Part 63

Liz lay curled up next to Max on the cot in their prison cell. She didn't know how long they had been there, but she knew that it had been for some time - several days at least, based on her sleep patterns. Max still had not woken up, and she was beginning to fear that he never would. At this point, she was beyond being afraid that they would never be found here. It didn't matter anyway. Until Max woke up, she wasn't going anywhere.

And, so, it was something of a dilemma when the door to the cell sprang open. But not a huge one, when she saw who it was. Tess, Isabel, and Michael were coming through the entrance.

Liz leapt off the bed, and into her sister's arms. "I'm so glad you're all right!" she exclaimed. "We were so worried about you." She pulled back, quickly hugging Isabel and Michael, the latter pretending to tolerate it, but Liz felt how hard he embraced her back. Michael had quite obviously been concerned about them. It made Liz smile, until she remembered that she had cause to be put out with Tess.

"What were you thinking, taking off like that?" she demanded of her sister. Her fear for Max over the past couple of days had dulled the thought of Tess, and how she had taken off to find Khivar, but now it all came rushing back.

Tess didn't seem concerned by her tone though. Instead, she smiled. "It all worked out for the best," she said, indicating where Liz had been lying when they came in. "I'm guessing the two of you found your way back to each other. Once you stopped being so stubborn."

Liz didn't reply, because obviously Tess had known what she was doing, and had, in fact, guessed Liz's own fears better than she had. She blushed slightly. "That's over now," she finally said. "I've accepted who and what I am, and what we are to each other. There's not point in denying it any longer." She paused, then added wryly, "Anyway, I've had plenty of time to think about it." She glanced back at Max worriedly.

"What's wrong with him?" Michael demanded. He was standing over the cot, staring down at his friend. Max had not stirred.

Liz quickly explained the situation. "He hasn't been conscious since," she sighed, her heart panging with concern. Tears came to her eyes unbidden, her worry crashing back, numbing the relief that they had been found by their friends. "I think he's reliving it all. Everything that happened to us," she elaborated, when she met Isabel's concerned gaze. "I did for a while, too, when I connected with him. I wasn't in there very long though."

"He'll come around," Michael told her, frowning. He didn't seem nearly as frightened as Liz felt. "It happened to Kate, too," he added. "She woke up when she died in our past lives. I bet that Maxwell will, too."

"But why them?" Tess asked. "Why are only the two of them really learning what happened to us all?"

Michael shrugged. "Who knows anything anymore? All I know is that I want out of this thing. This granolith has been nothing but trouble since we first laid eyes on it." He looked at Isabel, glaring slightly.

"It wasn't my fault I found it," she snapped.

"No, but it was your fault that you showed it to us," Michael snarked back.

Tess sighed heavily. "Can we please not argue? I think the best thing at this point is for us to move Max somewhere more comfortable. We'll just have to wait until he wakes up to find out what's going on."

"How did you know where to find us?" Liz asked Isabel and Tess. "What happened to Yorvin?"

Isabel shrugged. "We just came here, to the summer palace, because this was where Tess left you both. When we got here, there was no one around. Who's Yorvin?" she questioned.

"I told you about him," Tess reminded her impatiently. "He worked in the lab with Serena. He was involved in the cloning."

"It seems to me, he might be someone we want to find," Michael suggested. "I bet he can give us some answers."

"We should at least ask Grant about him," Isabel suggested.

"Grant?" Liz inquired, surprised.

"It's a long story," Isabel replied, rolling her eyes. She linked arms with Liz. "Let's get Max upstairs, and then we'll tell you all about it."

Kate watched Liz tap her fingers nervously on her thigh. She could tell that the other girl was anxious to return to Max, who was still lying comatose in a nearby chamber. But Liz knew that all of their heads were needed to figure out exactly how they were going to leave the granolith. Apparently reuniting all eight of them in one place had not been the answer, after all, because they were all still here, and nothing had changed.

They were all gathered, including Grant, to decipher whether it was Max's unconscious state holding them prisoner in the granolith, or whether it was still someone else. Tess was seated near Liz, which had quickly become her custom when they were together. Kate glanced at Will, who was standing near the one window in the room. He was staring at Liz, an unreadable expression on his face. Kate wrinkled her nose, then sighed, when she realized that Tess was eyeing Will, and had noticed this as well.

They were all reunited, but they still had a veritable mess on their hands. And Kate was pretty sure that Will's inability to completely give up on Liz was one of the reasons they were still here.

"Okay, so who has the problem now?" Michael demanded, glaring around at them all suspiciously. "Who hasn't learned what they're supposed to learn? Because I'm starting to get annoyed here."

