Page 10 of Legacy of the Heirs (The Lost Kingdom Saga #2)

“We need to look for something to help Kazaar wake Elisara,” she said.

Farid finally moved then and turned to scan the bookshelf.

He reached and gathered the volumes on the highest shelves while Nyzaia scanned for the book stuck in her mind— Myths and Lies of Ithyion.

It was the only book she expected had answers and might reference the essence of one’s power.

Farid dropped a heavy pile onto the table between the two armchairs, the wine glasses vibrating from the impact.

She cocked her head, glancing between him and the books.

“These are all the books not covered in dust,” he said in his matter-of-fact way. “I assumed we wanted anything read frequently.” He held his hands behind his back, standing tall and rigid.

“That’s an odd assumption.” Tajana narrowed her eyes.

“Is it?” he asked. “You referenced a prophecy concerning the King of Keres; it seems a fair assumption that we are here to find any secrets he could have hidden.” He faced Nyzaia then. “Though I am uncertain how that relates to the Queen of Vala and her commander.”

The queen scanned her guard. While he was a quiet man—mysterious, some would say—he had done nothing but prove his dedication to Nyzaia and his position. From his pristine uniform to his immaculately trimmed beard and hair, he struck her as someone who did not break from order and procedure.

“ Trust only the other heirs.” Nyzaia was reminded of Isha’s final words before taking her own life, so dedicated to keeping whatever secrets she had been privy to within Keres or those from Doltas Island as Soren had suggested. At her side, Tajana shook her head, but Nyzaia followed her gut .

“The prophecy states many things, but one line struck me when I was in the room with Kazaar: ‘ When light meets dark in the rarest of times.’” Clasping her hands, she glanced at the patterns painted on the back of them.

“Last night, there was a raised mark of a moon on Elisara’s collarbone.

” Both members of her Queen’s Guard furrowed their brows.

“Kazaar said something happened between them, so I’m working on the assumption there is a sun marked on him. ”

“Light and dark, sun and moon,” Tajana summarised.

Farid crouched before the stacks before him and pulled out a large black leather tome.

When he turned the cover, Nyzaia faltered, ensuring her eyes did not deceive her.

Myths and Lies of Ithyion. Below the title was a silver marking of an overlapping sun and moon.

She reached Farid in seconds and snatched the book from his hands before sinking into one of the armchairs.

She trailed her rough fingers along the embossed author’s name at the bottom.

Caligh Servusian.

Nyzaia did not recognise the name, but given how old the book appeared, that did not surprise her.

Many people had passed long before her ancestors fled the siege in Ithyion.

She opened the book and coughed at the dust floating into her vision.

The crinkling stiff parchment confirmed her suspicions.

The book was far too old to have been written by someone in this Kingdom.

Tajana pulled a book from the remaining pile and took it to the desk, glancing between Nyzaia and Farid as she did.

Farid listed the other titles on the pile, yet Nyzaia remained too transfixed on the book to pay any notice.

The first few pages had faded with age, and the cursive font was difficult to decipher, nearly illegible.

She turned each page with care, conscious she possibly held one of the few items from Ithyion, aside from the talismans and Sword of Sonos.

Nyzaia had never been one for books. When her father sent her to spy on Elisara all those years ago, she had sat restlessly on the balcony, waiting until Elisara finally finished reading.

She had never understood how Elisara was so immersed.

Yet as Nyzaia sat with centuries of potential history before her, she wondered if she was not one for fiction or tales of love and romance but the mysteries of those who lived real lives.

If only she could sit in her chambers and do nothing but read over the coming days.

Instead, she scanned the pages for key information and analysed the words and drawings.

She continued flipping the pages, searching for a picture of a moon, sun, or both, but found only passing drawings of creatures she did not recognise.

She paused on an illustration of a giant winged beast in water; scales covered every inch of its body, from its head and an unusually long neck all the way to its four-taloned feet.

Could it somehow be related to the creatures that had taken Ithyion, the beasts Elisara and Kazaar had killed?

Nyzaia just about construed the smudged cursive below the sketch, marked ‘River Drake.’ On the opposite page was a similar creature poised atop a mountain.

Flames erupted from its nostrils, yet no matter how much Nyzaia squinted, she could not read the name scrawled below it.

Other than the titles of the creatures, none of the paragraphs were comprehensible, all written in a language that was not her own.

She flicked the page again and paused. A plain page with a simple title stared back at her.

Celestial Ties, it read, and below was a sketch of the sun and moon, followed by four markings, all curved in some manner or another: some with multiple curls and flicks, others barer.

Nyzaia frowned. Four . She glanced at the door of the hidden room.

Similar markings etched the mirror frame but were less detailed, as though drawn from memory.

Nyzaia turned the page, her eyes mesmerised by the drawing.

Etched in charcoal, two hands reached for one another with twisting threads surrounding them.

Despite the flat page, Nyzaia imagined they sparkled.

The celestial tie is thought to be bestowed upon two individuals who share a destiny.

It is a bond presented by the Celestial Gods and anointed when two beings finally acknowledge their connection and allow their essences to merge.

Some claim that, upon doing so, the pair are marked by the Gods.

Such a mark grants them access to one another’s powers, memories, and minds.

Few known cases of such a bond exist. For many years, the bond was frowned upon as stories emerged, suggesting those bestowed with such a mark could become too powerful.

It is, therefore, unclear if more celestial ties exist yet are hidden for fear the individuals may be forced to separate and kept from one another.

Nyzaia slammed the book shut. Overcome by thoughts, she rose from her chair and decided to finish the rest later. Farid moved with her as she handed the book to Tajana.

“Take this to my chambers,” she commanded.

Tajana began to speak but halted at Nyzaia’s raised hand.

“Farid, you are with me.” Ignoring Tajana’s scowl, Nyzaia picked up the skirts of her lehenga to free her feet.

She exited the office and ran through the hallways while one sentence repeated in her mind: ‘Granting them access to one another’s powers, memories, and minds . ’

Kazaar was the only one who could wake Elisara.