“Whatever Darai has told you is a lie,” Klaren said. She’d released her grip on Androma, who now stood only a step away, watching with hardened eyes. The Tenebran Guardian hovered just behind her, and the three members of her crew were frozen in place, pinned down by the rifles Nor’s soldiers still pointed at them.

“Exonia is not what you believe it to be,” her mother insisted. “It’s a world of darkness, a world that seeks to come into Mirabel and destroy it, to suck all life from it until nothing but a gaping hole remains. Then its people will move on to the next galaxy, and the next, until all creation is destroyed. Darai never wanted you to know that. He seeks to become king, to push you aside once you’ve opened the Void and help the Exonians destroy all that’s here and is still to come.”

Darai scoffed. “Nor, I have been your adviser, your only family, since you were abandoned by this woman when you needed her most. I helped to heal you and guide you and I have taught you everything you know, including how to use your compulsion. I helped train your brother, too, and I helped place that crown upon your head. Why would I try to trick you? This woman is full of lies.”

“This woman,” Klaren countered, “is trying to stop you from allowing Exonia to take over Mirabel and all the lives that have been established here.”

“You’re wrong,” Nor said, shaking her head. It couldn’t be true. “If you believe that’s our mission, then you are the real fool here. We’re trying to save our people. The Zenith virus, and Valen’s union with the satellite, will allow us to establish control and peace as Exonia assimilates with Mirabel. When we open the Void, we’ll be saving our home. We’ll ensure peace, Klaren. Mirabel and Exonia, together at last. Just like you always hoped for.”

What had changed, after all these years? What had been done to her mother, to make her doubt the truth?

A tendril of unease slid down Nor’s spine, making her skin itch.

Could Klaren be speaking the truth? Could Darai have been lying to her all this time?

Nor didn’t want to believe it. For if what Klaren was saying was true...her entire life would have been a lie.