Lyra had no idea why her father had called her to his private office in the cave below the Earth; his cave was surrounded by clear, warm water that people often said gave off the feeling of paranoid. People often spoke about how the water would watch them. The water was strong and heavy --- some would even fall whenever they tried to put their feet in.
Blue said only certain individuals could feel the strength and handle it.
Lyra was one of them.
She removed her slippers and lifted the bottom of her nightgown as she followed the shallow trail to the cave --- rocks in a linear line; they guarded the waters.
She stopped and turned to Harley, who nodded.
"Don't you want to come?" Lyra asked.
"Blue said he must speak to you privately. I was only told to fetch you," Harley replied.
Lyra nodded.
Lyra turned to see the cave entrance covered with rock. Lyra looked down at her feet, and she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Her father never spoke to her privately, nor did he ever call anyone down to Hollow Earth.
Lyra took a deep breath, brushed off her nerves, and walked through the narrow opening to see the crystalline on the roof. There, she saw her father sitting at his desk.
"Hi, father," Lyra nodded in respect.
Blue nodded. "I need to speak to you."
"Is something wrong, father?"
Blue stood up. "I need you to keep a secret for me."
Lyra's eyes widened, but she didn't ask ---- she waited for him to explain himself.
"There are rumors of another rebellion," Blue began, "gossip of humans trying to meet and overthrow me. Now, that means that you need to start thinking of marriage sooner than expected."
Lyra took a step back. She didn't know what to say.
"It's a lot," he began, "you aren't getting married tomorrow. I have some wealthy families, politicians, who have reputable sons. You'll have your betrothment until the day you turn 18, then you'll marry. If this rebellion is true, then that means securing you with a powerful family makes our family safer, and my legacy stronger."
Lyra nodded. "Anything for you, dad."
Blue narrowed his eyes and smiled at this daughter. He held out his arms, and Lyra ran right into them and wrapped her arms right around him.
"In order to make sure the boy is the right fit, I will be throwing a party. Multiple suitors will be there, and you will tell me which boy you like the best."
"But father," Lyra pulled away, "what do we do if I don't like one of them?"
"Then we keep trying until you find a guy you like. We are the most powerful family in the world, Lyra; the politicians don't get the final say. You do."
Lyra nodded.
"You should go to bed. Remember, this stays between us. You don't tell anyone you know about the rebellion."
Lyra narrowed her eyes. "You think it's someone in the mansion, don't you?" Lyra asked.
"I don't think --- I know," Blue smirked. "The workers were talking about it. They don't have contact with anyone outside, which means it has to be one of them."
Lyra nodded and exited the cave. She gasped when she saw Serene sitting in the water and slapping her arms around. She laughed at the loud splashing of the water getting all over her.
"Serene, you can't be down here," Lyra whispered.
Serene looked up at Lyra. "Splash with me."
Lyra felt a shadow and looked to see Orion.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why are you down here?" his voice boomed.
"Oh, I forgot to give something to dad. Harley said he was down here," Lyra said awkwardly. She knew not telling anyone meant not telling her own brother.
Lyra also knew that Orion wasn't one to trust; he was the most like their father and always had his own motives. He could be cruel.
"What about you?" Lyra asked. "Did you bring Serene down here?"
Orion shook his head. "I don't know how she just pops up. Dad needs me for something."
"Good luck," Lyra replied.
Orion walked past Lyra each other as Serene splashed around.
Serene looked up at Lyra. "Mommy's friend said he's evil."
Lyra crouched down. "Who's evil?"
"Daddy."
Lyra scoffed. That was obvious; her father was cruel, but she loved him.
"Let's go before you get in trouble," Lyra took Serene's hand and they walked into the elevator, and went back to the mansion.
"I want to still play, Lyra," Serene said.
"Serene, you can't be down here! How did you get down here?"
"She helped me."
"Who?"
"Mommy's friend."
Lyra made a face and looked around, and saw no one else.
"Mommy's ..... mom's friend?"
"Viper. She has brown curly hair. She tells me how to get down here because I like the water," Serene said.
"What's Viper like? Is she nice?"
Serene shrugged. "I think so, but she made a lot of bad choices, and daddy had to kill her."
Lyra's eyes widened. "What type of bad choices?"
"She went to the police, and she said she almost made it. Another guy in the gang followed her. This guy liked mom. Viper said mom liked him, too."
"Is that guy here, too?"
Serene nodded and pointed with her little finger to the other end of the elevator.
"He's a cute boy," Serene said. "Nice boy that cared about mommy. Daddy killed him."
Lyra's eyes widened. "What was his name?"
"I don't know. He said his street name is the name of a bird. He won't tell me. He just watches mommy and makes sure she's okay," Serene looked up at Lyra. "The bird guy says you have mommy's eyes and nose, and her smile."
Lyra smiled. "That's nice. You can speak to him another time. Mom will be looking for you! She's not gonna like that you were playing in the water this late at night."
As the two sisters were in the elevator, Lyra felt her stomach drop. She had no idea why Blue wanted to speak to Orion, but she knew it wasn't good. Orion was aggressive, mean, and cold hearted ---- if Blue told Orion about the rebellion, that would mean Orion would help, and it would be a sad war for the remaining humans.
Lyra also wasn't comfortable keeping the secret from her mother. She knew her mother wouldn't agree, though her mother was powerless against Blue. Lyra was aware that Blue treated Ivory well; however, he didn't use her worthy traits to help the gang. She just made sure the kids were on track for everything they were scheduled to do. Orion once said father made mother a hacker, and then an assistant, and that she was great at those jobs.
Cassian once said mother could feel the dead in the base; Rover had told him that. Kael, on the other hand, said it was unfair mother couldn't use her gifts --- she could make Serene's abilities stronger and better than they were now.
Elara generally didn't have opinions. She was still a little young; she was too focused on her basic math and English homework and often told her dad she wanted to be a doctor. Blue told her she was a Gravesend; she was meant to rule over Earth. Elara always told Ivory she didn't want to rule. She wanted to live freely. Ivory told her Blue wouldn't like that. Elara didn't really understand why she had to start taking fancy classes soon.
Blue was sometimes aggravated with her because she was a little behind her siblings --- they were already gaining strength and non human abilities and there she was, like an ordinary human. Blue told her to pick up the pace or else. Elara decided to try a discernment class, where she tried to use intuition to understand what people would do or what would happen next. Ivory sat with her, and Elara did all right.
Elara was too focused on not wanting to rule to see the dynamic between her parents.
Lyra felt that this time around, this war would be the biggest, because Blue's children were hybrids, which meant they were stronger than the humans. It would be a bloody, magical war.