, I'm back," Vera said. She gestured to Hailey's mother. "And so are y—"

"You didn't come back with my husband," Hailey's mother replied, scowling. She crossed her arms. "What were you doing out there? You could've been looking for Theo. Clearly, you haven't."

"But I found Jill," Vera said. "Kara Ascend. Jill is her name now. I found her. And I found her uncle, Cambridge Downer. Right now, Jill is probably with Nick. She left the room not long ago."

Hailey's mother faced the open door, as if she expected Jill and Nick to step through it soon. She put a hand on the wall.

"Maybe Jill will get on Nick's good side," Hailey's mother said. "I can't. That vicious boy of mine would rather insult his mother than be nice to her. You haven't returned with Theo, Vera. That means you need to be ready to deal with Nick's wrath."

She faced the Bloodhound, the Watcher who had spent more time with Hailey than she had.

"Jill isn't like him, Mother," Hailey said. "She's a nice person."

Unlike Hailey, who had spent most of her life living inside a Soynite space station, Jill spoke with an American accent. Yet she was as much a Soynite as Hailey.

"Lilly, I'm sorry," Vera said. "I haven't come back with Theo, but I'm going to. I have things to do on Earth. There's a Freeman base in Honolulu, Hawaii, and me and Jill are going to attack it. Cambridge is going to help us. After that, I'm going to find Theo. I'm going to bring your husband back home. Hailey wants to join me on the mission to find him."

"I'll let her go with you," Hailey's mother said. "I need you to find Theo, Vera. Go out and actually find him."

"I will."

Eleven years ago, Strife-equipped Freemans had assaulted Hailey's home. Theo Majestic's home. The pale enemies hadn't come to embrace him. They had tried murdering him, his wife, his children.

The man had slaughtered Freeman invaders.

Summer Sinister had done the same during the attack, but she was the woman who had shot Hailey's father and kidnapped Anne.

Hailey's father was more useful to them alive than dead. The girl's desperate urge to find him wasn't just because he could kill Freemans with ease.

She wasn't with her father, but she knew what Theo was to her. He was her parent.

During the invasion, without the Strife, the Freemans wouldn't have been able to kill Hailey's father. He had survived that attack.

He had lived through his fight with Boris Endman, which Hailey had seen.

Boris Endman. Lock Tannis had ended his life, and his granddaughter might have gone to Soy. Whether she had or she hadn't, Zoey planned on reuniting with her birth parents. Archer and Holly.

"What about Zoey?" Hailey said. "She has to find her parents. Archer and Holly are out there, and Zoey needs to reunite with them. You can find them, Vera. You can find Zoey, then find her parents."

"I can," Vera said. "But I can't. We're busy, Hailey. Zoey is going to be fine, though. She will find her parents. There are others like me, after all."

Path Seekman was like Vera. In life, Zoey's friend Crammer had been like the Watcher, too.

The boy named Path had stood outside that spaceport on Soy. It was an experience he had shared with Lena and Nova.

Lena. Jill. They were the only current Highs Hailey had met. Nova didn't stand in the room, but she might in the future. Hailey had seen her from a distance. Multiple times. Nova didn't have to die without ever seeing Hailey. She was her sister who would become Great Leader Hailey Majestic.

Hailey didn't know she would become the next ruler of the Freemans, of course.

"Right," Hailey said.

Her mother came close, and she ran a hand through the girl's blonde hair.

"I wish your brother was as compassionate as you are, baby," the woman said. "I know that he's going to forgive me, eventually. But I don't like the wait. Just like how I don't like the fact that your father is still missing. Your plan is to go with Vera and find him. Is that right?"

"Yes," Hailey said. "She's going to help Jill and Cambridge attack a Freeman base, then she's going to come back here, to get me."

Hailey and her mother intended on attacking a Freeman base on Earth soon, and the girl planned on accompanying her Bloodhound on the search for her father.

Vera had returned. Hailey's father had not.

She had never joined Lock Tannis, never kneeled for him, but she had gotten on her knees for the Highs Lena and Jill. And one of them had theorized Lock-hating Freemans had taken Hailey's father.

He was, in Hailey's opinion, a man who deserved to be reunited with his family. He had even gained a fifth child and he didn't know it. Hailey's father needed to be in his home. Not a Freeman base.

As Hailey remained in a Soynite space station, maybe Lock stood inside a Freeman base.

Where was he? Planet Free? A Freeman base on Earth?

If Hailey didn't find Lock inside that base in California, Vera could find him at some point after the assault.

Anne tended to pray to Lock, but Hailey did not. She would rather thrust a sword into his chest than pray to him.

"I want to find Father," Hailey said. "He needs to know that I never gave up on him. I wish I could talk to him. And I want him to know that I never stopped wanting to reunite with him. I need to see him."

"You will, sweet girl," her mother said. She kissed Hailey's forehead. "I'll go with you and Vera. Your father will reunite with both of us. At the same time, too. And if he was captured by Freemans, that's another reason why I should come. It's been too long since I killed a Freeman. We will spare Nova's boy. Ben is going to live, but a lot of his people are going to die."

"Then I'll lead the Freeman survivors," Hailey said. She turned, and touched Freeman Killer's sheath. "After I kill Lock Tannis, of course."

Hailey had killed Freemans a few days ago. Freeman Killer hadn't been with her then, but she had disposed of those spiteful Freemans anyway. Vera had taught her how to kill.

She had trained Hailey, but that woman hadn't returned home with the girl's father.

Hailey, her mother, and Vera planned on starting the search for the missing Theo Majestic. An absent and powerful man, one Hailey hadn't stopped wanting to find.

Anne had discarded her respect for her father, but not Hailey. She never would.

Her missing sister, the only younger sibling she had, was a Lock worshipper. Anne was unable to have discussions with Hailey, their mother, or Vera. Anne couldn't hug Hailey. She couldn't embrace her older siblings.

