The lie was brilliant in its audacity. It perfectly explained Zaeryn, his immunity, and his existence. Viora listened, her suspicion warring with the terrible, logical sense of it all.
"To create such a specimen," Athea continued, her voice laced with the cold logic of a scientist, "we needed the purest genetic template available. One free of defects, with the highest potential for Vitae resonance." Her eyes met Viora's. "I used my own DNA as the baseline. That is why he resembles our family, Viora. Genetically, he is a male iteration of me."
The final piece slammed into place. It was a horrifying, unethical, and completely plausible explanation. It fit her mother's character perfectly—her ambition, her ruthlessness, her willingness to operate in the shadows for the 'greater good.'
"You're saying he can also wield Vitae?" Viora asked.
