Page 1

Prologue

Abright sun in the azure sky blanketed the fields of wildflowers, each petal shimmering with dew drops on the crisp morning air. With a wicker basket in hand, Katana whistled as she glided along beside the stream that cut through the heart of the meadow. A soft humming made her still for a moment.

A white fox trotted by and said, “Hello.”

She waved back with a smile. “Good morning, Mrs. Sander.”

She went back to her task of collecting a basket of flowers for the children who played near the fountain—those who were lost too young and waited for their parents to follow them. Seeing the smiles on their faces as she presented them each with a bright bloom was worth it. She plucked a handful of white daisies, a bunch of buttercups, and kept following the winding path of the creek until she came upon a serene grove with graceful willows, their verdant branches swaying in the breeze.

“Good morning, Katana,” the largest willow said.

“Good morning to you too, Mr. Willow.”

“A beautiful morning it is,” he said in his gruff voice.

“Wonderful,” she replied with a smile. Shafts of sunlight filtered through the canopy, dappling the ground below withpatterns of light and shadow. Birdsong filled the air, a chorus of melodies… and then that humming again.

“Do you hear that, Mr. Willow?”

He twisted, his branches creaking, and a squirrel hopped down carrying an acorn. “I don’t hear anything,” the fluffy-tailed squirrel said.

“I only heard your whistling as you approached,” said Mr. Willow.

She tilted her head, now following the sound of the humming rather than the creek. Her bare feet traipsed lightly over the soft green grass. What could it be?

She suddenly stilled, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. A patch of midnight lily blooms were before her… but they did not exist here. They only existed where the goddess of night did. “Valeen?” she whispered, glancing around. Was her sister here now too?

She grinned at the thought of not being alone anymore, and then slowly her smile fell. If Valeen were here that meant she had passed from mortality, that the Council of the Gods had won. It meant the realms were missing a beautiful spirit to protect them.

The humming continued until a split in the air above the lilies opened and soon grew to a large round circle tall and wide enough that she could easily walk through. On the other side the glittering night sky awaited, a place blanketed in ethereal darkness. And there she was, hair black as midnight, a face as lovely as the sunrise, eyes as blue as the midday sky. “Valeen!” she shouted in excitement, but her sister did not turn.

She stretched her fingers toward the shimmering pool, it was cool moist air to the touch. There were others with Valeen too.

“Go,”called a soft voice from everywhere but nowhere.

She looked up among the willows and oaks. Could she go back to her old life? The basket in the crook of her elbow wasmore than just for flowers. It was for little faces who needed her. Of course she wasn’t the only one who loved them but…

A tug in her chest almost seemed to jerk her forward toward the portal. How long had it been since she came to this place of peace and love? Leaving would mean pain and suffering, darkness and evil, that didn’t exist here. It would mean facing what happened to her all over again. Here in this wonderful place, there was no fear, anger, jealousy, or murder.

She swallowed hard, setting the wicker basket down in the grass. Going back meant seeing her children, her sister, and the realms she missed. It was a chance at life anew. A chance she didn’t think she’d ever have.

Mrs. Sander, the fox, appeared and took the basket handle into her mouth. She bobbed her soft furry head as if she knew what she was going to do.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile.

Mrs. Sander trotted away with the basket swaying, heading back toward the children at the fountain. Katana took a deep, steadying breath and stepped from the light into darkness.

Chapter 1

VALEEN

Very little surprised a goddess who’d existed through the ages where life changed as often as shifting sands in a high tide. After she discovered the depths people would go to deceive and beguile for power. Mortals lived and died, their names remembered only in the history books if they should be so privileged. Even gods could be lost to the ravages of time, becoming mere remnants talked about over a pint of ale.

That was what she had become.

That was what her sister Katana had become too, a whisper in her memory. It was impossible and yet thousands of years after death had stolen the purest soul she’d ever known from this wretched world, the goddess of day now stood under the shimmering lights of the night sky.

Was she a mirage sent here to torment Valeen? Did the All Mother wish to punish Valeen further for all her sins? Seeing how achingly beautiful her sister was, Valeen wondered how she ever could have let the image of her fade into the dark recesses of her mind.