Page 20

Kerainne

Past

Lucian’s unabashed joy in seeing me visiting him made me feel a pang of guilt for putting it off so long.

But dying is truly unpleasant. However, it was past time I accepted his offer to show me the home realm of our kind.

And I was able to give my parents a bit of payback for what they put Nik through for her first death.

They’d approved for Nik to accompany Delgarias on a diplomatic visit to Shellandria and permitted me to return to Earth to help more tribes. They didn’t know I’d taken a detour.

“Wait,” Lucian broke our embrace and frowned at me. “Did you say Delgarias, that faelin sorcerer courting your sister, is new Keeper of the Prophecy?”

“Shh! No one’s supposed to know they’re courting. But yes.” I wasn’t ready to tell him that Nik and Del had mated already.

That would bring Lucian and I to a conversation I wasn’t sure would be wise yet. Much as the thought of his body melded with mine filled me with heat.

“Surely he now has enough prestige to court her.” At my headshake, he frowned, then shook his own head. “That is so crazy that it’s him. I wish I could have been there to meet him. Does he love Nik?”

The question came so sudden that I didn’t even have to think when I answered. “Most definitely. It’s almost difficult to be in the same room with them together. Even after he became the Revered One. It’s going to be difficult to remember to address him that way.”

“What if Nik becomes part of the Prophecy?”

His words struck me like a blow to the heart as I thought about that being the reason Nik and Delgarias had bonded. “That could very well come to pass. It would bring reason to her interests. But what if it’s something bad?”

Lucian smiled softly and pulled me into his arms. His deep voice rumbled against my ear. “I refuse to believe that anything but good can come from you or your sister. Now, do you want to see the lizards and the habitat I made for them?”

I gasped. “You made lizards here?”

That visit to Luminista was far different than my first one.

Lucian showed me all the different ecosystems he’d created along with the creatures living in them.

We talked, laughed together, and kissed, though Lucian wouldn’t let me take things further, much as I wanted to.

His mother, Lucinda was polite and not pushy.

His father, Roland, was stoic, but kind.

My grandmother, Silvara threw a ball for the Luminista Leonines and Jagwolfes.

My grandfather, Marcel, danced with me once, then went into hiding in his library.

At the ball, Lucian escorted me out to a private balcony, where the stars and moon shone down so big and bright I felt like I could fly up and touch them. The cool night breeze was heavy with the scent of flowers from the gardens below.

I expected him to steal more kisses, but instead, he sank down to one knee and presented me with a bouquet of lilacs, honeysuckle, and night-blooming lilies.

“Kerainne Leonine, I implore you to hear my humble plea.” Lucian’s cerulean eyes were deep enough to drown in, his hair molten gold in the moonlight as he looked up at me like I was the most important thing in all the known worlds.

“Although I’m a prince, I am not in line for a throne any time soon, and I am not as clever as you, nor do I always know how to do the right thing.

But I can promise that if you allow me to court you, I will do everything in my power to make you happy.

I will strive to catch up with you in knowledge and skill.

I will adore you every waking moment and shall dedicate myself to granting your every desire. ”

In the face of such lovely words imbued with passion and sincerity, I couldn’t help but accept the flowers, beckon him to rise, and throw my arms around him.

“Yes,” I choked out between sobs of joy.

It was then and there that I knew I loved this man and wanted him by my side for eternity.

He kissed me then, and my magic flared out, mingling with his in tandem with our mouths.

When mages mated, there was always the risk of their magic not coalescing during mating, which could result in one party losing their magic.

As luminites, we were thankfully free of such a worry.

Either our powers would meld well, or they would not.

And the little sparks of power we generated with this kiss told me our magic would mingle very well when the time came for us to join our bodies and souls.

But then, everything fell apart for the first time.

Lucian escorted me back inside the ballroom and announced our courtship in front of everyone. Cheers rang out and both the Leonine and Jagwolfe matriarchs rushed to my side.

