The Aftermath (Book IV) [NaNoWriMo13] (On Hold)

Chapter Ten - The Messenger

When I came back into the room I saw Zach with Cassie on his lap. She was singing that song while he hummed along with it. It dawned on me where she heard the song from. Him. I carried the mug in with some honey and milk in case he wanted some. I sat everything onto the coffee table and sat across from him, on the couch. “I remembered how you don’t like sugar in it. Honey, right?” I gestured towards the tea.

He smiled and helped Cassie off of his lap. “Yes. Thank you.”

I looked at Cassie. “Cassie, could you go play in your room for a bit while your dad and I talk?”

She scooped up her doll and went upstairs without a word. I was relieved that she didn’t put up a fuss or anything.

“What’s wrong?” Zach asked with a mixture of chocolaty brown in his irises.

“Nothing serious. I don’t want you to worry,” I quickly responded.

He seemed to relax. “It’s difficult not to when you plan a secret meeting with tea.”

I held my cup of coffee between my hands and looked up at him with a frown. “It’s about the Keepers. I didn’t tell everyone what actually happened.” The other day I had told everyone the same thing I had told Jack. Zoey was appalled about me being ‘fired’ from my job while my mother was pleased to have me safe. No one suspected anything.

Zach gave me a skeptical look. “What do you mean?”

“They called me there to talk about what I am. They said it was basically a gift to the Twiad race for me to be half Twiad.”

He began mixing his tea, but he maintained eye contact as he did. “A gift for the Twiads? How so?”

“The Keepers want to try to reserve the Twiad race.”

“Preserve,” he corrected.

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Zach to correct my words during a serious discussion. “Whatever. Anyway, they think the best way to preserve the Twiad race is by making it purer. That’s apparently where I come in.”

His expression tightened. “They want to use you to help make the race purer? Do they think you’re some kind of machine or something?”

“I guess so. They said they want me to have more children all because they don’t want to mix their precious blood with the humans.” I scowled at the memory of being in that room.

He sipped his tea, appearing calm. Yet, as I looked closer, I noticed his eyes swimming with crimson. “What did Jack say about it?”

I blinked. I don’t know why that question caught me off guard. Maybe it’s because I expected Zach to say how insane the Keepers were or maybe ask me how I felt about it. “I, um, haven’t told him yet.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “Why not? I thought he would be thrilled.”

“Why would you say that?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Jack may have mentioned wanting a large family before… He has always wanted a large family.”

How could I not have known that? After all of the times I’ve seen into his head! I never knew he wanted that. “I-I have a reason for not telling him. It’s why you’re here, actually.”

Zach leaned forward, now enticed by my story.

“They don’t want Jack as the father because of his mixed blood. Because Jack is half, and I am half, it will be the same results as a human and a Twiad. So they’ve chosen someone else.”