The old woman closes her eyes and bows her head. Kyra and I exchange a glance a moment before everything goes dark.
Panicked, I blink several times as if that will somehow help me to see. Myriad images fill my mind and my jaw drops as I watch the world burn all around me. Chaos, destruction, ruin and death. Both this world and the one we have come from. All of it is burning.
Buildings collapse and entire cities are swallowed by the earth as fire rains down from above, laying waste to the last vestiges of civilization. I turn to my left to find Kyra standing beside me. Her eyes wide in shock, a tear slips down her cheek as we stare at the wasteland that used to be our native city of Seattle.
“What happened here?” she turns to Willow as she stands before us.
“This,” the old woman gestures to the ruin all around us, “is what will happen if the God of Destruction disrupts the Balance of all things. This is the death he would bring to both of our worlds.”
She releases our hands and I blink as the room comes back into focus. I lower my gaze to the floor, struggling to process all that I’ve seen. I close my eyes, trying to force the terrible images from my mind, but I cannot. Kyra’s hand covers mine and she squeezes it gently, drawing my attention back to her.
She meets the old woman’s gaze evenly. “How do we keep this from happening?”
“Of all the Great Queens who came before you, you are the most powerful. You have the ability to wield all five of the elements. The queens before you were only able to wield one or sometimes two. But all of that magic is difficult to contain and control. That is another reason why the queens had their harems.”
Kyra shakes her head. “I don’t understand.”
Willow continues. “The queen’s mates had powers of their own as well. Not nearly as strong as what she possessed. The magic of the elements is a difficult thing to control. If one is not careful, they can be consumed by the destructive power of fire, spirit, earth, water, or wind. The harems always consisted of five men. Each one able to conjure the magic of a different element and to help their queen to wield it as well.”
The old woman studies Kyra a moment and then looks to me. “Each of you has power. I can sense it. But it is not yet at full strength. You must find the hidden gemstones, the ones that fit the crown and allow you to wield complete control of the elements.”
“What crown?”
“The one you were buried with in your past life.”
An image of Alora wearing a crown flits through my mind, along with the memory of her lying in state with it on. A terrible ache settles deep in my chest as I recall dropping to my knees before the queen I had failed and offering an ocean of tears to the altar of my pain and despair.
I meet her gaze evenly. “How do we find the crown? How do we find the gemstones?”
Willow’s sharp eyes meet mine. “You remember it, don’t you?”
“Yes, but the memory of where the crown lies…” I pause, bracing myself to speak as agonizing grief moves through me before I finally say, “buried, is gone.”
Although I do not entirely remember why or how it happened, I somehow know that I am responsible for Alora’s death. I failed her somehow, and I never forgave myself for it.
Kyra looks to me, but I avert my gaze, unable to stare at her through my deep shame and guilt.
Talina leans forward and places her hand over mine. Her lips do not move. My eyes go wide as I hear her voice in my mind. “Do not despair. The God of Creation did not blame you for what happened to your queen. If he did, he would not have allowed you to have been reborn to protect her now.”
Quickly I retract my hand, staring at her in shock.
Willow looks to us. “I will give you a map to the crown. Once you find it, it will lead you to the gemstones.”
Willow gestures to the shelf behind me, and a scroll floats up from the stack of books on one level. I watch in awe as it gently lands on the table on top of the ancient tome. She unrolls it to reveal an intricately drawn and detailed map. Just like the tome, the parchment is yellowed and worn with age. I’m almost afraid to touch it. It looks as if it will fall apart from even the slightest breeze. Just as before, with the book, the words on the map morph into something I can read, and I study it curiously.
“Where are we on here?”
She points to a spot on the lower-left corner of the map called Aerondale. “This is us,” she says. “And here,”—she trails her finger lightly on the map up toward the center—“is Valyra, the capital city. This is where Queen Alora was entombed.”
A deep ache settles in the center of my chest as I look to Valyra and the space where the queen is buried. I dart a glance at Kyra. The urge to pull her into my arms is maddening. But I force myself to remain still because I do not think she’d welcome my touch. I cannot allow myself to forget that whatever we were to each other in a past life, we are still relative strangers in this one now.
It’s frustrating since I do not know how much of what I feel for her is a memory of that life versus what little I know of her in this one. I look at Willow and Talina. I have so many things I want to ask them,
