Hope Forever (formerly The Invisible Queen): Hope Defined, #3

By Shannon Humphrey

HOPE
The unimaginable has happened. Hope is gone.

The war for Opal Lake rages. Gangs have usurped Hope's power.

Her enemies now have free reign.

This means war. 

DINAH
She is now the most powerful Scion. Ruler of every universe.

But can she truly lead in peace when one universe still suffers? 

Earth is in grave danger. And the one human who understands is dead.

 

In this final book of the Hope Defined saga, prepare your heart for the circle to close between Dinah and Hope.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shannon Humphrey
• Release date: Sep 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393607045

Book preview

1

Queen

Dinah in Tavos

Dinah rushed forward, the Royal Command flying behind her.

Return it now! a Tyro demanded in the distance.

This corner of the galaxy is my domain. Find your own! Another Tyro responded.

But I built most of the planets! the first Tyro insisted.

Halt! Dinah’s vibration stretched across the depths of space, paralyzing their neharis. "No thing belongs to any one of us. We are one. She turned to the soldiers at her right flank. Take them to Reinforcement. I’ll inspect them for purging and purity in the morning."

Searching out more black poison, they cleared it from the skies as much as they could, before another battle erupted.

But dread weighed down Dinah’s cloud.

The Indelible sicha was too much. Their attempts to cleanse their realm had failed. Too much of her mother’s poison infiltrated the kingdom from many corners now, overwhelming the Scion nation.

This was the last situation Dinah had anticipated: Keeper of the Realm, to protect it from her mother, the one being she had always longed for.

With King Aleph and her father at her side, the young Scion even inspected the guards, one xia cloud after another, entering their neharis. No longer limiting her search to the atmospheres and regions, Dinah had begun to search her comrades’ minds, to assess just how much of her mother’s poison they carried.

Dinah had already removed eleven of her comrades from the realm, for harboring too much bile.

She struggled to concentrate, in repeated meetings with the Celestial Council. And the Originals. The Grand Architects. The Royal Priests. The Royal Commanders. Sister Ariel and the Tyros.

Her young Scion mind had not absorbed the gravity of it all.

And deep within her, Dinah also dreaded telling her father goodbye.

Somewhere in the kingdom, he and the Originals made preparations as well. The fact that they were willing to sacrifice their own power and mass, to seal off the realm, further underscored everything Azariah had taught. She honored him, and at the same time resented him. Perhaps if they had not waited so long, a solution could have been uncovered sooner, and such drastic measures would not be necessary. Dinah meditations fluttered from adoration to blame to resentment. Flying from one place to the other, laboring, searching, and inspecting, Dinah kept her visage brave and composed. But on the inside, she fought the storm of losing a second parent. And being handed all the universes to rule.

She wasted no time with pomp and circumstance. Every moment they lost was another particle of contamination they gained.

A flurry of activity enlivened the entire realm as every Scion prepared to finally have the Alignment.

The skies welcomed the Scions’ xia clouds as they flew, with mixed chemical balances. Their clouds were glad, celebrating that they finally found a solution. And at the same time, they were heavy as they learned what it required.

To execute the transition, they would first turn off Deborah’s transmitters, stop the inflow of sicha from Earth, and purge Scions’ neharis of any remaining sicha. Then Aleph, Azariah and Hadar, would reseal and lock the realm with their xia particles. They would burn out their neharis, and return to the Kol River.

Kemuel and Seth stayed next to her constantly. She would appoint Kem as her personal guard, and Dinah’s oldest brother Caleb to replace her father as Ultimate Commander.

While they still had her father and King Aleph here with them, they also reviewed plans and options for how to keep the realm free of vitriol. Would Dinah eventually have to destroy her mother to completely shut down any further invasions? When would be the proper time to finally go and deliver Earth? What would they tell the Tyros now about the Indelible, sicha and the Bijii Ska? How much history and information should they share with young Tyros? Here especially, Dinah was conflicted. She had criticized her father and King Aleph harshly for keeping secrets from the kingdom. But after all she now knew, she understood why. Death, betrayal, and violence were not concepts a young Scion should learn when he or she should be absorbing harmony.

