" Are you saying he was supposed to kill me ? After everything I did for you , that 's how you repay me ? " I asked , my voice controlled and leveled , but threatening at the same time . I was playing a role , showing them the person they needed to see . " Where do you think ? Did you really believe that he could attack me and not suffer the consequences ? You made a big mistake the moment you decided you could play me . The rules have changed , and I 'm in charge now , you are no longer the Queen , I will take over your functions , " a roar of whispers started from the Representatives at my words , the volume growing as time passed . " I am the one in charge , I am the Queen , my word is the law . Now tell me , where is Faakhir ? " She asked again , I could see how she was losing control as she started to understand the situation . " You are lying , there no way … You couldn 't … Where is my husband ? " She asked , but not to me , she was addressing her question to the guards behind me . Once her fears were confirmed by Lim , Emily lost control , a blood - curdling scream tore out of her throat , and she started falling apart right before my eyes , but I knew that was only the beginning , the battle was about to start . People around us stopped whispering and started talking and screaming , some of the Representatives tried to leave the room , but the guards posted on the doors weren 't moving , they were following their instruction of not letting anyone leave , until told otherwise . When they realized they were still trapped , some of them went back to their seats , others moved to the back of the room . Meanwhile , Emily was calming down , but her face was a mask of hate and anger , and I could taste her need for revenge . " Your time is over , " I said , " I am now in control of the Dominion . You can accept that and recognize my claim to the throne , and I will let you live , you will be comfortable for the rest of your life , or you can oppose me and forfeit that life . Make the right decision Emily , there 's no need for you to die . " " How can you even suggest something like that ? I am the rightful Queen , I am the one in charge , and you will pay for your crimes . What the hell are you waiting for ? ! " She asked her guards . " Kill her ! " " They are mine , my guards , my people . What are you waiting for ? I told you to kill her . Don 't just stand there ! Do something ! " " I 'm afraid you don 't understand . You seem to know that I was never truly under Faakhir 's control , I just faked it so I could get close to you and be in a better position to take over . You are no the first ones to think that you could control me and then regret it , " I turned my head and looked straight to Kimball , letting people think I was talking about him . " You were so sure you had everything under control , you never noticed that I had been freeing some of your guards from Faakhir 's control , you didn 't realize that their loyalties were switching to me . You may think you have control , but right now , my men are taking over all the key points in the Dominion . You already lost Emily , there 's nothing you can do about it , all you can do is accept your destiny and accept me as your new Queen . " For a moment nothing happened , but then Emily reacted , taking a dagger and running towards me . One of his men tried to help , I could see , from the corner of my eye , I could see darkness gathering around him as he prepared his attack , but he never had the chance , Zhou shot him in the head , killing him instantly . Emily reached me and tried to stab me , but the dagger hit my psychic wall . Emily screamed her frustration and him my wall again , then he pushed her hands to it , and I felt her power , I could feel my wall barely holding her out , and I knew she was capable of breaking through my defenses . I had never before experienced Emily 's power , so I wasn 't sure what to expect . Emily just kept screaming and I felt the place was starting to get affected . I focused on keeping my defenses up , but I could feel her power building up , and I knew that soon I wouldn 't be able to keep my wall up , her powers was getting too strong . The people around us was getting scared , some of them were using their own powers to keep Emily 's powers at bay , and I noticed that my men had also moved between us and the Representatives to help keep them safe if Emily 's powers got out of control . I focused on her again , and noticed that her nose was bleeding , as her powers grew more and more out of control , the furniture around us was breaking . She had crossed a line of no return , I knew what was happening , she had pushed too far and was having a psychic headache . I felt my defenses crumbling and I knew that Emily was going to get her chance to reach me , but I couldn 't allow that , so I let my wall collapse and reformed my power as a sphere around Emily , to keep her contained . I had just witnessed a person getting a headache a few times in my life , most people didn 't push her powers so far unless they were Maximas . The main problem with getting a psychic headache was losing control , there was a point where they just couldn 't stop , their powers kept growing in strength reaching unbelievable highs , but there was a price to pay , the highest price of all : death . I knew she was close , the first sight that she was gone was that her brain was bleeding , and it was so bad that I could see blood getting out of her nose , ears , and even eyes . I needed to use all my power to contain hers , and for a moment I thought that wouldn 't be enough , I knew I needed to stop her before she could hurt all of us . I pushed against her power , shrinking the sphere around her until it started to press against her body . Our powers fighting each other were so strong that it pushed her up in the air , and I heard the screams and cries and knew everyone was able to see her . Her body was contorting in impossible , unnatural ways . Suddenly , the screaming and yelling stopped , everyone was just staring at Emily . I kept pushing until I heard her bones breaking and knew she was gone . As soon as I let my powers go , the energy that was holding her up disappeared and her body fell , she hit the ground as is she was a broken doll , her limbs twisted in unnatural angles . She was still bleeding , and I could see a small blood pool forming around her head . The short , but intense fight had left me feeling drained , but I pretended I was ok , moving towards the platform Emily had been using before and taking her place at the front of the room . " The King and the Queen are dead , " I told them . " From now on , I am your new Queen . Right now my men are taking control of the Dominion , the army is under my control . It 's in your best interest to accept that I am in charge now . Anyone who even thinks of opposing me will share Emily 's fate . " " Things don 't have to be worse with me in charge . If you want , you can help me , it would be easier with you by my side . You once said that things couldn 't get worse , maybe together we could make things better , " I said , coaxing him to my side . " You know what I want . I am not vain like Emily , I don 't need luxury , I just need power . Faakhir thought he could control me , Emily thought she could humiliate me , and now I will show everyone who is really in control . If you want to help , if you think you could do a better job than Faakhir , you are welcome to try , all you have to do is remember who is in charge , " I signaled my men and they let Kimball move closer to me . " You will be here to help and suggest , but I am the one who will have the last word , " I warned . He had his back to the rest of the room , and no one saw his smile . I did my best not to smile back , controlling my face , keeping it cold and threatening . " Things don 't have to get complicated , " I signaled Onyesha and she activated the monitors behind me , showing images of the army walking through the streets of the most important cities in the Dominion . " Right now my army is taking control of the dominion . Your options are limited , you can either join me , or share the Queen 's fate . No one can stop me now . " I could hear the protests , but I couldn 't understand the words as the volume increased and the people got angrier , but I wasn 't going to let them take control of the situation . I used my powers to send a wave of energy that pushed them away , just enough to show them my intentions , but enough to drain my energy reserves . I felt Kimball grabbing my arm , the action could seem like a threat to others , but as he pulled me towards him , I knew he was only showing his support and giving me a chance to gather myself . " Are you ok ? If you need energy , you can use mine , I 'm here for you , " he whispered in my ear . I knew that for the rest of the people the action would seem like a fight , not a show of support . " I know that the actions today have taken all of you by surprise . I will give you time to calm down , and go talk to your leaders . Tomorrow we will gather again and make this official , " I signaled my men and a couple of them took Emily 's body and dragged it away . " I hope that by tomorrow you will be ready to accept me as your new Queen . I expect all of you tomorrow at noon , Representatives and Embassadors . Those who don 't show up , will be assumed to be against my rule and will be hunted down , your guilds or countries will also face the consequences of your actions . " I didn 't wait to see if they understood and agreed with my directions , I walked our of the place , with Kimball following me . " Are you alright ? " Mbali asked , but I knew she didn 't really care about the answer . ¿ What happened here ? How did you manage to kill all of these people ? Forget the how , why ? Months of planning gone down the drain because you couldn 't control your temper , " she said , angry at me as if my actions had actually hurt her . " Why ? Because he found out I wasn 't under his control , and he found some memories that I didn 't want him to see . He was angry and wanted to make me pay for lying to him . " " Who 's Sklave ? " Ivan asked . Mbali and I had been using one of the least known languages of Mzansi , but Ivan knew enough to understand what we were talking about . " You did all of this alone ? " Onyesha asked . " It seems impossible for a single person to do this much damage , " she said , moving closer to where the bodies of the guards were and examining the wounds . " No , not yet , but the pain must have been more than he could deal with , so he passed out , " I said . Gina nodded and then crossed the room , she took a water pitch and proceeded to throw the water to Faakhir , waking him up . A sound that must have been a scream , but sounded weird thanks to the branch in his neck , filled the room , his body started shaking , until he could control it enough to stop it , doing his best to minimize the pain he was feeling . " I get it , you see the tree and it reminds you of your cousin , but look at it , it 's Faakhir who 's there , and he deserves every bit of pain he is feeling . And don 't you dare fight with Gina about this , if someone deserves to see him suffer is her , she deserves this after everything he did to her . " Mbali didn 't say anything more , she was quiet , thinking about what I said . " I think that if someone deserves a death like that , it 's Faakhir . After all the pain he inflicted , I think he is actually having it easy , " Konstantinos said . " You can 't judge others if you never experienced the horrors of being under his control , we can 't just ignore all the damage he caused . " Mbali was speechless , because she knew they were right . Some of Faakhir 's guards were with him because they wanted , but if Faakhir really wanted someone , he didn 't give a choice . He had kidnaped Gina when she was a teenager , and the only reason he let her go after years of abuse , was because in a fight , while she was protecting him , she got injured , and the scars she got in the fight made her unattractive in Faakhir 's eyes . He had sent her to protect Nysa when she didn 't want her anymore , and it wasn 't until after her death that I found her and was able to clear the programing that Faakhir had put in her mind . Konstantinos had also suffered because of Faakhir , he had taken his lands , his position , his family and even his freedom . He had brainwashed him and made him into one of his elite guards , just like he had tried to do with me . They were not the only ones that were loyal to me because I had given them their freedom , almost 20 of the 45 elite guards that had joined me , had done so because I had freed their minds . They were people like Konstantinos , who had every reason to hate Faakhir , but that were forced to obey him because of his powers . They were people who would follow me without question because I had given them their lives back . " Is everything ready ? Did you notify our contacts in the army ? " I asked my men . I could feel that Faakhir 's end was close , and once he was dead , we would need to act . " Connor , I need you to take some men with you and take control of the school , we need to keep the Representative 's children under control . That worked for Faakhir and with my reputation it would be an effective threat , they all will believe me capable of killing their children if they don 't obey me , " I said , " but your main mission is to make sure that Ethan is safe . Make sure no one notices that you are there for him , but make sure no one hurts him . " " That 's perfect , with those four and the four that will go with me , would be more than enough to control the other guards with Emily and take control of the Congress . For the rest of us , I need you to move and go take control of the army , and contain anyone you think could cause of trouble , any way you need to . You all know your roles , you know who to contact and who you can trust . This will work , only if we work together . We are doing here not just to take Emily down , we need to take control of the Dominion with as few casualties as we can . At first , they won 't know what 's going on , and that will give us time to act , but things will change once our enemies realize that Faakhir and Emily are no longer in control , they will believe they can move in and take over . If we don 't want that to happen , we need to take control as soon as possible and establish our rule . " " There is no time to bring her here , besides , plans had changed . We can 't bring Sofia out and risk one of her enemies attacking her , we need to identify and neutralize all the people that is loyal to the current power . And the risk is not only with those that truly believe in this government , but those who are still under Faakhir 's control , we don 't know what kind of programing he could have prepared against something like this . " " Everything is going to be alright , " Fatima said . " It 's true that things got complicated , but we have been working towards this for a long time . We are ready . Everything is going to be alright , " she said again , I wasn 't sure if she was trying to convince us or herself . The fog of the future was still closed to me , so I had no choice but to face things as they came my way . " No , she won 't . The representatives are still discussing her new demands , and she won 't let them get out until she gets her way . You know how she likes to play with them , let them think they still have some control , just to see them crack and fall to her demands . I 'm pretty sure that right now she is getting something to eat while the rest of the people just watch her and try to work on something she can accept , " Mbali said . " It wouldn 't be the first time she keeps them there , starving , as if they were kids being punished for not doing their homework , " Ivan agreed . " The only problem is that Faakhir is usually by her side , trying to find a middle ground between her demands and what the countries can give her , trying to bring some balance to her demands . Sooner or later she will want him there and she will send someone for him . " There were a lot of things that had to be done , but I couldn 't send them away , I knew some of them needed to see Faakhir 's death . It was a grim spectacle , I knew that , it was one of the reasons I used that particular technique . Watching Faakhir like that wouldn 't change the years of