Someone had taken Anne, Hailey knew. Maybe Hero and his brothers and sisters would try kidnapping Hailey. Summer's attempt to take Anne had succeeded. Hero had tried taking Jill. He had failed.

Maybe he would succeed in kidnapping Hailey. Or her father.

Pures existed among the Soynite race. The Majestic family possessed two of them. Hailey had been a Pure when she took her first breath, and she would die as one.

"Everything will be easier when we find your father," Hailey's mother said.

"Regardless, there's Strife, Vamp, and Killians," Vera said. "All of those things can make Theo powerless. They can make all of us powerless. If none of those things existed, this war would be a lot easier to win."

Strife. That was a green substance found on Free. It had the power to temporarily take away Soynite powers. Getting too close to Strife was something Hailey preferred not to do.

Right now, Hailey stood underneath a blue ceiling and above a hard floor. Her bedroom lacked Strife.

Vamp.

Lock Tannis had invented it, and his Freemans mass-produced the purple liquid.

Killians. They were Soynites with the ability to temporarily dispose of other Soynites' powers.

"Unfortunately, that's not our reality," Hailey's mother said. "And me and Hailey used Strife and Vamp to make Betty powerless, back when I was trying to get Lena killed. That woman has all the Saves. But she went down because of us. Me and Hailey aren't even close to being as powerful as Betty is. That didn't stop me from putting Vamp into her, though. I did that. And the Freemans can do the same to Theo. We have to get him back. Even if he weren't the most powerful Soynite, I would still love him. I know I would."

Hailey smiled.

She had gone years without seeing her father, but no one would ever be able to snatch the love she had for him. Never.

Where was Theo Majestic? During his time away from home, had he died?

Another man had left his home.

Peter had gone away from his mentee, Jake, then Lena had murdered the Watcher. She had made sure Peter would never see the boy again.

Had someone made sure Hailey's father would never see his third child again?

It was the fifth of March.

A long time ago, Hailey's father had left the space station on March 3, 2011. The girl hadn't seen the man in eleven years.

"My Theo is gone," Hailey's mother said. A heavy sigh escaped her. "Eleven years is a long time, especially when that's how long you've been separated from your husband. I really did abandon him. I did. Nick knows that I did, and my brother is going to find out about it, too. He's going to learn about that terrible mistake I've made. I abandoned my family. If my husband did the same, I wouldn't stay mad at him forever. I just wouldn't. I left, too. But I took Nick with me, the same boy who hates being around me now."

Had Jill found Nick? Did she stand in front of him now?

Jill had left the room. In search of Hailey's mother and Nick, the High girl had made her exit. Hailey's mother had come into the bedroom. Nick hadn't. And Jill hadn't returned.

Hailey had seen her a short time ago. There were people Hailey hadn't seen in a long time, and Jill wasn't one of them.

For eleven years, Hailey had been without her father, missing him no matter what Vera said about him. The girl and her Bloodhound had managed to avoid encountering Lock Tannis. But they had failed to reunite with his former best friend. The Freeman ruler's most hated enemy.

Like her father, Hailey was viewed as a target by Lock.

"You love your son, Lilly," Vera said. She put a hand on the mother's shoulder. "And you love your husband and your children. You have to do your best to get all of them together again. I'll help you."

Hailey's mother moved past Vera. She stopped near the photograph taped to the wall, and stroked it with her thumb.

"And Theo needs help," she said. "One of my girls thinks that Lock-hating Freemans took him away. Lena can be harsh, but I hope her prediction is the truth. The Freemans are rough. They're horrible and vile. But if they have Theo, at least that means he didn't willingly abandon us for years. Maybe he really was captured. My children need their father, and I need him, too. And I need Anne. I know I've let Summer keep her, but I intend to get my youngest back. She's going to be with me again, and I will kill Summer. That's how it has to be."

Hailey remained standing as her mother faced the wall. The girl lacked the power to hug her father and younger sister, and that was the way it was. But it didn't have to be like that forever.

If Hailey helped free her father, they could embrace.

If she helped make Anne abandon her status as a Lock worshipper, Hailey's younger sister could hug her with pleasure.

Hailey had people to reunite with, people to save, people to kill.

Lock Tannis.

He was the reason why Hailey no longer lived inside the Soynite royal palace. After Lock's exile, Boris had settled in the home. Hailey's father had made him into a High after Lock's banishment. The palace had been the residence of Boris Endman, Don Ascend, Tale Wick, Ray Fire, Notch Slip, and Hailey's father. His wife and children had lived there as well.

The invasion had erupted into reality.

A horrible Watcher had kidnapped one of Theo Majestic's girls. Another Watcher, one more loyal to the Majestic family than Summer, had held Hailey as the girl's father clashed with Boris on Soy's ruined landscape.

Vera had been with Hailey then, and the woman was with her now. It was true.

"Summer shot my husband, then she took my baby away from me," Hailey's mother said. "I'm going to kill her. No matter what that woman says to me, I'm going to get rid of her. Nothing is going to convince me to let her live. Nothing. She even worships Lock Tannis. What kind of moronic Soynite does that? Lock made his Freemans kill almost all of our people, and they ruined Soy, too. They turned our beautiful planet into a hideous wasteland. There's nothing to go back to. Our planet isn't what it used to be. And Lock isn't a great person. Not anymore. No Soynite should be worshipping him. Anne shouldn't, either. I lost her. Summer took her away from me, and now Bane Sinister has both of them. He has Anne. And he has Summer. But I'm only going to let one of those two live. I'm not going to kill my baby."

A Watcher Hailey and her mother had trusted had forced Anne's absence into their lives. Her relatives' lives.

As for Hailey's father, maybe Sepsis Nail's pale descendants had taken him. Each living Freeman was descended from that father slayer.

Sepsis had coined the term Great Leader.

Great Leader. Hailey Majestic aspired to earn that title. For so long, for many years and centuries, Lock had been Free's ruler. He had won his position as the Freeman leader with fairness. But someone, a great hero, needed to replace him as Great Leader.