Already, she was becoming her father. A slight, faint glimmer of light flashed across her xia at the thought.

I saw that, Kemuel whispered. Dinah’s eye casements playfully looked at his, and she was stricken. Every time they had an exchange now, these cool, refreshing vibrations from him increased their hold on her. He did not pull away right then, as he had the other times. Instead, his xia particles reached around hers, brushing her. He released small, soft vibrations that she received, and returned warm, invigorating tremors of her own. They drew closer to one another.

Halt. What have you here? Seth’s vibration interrupted.

Dinah and Kem withdrew a bit, xia clouds brightening, changing different shades.

Seth continued. I asked you to watch my sister. Not enamor her. How long has this been occurring? he asked, looking from one to the other.

Both struggled for an answer. Finally, Kem spoke. It hasn’t, Brother… hasn’t been occurring. It is actually quite new to us as well. As he said it, smiling, his xia twinkling, his eyes returned to Dinah again. His gaze became warm and soft.

Would you please stop looking at my sister like that? Seth vibrated.

Kemuel’s xia released small shivers. Laughingly, he replied, I wish I could. She is quite annoying. But I can’t. You see, she is beautiful and incredible, and yet still, a pain in my nehari.

As she had when she was a young globule, Dinah cringed when they mocked her. She only absorbed the negative things he had uttered. You’re not a delightful star to behold either. Why don’t you go stare at the dark then?

What is the matter here? Why are there so many neharis in one place doing nothing? their father’s vibrations struck them all. He entered the Immaculate Hall and glared.

It seems Dinah and Kemuel have been forming a union the rest of us didn’t know of, Seth reported accusingly, just as he had when Dinah was a globule and he was a Tyro getting annoyed with her antics.

Kemuel followed, Sir, I-

I knew about it. They weren’t very good at hiding it, her father replied.

Dinah and the others were shocked.

Azariah continued, I’m ancient, not ignorant. I discerned from Kem changing colors whenever he was around me. Each time he came back from surveilling the realm, he would be a different shade. I almost thought he was building us a new planet of rainbows, he joked. The group burst into laughter. Even then, Kemuel’s cloud darkened slightly. And Kem, you are correct. The tornadoes twisting in the Torrents don’t hold a candle to Dinah when she is unbalanced, Azariah laughed. More laughter erupted.

That’s not funny. Nor is it true, at all. This is a very important day. How dare you make light, she defended herself, her xia continuing to chuckle also.

Within moments, they all locked xia particles with one another, sharing vibrations in a tight embrace. It was likely to be their last.

They made their way to the Outlier Region again, their family flying together, embracing one another’s xia, and surrounding Azariah. Dinah fought the young globule in her that wanted to plead with him for just a few more moments, one last challenge, just an extra game, yet another lengthy lesson.

Scions from around the realm arrived and began to take their places, in order, according to their purpose. Dinah’s comrades greeted her, exchanging solemn embraces.

Nachash was kind, but distant. Dinah assumed it was due to the awkwardness of Dinah’s new role. Nachash began, Sister, the last time we spoke, I didn’t —

It is of no consequence. This is a special time. Today, we celebrate, and start anew. We will be purged, and restore the realm. Let us flourish with new beginnings, Dinah assured her close comrade.

Yakiel joined them. "Ha! Halt! Queen. Shall I bow? Curtsy? Salute? I shall have to remind myself of the proper protocol."

Dinah laughed. You shall do nothing of the sort, only bring your best power when you compete against me in spinning. You will need it. The crown will not stop me from besting you.

A young Tyro sounded his cymbals of music and called the realm to attention for King Aleph one last time. Dinah floated on one side of him, her father on the other.