abuse and oppression they had experienced under his rule , but it would make them feel better . Even some of the people that wasn 't directly affected by him were enjoying his suffering , and I knew that more than one wished that Emily was right beside him . I wasn 't sure what I was going to do with Emily , Sofia and William were supposed to be there for that moment , they were supposed to handle her , but the situation had changed and I wasn 't sure what to do . Emily was unstable , and I was sure she was going to explode once she knew what had happened . I was afraid I would have to kill her too , because , even if I offered her a deal to spare her life , I was sure she was going to fight back , and it was very likely that I would be forced to kill her too . It took hours for Faakhir to die , and even if some people feel better knowing he was dead and wouldn 't be able to hurt anyone else , ever again , some people were disappointed that his pain was over . It was over , and time to finally act . The groups I had previously prepared were ready to act and take over the Dominion , all I had to do was give them the order to act . " Is Faakhir already done with her ? " One of them asked , thinking that they were there to contain me , not to protect me . " Where are you taking her ? " Neither guard suspected us , from where they were standing I was surrounded by my worst enemies , so when Onyesha and Ivan moved to attack , they didn 't react fast enough , and that few seconds were enough for my people to contain them . By the time they tried to react , they were already under Onyesha and Ivan 's control , with Lim and Gina pointing their guns at them , in case they needed further proof that they were defeated . Once Onyesha was sure they wouldn 't try anything , she took a couple of syringes and injected them with a sedative that was supposed to take them out of combat for the rest of the day . After sending a message to inform the others of the two guards , we kept going . I knew that at that moment , all over the city , those loyal to me were fighting the people loyal to them , those who could cause trouble for us later on . We were constantly receiving reports of what was happening in other places as my men took control of the city . The best news was when Connor informed me that he had taken control of the school where Ethan was , and that he was safe and under supervision . Knowing he was safe helped me feel better about the situation . I was almost sure that I was going to be safe from Einar and Jacob while Faakhir was in trance , inside my mind , they usually waited until Faakhir had the chance to abuse his victims , he was always the first to take them . Despite knowing that , I still didn 't want to turn both my mind to the inside , I felt like I needed to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn 't try something against me . I was already too weak because of the electric attacks , and I needed to be alert and at least be aware of whatever else they tried . " Faakhir suspects that she has a few allies among us , " Jacob said , and that caught my attention because I thought that my allies were safe from Faakhir 's attention , but maybe I was wrong . " There 's no proof , just a hunch , but he couldn 't risk anyone trying to help her . No one suspects anything yet , and that makes it easier for us to make her disappear before someone notices she is gone . " It was only a matter of time , of holding on for long enough . Things were going well , Jacob and Einar had moved away , and were talking to each other about nothing important , and I felt safer while they had their attention elsewhere . It was bad enough to fight the memories after the electric attacks and being naked and vulnerable , but when Jacob decided to go check the Suite and left me alone with Einar , I knew things would only get worse for me . " Faakhir told us about you , you know ? About who you used to be , who you will be again , " he whispered in my ear , before licking my cheek . " I can 't wait to have you on your knees , just thinking about it , " he pressed his body to mine , and I could feel exactly what thinking about it was doing to his body . " Always so haughty , so untouchable , and all this time you were nothing but a whore . " Just as his lips were about to touch mine and I was running out of time and out of ideas , I heard a metallic sound and I felt my powers getting back . I let him kiss me , and I used the connection to connect with him , and I started stealing his energy . I felt him trying to pull away , but I wasn 't going to let him , not until I had my fill . He was going to pay for touching me with his energy , and eventually with his life . " What the hell are you doing ? " Jacob asked , pulling Einar away from me . " Faakhir will be furious if he learns about this , " he said , but once he pulled him away , he noticed that something was wrong . He let him go and took a step back , making the mistake of putting his hand on my shoulder , making the connection I needed to drain his energy . Einar was too weak to be a threat , and I was connected to Jacob , he was reaching the same point fast . I decided to completely drain Jacob , and then take care of Einar . At the same time , I was dealing with Faakhir inside my mind . I attacked him and pushed his mind outside mine , his cry of agony after receiving my attack echoed in the room . I finished with Jacob and used my newly acquired energy to break free of my bindings , then I took control of all metal in the room and started building a tree of pain for Faakhir . I started with a spear through his stomach , then it started to branch out , going through his vital organs , touching his nervous terminals to maximize the pain . I moved closer , touching him so I could connect with him and made sure I could do the maximum damage without going over the top and making him pass out or die faster . I even heated the metal so it would cauterize the wounds and slow his bleeding . Another branch went through his vocal cords , to shut him out to avoid his screams to alert the rest of the soldiers . By the time I finished , Faakhir was in a world of pain , his agony so strong I could almost touch it , I knew it was enough to drive anyone crazy . " What 's going on here ? " I heard someone asking from the door . I felt the intention to attack and I threw an energy wave , before even registering who was there . The guard recovered fast , and she was drawing a gun by the time I turned , but I used my powers to grab the gun and then I used it to kill her . I was watching what I had done in there , when I felt another group heading in my direction . I wasn 't sure how many there were , but I was sure it was more than four . I used my mind to grab my cape and put it between me and the group , they started shooting at me , but the cape stopped all the bullets and gave me the time I needed to connect to their weapons and disable them . Once they stopped shooting I took the cape and put it around me to hide my naked body , and faced the group . The battle lasted less than a minute , and it ended with every one of them dead , only Faakhir and Einar were still alive . I felt tired , the energy I had taken already burning away . My body was feeling every ache and pain caused by the electric attacks , and I found that I couldn 't move without pain . I knew my mind was also at its limits , so I decided to take a moment to rest , I grabbed the chair I had been tied to and moved it until it was facing Faakhir , then I sat down . I was sure that the pain was bad enough that it was affecting his ability to use his powers , but he was still aware enough to know what was going on around him , he could see his dead soldiers , and he could see me , still alive . I felt his fear amidst his pain , and I felt his desperation and hopelessness , knowing he had lost . Just like all my past enemies , I needed Faakhir to realize the situation he was in , and to know it was his own fault that he had ended like that . If he had left Mzansi alone , if he hadn 't tried to control me and worse , if he hadn 't tried to rape me or taken my powers away , if he had acted differently , then he wouldn 't be dying . " You did well , and your actions