I pick one up and notice the flesh is tender; similar to a mango and it smells delicious. I look to Astra and Lynx. Are these safe to eat? When they nod, Cael and I peel back the outer flesh. No sooner do we create an opening, the entire outer layer seems to fold back on itself, pushing out the inner juicy meat.
The texture is similar to a mango but it’s a deep purple color. I take a cautious bite. The sweet, citrusy flavor explodes across my tongue and before I can stop myself, I let out a small, appreciative moan. “This is wonderful.”
Cael takes a bite and then closes his eyes as if relishing the taste. He smiles. “I remember these.”
I study the fruit a moment and realize he’s right. Memories flood my mind. “These only grew in the southern lands. The most fertile farmlands in all of Lunaria.”
My gaze sweeps out across the desert and I turn to Lynx and Kyra. “What happened here?” I frown. “I feel as though I’m supposed to remember. As though… somehow I’m responsible for this in a way. Why is that?”
Astra steps forward. “You are right, Kyra. You are responsible for what happened here. You and Cael.”
“What happened?” he asks.
Lynx sighs heavily. “Shortly before you became queen, a great evil spread through the land. Together, you were able to defeat it, but at great cost to those you love.”
I blink down at them. “What do you mean? What cost?”
Astra places a paw on my forearm as she stares up at me with a saddened expression. “One of your fathers died here when he tried to defeat the evil that had come to this land.”
“My… fathers?”
“One of the men in your mother’s harem,” she explains. “She had five mates; they all raised you as their own. But Jareth was the one you were closest to. He was the one who was killed when all of you fought to defeat the Great Serpent.”
Memories rush toward me, crashing against my mind like waves upon rock. An image of Jareth’s face surfaces in my thoughts and an unbidden tear slips down my cheek. “I remember him,” my voice comes out barely a whisper. I lower my gaze to the sand. “I remember them all.”
Sadness fills me so great, I can barely contain it. The loss of my mother and sister is the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with in my life. But the memory of the loss of my mother and fathers in my previous life is just as unbearable.
Clenching my jaw, I fight back the tears that would come if I’d let them.
Cael wraps his arms around me, holding me close. “I’m sorry, Kyra. I remember them now too. They loved you. So much.”
Despite my pain and sadness, I refuse to allow myself to wallow in grief. There will be time for that later. Right now, I have to focus. Curling my hands into fists at my side, anger fills me as I remember the evil serpent we trapped in the castle here so very long ago.
I turn to Astra. “It’s been many years. The Great Serpent should be dead by now. Are you telling me it still lives?”
She nods. “I do not know how it is still alive, but it must be. The Great Serpent absorbs the life energy and power of everything nearby. That is the only thing that could explain why the lands around the castle are so barren even now.”
“The castle,” Cael begins. “That’s where we’re going, isn’t it? The gemstone is there for some reason, but why?”
Lynx shakes his head. “I do not know.” He darts a knowing glance at Astra. “But when the crown led us to this place, we suspected.”
Cael looks to me. “You used the crown to find this place. Do you sense anything?”
As I gaze down at Astra, I narrow my eyes. “You said we’re connected. You saw the same things that I did when I used the crown, didn’t you?”
“Yes. That is how I know we are going in the right direction. I can feel the pull of the gemstone’s power. The magic of the crown is drawn to it as well.”
“I don’t understand,” I tell her. “Why have our memories not completely returned? How long will it take for them to come back?”
“According to everything foretold, you should have regained them all the moment you came back to this world,” Lynx answers. “But for some reason, you are still missing pieces of your time here before.”
“Then why don’t you tell us?” Cael shoots him an irritated look. “I’m tired of being in the dark.”
Lynx shakes his head. “You are supposed to be allowed to regain them on your own. Without our… interference.”
I place my hands on my hips. “Who decided that?”
Astra meets my eyes evenly. “The God of Creation. The one whom you serve as his Guardians. Forgive me,” she adds. “We would tell you everything if we could.”
With a slight clench of my jaw, I nod and then turn away. I start back toward the edge of the water.
“Where are you going?” she calls after me.
“To bathe and then to sleep,” I reply, trying but failing to suppress the bitter edge to my tone.
I understand why they are not telling us everything, but it still feels like a betrayal. Not just from her and Lynx but also from the God of Creation himself. Cael and I sacrificed so much in our previous life just to serve him and this is how he repays our loyalty?
I think on my father, Jareth. This is how the God that I serve repaid my father? He just stood by and allowed him to be killed by the Great Serpent when he could have easily offered his aid. Why didn’t he?
In the back of my mind, I understand that there is a reason, but for
