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“You’ve always wanted this, Rex. You love power, or have you forgotten? Ever since we were kids, you were always the one who wanted to be King. That was never the life for me, brother, but you were made for it.”
“I need help,” Rex insists. “The people…they’ll know I’m new. They’ll try to take advantage of that.”
“Not if you don’t let them,” I say, looking at my brother. He’s changed in the years I’ve been gone. He still looks young and youthful, but there is a sadness in his eyes now. He’s different, jaded, and now I know the real reason he came for me.
He’s afraid.
When we were boys, I always protected Rex. No matter what happened, no matter what trouble we faced, I protected him. I guarded him and cared for him. Whether he was scared of the dark or there was a threat of invasion, I would watch out for him.
I guarded Rex with my life.
And now he’s asking me to do it again.
Only, this time, I can’t help Rex. Not like that. I have a new life on Sapphira and soon, I will have a wife, a family. I can’t go back to Orchid. Not only do I hate the planet, not only am I unwanted there, but I simply do not want to return. I have responsibilities on Sapphira I cannot set aside, even for my mother.
Even as I think the thoughts, I cringe, but I know my mother does not want me. She never viewed me or Rex as her sons. To her, we were simply heirs, simply people she could trust to pass on her dynasty to.
Well, fuck that.
“You have to be strong,” I tell Rex. “Fierce. I’m not telling you to go crazy with displays of power, but you can’t be scared to stand up to the council. You might be shaking internally, brother, but you cannot let them show it, or they will try to kill you.”
“I know,” Rex says. “They have already tried.” He sighs, and suddenly, Rex doesn’t look so tough. He looks scared, nervous. He looks tired.
He looks young.
“I need you, brother,” he says, but I shake my head.
“You’re stronger than you know, Rex.”
“I do not feel strong.”
“You can stay here,” I tell him, and I see Hayden’s eyes get wide, but she wisely stays quiet. “You can hide with me on Orchid. We’ll kill the police if we have to, or drug them, but you can stay here with me.”
“You’re serious,” Rex says.
“I am serious,” I tell my brother. “You know I love you, Rex. Leaving Orchid never changed my love for you. Although my mother may have turned her back on us, although I may have realized she is a liar and a deceiver, I never stopped loving you.”
“That means the world to me,” Rex says, and I realize how hard these last few years must have been on my brother.
When I discovered how corrupt my home planet was, I chose to step down as heir to the throne. I didn’t want any part in the government that had my father killed. I didn’t want to participate in a community that valued lies over honesty. I didn’t want any part of it.
Maybe that makes me weak.
Perhaps I should have stayed and fought, but at the time, I couldn’t.
I didn’t want that life.
I wanted something new, something fresh.
And then I met Hayden.
She was damage
d when I met her, already broken. The world had already gotten to her and cracked her right on open, but she was still so strong. Her strength gave me strength. Her hope gave me hope. When I met her, I felt lost and alone, but she offered me compassion and kindness when I had nothing else.
Does she even know how much she means to me?
She smiles at me, watching me and my brother speak, silently encouraging me, and in this moment, I realize something.