saved me a lot of time . We need to move fast to minimize damages . Pass me my jacket , " I asked him , pointing to a bunch of rags that used to be my clothes , and where my secure phone must be , I needed it if I wanted to establish a safe channel to the Mzansiers . " Kimball must be busy , we can 't get him out of there without alerting others . Call Mbali , she has all the information and contacts that we need and she will be able to call the generals of the army of Mzansi . We will need to talk to Kgosi , but maybe once everything is ready . I didn 't want to waste time explaining everything , so the call was short and to the point . First of all I needed clothes , preferable something that had no connection to the Dominion . I was sure that Mbali could contact the army , and get my the right clothes . Yoweri suggested moving to one of the conference rooms in the lower levels , he said the others were already gathering there , but it wasn 't the right place , I needed to stay there until Faakhir took his last breath . I knew he was in a lot of pain and his body wouldn 't hold much longer , but as long as he was alive , my place was there , so I decided it was best if the others moved up . Besides , I couldn 't think of a better place to plan their end , that in their own rooms . Yoweri went to look for the rest of my people as soon as we finished with the calls . By then Einar was already dead , his energy too low for him to last long , and only Faakhir and I were left . I touched my necklace , I knew that I should activate it as a suppressor to help with the headache that I felt building , that way my power would be fresh and whole by the time I needed it to face Emily , but my body was too weak after the electric attacks , and after what had happened I didn 't want to be in a situation where I couldn 't defend myself . I knew that I needed my powers if I were to face another of Faakhir 's elite guards , and there was always the danger that one of them would come looking for him and found out what I had done . I knew it was the virus fault 's , being sick for so long and losing my focus had allowed Faakhir to have access to memories he should have never been able to see , and it had weakened me . My carefully built plans were falling apart and the next few hours would be critical for our future . I felt like I had already failed , if only because I was breaking some of my promises , I had promised Sofia and Willian that they could be with me when I took Emily and her husband down , but Faakhir was already dying and there was not enough time to bring them in before I would be forced to face Emily . Emily was crazy , and unstable , but there was one person she loved as much as herself , and that was Faakhir , the one dying , the one whose death was on my hands . I knew that as soon as she found out what I had done , she would lose her mind . What I really needed was Kimball , but I knew that I couldn 't call him , I had to focus on the tasks at hand , stop wondering what could have happened , be thankful that the necklace has worked as it was intended to , and that I had been able to neutralize Faakhir without compromising the mission . Things were moving faster than I wanted or expected , but maybe it was the way it was supposed to happen , maybe I needed the motivation to set my plans in motion , to stop planning and start executing . A new world was waiting to emerge , and I just hoped I could make it a better world . I knew that I had made a huge mistake , I knew I was in a precarious situation , and still , my lack of judgement had gotten me into trouble . I didn 't fear for my life , I was sure that I would be able to get out of the situation , the problem was that I wasn 't sure if I was going to escape without damage , and I feared for what they could do to me . I knew what Faakir wanted from me , he had never denied his intentions , but I had promised myself that I would never be used for someone else pleasure , and I wasn 't sure how far I would go to avoid that situation , all I knew was that if he raped me , the damage would be greater than any damage I had received while fighting for him . Faakhir made a signal and I felt something in my back , that 's all the warning I got before they tasered me again , as the electricity ran through my body I lost control of my limbs . Before I could recover , Faakhir 's guards got rid of my uniform , leaving me just in my underwear and they they tied me to the chair . Faakhir kept eating his breakfast as if nothing was going on in front of him . " You made me believe you were sleeping with me , you lied to me , and I can 't help but wonder if what else have you lied to me about , " Faakhir said , his eyes going over my exposed body , another sign and one of his guards cut my bra off , leaving me even more exposed to him . His leer made me feel sick . " After this betrayal I can 't trust you anymore , I have no option but to go into your mind and see by myself all your secrets and make sure your loyalty is still in the right place . " " Don 't do this , you will regret it . If you go into my mind it won 't matter if I have a suppressor , I will be able to fight you back , and you could get hurt . Stop now and let me go , we can just pretend this didn 't happen , I will still work for you and fight your enemies . " " You will regret this . I won 't let this go , I won 't forgive you . If you keep doing this I will fight back , " I threatened , but they only laughed at me , believing that they had covered all their bases and that I wouldn 't be able to do anything to stop them , when all I needed was time . Faakhir threw his napkin on top of his plate , signaling the end of this breakfast , and with a sign , his men moved the table away and then pushed me closer to him . Faakhir smiled at me , just before they electrocuted me again . My heart was beating too hard , but it wasn 't just because of the torture , it was because I was afraid , the situation was affecting me and I was close to losing it . Faakhir had seen my memories and he knew my fears , using electricity and stripping me naked were his weapons to break me , reminding me of my days under Agmong 's rule . I had been able to remain calm , but if he kept going , I wasn 't sure I was going to be able to stay calm . I knew that the easier , faster way of defeating Faakhir was turning both minds ' focus inside , but I couldn 't do that and leave my body without protection . Einar and Jacob were dangerous and I knew that it wasn 't a good idea to leave them unchecked . Besides , I just needed one mind to keep Faakhir occupied as I prepared for my next step . ' I liked who you used to be , ' he said , using his powers to open the doors around us , waking the memories inside . I tried to stop them , but all I could do was close the doors he was opening . ' Open your eyes , remember your past , embrace who you are . Once a whore , always a whore , get used to the idea . ' ' That 's not me anymore ! ' I yelled , fear almost taking over . I couldn 't go back to being Sklave , I couldn 't go back to that life , without control or freedom , I didn 't want to feel powerless and vulnerable to others . I couldn 't go back to being an object for their pleasure . Faakhir used his powers to attack me , making the labyrinth shake and my mind hurt . Momentarily blinded by pain , I didn 't notice he was opening the doors again , faster than before . I tried not to pay attention to the memories and closed the doors as fast as I could , but by the time I was done , Faakhir was gone . It took me just a second to find him again , he had gone to the main part of my mind , looking for more information and my secrets , but before I could go after him , I needed to make sure there were no other surprises left by him . I had already decided that I was going to kill him , the moment he put his hands on me he had forfeited his life , bus still , I couldn 't allow him to find any incriminating information , I couldn 't risk him sending anything to his allies . Once I was sure everything was ok in that part of my mind , I went to where he was . I needed to buy some time . If I had been able to activate the necklace that Kimball had given me , then I would have been able to