A smirk tugged at Zapharos’ lips. "Oh, I do. But this is not about pleasure. It is about survival. Some knowledge burns the mind when it is revealed too soon."
Sloane narrowed her eyes. "Then tell us what youcan."
Zapharos inclined his head. "Very well. You know the Arkhevari once had mates. What you don't know is that it was the Archegene that bound us and gave us our Soulweb Glyphs. It's a gift that we spread across the stars. And what you do not understand is that we lost them."
His amber eyes darkened like the void between stars. "We reached too far. We sought to understand too much. There is a place beyond the black hole, a place you call the Black Abyss—a space without time, without gravity, without limit. It is where we listened and learned. It gave us wisdom beyond measure; knowledge from every world was consumed. And for a while, we believed ourselves invincible, untethered from the constraints of lesser beings."
His voice lowered, torn between anger and incredible sadness, "But we were wrong."
Silence spread throughout the room as Zapharos continued, "The Archegene is not merely a gene—it'sbalance. It binds; it anchors. And when we abandoned our physical being and drifted too long in that weightless place of endless knowing, the Archegene did what it had to. It severed our tethers. We became...unmoored."
Noodar frowned. "Unmoored? From what?"
"Fromthem. Our mates. Our very destiny. We lost the resonance of their souls. The bond we took for granted became an echo we could no longer hear. Some say the Archegene did it to protect itself. Others believe it was a punishment." He exhaled. "Perhaps both."
Zaarek’s expression was unreadable, but Sloane was watching Zapharos closely. "You said some truths can't be spoken. What aren’t you telling us?"
Zapharos chuckled, but there was no amusement in it. "You assume I have all the answers. If only that were true."
Nova leaned forward. "Then tell us—why only Darlam? Why only Earth? Why are those the last places where the Arkhevari can find their mates?"
Zapharos was silent for a long moment. Finally, he said, "Because we are running out of time. Because the cycle is closing. And because, whether we like it or not,youare part of this story now."
Luph shifted uneasily. "What about me? I'm not a human. And there were some others too that we know of."
Zapharos stepped toward Luph. Noodar was ready to interfere, but Zapharos only gently touched her cheek. "You and the others are very special. My species mixed with yours a long, long time ago. So long, the Archegene has all but vanished in your species, but every now and then, a spark ignites, and one such spark became you."
Zaarek’s voice was edged with distrust. "Why are you telling us all this?"
Anger flared through the golden gleam around Zapharos' edges; Vraax stiffened as black bolts of lightning could be seen, but before the Space Guardian could do anything, the blackness retreated, and Zapharos took a deep breath. "Because it amuses me?"
"I'm calling bullshit," Sloane crossed her arms in front of her chest.
A smile tugged at the corners of Zapharos' lips, as if he liked her. With a wry smile, he amended, "Because you deserve to knowsomeof the truth. Your part of my story is over. We will go our separate ways from here, but now you have the means to summon me if you need me." He kept a tight hold of the globe but placed something else into the box.
Sloane snickered, "Here, little genie."
Zapharos glared at her. She laughed and spread her arms in surrender, saying, "Only when absolutely necessary, I swear." Then she cocked her head. “How is Ella?”
“She will be safe now that I have the globe.”
The golden glow around him turned brighter, so bright, it was hard, so hard, that I could barely make out his form. And then he was gone, and the golden shimmer dissolved.
We all stared at each other. "Well?" Zoe asked.
“Why do I feel like we shouldn’t let him have the globe thing?” I asked no one in particular.
Sloane’s eyes met mine. “You feel that way, too?”
I nodded; I did, but for some reason, I also knew that the globe had nothing to do with us. I shrugged, trying to play off my unsettling feeling. "At least we know a little bit more now."
"Hardly," Sloane snarked, her eyes turning to Hannah and Tharaax. Is she okay?"
Hannah freed herself from Tharaax and rubbed her eyes. "No, but I will be." She turned to me, "I'm sorry, Alice."
I creased my brow, "You have nothing to be sorry for."
She exhaled loudly, "Trust me, I do. To all of you and mostly, to the people living in the Vale."