What if Lena's theory was true? Had Lock-opposing Freemans kidnapped Hailey's father?

Whether or not the truth lived in Lena's theory, Hailey's mother looked at the photograph on the wall. The picture showed her lost husband.

Hailey didn't intend on letting her father die and decompose inside a Freeman prison cell. She couldn't confirm Freemans had captured the man, but a Soynite could blame a loved one's missing status on those pale people without seeming like a fool.

"Summer is the one who has to die," Hailey said. "Bane, too. But we're going to save Anne, Mother. We will. I never gave up on Father. And I'm never going to give up on Anne. I want to save her. She's going to be here, and she's going to love us. Nick is already here, and it's obvious that we've gotten closer to bringing the family back together. We have Nick. And we're going to have Anne."

Her mother faced her.

"You're right," she said. "I'm glad you started to see things the way I see them, Hailey. This universe has more than just pain and misery. And no matter how many awful situations come into our lives, we're still going to do what we need to. I need my loved ones back. All of them. You and Vera are here. My vicious boy is, too. But there are other people I love, and they're out there. They're outside of this place. This home."

Theo. Nova. Lena. Anne. Ken. Ben.

The only Freeman Hailey didn't want to use Freeman Killer on was Ben. Her desire to hold him hadn't crumbled. That baby deserved to be safe.

"The three of us are here," Hailey's mother said. "We came back. And now your father needs to, Hailey. But it seems like we have to find him, and that's how he'll get back here. We need to rescue him. That's what I'm assuming. Let's hope we find my husband alive, not dead. And if he was captured by Freemans, he probably looks older than he did before. Because of Strife. It would've taken away his immortality. If the Freemans have been keeping Theo as their prisoner for eleven years, be prepared to see him visibly older. Not too much older, though."

Hailey was thirteen. Her father was much older than her. When the girl's mother was born, the man had already been alive for centuries.

"I remember when I met Theo," Hailey's mother said, looking at Vera. The blonde woman grinned. "He was amazing then, and he still is. When I was young, I never expected I would become so important to him. Supreme High Theo. He became my husband."

Hailey's Watcher didn't smile.

"He's going to see that blind monster you adopted," Vera said.

Hailey's mother didn't smile. She narrowed her blue eyes, eyes that functioned. It was a certain High's eyes that didn't work.

"Vera, Lena isn't a monster," Hailey said, mentioning the girl who had slapped Nick because he hadn't kneeled for her.

"My daughter is blind," Hailey's mother said. "You aren't wrong about that. But anyone who calls my girl a monster isn't right. Far from it. You didn't see what she did earlier."

She stepped through the open door, checked the hall, and returned to the room.

"Jill isn't around to hear this," Hailey's mother said. "Lena killed Ine Rain and Maggie Up, to keep Alice Endman safe. She prefers being called Zoey now. It's the name her kidnapper, Misty, gave her. Ine's name was Peter when he died. Peter Wayne. Jake is his mentee. It's not Cape Majestic anymore."

"I know about all of that," Vera said. She shook her head. "But you made the wrong choice by adopting that blind fool."

Lena's mother clenched her fists.

"Vera, stop it," Hailey said. She put a hand on her mother's back. "Lena isn't a fool. She even came up with that theory, the one about my father probably being captured by Freemans who hate Lock."

Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder. Lena didn't stand in the room, and her hands didn't roam its space. But her mother and her sister could defend her from afar.

"Lena is a hero," Hailey's mother stated.

The space station didn't have that blind hero in it.

"She risked her life to kill Peter and Maggie," Hailey's mother said. "And she's clever. Sometimes."

"Why did she kill them?" Vera said. "How did she keep Zoey safe by getting rid of those two?"

"Maggie had a vision," Hailey's mother said. "The girl had a vision of the future. She saw Zoey attacking Jake with a dagger, and Peter and Maggie wanted to kill her because of it. They assumed that Zoey would turn into a terrible person who would kill good Soynites. Lena did what she had to, and I'm proud of her. My girl isn't a monster."

Betty's space station contained one heroic girl.

"You're being a fool, Lilly," Vera said. Hailey's mother scowled, as if Vera had said she hoped Lena would die blind and Saveless. "Do you know how badly you've ruined things by making that girl your child? You made her yours, and that isn't good. It's terrible. Lena is a tyrant. She would rather abuse innocent Soynites than help them. I know so."

Hailey's mother unleashed a trembling breath. Would she snatch the life from Vera's body?

"Stop it, Vera," Hailey said.

"Lena..." her mother said. She inhaled, exhaled. "Lena is my child. She's mine. I've tried getting her killed before, but I will never do that again. I'm never going to kill her. Neither will you. If you want me to get rid of her, you're only going to be disappointed."

"You should've killed her," replied Vera.

Hailey's mother headed toward Freeman Killer. She unsheathed the sword, and aimed it at Vera's chest.

As for Hailey, her pulse quickened. Vera stayed in her spot. She didn't flee, as if Freeman Killer were a pillow and not a sword.

"If you kill Lena, Vera, you won't live for another year!" Hailey's mother said, her voice thick with anger. "I promise."

"Lena is my sister," Hailey said, looking at the Watcher. "Don't kill her, Vera. We need her. I need her."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Do you understand how serious I am about keeping Lena safe?"

Hailey's mother didn't lower the weapon. Its tip pointed at Vera's chest, light reflecting off the blade's sharp blue.

"Yes," Vera said.

"You're not going to kill Lena," Hailey's mother said. "Say it! Say you're not going to kill Lena!"

"I'm not going to kill Lena."

As if its wielder hadn't heard Vera, the sword stayed aimed at the Watcher's chest.

"You better not kill her," Hailey's mother said.

She lowered Freeman Killer. But she kept the sword in her grip.

Two people entered the room, close together. Nick leaned forward while Jill rode on his back. The only boy in the space station gave a piggyback ride to the only High in the place.