recover my powers , but that wasn 't the only way to make it work . In the years since he had given me that , Kimball had added many new characteristics to it , at first it was only able to deactivate power 's suppressors , but then it became a power 's suppressor , something I could use when I had a psychic headache and needed to rest my mind . Then he modified it again so it could monitor my powers and detect if something was blocking them . I knew that it would take it no more than half an hour to activate , and once activated it would start working on the suppressor . Not all suppressors were the same , some were easier than others , but Kimball had assured me that it would deactivate any kind , it was configured in a way that if it wasn 't able to deactivate it in half an hour , it would produce an EMP and disable any electronic that was in contact with my body . One hour , tops . That 's all I needed , and despite the actions of Faakhir 's guards , I knew they wouldn 't go too far , as long as Faakhir was inside my mind , so all I needed to do was keep him busy . So all I needed was an hour , and after that I would have my powers back and I would be able to escape and kill the bastards that had dared take my powers away , the beast that wanted to turn me back into Sklave . Faakhir was my main concern , I needed to keep him in my mind , and at the same time stop him from finding something or hurting me . I found him trying to pull some crystals from the ground , but I wasn 't sure why he wanted to do that . A memory of my father doing the same came to me , and I wondered if Faakhir knew how to hide memories and reprogram a mind . I didn 't like that possibility , and I wasn 't going to allow him to do it . Faakhir 's actions also reminded me of something else my father had done , the one memory I had never been able to recover , that was hidden inside a chest , one I had used as a weapon ever since I found it . I needed to trick Faakhir , and I knew it was going to be easy , he could feel my presence , and he had to know I was close , so I called the chest to my hands and moved closer to where he was in one of the labyrinth open areas . Once I was sure he had seen me and was aware of the chest on my arms , I started to run . Faakhir tried to tear the walls of the labyrinth down , but no matter how strong he was , there was no way he could change my mental landscape while I was conscious , so he had to follow me . I tried to keep away from the areas where most of the memories of my plans for the Dominion were , but at the same time , I needed to keep him close , and distracted long enough to set a trap for him . I knew that I needed some time so I could set a trap and as soon as I got some time and distance I went to a dead end in one of the labyrinth halls . The strongest element in my mind was the memory crystals , and I used some of them to set a cage , using some of my best memories , happy memories , where I was strong and in control , images of my children , memories of Kimball and everything he had done to help me and keep me safe , showing me how much he loved me despite our problems and misunderstandings . I saw Faakhir 's mental representation turning the corner and looking at me , but then he started to walk backwards . ' Do you think I 'm that stupid ? ' He asked me , keeping his distance . ' This is your mind , you would have never brought me to a dead end if you didn 't have something already planned , you know this place better than anyone . ' ' I have to recognize that you are smarter than you seem . You are right , I 'm not here by accident , I have a plan , and despite your awareness , you fell into my trap , ' Faakhir took another step back , stepping into the cage I had set up , I used my mind to close it , trapping him inside . ' Did you find anything interesting in my memories , if you want I have a few others you may like to see while we wait . ' ' You are wrong , someone is already helping me , I have all the help I need . I gave you a chance , you could have let me go and I wouldn 't be forced to kill you . That was a promise I intended to keep , not because I had promised you , I promised someone else I wouldn 't kill you , but you had to do this , you changed everything , and I have no other choice . Are you still interested in my memories ? Why don 't you start with my memory of Agmong 's death , so you can see what happens to men who think they can use me . ' I moved the crystal with that memory to a place where Faakhir could see it . At first he tried to ignore it , but his curiosity made him see . ' That 's the first time I did something like that , that I impaled someone and left him to die , but then I modified that technique and used again , until it was known as a Tree of Pain , the worst punishment I could think of for my enemies , the worst fate I could think of . Congratulations Faakhir , you are one of the few chosen ones that will die in one of my trees , experiencing one of my most feared techniques , you will have a slow and painful death . ' ' I am not afraid of you , my guards won 't allow you to hurt me . Your rebellion won 't end well . I 'm the one in control , and you will do what I tell you to do . Before this day is over you will be mine in all sense of the word , and when I get tired of you , I will let my men use you until they are tired of you . ' ' And that 's why you have to die . ' Everything was under control inside my mind , but outside the situation was getting complicated and I wasn 't sure how much longer I could resist . Before I had the chance to panic I heard a metallic sound and felt my powers coming back . I started to act immediately , inside and outside of my mind . ' Would you like to see what I have in this chest ? ' I asked him , trying to sound innocent , but Faakhir knew it was a trap , he wasn 't stupid . ' You are not the first person to try to destroy me or control me . Once they were able to hurt me , but not anymore . There is a reason I am this strong , I became this powerful so I could end people like you . Goodby Faakhir . ' I opened the chest , letting the light and the energy consume my mind . As always the chest 's power consumed everything around me , consuming Faakhir and destroying his mental representation . Faakhir 's cry reached me from outside my mind , and I knew that the agonizing pain would keep him occupied long enough for me to finish him , after all , my body was full of energy and I was back in control , I felt like I could defeat anyone who dared cross me . The fear that had been pushing me was gone , all feeling of powerlessness was behind me , and once again I felt confident that everything was going to go according to plan . " I 'm glad to see that you are finally awake . How are you feeling ? " Kimball asked . I could feel his relief at knowing I was waking up , and I wondered what had happened to me , I couldn 't remember any fights or anything that explained why I felt like crap . " I 'm afraid we made a mistake , we underestimated our enemies . At some point , while we were investigating about the virus , one of them infected you . " When he said that , I remembered feeling tired , and realized it was one of the symptoms , one I didn 't pay enough attention . " You passed out last week while you were watching one of the parades Emily likes so much . Fatima knew it was something bad , so she called me to help . I managed to arrive just in time , the virus had already caused some damage , but nothing we couldn 't fix . I 'm afraid you will have to rest for a while , your body still need to recover . I told the King and Queen that you won 't be able to join them in their tour , and that you will stay here as long as you need to fully recover . " " I moved you to Mzani . I thought it would be better for you to be here as long as you were sick . Some of your allies stayed with you until I arrived , Soriya used her powers to keep you alive , and even Kgalefa helped a little bit , but it 's hard to explain , since both of them are supposed to be your enemies . I know it 's not a good idea for any of them to stay paying you attention , Fatima managed to explain the situation , but still , we decided that it was best if I took you away from them . " " Good