"Starting?" Jack muttered, from where he was standing behind Kate's seat. "Is he kidding? He's permanently annoyed." Kate smiled to herself.

"It's probably because Max isn't awake," Tess suggested. "I mean, if he's doing what Kate was doing when she was out of it, we're not done here. He's finding out what happened to us, isn't he? So that it doesn't happen again?"

"And when he dies in his past life, he'll wake up," Isabel agreed. She glanced at Grant. "Isn't that right?"

There was a long pause. Kate frowned. The shapeshifter was grimacing slightly.

"Isn't that right?" Isabel demanded again, more forcefully this time.

"Well, I don't know exactly," Grant said. "I'm not the granolith expert, remember? That's Serena's department."

"But you know something," Michael snapped, leaning forward slightly, his expression menacing. "And you're going to tell us what it is right now."

"As I said, I don't know for sure," Grant insisted, lifting his hands, as though to ward Michael off. "But if you're right," he looked at Kate, "that you came out of your memory because you died, then we have a bit of a problem when it comes to Max."

"Why?" Liz asked. Kate could hear the slight tremor in her voice.

"You may have all been a little misled about the situation as it exists back on the real Antar," Grant explained carefully.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Michael demanded fiercely.

Grant sighed. "Here's the thing. If Max isn't going to wake up until he dies as Zan, wherever he is, he's not going to wake up - ever."

Kate heard Liz gasp. She looked at her sharply. The other girl's long tapered, alien fingers (because this was, of course, how Kate saw her) were covering her mouth, as though holding in her fear. She was apparently the only one who understood what Grant was talking about, because everyone else was staring at Liz, too.

"Liz, what's wrong?" Tess asked, her concern obvious.

Liz closed her eyes briefly, a shudder running through her small form. "Don't you get it, guys?" she finally asked, her voice low. "If we're right, and Zan has to die for Max to wake up, Max isn't going to wake up, because he can't die as Zan." She opened her eyes, tears glimmering within them.

"But, why?" Isabel asked, her confusion obvious.

Liz was obviously too upset to continue though, so Grant finished for her.

"Because the first Zan never died," he said quietly.

"Why did you do it?"

Zan did not turn at the sound of the voice. He knew he would be confronted eventually, and he had guessed that it would be by Khivar, but he had hoped it would not be so soon. He was still mourning the final loss of the only woman he would ever love.

Now that it was done, she would be Khivar's, and there was nothing whatsoever that he could do about it.

Zan was somewhat relieved, however, that Khivar had not killed him first, and asked questions later. It had been on his insistence that Khivar was not let in on the plan though. If it had resulted in Zan's death, it would have been worth it. He couldn't take the chance that the truth of what was planned for Valonia should leak.

They still had a mole in their midst, and while Serena was convinced it was not Khivar, Zan could not be as certain.

"I did what had to be done," Zan finally said. He still did not turn, but gazed down upon the burning palace. The inferno their ship's cannons had created was so immense, it could easily be seen from this height.

There was no way that anyone could have survived the assault.

"You did it because you can't have her," Khivar said. His rage was barely leashed.

"Not true," Zan replied quietly. "It was her choice, Khivar."

"It was Rowena's choice to die?" Khivar demanded. "You expect me to believe that? Rowena would never have abandoned her people by giving up her life."

"The woman who died down there has saved her people," Zan told him, finally turning from the window. "She has saved her sister."

He met Khivar's gaze. "I am telling you the truth, Khivar."

Khivar narrowed his eyes. He seemed to be searching Zan's face for something. Zan had no clue what, but the other man appeared to find it, because he said, "Tell me," as though he was now ready to listen.

Zan touched the com on the wall. "You may join us now. It is done. Secrecy is no longer imperative."

"Yes, your highness," a voice on the other end replied.

"Who was that?" Khivar demanded.

"That was Edgen," Zan replied. "He is the shapeshifter Wendar's parliament sent to aid us in dealing with Yorvin."

"What? Wendar was in on this?" Rath demanded. Zan's general had remained quiet for far longer than Zan had ever expected, but now he exploded. "Zan, what is going on here?"

"No one could know," Zan explained, not the least bit guilty. "You were the one who insisted we had a traitor in our midst," he reminded Rath. "I could not trust anyone."

"Not even me?" Rath demanded. "You trusted shapeshifters more than me?" He said it in anger, but Zan could tell he was hurt.

Of course he was. But Rath wanted Zan to be a king. And, if that was Rath wanted, then it was what he was going to get. "I trust no one," Zan said firmly. "Not entirely. Not anymore." He met his best friend's eyes squarely. "You are the one who taught me this, Rath."

Rath stared at him, his mouth hanging open. But he said nothing more.