"Look at this," Nick said. "Here's an eleven-year-old I actually can talk to. Someone in this room let an awful Watcher keep a different eleven-year-old girl. What a dumb decision."

"Nick, stop," Hailey said. "Don't be rude to Mother. Definitely don't do it right now."

"Are you going to use that on someone, Lilly?" Jill said, her attention on the sword Hailey's mother wielded.

She got off Nick's back.

"You see that, Jill?" he said. "This is what Theo Majestic's wife really is. She's a woman who's holding a sword in a room full of good people."

"Hailey, take Freeman Killer, then put it in its sheath," Hailey's mother said.

Hailey took Freeman Killer from the woman, then sheathed it. The sword stayed on the desk, its blade hidden. Hailey had obeyed her mother. Nick acted as if the woman didn't deserve to have anyone following her orders.

"Jill found me," Nick said. He put a hand on the High's shoulder. "I kneeled for her, and I couldn't resist being good to this girl. She's even less of a problem than Lena."

"Don't say anything bad about Lena, Nick," Vera warned.

Instead of approaching Nick, Hailey's mother did that to Jill. Blonde and slim, with a fondness for two of the Soynite rulers, the woman moved onto her knees, and bowed her head. She kneeled for her High.

High Jill Key.

As his mother kneeled on the blue floor, Nick scowled as he aimed his gaze at her.

"Rise," Jill said.

Hailey's mother rose.

Nick hadn't kneeled for Lena, and she had hurt him in return. Hailey had gotten on her knees for that High on the day she met her. Yet Lena had hurt her anyway.

Hailey shouldn't have called Lena's eyes beautiful.

"It's an honor to be in the same room as you, my High," Hailey's mother said.

"I wish I could say the same about you, Mother," Nick said, crossing his muscular arms.

His telekinesis was a better weapon than Freeman Killer. Nick was strong, but his urge to please his mother was weak. The woman believed he would forgive her, but maybe his respect for his mother would always be as absent as his father.

"Nick," Hailey said. "Come on. Stop."

Her mother put her hands on her hips.

"Come here, Nick," she said. Nick had disrespected her when she was armed with a sword. He had acted as if he were as unkillable as his father. "Kneel for me. Kneel for your mother like you kneeled for Jill."

Nick scoffed. "Are you serious? You're not a High."

"I'm aware."

No, Hailey's mother was not a High. Maybe she would never be one. Still, she had sat on Lena's throne.

"Kneel," Hailey's mother said. "Now!"

"Fine," Nick said. "It won't even matter anyway. You're never going to be a High."

"But I am someone you're going to kneel for."

Nick brought his knees to the floor. He bowed his head. He had kneeled for High Jill, but Hailey hadn't seen it happen. Neither had the distant and blind Lena.

"You didn't kneel for your sister," Hailey's mother said, aiming her blue eyes at Nick's blond hair. "You know exactly which one I'm talking about."

"You're talking about that tyrant who can't even see," Nick said, bowing his head. "I should be kneeling for Nova. Not you. You even believe that only a descendant of Hase Majestic deserves to be the next ruler of the Freemans. What a stupid belief."

"Lilly, you don't think I deserve to lead the Freemans?" Jill said.

"No," Hailey's mother said. "No, I don't."

Jill took a step away from the woman. The girl went to stand beside Vera, the Bloodhound who had found her.

"Everyone heard that confession, right?" Nick said, kneeling. "Now they see you for what you are, Mother. A horrible woman pretending like she isn't one. Lilly Majestic is obsessed with seeing a descendant of Hase become the next Freeman ruler, but she abandoned all of them. She abandoned every descendant of Hase. Well, almost all of them. She took me with her, unfortunately."

He stood.

"I didn't tell you to rise," Hailey's mother said. "And I'm your mother. You're supposed to call me Mother."

"And you were supposed to stay with your family," Nick said. He averted his gaze. "Vera, you're going to come with me. I have people to find."

Earlier, Hailey had found Nick in the hall outside the room. An embrace had come, and the two had spoken to each other. Now Nick planned on reuniting with other people he knew.

"I'm sorry, Nick," Vera said. "I can't go with you. I have things to do on Earth, but—"

"Whatever!" Nick said. He glanced at the people standing in the room. "Out of all of you, Hailey and Jill are the only ones who are worth spending time with. Vera, you should've looked for my father a long time ago. Lilly, I don't even know where to start with you."

Hailey fiddled with her fingers. Her mother curled hers into fists.

"Stop calling me by my name," the woman said.

"Fine, Mother," Nick said. "Are you happy now? You're almost as bad as that tyrant you love so much. Do you know that? That monster is tainting this family, and I don't want her back here. She tried to kill Hailey. Lena even abused her, and she hurt me, too. Why does she get to have a bed and a room in this place? She doesn't deserve any of it. She doesn't even deserve your love. Lena tried to kill you, too. Don't pretend like what happened in her throne room never happened. I was told about it. I know what happened, and I know that someone should've killed Lena a long time ago. It would've prevented a lot of suffering."

Hailey sat on her bed, and she squeezed the comforter.

"Nick, just stop it," she said. "Things are already bad enough. Mother is frustrated and you're making it worse."

"You're not so great yourself, Nick," Hailey's mother said. "I'm doing my best to put this family back together, but you keep acting like I'm the person I was years ago. That time is over."

Nick aimed his finger at her.

"That time is proof that all of this is your fault," he said. "You abandoned your family, and you kept me separated from them, too. I'm holding a grudge against you, yes, but I have to. I need to. No normal person would forgive you for what you did. Hailey did. But not me. I never will. And when you see Lena again, she's going to give you a tough time. You only want a descendant of Hase Majestic to become the next leader of the Freemans. Lena isn't like me and Hailey. She's not someone you want to see on the Red Throne, and she will hate you because of it. She will."

Lena had been adopted into the Majestic family. Her second mother had given her sweet hugs and a crown, but her brother had dropped harsh insults and unwanted pain into her life.

