My mother shot me her usual terrifying glare. Pacem- bless her soul- tried her very best to return a look equally as threatening. Somehow it just wasn't the same.

It didn't matter how hard any of us fought, Alluna was always the one in control. It wasn't surprising, she had studied these people for years, almost as long as I had lied to them.

I hadn't hurt Pacem on purpose. I'm not a monster (despite popular belief).
I did it because I needed to get away from my mother. I had tried to escape before, but it had never worked. She always found me and she always took me back.

I thought with Pacem here, things would change. I also thought if I found my father that she would leave me alone. But now he was dead. He was dead because I killed him.

A giggle escaped from my lips.

Pacem snapped me a glare. Apparently I had ruined the dramatic moment. I'd always had a knack for destroying the tension.

"Whatever you're planning, it won't work Alluna." Pacem jumped off the elevated array of plants that we were standing on.

"Malvin darling, come stand next to your mother." She gestured for me to come to her side. I used to do everything she told me to do. But had that gotten old very quickly.

"No, I'm quite comfortable over here," I confirmed. My father's corpse remained on the floor and I felt the need to stay beside it. 

"Always a stubborn child." She shook her head at me.

I caught Pacem wincing at our interaction. This was obviously very new for her and I don't blame her for finding it uncomfortable. My mother didn't exactly make people feel at ease.

"Answer one question, Alluna." Pacem folded her arms (I was sure she had more than one). "You spend all your time hating Karnoi and then you have kid with one?"

Ah.

That is a baffling subject.

My mother never told me much about my father, besides that fact that he betrayed her and abandoned me. I suspect that he used her to get out of the dungeon and she fell pregnant in the process. Fun fact: even someone as cold as my mother was capable of love.

I know this, because deep inside, I've always suspected that she loved me.

"I don't owe you anything, Miss Creed. Especially an explanation."

Jake rushed to Pacem's side like he always did. She already had a lion for that. But Shir was still tangled in a mess of vines and Danielle was trying her best to help her out.

When he finally reached her, Jake threw himself in front of her like the knight in shining armour that he thought he was. Meanwhile, Pacem tried her best to find a vantage point to see over his shoulders. She was undeniably short.

"Leave us alone Alluna," his growl was nearly more powerful than Shir's. "You've lost this fight."

My mother cackled.

"Maybe Victor has lost this fight but I haven't even made my first move yet, Mr Maxwell."

We were all expecting a knife, or another gun that she had perhaps hidden from us before.

We were all wrong.

Alluna reached in her pocket and pulled out another nifty gadget in the shape of a remote. Before we knew it, she clicked the button. I flinched at the sound.

Then I watched helplessly as Pacem dropped to her knees.

Jake immediately rushed to her aid.
Shir and I started running at the same time, after the brief moment we took to finally understand.

The unavoidable reality being that Pacem was about to embark on another tortuously, long sleep. And there was nothing any of us could do for her now.

What is happening to Pacem?

And Malvin's Alluna's child!

Doesn't that give you the creeps??

Only one more chapter until the Epilogue!