The door finally slid open and Edgen entered. "All has gone according to plan, highness," he informed Zan. "The queen's shuttle should arrive at any moment."

Zan felt the gazes of Khivar, Rath, and Nikkol, who had said nothing to this point, swing back to him. "Good."

"What is going on here?" Khivar almost bellowed. "Whose shuttle, Zan?"

"Why Rowena's, of course," Zan replied. "The queen of Valonia is alive."

"Then…then…." He sputtered, pointing at the window, to indicate the destroyed palace below. "Who was that?"

Zan said nothing, waiting for Khivar to understand. Because he would. Of course, he would. There was only one possible answer.

"It was Serena," Khivar finally said, sounding strangled. "You killed my wife."

Zan remained quiet. Because what was left to say?

"How?" Nikkol said, speaking for his king, who had collapsed into a nearby seat, his shock and dismay probably surprising even Khivar, himself.

Because Serena had been his true wife, and he was only now realizing it. Zan felt a pang of sadness for the other king, but it had been Serena who had made the decision. In the end, it had been her choice.

Zan looked at Edgen, who explained, "I am in command of a group of shapeshifters planet-side. They chose to return to the Wendarian fold when they understood that Yorvin was no longer acting with the support of our parliament. They spirited the queen away. Yorvin was told that it was Serena who had left, which as far as Yorvin was concerned, was no cause for concern. The queen's clone willingly took Queen Rowena's place in her cell."

"I do not understand," Khivar said, his pain apparent. "How could he have not known that Serena had betrayed him?"

This did not raise any alarms for one reason only - a reason that a disbelieving Zan had heard from Serena's own lips the week before, the one and only time he had communicated with her about any of this. The rest had been accomplished through Edgen. Zan remembered the conversation as he related the story to Khivar and the others.

"He does not know," Serena whispered, glancing over her shoulder, as though expecting to be interrupted at any time. "I am free, Zan. He thinks I am still on his side."

"How is that even possible?" Zan demanded. "Serena, you are both in danger. We are coming for you."

"You are coming for Rowena," Serena insisted. "I am staying. He will let her go, if he thinks that she is me."

"But why?" Zan shook his head, still not understanding.

"Your clone," Serena said softly. "He did not betray me."

Zan's eyes widened in amazement, as the truth finally dawned on him. "He loves you." Of course he did. Just as Rowena had been destined for Zan, in some strange way, Serena had been made for his clone. Rowena and Serena were the same. And just as Zan had found his soulmate in Rowena, so his clone had found his in hers.

It was almost miraculous, in a way. But the plan Serena devised from the miracle was not.

Because the one problem with all of this was that, for the plan Serena insisted on to work, she would have to die.

"Zan, there is no choice. Once Rowena is safe, you must do this. The cloning technology must be destroyed, once and for all. I am a remnant of it."

"Serena…"

"Zan, if you do not do it, I will kill myself anyway. Please do not make my death in vain."

He stared at her through the viewscreen, frowning slightly. He felt that something was off with all of this, but the expression on Serena's face was so fierce, he did not know how to refuse her, particularly after that last threat.

"Please…" He swallowed, looking away. Why did this feel so wrong?

"Zan." He looked back, meeting her large, dark eyes.

"Do this for me. You know that it is what must be. Be the king you have to be to end this once and for all."

There was a long pause as he absorbed this. "I trust you to do this, Zan," she whispered. She glanced over her shoulder again. "I lo…"

He stared at her, his eyes widening slightly. "I trust you," she repeated, interrupting whatever it was she had been about to say. "Be at peace, my king."

And, then, without allowing him another word, she was gone

And, so, Zan had decided to proceed as she had requested. In those last moments, as he had met Serena's eyes while she stood next to Yorvin, waiting for death - as he watched her nod her readiness for him to proceed with the destruction of the palace - he could see that she was completely at peace with her decision.

He was still not entirely at peace with it, but it had been her choice. And it had ended it, once and for all.

Complete silence greeted Zan when he finished talking. Because there was nothing left to say, after all. Zan had not wanted Serena to die, but she had been unwilling to compromise. This whole plan had been her idea and it had played out as she had willed it to, just as everything else had.

Now she was gone, and none of them would ever be the same again.

"My wife…"

Zan looked at Khivar. "Rowena still lives. You will have your betrothed wife," he said, each word like a dagger thrust into his heart. "She will marry you."

"But she will never love me," Khivar said sadly, finally meeting Zan's gaze again. "And we both know it. I have lost the only chance I ever had for that."

"You are not alone in this," Zan said softly.

They were both kings, and in that instant, as they stared at each other, they both knew that the price for being a good king had been far steeper than either had ever anticipated.