“Congratulations, darling.” Silvara bent down and kissed my cheek. “Lucian is a worthy mate for you. We’ll have to decide where your palace will be. I’d of course prefer it to be on Leonine lands, but if you wish to live in Jagwolve territory, I’ll understand and won’t let that curtail my visits.”

I blinked at the Luminista matriarchs in confusion. “But I want to live in Medicia. I’m the heir to the throne.”

“Of course, dear,” Silvara patted my hand like I was a child insisting on something silly. “But it will be a long time before your mother wishes to return home and leave her Aisthanesthai stronghold. You may as well get yourself established here and accustomed to our ways.”

“But I’m already established in Aisthanesthai and I wish to remain there.” My fists clenched at my sides at the unfairness of it all. “Why can’t Lucian come live with me in Medicia if we wed?”

“If?” Lucian said quietly, though I still heard him.

“Because we must have you both here,” Lucretia said firmly.

“I’m sorry, Kerainne,” Lucinda’s tone held more sympathy.

Tears burned in my eyes as I stormed out of the ballroom and willed myself back to Medicia.

While my parents and most of the palace slept, I packed my things and departed for Earth.

It was too soon to visit the Schitsu’umsh tribe, as some would still be alive to recognize me.

So I ventured further south. I wanted to be warmer anyway.

There I met the Aztecs. They were a society composed of several tribes in allied city states who spoke the same tongue.

It took a little longer to learn this tongue.

I had to cheat and cast a translation spell at first so we could understand each other.

Their magic was also very different from the Salish tribes in the northwest part of the continent.

It was louder, heavier, and further-reaching.

Unlike the Salish, they had permanent settlements and places of worship built from stone.

Some of their structures reminded me of what I’d seen in Egypt and Mesopotamia through scrying spheres and paintings other luminites brought back from their visits.

Other buildings were wholly their own style.

Three things were of immediate interest. The first was that the Aztecs weren’t originally from this region.

They’d come from a place called Atzlan that was taken from them by a wicked god.

The second was that they often practiced death magic.

Although that was a magic I could never learn, it fascinated me.

And the third was Kokopelli. He was a magical being who adventured across much of the land. Unlike the other deities I’d heard about, that may or may not be real, Kokopelli was very real. I met him during my first Earth death.

I’d just finished watching a ceremony in which a child was sacrificed and the sight brought me to a state of horror and grief. So I fled the city and took refuge in the jungle while I struggled to decide whether or not to return home to Medicia.

I released my wings, wanting to fly above the vast forest and feel free from my anguish. That’s when a group of warriors from another tribe made the decision for me. One of them stabbed me fatally with his spear while two others cut off my wings.

As I lay there dying, the most beautiful flute music reached my ears. I focused on it as if it were a totem, like holding someone’s hand while I slipped into oblivion.

A tall man stepped out from the trees, still playing that wondrous flute. He looked like a tribesman, yet he was ageless and radiated power.

“Your quest is noble, and I am grateful to you for helping my people, but you won’t be able to save them all.”

“I could save you,” I coughed and spit out blood, wincing in agony from the gaping wounds in my back. “I can come back.”

He chuckled lightly, though not mocking.

“I have no doubt you can. You can come back? I’d wondered how a dying one feels so much like an eternal one.

No, little goddess. My destiny is here. I can’t save them any more than you, but I must bear witness until the day my people are no more.

Only then may I drift away to the heavens.

Would you like me to play for you as you go on your journey? ”

“Please,” I gasped. “Then burn my corpse after, I beg you.”

“I will if you promise to go north of here next time. Your time with the Azteca people will come, but now others like the Atzlan people need help.”

I tried to nod, then sucked in another wet, gurgling breath as fresh waves of agony scorched me. Kokopelli’s dark eyes filled with sadness that didn’t match the hopeful song he played. As my lungs filled with my own blood, the pain faded as the haunting melody of Kokopelli’s flute carried me off.