The Way It Is

Epilogue

I am staring at Her. For all intense purposes, even if she seems relatively tiny, she is beautiful. The kind of beauty that makes you sigh in utter content just to stare and take it all in.

I initially thought she was a human. Looking closer, the slight slant of her eyes, the pointed ears originally hidden from view due to her hair, the subtle shimmer to her tanned skin, is something else. If I had to guess, I would say Krog. A very petite Krog, mind you.

Yet maybe not.

No one alive has ever met a Krog before. The Zukrog are descendants of the surviving Krog and Zu'Lar colonies who kept the peace and made a new home together than there are the Zu'Lar. Those who had despised the idea of joining with the Krog and had kept to their old traditions.

But there is no record of a Krog colony breaking off. Thus it has been assumed all the Krog were slowly bred out, leaving only the Zukrog to carry on their legacy.

Stories tell of two kinds of Krog's. One is of royal lineage. They are described as the most beautiful of beings. Glowing skin, hair that turns whichever colour they feel like displaying, almost angelic features and a slight constant shimmer surrounding them as if they were walking breathing energy conduits. Yet there weren't any details about height exactly.

There had been many details regarding Krog Warriors. They were born and bred to protect their original Universe, described as stunning giants, anywhere from eight to twelve feet in height with wings made from pure energy that allowed them to travel through space like their playground.

The stories said they rode the energy waves through space like "Soaring Angels of Fury," eliminating all threats to the Universe in their path. Until they met the Zu'Lar. The Zu'Lar had found their weakness. But that is a different story.

My mind flashes to the moment when Britt had called me Krog Warrior Princess. His eyes had held a tenderness as he had said it. I shake the image of his handsome face from my mind. I force my mind back to the one time I had overheard a Priest from the local temple back home talk about their ancestors, the Krog's.

He had said there were rare instances when the Royal family would be blessed with a reincarnation of one of their original ancestors. Their K'ai once again joining with a physical form. In the beginning, all Krog's had been warriors, and this person would be a Royal Krog Warrior born again, bringing their power and wisdom from the beginning of time back to their people. Elite, if you will and nearly unstoppable. Even by Zu'Lar standards.

They were like energy-bending hybrids that could either bring mass destruction or help rebuild a crumbling Universe. I feel my gut clench.

I do not want to be that! Britt better have been messing with me. Krog is one thing, a warrior is one thing, royalty is even one thing, but all blazing three!

Celestial stars and everything holy!

My ass hits the chair heavily as the air leaves my lungs, and I collapse back into it. Leaning forward, I rub my face and the back of my neck. Fuck me. Now what?

Do I write Sica's report or do nothing but stare at Her? But then what? Involuntarily my mind's eye fills with the face of Nadia.

My muscles stiffen, and I feel my jaw clench. That feeling of urgency, of needing to find her, ripples through my body again as a massive wave of anxiety crushes me.

"She is the next step. You need her. We need her."

My head shoots up, and I stare at Her again. Had she been listening to my mind's random ramblings? Damn.