Tyler opened the car door for her, and she climbed in. He had brought clothes for her to change into on the plane, and she’d chosen the black dress with the heels and a gold necklace. The limo driver was staring, so Tyler told him to roll up the divider. Once they were on the road, Tyler took out the tin of black fluid and handed it to her. “For you, Queen.” She took it and held it to her mouth. The fluid seemed to crawl out on its own. A tentacle crept into her mouth and pulled the remaining matter inside. She closed her mouth and swallowed. “What are they?” he asked. “They came to my people long ago from the sky. They taught us how to engineer marvels. And we were paid with destruction.” “What happened?” “A war unlike any this world has seen. We were spread across the earth like seeds. We fought everywhere one could fight, and we destroyed ourselves.
