27

TWENTY-EIGHT

Ember

“Wow, this place is incredible.” Amara says while we walk through the silver and gold hallways. Surrounded by marble walls and floors, the ceilings are adorned in stars and moons. It truly is a work of art. I wonder if it looked this way when king Morak and Queen Meelis were the ruling powers of Estrallume. We pass Willow’s quarters and begin to finally near the library. There are 2 guards escorting us at all times since we’ve arrived.

I try to recall their names, since I never seem to be able to remember them. But before I can, I hear those familiar voices once again.

“Daughter of The Moons. You’ve returned to us once again.”

I stop dead in my tracks and look at Amara, trying to give her warning before the goddesses pull me away into some secret void again. “Amara get Wil–”

Before I can finish telling her not to worry, my vision goes bright white and it feels like I’m tumbling through the sky, plummeting to the face of Faerelle. I slam into the cold stone ground of some dark room, yet again.

“Ughh, can’t you guys at least give me a warning!” I scream into the darkness that surrounds me.

Candles around the room light up in bright red and blue flames. “Daughter of The Moons, We’ve been waiting for your return.” That familiar voice sings to me.

A bright, white tear in the center of the room gives way to the floating orb that embodies our goddess Naistrelle.

“I need answers from you this time. Please don’t waste my time.” I struggle to stand as my body aches from slamming into the ground. “I deserve to know what’s going on.”

The white light pulses as if the goddess is contemplating squashing me with her finger for raising my voice at her.

“Ember Moonlace, the stars have written that you are destined to be the salvation of the remaining fae race. King Bryton is a leech on our sacred lunar throne. He is sucking the physical life out of Faerelle to enhance his powers. We know he’s working with king Kalderr, ruler of the shadow realm. The king is planning something huge but we don’t know what. We need you to find out and stop his efforts before our world is faded into the shadow realm.”

“Wait, you’re telling me the king is literally draining our lands of its magic and life to strengthen himself?”

“Yes.” The goddess simply states.

“How is he doing that? Is that the cause of the Decay all these years?” I plead for the goddess to answer my questions.

“We aren’t sure what the cause of the Decay is, Princess. The king didn’t start tapping into the land’s magic until the past few weeks. We do not know the source of the Decay at this time.”

I can’t stop myself from getting irritated with this floating ball of light. “You’re kidding, right? You sit among the stars all day long and you can’t tell me the answers to these questions? Don’t you see everything that happens?”

“Well, yes. Yes we do. But I cannot interfere with the course of history anymore than I already have. Coming here, sharing the information with you, is already a large enough risk. I can’t tamper with the stream of time.”

“Okay. Fine. I can figure this out. Let me out of here and we will get to work.” I’m growing impatient with this goddess. I don’t need to waste time listening to half truths and mysterious missions.

The orb pulses for a few seconds while I place my hands on my hips. I’m over this shit. “Where am I?” I ask finally.

“We’ve taken you to another glimmered room within the Lunar Palace. These rooms were protected from the Bryton bloodline by your father before he passed. They can only be opened by you.”

I’m now so confused. If I’ve learned anything from this lady, it’s that our history is so wrong. “I thought the palace was destroyed in the incident that night?”

“ Everything your parents did was to protect you, Ember Moonlace.”

That does something to my chest. I can’t process the emotions I’m feeling right now. I reach deep into my powers and find the corner that holds my empathy talent. I quickly build a wall around that power and tuck it away to deal with later. I’ve been numbing a lot of emotions lately and I’m truly getting scared of the aftermath that awaits me. So, I just continue on with curiosity instead.

“Why are these rooms so important they had to glimmer them?” I wonder out loud.

“There are sacred texts passed down from royal bloodlines, along with family heirlooms and the true history of our lands lie within these walls.”

I start to pace in the center of a large, dark room. The only thing I can see is her soft glowing circle and the marble stone that sits beneath us. I let out a large exhale and glanced back at the goddess.

“I need a minute. Sorry, this is just a lot to take in.”

She doesn’t respond by continuing to glow in her annoying yet comforting way. I take a few steps into the darkness and flick on my fae orb.  I didn’t expect one simple act of magic to cause such a cataclysmic reaction. Somehow, my attempt at casting a single fae orb actually lit aflame all the candles, wall sconces, and dazzling chandeliers within what appears to be the most stunning and voluminous library.

I let in a small gasp. “Oh my stars.” I say to myself while taking in what I assume is my parents’ treasured library. Now I understand the old smells of aged vanilla, leather and coffee.

I quickly turn to face the goddess and ask, “How did I just do that?”

She glows brighter and slowly hovers in the center of the library. We’re surrounded by floor to ceiling bookshelves full of various colors, sizes, and trinkets of significance. This room has an aurora about it and I can feel the importance of the words on the pages that fill these walls.

“You are a Primal and an Ancient. You are the last. Your magic responds differently to the world around you, allowing you to access all four elements in due time.”

“I don’t understand. How could I possibly be an Ancient? Being a primal makes sense considering who my parents are, but an Ancient? The last one died many years before my lifetime.”

“On the night of your birth, your father imprinted your soul with another. You are the only hybrid fae to exist, consisting of fae, primal, and ancient bloodlines.”

I drift back to the memory of that night. My father spoke otherworldly words over me as a white light drifted and imbedded itself in my chest. It’s all starting to make some sense.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been here too long. I must return to the others before they know what I’ve done. Goodluck, princess.”

I hear a ringing in my ears, a bright white light engulfs my vision, and my skin turns colder than the darkest nights. The goddess orb grows in size and then she completely vanishes from thin air, abandoning me in a library full of wonder.