thinking . I will have to talk to them later and thank them for their help . For the moment , I 'm still not feeling well , I know I won 't be able to do much . I hate to feel this weak and powerless , but at least here no one will see me like this , " I tried not to think about my collapse during the parade , I needed to focus on getting better . " How long do you think it will take for me to get better ? " " He had to stay behind , I couldn 't find a good excuse to take him out of school again . It seems that the headmaster is not happy with Ethan 's absences , and to be truthful , I was more worried about getting you out of enemy territory than of getting Ethan a few days off . Mbali and Tau stayed behind with him , so I 'm not worried about him . " I didn 't like feeling so vulnerable . I knew that I was in a safe place , but I hated feeling helpless , and not being able to defend myself in case I needed . I closed my eyes , but not because I was planning on sleeping , but because I needed to focus my powers so I could use them to check my body and try to get a reading of the damage the virus had caused . As soon as I started , I realized the bigger problem was in my mind , not my body . I called a mental representation to go deep into my mind to look for the damage , and I was surprised by what I found . While I had been unconscious , fighting the virus , Faakhir 's presence in my mind had extended at an alarming rate . Almost every part of mind focused on my time under Agmong 's rule was covered by Faakhir 's presence . I started working on getting rid of Faakhir 's presence in my mind , I knew it was a risk , he would notice I had found his influence and that I had freed myself of it , but I preferred that , to him getting so much access into my memories . I knew he was going to get his influence back into my mind as soon as he could , and that he was going to get suspicious of me and my powers just knowing I had been able to push him out of my mind . It was a risk , to show him my strength , but it wasn 't as bad as letting him in . After a while I noticed that Kimball was trying to wake me up , but I was using both my mind to make sure I could get rid of every trace of Faakhir , so I couldn 't answer to Kimball 's call . By the time I finished and broke my trance , Kimball was very worried thinking I was sick again . I had to explain to him what had happened , what I had done , and why . " I don 't think he had a chance , an invasion like the one I found takes times , and it 's possible it even happened after you arrived . I will be careful around him , when I finally see him again , and I will see how he reacts to knowing his presence is no longer in my mind . There 's not much we can do right now , so there 's no point in worrying about it . " I took a couple of weeks to get better , but it felt like much longer , I felt like I was never going to recover my strength . It was thanks to Kimball that I was able to get better so fast , his energy regeneration was faster than mine , and he let me take his energy to feed mine after we had our training sessions . Kimball said that a normal , non mutant person would take at least twice as long to recover , and I was happy I was able to get better faster , but still , it had been too long for me . When I went back to Capital City , the King and Queen were still out , traveling , and that was fine with me , I had a lot of things to do that would be easier to do with them gone , like contacting my allies in the elite forces and getting information on what had happened while I was recovering . The only problem was that as soon as I arrived at the palace , I had a feeling that something very bad was going to happen , a feeling that only got worse as time passed . I wasn 't sure if the feeling was getting worse because of the imminent arrival or the King and Queen , or if it was something to do with time . I tried to go into the fog of the future to see what was going to happen , but for the first time , I wasn 't able to find any answers , the fog was hard to read and I couldn 't travel any road in front of me , I could see them in front of me , but I couldn 't step into them . I wasn 't sure if it was because of my sickness , or if something else was affecting me , but I knew I needed help to understand what was going on . Melchizedek was , as always , my first thought , but he was too far away to help me , the next best choice was Sofia , but she was at Aquarium and establishing a safe communication was very complicated , and just not possible at that moment . My other choice was Fatima , she was part of a family with a long tradition of seers , one that passed their knowledge from generation to generation . Fatima was traveling with Emily , and I had to wait for her to arrive before I could ask her what was wrong with me . One of the disadvantages of my powers was that I depended on them too much . I was getting stressed by not knowing what was going to happen , and I couldn 't allow that , I needed to focus , I was just getting my strength back and I couldn 't waste it , but the feeling of unease was very taxing , and was making me feel out of control . I knew that all I could do was to be careful and try to avoid dangerous situations . The day Faakhir got back , I was immediately called to his presence . I knew that early that day , or at least early for her , Emily had gone to the Congress to discuss new taxes and budgets , or how to steal more money from her people . After the money she spent during the celebrations , the royal coffers were empty , and Emily didn 't care if the people was broke too , she wanted more and she was going to find a way to get it . For the first time since I knew them , Faakhir wasn 't with her while she tried to squeeze more money from her people , he was usually by her side to keep her in check , not because he cared about the people they were taking money from , but because he was more aware of how much they could push without crossing the line . But instead of being by her wife 's side , he had called me to his room with an urgent mission , he said that a problem had arisen during their trip and he needed me to take care of it immediately . I had no idea what he needed , but I knew it couldn 't be anything good , and the whole situation had me worried . The fact that he was rushing it , had me on edge , especially since I couldn 't go into the fog to try and see what was going on , I had to work blindly , and I didn 't like that . " How are you ? " Faakhir asked me as soon as I entered his room . He was on the balcony having breakfast , and he looked very relaxed , not what I expected after he called for the emergency meeting . " Are you sure you are feeling well ? " Faakhir insisted , and I noticed that I wasn 't feeling well , I felt tired and slow , almost as if I had been drugged , but no one had touched me and I hadn 't eaten or drank anything since I arrived . I watched Faakhir and I noticed his cold , satisfied smirk and I knew something was really wrong . " Maybe you should take a seat , " he suggested , but there was a double edge in his words that I couldn 't comprehend . I thought about refusing the seat , but before I could speak something pinched my arm , in the part that wasn 't covered by my cape , followed by the familiar feeling of electricity coursing through my body . The electricity caused me to lose control of my body and I started falling , but before I hit the floor , Einar moved in front of me and caught me , moving me to the chair that Faakhir had told me to take . I hadn 't even noticed that Einar was in the room , but that explained why I felt like I had been drugged , I was under the influence of his power . Maybe it was because of that that I wasn 't thinking clearly , I knew that I could have used my powers to stop them , even after being paralyzed , but I didn 't , and that gave them time to put a power suppressor on me . " After your unfortunate accident , I realized you been lying to me . How do you think it made me feel to discover that all our hot encounters were nothing but illusions you set for me ? " Faakhir asked , and I realized that he had managed to get inside my mind after all . I was afraid to find out what else he had