An officer stands beside the gunmen and lists the “crimes” for which I am to die. My mind reels as he speaks. "Fraternization with enemies of Terados; conspiracy against the government; murder of loyal Terados soldiers." I hear growls behind me as the list goes on. Spit from a nearby soldier hits my face and slides down my neck.

"Die for your crimes, traitor whore," the officer ends and steps away. The gunman raises his firearm and takes aim. I close my eyes and scream silently, I’ve failed! It was all for nothing .

“Hold!”

My working eye pops open at the familiar voice. Just behind the gunman, who has lowered his weapon, stands a broad-chested man in his late-fifties. Father.

“I wish to speak to the prisoner first,” he says. The soldiers around us nod in obeisance and withdraw a short distance.

General Horatio Tykus, my father, approaches. I try to stand straight and appear brave, unaffected by his appearance, but I cannot help huddling against the cold and my own apprehension. I peek at him through my uninjured eye. His general’s cap hides most of his dark, wiry hair but his full beard and mustache echo the color and texture. The three years since our parting have etched new lines around his mouth and eyes.

Against my will, my teeth begin to chatter. He removes his cloak and settles it around my naked body. Guiltily, I snuggle into the fabric. For a moment, I feel his hand touch the short brown curls at the back of my neck.

“Why did you come here, Thayet?” The tenderness in his voice shocks me. I had not realized how much I missed his affection, his approval.

I’ve come to kill you . The confession is ready to slip from my mouth but I bite my tongue to keep it in check. Instead I say, “I needed to speak with you.”

“About?”

Like a coward, I avoid his eyes and instead focus on the snow beneath his red-booted feet. “About coming home.”

His soft chuckle surprises me into looking into his eyes. It is a mistake. My father has eyes like a basilisk, one look and you are incapable of all else. “You never could lie very well, Thayet,” he murmurs. “Why did you really come here; especially when you knew how the guards would receive you?”

He knows. He knows why I’ve come. I look him in the eye and say in a steady voice, “I came to kill you, Father.” I pause and wait for some reaction. Nothing. I continue, feeling a bit deflated that my bold statement went over so badly, “As you are the top general and one of Prime Minister Helia’s main advisors, you are a key component to the end or extension of this war.”

“The only way this war will end is if the rebels cease their hostilities against the government.”

“This is their planet,” I retort.

“It might have been, at one time,” he conceded, “but we have held control for nearly two hundred years. We aren’t going anywhere and the Draykells need to accept that.”

I said nothing. He and I had argued this point before and neither of us had budged. “Now here you are,” he said softly, “weaponless. Your Draykell friends have abandoned you. Your mission has failed.” He steps toward me.

I keep my head lowered to hide the tell-tale trepidation in my eyes. My father takes a few more steps. His hands settle on my shoulders. “It isn’t too late, daughter. You can still come back where you belong.”

With a snort I say, “The military would never welcome back a traitor.”

“They would if I told them to.” He was right. The people of Terados, especially the military, revered him as a hero and savior. The Draykell uprising, which had begun almost fifty years ago, had claimed the lives of tens of thousands of humans. Horatio Tykus had ended most of the bloodshed, excepting a few scattered pockets of violence.

1 2 3