Chapter 11
Kyra
She walks into the kitchen and removes the bread from the stove. The fresh scent fills the air even stronger now, and my stomach growls, betraying just how hungry I am.
A pot on top of the stove draws my attention, and I watch as she ladles out three bowls of some sort of stew. Whatever it is, it smells delicious. She moves back to the living area and hands me the first bowl. Cael wraps his hand around my forearm to stop me from taking it. The moment his skin touches mine, a strange warmth emanates from the contact, and myriad images float to the surface of my mind.
Cael is lying in a bed beside me, his gaze locked on mine. He leans in and presses a tender kiss to my mouth that I return with equal fervor. “I love you, Bryndon,” I whisper softly.
I can almost taste him on my lips, and I gasp. Cael relinquishes his grip and blinks several times as if coming back to himself. When his eyes meet mine, the image flashes again in my mind, and my mouth drifts open slightly.
“I—I don’t understand.”
The old woman chuckles. “The memories are beginning to return, it seems.”
Our heads whip toward her.
“This is good. It will make what I have to tell you much easier.”
A soft knock at the door draws our attention.
“Come in!” she calls out.
Cael jumps up and places himself between me and the door as if to shield me from a would-be attacker.
A woman enters, and her jaw drops when she looks at Cael and me. Her lavender eyes and long pale hair are a match for the old woman. I wonder if she is her daughter or some kind of close relation. As if in answer to my question, the old woman moves toward her and embraces her warmly.
Cael eyes them both warily.
“This is my daughter, Talina.” She smiles at us, then arches a brow at her child. “He is just as I suspected he would be. As protective of his queen as the ancient stories told.”
“Stop speaking in riddles, old woman,” Cael grinds out. “Who are you? And how do you know us?”
“As I said. I am a mage.” She places a hand on her chest. “So is my daughter. Your coming has been foretold for many years.” A warm smile lights her face as she bows before us. “I am honored it was me you came to first. Now, please.” She looks at Cael. “Know I would never harm you. I swear it to the God of Creation.”
I place a hand on Cael’s shoulder, forcing his attention back to me.
“Cael, I think we should listen to her.”
“It could be dangerous,” he counters. “We cannot risk—”
“We don’t know where we are or why we’re here.” I meet his gaze evenly. “We might get some answers here, Cael. That’s what we need, isn’t it?”
With a slight clench of his jaw, he nods.
“Good.” Talina smiles, having overheard us. “I’ll make some tea.”
Willow hands us each a bowl of soup. I’m so hungry, I eagerly eat mine, but I notice Cael hesitates. In fact, he waits so long, I’m already done with mine before he even takes his first spoonful.
Willow nods at him. “I respect you are cautious in regard to your queen. I do not think you will make the same mistake in this life.”
“Mistake?” he asks.
She leans forward. “You have only recently come to this world, yes?”
“We… arrived here yesterday.”
“And the world from which you have come does not possess any magic?”
“No,” I reply.
Talina makes a soft tsking noise in the back of her throat, and then waves a hand in our direction. The bowls lift from our hands and move back to the kitchen, setting down on the counter near the sink. Her lips twist up in a sly smirk at our gaping stares.
“I’ve always wondered how the other side manages without the little things like this, which make life so much easier,” she says. “I don’t know what I’d do without my magic.”
Cael and I remain silent, both of us in shock.
He leans forward. “Tell us everything you know.”
Chapter 12
Cael
Willow waves her hand, and a book flies from the shelf behind us. It is large and leather-bound, reminding me of an ancient tome. It alights on the table between us, and she carefully opens the worn and yellowing pages. At first, the symbols inside are completely foreign, but after a moment of staring at them, they realign into English, and I realize I can read them without difficulty. I blink several times as I stare down at the writings.
“How is that possible?”
I look at Kyra, her expression of wonder mirroring my own.
“You are the queen,” Willow says to Kyra, “and you,”—she looks to me—“are her guard. So, of course, the light magic of this world will do everything it can to aid you in your quest to save it.”
I grit my teeth. She is still speaking in riddles. I hate not knowing what’s going on. I don’t know if she is intentionally being cryptic, or if she is worried about telling us too much all at once.
After all, didn’t Lynx and Astra do the same to us before we came here? I curl my hands into fists at my side at the memory. How long did that sly fox live with me, and all the while, he was keeping secrets? I’m tired of being kept in the dark.
“Tell us what you know,” I demand. “Now.”
Willow leans forward and looks to Kyra.
“In your past life, thousands of years ago, you were the Great Queen Alora—Ruler of both Earth and Lunaria. You were a Guardian of the God of Creation, just as all of your ancestors—the Great Queens—before you. You were tasked with keeping the dark mages and the Guardians of Destruction from destroying our two worlds. You
