"Number Ten?" My voice quivers as I speak, but I try to steady myself to not show weakness in front of him.

"I thought there were only nine of us," Five frowns, shifting his gaze from me to Setrakus Ra.

"There were originally ten Elders on Lorien," He pauses at this for a moment before continuing," so ten children were chosen. Only nine of you escaped on your ship," Setrakus Ra's voice, which had a hint of disdain, booms through the nearly empty room. "However, we now have reason to believe that there was also a second ship that left the atmosphere that night, a ship containing the Tenth garde."

"And that's me?" I asked in disbelief. All these years, how could I not have known?

"Number one, two, and three are dead." He grins, glancing momentarily at his pendants before continuing. I think I see Five shudder from the corner of my eye. "We've crossed paths with Four, Six and Nine, and intelligence has placed Seven in Spain and Eight in India. Then there is you. Our intelligence caught wind of you several years ago, after your cepan was captured on our live surveillance footage while trying to sell loric gems. It took some time to track him from Cairo, but we located you in Canada." His tone sent a cold shiver down my spine. Cairo? I only ever remember being in Canada. When we were in Cairo? "That pendant around your neck contains the Loric symbol for Ten."

"Do the others know about him?" Five narrowed his eyes.

"We are uncertain," Setrakus Ra grins. "However, we will find out soon enough. While there were doubts about you at first, Ten," My mind crawls back to the months when I had first arrived, when they didn't know what to do with me. It was over a year before I even got my first legacy. I was so weak back then. How long has it even been? Time passes so slow here, I feel like I have been here all my life. "However, I have watched the footage from the training rooms. I have seen what you are capable of."

"You saw Evan," I grinned at the thought of Beloved Leader watching me harness my power to punish Evan for disrespecting the powerful being himself. It filled me with a warm sensation.

"I did," He nods. "You have proven yourself loyal, shedding the blood that was required of you to advance. So much potential for someone so young. You, Five, however," He makes eye contact with him. "Have yet to fulfill that duty."

"What happened to Number Nine?" Five asks, I could hear the disappointment and dread in his voice.

"He escaped." Beloved Leader growled. "Number Four, as well as a human," he spat the word human in disgust before continuing. "- were somehow able to sneak into this compound unnoticed. We believe they used an Invisibility legacy. They slaughtered pikens, krauls, and many of our visiting guests. Do you know why those guests were here?" His piercing eyes were glaring at us, almost accusingly.

"Yes sir," Five tells him. "They were here to watch us ascend."

"That's correct," He nods. "And they were murdered. So tell me, how did the two of you manage to let them escape?" This is it. I have to admit my weakness to him after he just talked about how much potential I had.

"It's my fault sir," I blurted before Five could respond. I couldn't let him take the fall for it since I had been the one who was a coward. If I had just attacked them instead of defending myself, I might have been able to stop them. "Five and I had to split up and both took separate groups of soldiers through the tunnels. I encountered the enemy and they used telekinesis to throw the green lava that flows near the bridge at myself and the soldiers that I was with. Most of my team was instantly reduced to ash, and I used my own power to deflect it all from myself. I realize now that with my pain legacy, I could have rendered them useless. By the time I came to my senses and tried to reach out to them with my mind, they were gone."

"Pain legacy?" He raised an eyebrow at me, and I could hear a hint of amusement. "Is that what you think your legacy is?"

"That's all I can really do with it, sir." I tell him but immediately regret it and wish I could take the words back. Now he is totally going to think I'm weak.

"Interesting," he smirks. "And you, Five?" he looks upon Five with a look of disapproval.

"Once I knew that they were under fire, I flew back as fast as I could," He told him. "When I arrived, I saw Ethan falling into the pool and I," he trailed off. "What happened to Ethan?" he asked quietly.

"The human is still alive," Beloved Leader growls. "Is his life more important than those of our murdered guests or soldiers?"

"No, sir." Five mumbles, I could tell he wanted to shrink into his seat.

"Someone has been communicating with the Loric Garde. How else could they have possibly known about Nine's whereabouts?" Setrakus Ra's voice booms through the nearly empty room.

"It wasn't me," Five blurted. "I've been going online on the computer we were given to try and find the location of the others, but I would never leak information about the compound."

"Relax," He grins. "We don't think it was either of you." Five takes another moment to think before he speaks.

"You think it was Ethan?" I can see the disappointment in Five's eyes, and I know exactly what my Beloved Leader is going to suggest next.

"That's right," He nods. "Very few people knew of Nine's whereabouts, so it had to have been him. Are you willing to do what must be done?"

"Kill Ethan," Five shutters, and instantly regrets it because Setrakus Ra raises his eyebrows at him. "I can do it, Beloved Leader." He quickly says, looking him in the eye.

"Good," He smiles. "He is staying in the same house that you lived in with him so I'm sure you know how to get there."

"Yes," Five nods. "I do."

"Then go," Setrakus Ra tells him. "Do what must be done."

"Can I fly there?" He asks. "It would be good practice for long distances."

"Go ahead," He nods. "You may leave now. I'd like to get to know Commander Ten." His words have a nice ring to it. As he leaves, Five turns his head slightly to offer a look of reassurance before disappearing out the door. For the first time in a long time, I feel utterly weak and vulnerable. "What do you remember of your life before coming here?"

"What?" I frown. His question has thrown me off guard; I had spent so much time trying to forget about my old life that it felt like it had never happened. Like this was all there ever was.

"Before you were found in a cornfield," he scoffs, I could hear a hint of annoyance in his gruff voice.

"I was living with my father and sister," I started, trying hard to picture what they looked like. All I can visualize is Melody's long, flowing hair. I picture her the last time I ever saw her; her hair blowing madly behind her as she races to catch up to me. "I mean my cepan," I corrected myself, remembering who I was speaking to. "But he never told me anything about Lorien. I learned about that when I got here."

"Do you remember living anywhere else before there?" He raises an eyebrow at me and I can tell that he wants more from me, but I don't know how to give it to him.

"No," I shook my head. "We lived there for as long as I can remember. Just us and our dogs,"

"Dogs?" he narrows his eyes and I don't know why this has intrigued him.

"Y-yes," I stammer. "Tango, Victor and Echo, I believe their names were."

"Were they always dogs?" He asks. "You never watched them change into something else?"

"No?" I answer with a bit of uncertainty. Dogs don't do that. What is he talking about?

"Useless," he mutters. "It's no wonder you were captured so easily." I squirm when he says the word "captured", thinking back to how easily I had been lured into the vehicle. How naive I had been. I wonder briefly what would have happened if I had stayed hidden, like my father had instructed. Would I still be with him and Melody? Would he have trained me, like he was supposed to?

"My father had a chest," I recall suddenly, thinking about the chest that Five sometimes pulls out. I hadn't thought much about it, but now that Beloved Leader was making me bring up old memories, I had seen that type of chest before. "I remember seeing it in his study,"

"Is that so?" Beloved Leader makes me feel so small as he judges me with his soulless eyes. "Did he ever speak of it?"

"I don't remember," I shook my head. "It's been so long," I trailed off, hoping that he would allow me to move on. It hurt to think about them; it was a weakness that I didn't need. Not now, not when I've finally made it to Commander.

"Do you miss them?" There is a tone to his voice that sends a chill down my spine, warning me that there is only one true acceptable answer. I know that this is another one of their tests, and I will not fail.

"Of course not," I say coldly, forcing myself to hold his gaze. "They mean nothing to me."