"I'm going to leave, but there's comfort in knowing that Lena will punish you while I'm gone," Nick said, flinging his words at his mother. "She is going to try to kill you. You don't want her to become the next leader of the Freemans. I doubt Lena is a good person, but I don't doubt that she's willing to kill to get power. Obviously, she wants the Red Throne."

Hailey's mother crossed her arms. Nick did the same with his own.

"You're really going to leave, Nick?" Jill asked.

She stood next to Vera. The High and the Bloodhound kept their attention on Nick.

"I am," he said. "I'm going to take the spaceship me and my mother spent years living in. I also don't need your Bloodhound friend to come with me. I can find my own Bloodhound. And even if I don't, that doesn't mean I won't find the people I want to find. I'll find my father. Or maybe I'll even find Anne. Either way, I'm going to come back here, after I find one of the people I want to see again. That's the truth."

"Have a safe trip," Jill said.

"You're a good High," Nick said. He scowled at Hailey's mother. "And you adopted the worst one."

The woman turned. She headed toward the desk where Freeman Killer lay, then put her hands on the wooden surface.

"Nick, it doesn't have to be like this," Vera said. "You don't have to leave. Stay here. After I finish doing what I have to do on Earth, I'm going to find your father. Me, Hailey, and your mother will find him. Then—"

"Be quiet, Vera," Nick said. "I really do hope you survive, but I don't want you to say anything else to me. It's too late for you to be the heroic Bloodhound who finds Theo Majestic and brings him back home. Mother, it's too late for you to be a good parent."

"I don't hear you leaving," Hailey's mother said, no affection in her voice. Her back stayed turned.

"Goodbye, Mother," Nick said, his tone matching the one his mother had spoken in.

He looked at Hailey.

She stood, and embraced her brother. He hugged her back. Beyond the space station's blue walls were Freemans with laser guns and red swords. But Nick could deal with them, and he could do it without dying. Hailey hoped.

"I'm going to be back," Nick said. "I love you."

"I love you, too, older brother," Hailey replied.

The hug ended.

Nick left the room. Vera and Jill moved their attention to Hailey's mother.

"Me and Jill are going to leave, Lilly," Vera said. Hailey's mother didn't face her. "What you did with Freeman Killer, I understand why you did it. There's a teenager I want to protect, too."

"Bid farewell to her, then leave." Hailey's mother said.

The girl and her Bloodhound embraced. They hugged without speaking. When it was over, Vera put her hand on Hailey's shoulder.

"I'm going to come back," Vera said. "And then we'll find your father."

"Bye, Vera."

"Stay safe, Hailey."

After Vera used a Soynite teleportation stone to take her and Jill away from the home, Hailey hoped the Bloodhound, the High, and the older brother wouldn't die before reuniting with her.

"They're gone, Mother," Hailey said.

"Nick is probably still here," her mother said. She faced Hailey. "Maybe he's in the spaceship, getting ready to leave. When he's gone, it's just going to be the two of us. Me and you."

"Just like it was yesterday," Hailey said. "By the way, Lena won't try to kill you. She doesn't want the Red Throne that badly."

Nick's hatred for Lena might never fade.

Hailey's mother turned. She faced her daughter now.

"Don't worry," the woman said. "Nick won't ever convince me that Lena needs to be killed. If Boris Endman were alive, he would be content with turning family against family. But I'm not him. I won't kill my favorite blind girl. Nick hates her, and he wants me to get rid of her. I won't let him influence me, unfortunately for him. Lena is here to stay. I won't force her out of this family. I chose her to be mine, and Nick will have to accept that. And he will accept it. Eventually."

Would Hailey believe what her mother believed?

No.

Hailey, Nick, Vera, and Jill didn't agree with the blonde woman. It wasn't a necessity for a descendant of Hase Majestic to slay Lock Tannis. His pale supporters had brought ruin to planet Soy. In truth, the Freemans had tortured their leader's home world. Lock was a pretender.

He had lived in the same city Hailey had been born in, a city Freemans had ruined during the invasion.

If Majestic City stood, Soy's moon would shine its light against its intact buildings.

"I know Lena has done terrible things, but so have we," Hailey's mother said. "So has Nick. Despite what he believes, Lena deserves to live. She really is a hero. I believe that. I do. We both saw what she did earlier. She killed Peter and Maggie, and she did it to protect Zoey. Lena put herself in danger to keep her sister safe. That's evidence that my girl isn't the monster that Nick thinks she is. Boris Endman was a monster, and Lock Tannis is one. Lena is better than both of them. She always will be. Right now, she treats me better than her brother does."

Away from the space station and its blue rooms, Lena occupied a different home. A space station Betty owned.

Hailey had discovered that place two days ago. She had found Lena. Hailey's own home had possessed a photograph of Lena for years, and she had met the Blind High two days ago.

She had kneeled. She had suffered. She had rescued Lena, a girl who had struck her with pain.

"I'm glad I put that crown on Lena's head," Hailey's mother said. "I hid it underneath her bed. I was waiting for her to become a hero who deserves to wear your father's crown, and that's what she did. And I wasn't lying when I said I'm proud of her. Lena did a heroic deed earlier, and she's an example of how great Soynites can be. Nick doesn't see how wonderful his sister is, and that's a shame. I see how wonderful Lena is, though. And I am going to do whatever I can to help her. Her condition needs to go away. In order for her to find peace, her blindness needs to leave and her Saves need to return. They need to come back. So does her vision. What does she have to do to make her worthy to Still? I wish I knew the answer to that question. But I don't."

Boone Windsore died and his daughter Lena had wished to kill all the Freemans.

Time had passed.

Lena would rather rule the Freemans than make them go extinct. It was a desire she shared with Hailey.

The truth was that Lena had stopped believing she would see again, and Hailey doubted her sightless sister would kill Lock. She had seen Lena take lives. But the High had been fortunate when she slaughtered that armless Freeman.