found out , and if my plans were already compromised . " It made me feel like a fool , and that 's something I won 't allow . Don 't worry , we will make reality all those illusions you made for me , but first , we have to find out what else you have been hiding from me . " My assignment had been an easy one , I had just gone to talk to Sofia 's loyal guard in his prison cell , then faked his death , taken him to a safe place , and then talked to Sofia to ask where she had sent the jewels that Emily wanted , and she had given me all the information I needed . Most of the jewelry that I found was hundred of years old , and Sofia had thought that someone like Emily didn 't deserve them , she had taken them away , thinking of using them to pay for the rebelion efforts against her daughter , but she never had the chance . Talking to her , we both concluded that it would be less dangerous to people , if we just gave Emily what she wanted , or she would keep going after people loyal to Sofia , trying to get the information she wanted . I had arrived back with the treasure one day before the celebrations started . All the city was getting ready for it , it was such a waste of power and resources . I could see people working from dawn to dusk making sure everything was ready for the celebrations , and I could already see that it was going to be spectacular . It looked like all Emily could think about was how to make parties and celebrations , and each one I attended was bigger than the last , even if every time it was harder to find the resources needed to make Emily designs come true , people was running out of thinks , soon they wouldn 't be able to produce what she wanted . Trucks loaded with exotic food were arriving at the Palace , even as people were dying of starvation on the streets , thousands of yards of fabrics and precious furs were being used to upholster the city , even as people were walking around in clothes so old they were falling apart , expensive and aromatic wood was being shipped there to prepare bonfires , in a city where most of the inhabitants were dying of cold , statues and monuments were being built by the same people that didn 't have a roof over their heads . I knew things were getting worse day by day , and I knew people was not far from reaching their tipping point , they wouldn 't be able to stand their treatment for much longer . For the first time in months , all of the elite forces were together in the same place . The Dominion 's army was huge , but the elite part of it was just short of two hundred members . Most of them were loyal to Faakhir , a few of them were only truly loyal to Emily , but another part was loyal to me . It had started with Ivan , but little by little I had found more warriors that had the same goals as me . About a fourth of them were on my side , not much , but they were the most powerful of the bunch , and they represented some of the key territories in the Dominion . The celebrations were going to last for several days , and , as usual , it was going to start with a parade in honor of the King and Queen , and it was going to include people from all over the Dominion . Just twenty of the elite warriors were with them , the others were all around the place , making sure there weren 't going to be any issues . Half of the warriors on the box with us , were loyal to me , and that made me feel safer . For a long time I had been surrounded only by enemies , but having allies around made me feel like I could accomplish my goals . I had followers on all levels of the army , but I knew that it was important to have the leaders on my side , when the moment arrived , I needed the commanders to take my side , because they would be the ones that would move the people in the right direction . I knew that most of the people in the parade didn 't want to be there . Emily lived under the illusion that only because she was the daughter of the Queen , she deserved everything she wanted , and that the people had to love her for that . She really believed that the Dominio 's people 's only goal should be to make her happy and fulfill her every whim . I was getting sick just by listening to her talking , and feeling superior to everyone around her . People in the Dominion usually referred to people in the Empire as uncivilized and barbarians , but the truth was that we weren 't much different . I knew that if Caracalla had managed to win the throne , he would have been as bad as Emily , but my brother Trajan was a good ruler , he was tough and unforgiving , but fair and he actually cared for his people . He was loved by his people , and respected by everyone , not because he was feared for his powers or the damage he could do with them , but because of the way he acted , and for the way he acted . After hours watching what appeared to be an endless parade , we finally moved back inside for the rest of the celebration . As soon as we entered , the rich aroma of the different dishes greeted us . The quantity of food available was impressive , several of the regional rulers were there for the celebration , and all the Representatives and embassadors , but still , I knew that most of the food wouldn 't be eaten , and I suspected that the same waste was going to happen the next day . " This is just another example of the King 's and Queen 's power . This is to show off how powerful and rich they really are . This is another sign that Faakhir is superior to any other man in the Dominion . " " Do you want me to stay here until this is over ? Or do you prefer that I go early ? " Kimball asked me , he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me close to him so he could whisper the questions in my ear , I knew that to the others , it would look like we were fighting . It was all part of the act . " I would feel better if you go early . You know how Faakhir is when you are close by , he will feel like he needs to prove something , and he will become more possessive . It 's better if we don 't attract more attention to ourselves , " I answered , also whispering , before pushing him away and storming to my place behind Faakhir . I saw Kimball moving away , pretending to be angry , and I saw a satisfied smirk on Faakhir 's face , that luckily , Emily didn 't notice , the last thing I needed was for Emily to turn her attention to me and her good mood to end . I took my place among the rest of the elite warriors . I had to accept that the image that we presented , all dressed in combat gear , was pretty impressive , and scary . I could see that we were an intimidating sight , and most people were uneasy by the display . For a long time , the rulers of the different countries of the Dominion went to present their respect to the King and Queen , it was the perfect occasion to see who was really loyal to them , and who was just going because they had no other option . Most of them had a pretty good mind defense , and it was near impossible to read their minds , and they were very good at controlling their faces not to betray their emotions , but I could read their emotions , it was something they couldn 't fake or hide . I couldn 't feel some of them approaching them with fear , others with awe , some with envy , some with admiration . As they paraded in front of them , I read their emotions and recorded them for later , when I could use the information to look for more allies for my cause . The celebrations went on till midnight , and it was late when the King and Queen finally retired to their room , leaving us free to do the same . Some of us were going to stay to guard the place , but I was able to retire , which was good since I was exhausted by the end of the day . It was very late when I finally arrived , but I found Kimball waiting for me . " I 'm exhausted , for some reason . I think that finally everything I have done is catching up with me , you know , going for Greca , looking for the virus people , then the treasure . I haven 't been able to stop for a long time and for some reason this time it affected me . " " I think it must be how stressful this all is . I know that you are getting tired of waiting , of having everything in its place , but soon we will be able to move and take control of the Dominion . I think you