Horam turned, now revealing a genuine and warm smile… directed at Moira.
"Did you really think," Moira said softly. "That I would allow my kingdom to fall unless I wanted it to?"
Micah stood frozen, eyes wide with betrayal. " So, you're saying that this was all a trap?"
Moira took Horam's hand." We needed you to come willingly, Zora, and now… here you are."
Zora stumbled back." You… you're with him?"
Moira's wide smile didn't waver. " He opened my eyes and gave me power beyond anything your father could imagine. Together, we can rebuild Songrin, not as the fragile Kingdom it once was, but as an empire.
"You tortured people!" Zora cried. "You let them believe you were dying!"
"You let me believe…"
"I needed you to be strong", Moira interrupted, stepping forward." I needed you to be strong enough to survive what's coming. You've grown beautifully Zora, just as we hoped."
Horam raised his hand and the ground beneath them began to shift.
Zora turned to Micah, whose fists were clenched and his stance was like he was ready for anything.
"This cannot be real," he muttered.
But it was.
Zora looked at her mother, her real mother standing beside the monster who ruined everything. In that moment, she knew she hadn't come to save the queen, she had come to confront the real enemy.
The walls closed behind them and the escape tunnels were sealed. She and Micah were locked in with the people they feared the most.
"Take him", Queen Moira's voice echoed through the chamber. Before Zora could react, a squad of guards emerged from the shadows.
"No… Micah…!" She screamed.
He fought desperately, elbowing one of the guards and blasting the others with a pulse round from his gauntlet. But there were too many.
"Zora, don't let them take me away!"
They cuffed him in energy binds and drove him to his knees. One struck him across the jaw.
Zora lunged forward in an attempt to save Micah and unleash every weapon in her body, but her mother stepped in front of her.
"Don't", Moira said coldly. "You'll only get yourself killed."
"I know they are taking him to the bleeding chamber", Zora said, her voice trembling. *That's where you drain the blood of innocent people."
Moira turned her eyes to the guards." He's not innocent, he is of royal blood."
"So?" Zora said angrily. "He's not your enemy."
"That blood," her mother whispered, "is the key to survival."
Zora's hands shook in fear. "You taught me to fight for freedom and justice, now you're harvesting people's blood like they're animals?"
"I taught you to survive," Moira snapped. "And surviving means adapting, accepting truths no one else is bold enough to say out loud."
"You let me think you were dying all this time, that Horam kidnapped you," Zora said, with eyes glued to Moira.
"I needed you to come to me, on your own."
"Why?" Zora said with grief rising like fire in her throat. "Why all this?"
Moira's face softened, not out of anger but pity. " Because you needed to understand before the truth could be told."
Zora stared, more attentive this time. "What truth?"
Her mother's eyes flickered. " I was with Horam, long before your father took the throne. We met in secret and even though he was dangerous, he was brilliant. He saw the future and even though your father was noble and strong, he was blind. He never knew the kind of world that would come… but Horam did.
Zora's heart pounded in her chest." You loved him?"
"I still love him," Moira said it with pride and certainty. We had a child years ago, born of fire and code, a perfect heir."
Zora went limp." A child?"
"Yes, that child was hidden and protected, until now…"
Zora stepped back. "No… no, no… what are you saying?"
Zora felt her voice slowly fade. She stepped closer, eyes locked on her mother, like the ground had vanished beneath them.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "Is he my father?"
Moira didn't answer.
Zora stepped closer.
"Am I the child you're talking about?"