Peter, and Maggie. Lena had brought them their deaths, and each one had come because of a dagger. Lena had spilled blood.

She had slaughtered Peter and Maggie without remorse, and she might do the same to Lock.

"If Lena got her eyesight back, she would get a better chance at killing Lock," Hailey said. "She's not a descendant of Hase Majestic. If she tries to become the next leader of the Freemans, what would you do to her?"

"I would stop her," her mother said.

Behind her was a chair and a desk, the same one Hailey's sword rested on. Hailey imagined her mother using Freeman Killer to slice off Lena's head, and the girl almost frowned.

"I wouldn't try to kill her," Hailey's mother said. "But I would stop her. A descendant of Hase needs to sit on the Red Throne, Hailey. Lock Tannis hates your father and every member of the Majestic family. Our family. It would be great if a descendant of Hase killed him. The irony would be wonderful. There needs to be at least one descendant of Hase ruling the Soynites, and there already is. Nova is a High. She's a Soynite ruler. A descendant of Hase needs to become the next leader of the Freemans. But if I ever find myself in a fight with Lock, I would try to kill him. I would. Because that would be a life-or-death situation. I like being alive, sweet girl. I don't want to rule the Freemans, but I would if I had to. Someone with Hase's genes has to kill their ruler. I'm not someone who qualifies."

She ran a hand through her long hair, touching blonde strands.

"I gave Lena her crown," the mother said. "I even sat on her throne. I made Nick kneel for me. But I don't want to be made into a ruler. I put a crown on a leader's head, but no one has to put one on mine. You should have a crown. You deserve to have one on your head. A red one, specifically. You're one of the people who deserves to sit on the Red Throne, Hailey. You. You, your father, and everyone else who is descended from Hase Majestic. Your distant cousin, Jake, is one of those people. He's a High. Just like Lena. But she's not like you and Nick. And her birth parents weren't like the two of you. Boone and Lauren didn't deserve to lead the Freemans, and their daughter doesn't. If Lena tries to kill Lock, I would stop her. She can't be the one who kills him. It has to be a different person. A different hero."

Hailey frowned.

"Lena is a hero, but she can't be the hero who gets rid of Lock Tannis," her mother said.

"You said that you won't make me do anything I don't want to," Hailey said. "I don't want to live in a universe where my mother believes something so dumb."

"Hailey."

She took steps closer, and reached for Hailey's cheek. The girl stepped back.

"No," she said. "Don't touch me."

"Okay," the liar said.

"You lied to me. You actually will make me do things I don't want to do."

Her mother put her hands on her hips, and looked at the floor. She shook her head. Unlike her, Vera wouldn't frown if a hero without Hase's genes became the next Freeman ruler.

Hailey's mother lifted her head.

"What gives Lena the right to become the next ruler of the Freemans?" she said. "Me and her shouldn't lead those people, Hailey. A Majestic has to wear a red crown and sit on the Red Throne. A biological Majestic. Not me. Not Lena. Not Zoey. Not Jill. I love your sister, but she's not like you. And she's not like your father. There are only two Highs who I would love to see kill Lock, and Lena isn't one of them."

"She's your High," Hailey said. "You kneeled for her, and I did, too. Why are you doing this to Lena? You made it clear you want to serve her, but you plan on stopping her if she tries to become the next leader of the Freemans. What kind of Soynite does that to her High? Lena would love to rule Free and its people, and you know that. Jill would love to lead them, too. But she's not like me. Right? She's not someone you want to see on the Red Throne. Yet you kneeled for her. I saw you do it."

She shook her head, then stepped back, increasing the distance between herself and her mother.

Hailey had gotten on her knees for Lena, and she didn't plan on preventing the High from slaying Lock Tannis.

If her mother had it her way, Lena would never get the opportunity to kill Lock. The worst Soynite.

"I'm the better servant," Hailey said. She tapped her chest. "Me. Not you. When you were gone, I was helping Lena. I loved her then, and I love her now. I'm fond of her a lot more than you are, obviously. She deserves to lead the Freemans as much as I do. You said that you would stop her, if she ever tries to kill Lock Tannis. You can't stop Lena. No one can."

Her mother crossed her arms. "I stopped her when we were in her throne room yesterday."

"You made her win," Hailey said. "You hurt her, but you also gave her what she wanted. You gave her a mother. And a father. Lena won. She even won Father's crown, because of what she did to Peter and Maggie. She's just going to win again."

Theo's daughter moved her gaze to the photograph on the wall. It remained taped to the blue hardness, the picture displaying a former High. The best one.

"Father would love for Lena to rule the Freemans," she said. "He's considerate. And he knows that it doesn't matter what bloodline Lock's future killer belongs to. If my father were in this room, he would agree with me. He gave me Freeman Killer, and I need to give him freedom. When we have him with us again, he'll support Lena. And he'll make you realize that she deserves to lead the Freemans. If you don't realize it yourself before that. You're wrong, Mother."

Even Nick didn't support the idea the next Freeman ruler needed to be descended from Hase Majestic.

"I just want things to be the way they should be," Hailey's mother said. "Your mother thinks that only someone descended from Hase deserves to lead the Freemans, but you refuse to accept that. I don't want you to go your whole life without getting a chance to rule Free. Other Soynites would be grateful."

Hailey clenched her fists.

"I'm not one of the other Soynites," she said. "I'm the one who is going to try my best to kill Lock. I need him to die. We all do. If I don't make that happen, I want Lena to do it. But you don't. Why? Do you even love her?"

For eleven years, Hailey hadn't embraced her mother. She had lacked the ability to. Yet her love for the woman had stuck.

Did Hailey's mother love Lena?

The blonde teenager believed she knew the answer. But that didn't guarantee her mother wouldn't frown if Lena became the next Freeman ruler.

The mother put her hands on Hailey's clenched fists.