"I'd like to speak to you privately," Khivar eventually said.

Zan narrowed his eyes, but nodded at Rath, who frowned, but left without comment. Apparently he now trusted that his king would not abdicate his throne at the first provocation, Zan thought wryly, if somewhat bitterly.

"We made a deal, you know," Khivar said, after Nikkol and Edgen followed Rath out.

"You and Rowena?" Zan asked, because, of course he had always suspected this. When Khivar nodded, Zan guessed, "She agreed to marry you if you helped me take back my throne, didn't she?"

"No."

Zan blinked in surprise. "What then?"

"She gave me the cloning technology. I have it, Zan."

"What?" Zan exclaimed, staring at the other man.

"Serena never knew," Khivar said, staring off into space. "Obviously she did not. Or she would not have done this."

Zan could feel his anger mounting with every second. It had to be destroyed! If it wasn't, then Serena's death would have been for nothing. Zan managed to control himself though. It was obvious that Khivar finally understood this, or he would not be telling Zan about it now. "You know what must be done," he said firmly.

Khivar looked at him. "It might be too late."

"Why?" Zan demanded. "I don't understand any of this. Why did you want it?"

"For Kara…and your sister," Khivar admitted. "They are to be brought back. My scientists have already commenced the work."

"But it will not be them!" Zan exclaimed. "You, better than anyone, should have understood this! A clone killed our sisters."

"You did not want Serena to die," Khivar reminded him. "Rath told me as much. You did not want the technology destroyed."

"Of course I did not, but I have to respect what she has done," Zan told him. "And Rath convinced me that were we to clone Vilandra, it would not be my sister. This is not what Serena wanted, Khivar."

"I know it, highness," Khivar said, his voice cracking slightly. "I know it now. But how can we not try? It is my sister!"

Zan raised a hand, rubbing his head wearily. "I understand why you have done what you have done, Khivar, but we must destroy the clones. I am assuming that they are not yet fully mature. It could not have happened so quickly. It has only been a little over three solar weeks since this all began."

"Perhaps." Khivar shrugged. "But I felt that you should know this."

Zan stared at him, a slight frown on his face. He felt that there was something Khivar was leaving out. He was not certain why, but the other man's tension had not faded in the way one would expect after such a confession.

"There is more," he said. "What is it?"

Khivar looked at him, surprised. "I do not know…"

Tell me."

"Zan, there is nothing else, I swear it. You may ask Nikkol. I put him in charge of the project."

Zan did not feel satisfied, but he finally sighed. "Very well. We will speak to Rowena of this, and let her decide. It was, after all, her sister who made this sacrifice."

"My wife," Khivar reminded him.

"One you did not accept until her death," Zan snapped back.

"My very grave mistake," Khivar said, lowering his gaze.

Zan watched him for a moment. He could see that the other man's grief was genuine. "Do you still wish to marry Rowena?" he asked, unable to help himself.

"I do not know if she will have me," Khivar replied. "It may be best that we all return to our own homes to put them in order before making any other decisions of system-altering magnitude."

"That is wise," Zan told him. He was not sure why his heart lightened slightly. After all, it did not matter if Rowena married or not. He was not free and never would be again. And even if he should prove willing to dishonor his wedding vows to Ava, he knew that Rowena would not.

A disturbance from the hallway outside the presence chamber made both kings start to their feet. "I will see him now," a familiar voice said, sounding furious.

"Rowena, be sensible…" Rath was grabbing at his cousin as she came storming into the room.

She wrenched away and marched right up to Zan and slapped him across the face.

"How could you?" she demanded. "How could you do it?"

Zan stared at her in astonishment. He did not know what to say. The last thing he had expected was such anger. Did Rowena not understand that it had been Serena's choice to stay on Valonia?

"Rowena…" Khivar stepped forward. "Zan did what had to be done."

"He killed my sister!" she exclaimed.

"It was Serena's plan,"

"No, you fool! It was Rowena's plan!" she said, her voice dropping, and tears rushing into her eyes. "Zan, how could you do this?"

Zan felt his heart stop. He stared at her in horror. Because the truth of what had transpired down on that planet was only just becoming clear to him. The feeling that the plan was not right when Serena had convinced him of it came rushing back…

"That was not Serena I spoke to, was it?" he finally said. His tone was flat. He could barely manage the words.

"No," she said, crumbling to her knees before him. "She did this. She did this to save me. She did this to save you a lifetime of misery pining for her."

"What is happening here?" Rath demanded into the silence that was only broken by the sobs of the woman on the floor.

"Rowena is dead," Zan replied blankly, before turning on his heel and walking out of the room.