Aleph began, Peace. Supremacy. Dominion over all existence. All existence in harmony. All of it rests delicately upon one thing: purity. Such a precious, intricate system requires every Scion to be wholly pure of faults or deficiencies. We are bonded to one another. What affects one, affects us all. We function from one another’s energy, every single Scion emitting, processing and circulating energy to all the others. Our combined strength is what makes us invincible. Never forget it. We started as the first realm. Now there are many. Still, we are the only realm of complete peace. We have known devastation, disorder, sacrifice. And yet still, we pursue peace, harmony and purity. Never stop demanding it. Never stop protecting it, preserving it, or even going to war over it, if you must. Purity is all we have. That’s all there is. We will meet you again, on the other side of the Kol River.

With that, Dinah and her brothers looked from one another to their father with melancholy, sending him vibrations of gratitude and unity. As Aleph and Hadar did the same with their families, Azariah shot Dinah a final grave glimpse. She recognized the silent admonition. Then, the kingdom shared a final joint embrace, extending vibrations and light that invigorated one another.

They began to execute their plan, with Dinah and Kemuel and the other assigned Scions removing sicha, as the other Scions purged themselves. Kem directed sicha to the Gevul Frontier, as Dinah flew faster than light into one Scion after another, examining their neharis and removing any particles of contamination— sicha or anything else that could be debilitating. As she flew, she absorbed Aleph’s power, helping her to move faster, spreading herself into more than one being, searching multiple Scions simultaneously. She purged them, as they shared light and calm with one another. Fortifying herself so as not to absorb any sicha, she pushed the sicha toward Kemuel, for him to direct it toward the hole at the Gevul Frontier, and out of the realm, into a realm that would contain the sicha. They worked at this for some time until Dinah finished searching neharis, and then examining the atmospheres.

Once they were sure the realm was fully purged, Dinah presented herself to all of the Original Scions and Kemuel, for them to search her last and verify that she too was pure. Finally, it was time to seal the curses out of their realm once more and re-lock Tavos. Once her father, Aleph and Hadar were gone, they would redistribute all of their matter so they could aligned themselves to operate in harmony.

Her father and the King broke themselves apart. In Alignment mode, there was no chemical imbalance, and no impurity. Dinah and every other Scion shared the same energy and sensations. She could feel no disturbance in her xia.

Caleb, Seth and Dinah’s remaining brothers took over at that point. They captured the Originals’ particles of power, along with the formulas her father had created, and began combining them as Azariah had taught them. The Royal Commanders and Grand Architects assisted, spreading the formula across the perimeters that separated Tavos from other worlds, working together to reseal the kingdom from her mother.

Once they sealed it off, Dinah initiated her first Alignment, and the massive cords of the Kol River spread among them, radiating and redistributing its fluids of energy. Dinah and the other Scions felt renewed and invigorated energy return. The Kol River coordinated their particles, relighting the stars, cleansing the rivers, brightening the mountains and atmospheres, and lifting the skies to their former ebullience. Dinah felt the crown of glowing, minuscule stars and radiance form around her nehari, as it had King Aleph.

The Kol River remained a few moments more, showering them in their celebration of newness. Then, its cords began to recede. Scions began to rejoice and embrace. Kemuel and Dinah’s brothers approached her, happy and grateful expressions across their xia, to rejoice that Alignment had finally succeeded. Even as they felt loss, they still felt fulfillment, and hope that this was the dawn of a new era.

Kemuel reached out to her first. She felt his vibrations, cool and accepting, and Dinah reached back. As she did, a lone vibration struck her.

Bitch, die!

Dinah flinched.

She saw Kemuel ask her something. His expressions were concerned, panicked. She felt his vibrations. But there was no sound or contact. No feeling. No communication. The atmosphere between them absorbed every motion, seeming to take his words and vibrations and send them somewhere else. His utterances were as nothing. Dinah’s xia were still present in this realm, but a part of her was missing. Somewhere else.

Damn, c’mon.

The female on Earth.