"I want what's best for all of my children," the woman said. "I even want what's best for the one who does nothing but disrespect me. The best for Lena isn't what you think it is. She has a throne, and a crown, and that's enough. It's enough. But you need so much more, Hailey. So does Nick, Nova, and Anne. Almost all of my children have the genes of the first Soynite, and he was a ruler. A king. You have his daughter's sword, and you could use it to get rid of Lock. You have to kill him. If you don't, a different Majestic has to. But that person can't be me. And they can't be Lena."

Hailey forced her fists away from her mother's hands. They stayed clenched.

"Yes, that person can be Lena!" Hailey said. "She doesn't have King Hase's genes, but she's your ruler. And you shouldn't prevent her from killing Lock. She isn't like me and Father, but she's your daughter, and she's your High. And you know that she wouldn't have an issue with sitting on the Red Throne. She told me that I deserve to have Freemans kneeling for me. That's what she said to me earlier. I agree with Lena, but I don't agree with her mother. You call her a hero. But since when did heroes not deserve to lead the Freemans?"

Her mother took a step back, crossed her slim arms, and turned her head to the right.

"Answer me!" Hailey said.

"We're going to drop this topic," her mother said.

Hailey exhaled a shaking breath. Her mother had put a blue crown on Lena's head, but she refused to view the High as someone who deserved a red one. Hailey's father would disagree with his wife.

"Regardless, you're still wrong," Hailey said, unclenching her fists. "I know what's going to happen. Lena is aware of how you feel, and she's going to give you a tough time. She won't kill you. But I highly doubt that she will be nice. You and her will argue about what we argued about. It's going to happen, and you won't stop it from happening. You know how she is. Lena is aggressive, and she can get very hostile. You plan on ruining any chance she gets to kill Lock. What do you think is going to happen, Mother? Your belief is awful, and it's not going to lead to what's best for Lena. It's not."

She looked at the hall outside the open door.

"I already can't wait for Vera to be back here," she said. "After we rescue Father, he's going to make sure that you get rid of your way of thinking."

Hailey headed toward the open door.

Footsteps rushed into her ears. Someone took quick steps, it was obvious. Arms wrapped around Hailey from behind, forming a trap.

Her mother was warm against her, but the woman might as well have been flesh-devouring fire.

"You're a Pure, Hailey," Hailey's mother said. "Lena isn't. You are going to become immortal, and the Freemans would have you as their ruler for a very long time, if you kill Lock Tannis. He has ruled Free and its people for many years. Maybe you will, too. I'm going to die. One day. You won't. You are alive, and you might be the one who will end this war. I want you to be. I want the same for all of the children who came from me. Your father and Jake deserve to rule over the Freemans, too."

Restrained, Hailey said, "But you don't think that Lena deserves to."

"No."

Hailey's mother released her. The teenager faced the woman.

"You decided that Lena should wear Father's crown, but you seriously don't think that she deserves the Red Throne?" Hailey said. "You don't even believe that you deserve it. Why are you like this, Mother? You came back home, but you're not great. You have to be better than this. And you're not even doing this because you want to keep Lena from being killed by ambitious people who want the Red Throne for themselves. You want someone with Hase's genes to rule the Freemans. That's all. There's nothing noble or good about that. I know how wrong you are. Father will see it, too."

Hailey's father had departed from the space station a long time ago. He hadn't returned. His wife had come back, and her intent to stop Lena from becoming Lock's successor ran rampant.

"I don't need him to agree with me," Hailey's mother said. "And you don't have to. No matter what you say to me, I am not going to let Lena kill Lock Tannis. If she has to defend herself against him, I'll let her get rid of him. But if I catch her sneaking up on him when it isn't even necessary, I would stop her. I would. The same goes for any other person who isn't descended from Hase. I'll do my best to stop them. I wouldn't do that to you, though. You deserve to sit on the Red Throne."

"I do," Hailey said. "And so do your children. All of your children."

Her mother held up four fingers.

"Just this many," she said. She put her hand on Hailey's shoulder. "Well, Anne loves Lock. But she will hate him, eventually. Anyway, I need you to listen to me. No matter what I believe, I still love your sister. I love Lena. You know that, right? I met her for the first time yesterday and I already love her. She's my child, and I want her in my life, but I don't want her to rule the Freemans. Lena's last name is Majestic, but your father isn't her biological parent. It's why I never want to see the Freemans kneel for her. Lena will never be a biological Majestic. She would take what you deserve if she kills Lock."

Hailey sighed.

"What I deserve is a mother who would be happy if Lena kills Lock," she said. "You said that you want what's best for her. Well, get rid of your way of thinking. Realize that it wouldn't be horrible if Lena becomes Lock's successor."

Lock Tannis had murdered Vice Reaper. The violent deed had transferred Vice's power to Lock, a Soynite who posed as a Freeman.

Another power transfer needed to come.

Despite what her mother wanted, High Lena could become Great Leader Lena Majestic.

"The idea that any Soynite hero deserves the Red Throne is an illusion," Hailey's mother said. "Your father might find out about my opinion, but he doesn't have to agree with it. Either way, no matter what, I will do what I have to do. There's no reason for me to be afraid. Lena won't kill me for my belief. That girl loves me, and she won't hurt the only mother she has left. Lauren Windsore is dead. I'm not."

"And you want to use the life that you have to stop your daughter from killing Lock," Hailey said. "Hase Majestic himself isn't going to give you a reward for helping a descendant of his win the Red Throne. It's not too late for you to stop. My ancestry doesn't make me better than Lena, and I wish you would realize that. Theo Majestic is my father. And he's Lena's father, too. That's all that matters."

Somewhere beyond the space station was Lock Tannis, the Soynite who had become his race's worst enemy. Hailey hadn't forgotten he needed to die.

Hailey's father had gained authority over the Soynite people because his own father had died. Holy Majestic was gone. Dead. His son was missing. Was he deceased like his father? Was he dead like King Holy?

The authority Lena had gained hadn't died.

Her power as a High had come because Hailey's father had made it happen. He had turned a normal child into a royal one.