won 't be able to really rest until this is done . " " Soon . But for now , you need your rest , you can 't keep going like this without a proper rest . And tomorrow will be another long day . " " A long week . It 's incredible the amount of activities they have planed for this celebration . There are so many things to do , and they are wasting their time in this frivolous party . I was expecting some uprisings on the Dominion , since most of the leaders are here , but so far everything is calm . I even talked to Fatima and she hadn 't noticed anything going on this week , but she says there is a crossroad approaching , one we haven 't noticed , but that was highlighted after we took care of the people working with the virus . I feel like we are forgetting something important , or maybe we caused some rift with our actions , I don 't know , but I 'm too tired to investigate the fog of the future . " For a moment I thought of protesting , but I was tired , so I finished my tea and went to bed . I felt like no time had passed between the moment I fell asleep and when Kimball woke me up to prepare for the day . At least the day 's activities were going to start late in the day , but we needed to go and prepare for the day hours before they woke up . By the time the week had ended , I was beyond exhausted . As the week progressed , I was getting more and more tired , but I thought it was just a consequence of all the things I had done , and of having to endure the festivities required by their greed and boredom . Once the celebrations ended , Emily decided to accept the invitations of many of the regional leaders and local rulers around the Dominion that wanted to make celebrations in their honor , and decided to organize new visits to those places so she could enjoy more celebrations in her honor . The new schedule wasn 't as bad , since we were going to visit places where the people wasn 't as active against them , mostly because the local rulers being better as suppressing any rebellions . During the next days we traveled from city to city , attending more parades and banquets , until I had to recognize that I wasn 't well , I was too tired , and that could only mean that I was sick , and getting worse . I felt like even my powers were getting weaker , and that was something I couldn 't allow , it would put me at risk . I was looking for a good excuse so I could go back to Capital City and get Kimball to help me , but I never had the chance , during one of the endless parades , I couldn 't endure the heat , and I passed out , but I never woke up , I just went into a coma , unable to recover . I didn 't understand how they could summon me to the Palace while I was taking care of such an important mission , but Emily had called and I had to go there and take care of another of her tantrums . I knew that I couldn 't disobey them again , not after taking off without permission , I couldn 't afford to make them angry . I was too close to getting what I needed to stop them , I couldn 't let something like that stop me . I arrived at the Palace and went to the room where Emily usually received me , but I didn 't find her . Knowing her , I thought it was best to go looking for her , instead of making her wait . It just took me a moment to find her mind , and I used it to guide me to her , she was in her room , and for a moment I rethought my idea of going to her , but then I realized that I had to go and stop wasting time . While I approached her , I started feeling as if something wasn 't right , and I knew that I needed to go fast and deal with whatever was happening . When I was near her room , I could hear her yelling and I knew that I was in the right place . I went into the room , and in the living room next to her bedroom , I found a couple of soldiers guarding a woman badly beaten , while in the other room Emily was still yelling at her husband . There was something about the woman that I didn 't like , and as I brushed her mind , I could see that she had very strong defenses around it . That made me curious , and I pushed more to see what she was trying to hide . " Did you say she was here to infect me with that deadly virus ? Did she have something to do with my sister 's death ? " Faakhir asked , and I could feel his anger and pain at the memory of his sister . The group that I had gathered to investigate the attacks was all over the Dominion , but with a few calls I was able to direct all of them to where their lab was located . It didn 't take long to organize the attack and it took even less to find and storm the place . I wasn 't sure what I was expecting once I arrived , maybe a fight , at least some resistance , but certainly not the dead body of our enemy and a trashed lab . Our enemy , must have realized we were on to him , and decided to destroy all his files and computers before killing himself to avoid capture . Kimball , who had come with me , was checking the place , but our enemy had done a good job to protect his work and investigation , and there was nothing we could recover , he had done a great job making sure that his investigation and even his knowledge couldn 't be used to replicate the virus and use it against the people in the Dominion . I also considered that he had done it to protect the rest of his agents , but if he did , it was a waste , since we already had most of them , at least the ones that had been targeting powerful people in the Dominion . I knew that with time and a quick travel to the fog of the future , I could make sure we were safe , and if not , I couldn 't find anyone who had escaped our attention so far . I felt a little let down by the scientist 's suicide , I was expecting a confrontation after all the work he had made me do , but on the other side , I felt better knowing that we were safe from a biological weapon . I also had to be grateful to him because his actions had helped my own mission , removing some very powerful pieces off the board , and allowing me to glimpse at the power structure underneath the Dominion . The better I could understand the power structure , the better prepared I would be to stop those that would try to take over once I removed the current rulers of the Dominion . The idea was to take completely over the Dominion and try to fix some of the damage done by Faakhir and Emily , and once everything was under control , I would give the power back to their rightful owners , Sofia and William . " Now that you took care of that , I need you to do something for me , " Emily said . " I found out a few days ago that there 's a group of people hiding the some jewels that could be part of the Crown Treasure . I thought it was lost , but now I know that it 's another thing my mother took from me , it seems that in another of her selfish acts , she told some of her people to hide the treasure from me . I want you to find if it 's true that she hid it and then bring it to me , its rightful owner . " " I just confirmed that he knew about the treasure and the orders to take it away , you will have to find the rest of the people involved and find it , " Faakhir said . " It shouldn 't be hard for you to find it . As always , you can choose whomever you want to take with you , but we have a few suggestions as to who you should take with you , " Faakhir made a signal and one of his men gave me a folder with information of some of his trusted men . " As this is a relatively easy task , I 'm confident you will be able to finish quickly . In a couple of weeks we will be celebrating the anniversary of our coronation with a great party , and Emily would like to be able to wear some of the jewels in the treasure . " " For a long time my mother denied me my inheritance , and I won 't accept that anymore . Our anniversary is going to be one of the biggest events the Dominion has ever seen , and the only thing that can make it better is if I 'm wearing the jewels that have been in my family for centuries . It will be one more proof that this is my destiny and my right , " Emily said , excited about the idea , even if I couldn 't understand how a few jewels could mean so much for her . Again , Emily was only proving that her mother had made the right decision by not giving her the crown in the first place .