Lock Tannis. He had bought his authority over Free's pale people by murdering Vice Reaper. Hailey's sister Lena didn't lack the will to kill. It coursed through her, and it had dwelled within her when she ended Peter's life.

If given the opportunity, the Blind High would slay Lock.

"Your sister matters to me," Hailey's mother said. "Okay? But I can't let her lead the Freemans. I've taken a liking to her, and she will always be my daughter. But it would be wrong for me to let that child of mine kill Lock. I hate him as much as you do, but I don't want Lena to become his killer. She can't kill him. That's something you have to do, Hailey. If not you, then one of your siblings who has blond hair. Or your father. Or Jake. As for my blind and beautiful child, she will never have the Red Throne. That's how it has to be."

Lock Tannis didn't have to be the Freeman ruler and Lena didn't have to lack the power he possessed.

Planet Still had rendered Lena blind and Saveless, but her situation could change. And Hailey's father needed to help his wife toss her foolishness.

Much to Hailey's dismay, the space station didn't harbor her father, and she was alone with her mother.

Hailey gestured to the woman.

"This is really you?" the girl said. "This is who you are? You know Father wouldn't agree with what you told me, and you know Lena would love to kill Lock and sit on his throne. But you're still being like this anyway. You don't want Lena to be happy."

"Don't say that!" her mother said, raising her voice.

"You don't want Jill to lead the Freemans. You think that anyone who isn't descended from Hase Majestic doesn't deserve to have Freemans kneeling for them."

"Because it's the truth," Hailey's mother said. She placed a hand on her chest. "I don't even deserve to have Freemans kneeling for me. I'm not a hypocrite."

"And I'm not a liar."

Hailey went near the desk. She grabbed the chair, pulled it back, then sat.

"The next ruler of the Freemans will be a descendant of Hase," Hailey's mother said. "You have a lot of time to be that descendant. Lock's future killer, the hero who will end this war, might be you. Even if you don't kill him, that would be fine. Just as long as someone else with Hase's genes does it. You can get rid of Lock for us, Hailey. Lena can't do it. But you can. In the future, so many Freemans are going to die. But the ones who will survive are going to kneel for whoever kills Lock. That's the truth. Voy Nail made it that way. His eldest son, his killer, came up with the title of Great Leader. The Freemans might call you that one day."

Spike Zero.

Voy Nail.

Tok Also.

Juno Hick.

Fauna Dam.

Killma Zone.

Six Freemans. Three males. Three females. The oldest had been Spike Zero, the first Freeman. The youngest had been Killma Zone, the sixth Freeman. Her death had brought the first conflict between the Soynites and the Freemans.

Hailey's distant aunt, Nerra Majestic, had used Freeman Killer to cut Spike's life short.

Would Hailey hold the sword and ram its blade into Lock's heart?

"Great Leader Lena Majestic," Hailey said. "That's a title that fits Lena. But you don't want to hear a Freeman call her Great Leader. No, you'll be fine if Lena would only be known as the Blind High."

"I want her to see again," Hailey's mother said. "I want her to see me, and I want her to see you. There is so much that Lena needs to see. And she won't ever have to worry about someone wanting to take the Red Throne from her, because it's never going to be hers. If good fortune is on your side, it would be your chair. You are going to be powerful. So powerful."

Hands went to Hailey's shoulders. Her mother's head came close to hers. Blonde hair touched blonde hair.

"It felt good, didn't it?" the woman said. "When you sat on Lena's throne, I mean."

Someone was not far from Hailey, and that person was not her father. Despite his brutal nature, Nick didn't clutch the same horrible belief his mother gripped.

Hailey stood. She moved around the chair, then let loose a deep sigh.

"You can be honest with me," her mother said. "You shouldn't be ashamed of wanting power."

"I'm not ashamed," Hailey said. She faced the woman. "And I don't need power. If Lena killed Lock and became the new Freeman ruler, I would be fine. I wouldn't kill my sister if she became the leader of the Freemans. Maybe Nick would, but not me. I don't hate Lena. I also don't hate you, but I hate what you believe. It's not right."

Wrongness coursed through her mother's belief.

"And I hate that you're not sitting on the Red Throne," Hailey's mother said. "You smiled when you were sitting on Lena's throne. I saw you. You would love to have the power that Lock Tannis has, and it's obvious. It's so obvious. You have to put Lock's reign to an end and lead the Freemans. It doesn't have to be you, but I wouldn't mind if you did kill Lock."

Hailey turned her head. "You made that pretty clear."

"Look at me, baby," her mother said. Hailey stared at the wall. "Come on, Hailey. Please."

Hailey stared at the wall.

"Okay," her mother said. "You don't have to talk. You should get some sleep. We have a Freeman base to attack tomorrow. Do you want me to sleep with you tonight?"

"No," Hailey said.

The woman caressed her daughter's cheek, then stroked the girl's long hair. With Nova, Lena, and Anne gone, the only daughter of hers the mother could show affection to was Hailey.

She received affection from her mother, but she couldn't communicate with her father. Lena and Betty had conversed without opening their mouths. Yet they couldn't contact Hailey's father.

"Good night," Hailey's mother said. "I love you, baby,"

She put her hands on the girl's cheeks, and kissed her forehead.

After her mother left the room, Hailey sat on the bed.

Her mother wasn't gone. Neither was that woman's belief Lena didn't deserve to become Lock's successor.

The girl stood. She approached the wall. Her thumb soon came against the picture taped to the blue hardness. The photograph showed a man who had forfeited his royal power, a man who had turned thirteen people he had met into Highs.

His daughter looked at the photograph. A picture of her father remained in the room, but he couldn't give Hailey help. Hase Majestic couldn't help him.

Hailey wasn't Hase.

"I love you, Father," she said. "And if Lena's theory is true, those Freemans who took you made a massive mistake. They've doomed themselves."

She pinned her gaze on the sheathed Freeman Killer.