Chapter 3

The beach is deserted. It always is. Despite the fabulous wreckage – which is a diver’s paradise – just off the coast between Iron-Bound Cove and Eagle Rock, very few people find the secret beach which is actually closest to the wreckage. We call it Starlight Cove. It’s not on any maps and it’s down a cliff that’s barely scalable by humans. The magic wards around the wreckage keep even the most curious explorers away. Even supes are wary of this place. Everyone will be. Except the Aerwyna people.

If there were more of us in this realm, we’d all flock here and worship the wreck for the magical beacon that it is. The gateway to Aerwyna. My homeland. The place I’ve not set foot in for so long that my memories have become hazy. Being forced to drink a memory elixir by the elders doesn’t help matters, but they’re adamant that if we’re to succeed on our mission here in this realm, we need to forget all about the one we come from. As leader, I get to keep certain memories as privilege and for safety, but the other guys’ memories have been almost fully wiped. They don’t remember this beach, the wreckage, the entrance to our realm, or anything about life back home. All they know is the importance of the mission and how fiercely they used to love and protect our queen.

For the foreseeable future, it has to remain that way.

It’s unfair, but sometimes I wonder if they got the easier end of the deal. A total fresh start. They’re not plagued and tormented by hazy, shadowy memories of what our lives once were.

It’s no wonder I drink too much. That girl in the bar – before I knew it was Malia, my student, and therefore forever out of bounds – was the closest I’ve come to being interested in a woman since our queen disappeared so long ago.

I sigh. I guess Karma ensuring that Malia is not only my student but quite possibly the Star too, is her way of making sure I stay loyal to my queen. I swore to forsake all others for her, and even now with the queen’s whereabouts unknown, I’m still bound and sworn to uphold that oath.

Malia being my student is probably for the best. Keep trying to convince yourself of that.

Parking the car at the edge of the cliff, I exit the vehicle and shut off ‘IDK You Yet’. The echoing lyrics feel oddly poignant as I trek along the cliff’s edge until I feel what I’m searching for. The pull. The lure of the magic calling me home.

It’s not so very different from the pull I feel around Malia.

Slipping through the hidden seam in the rock, the magic portals me onto the wreckage that’s out to sea. It’s a security measure of sorts. It was too dangerous to have the hidden portal into Aerwyna on the mainland, just in case someone happened to stumble upon it by accident. Instead, the portal to the wreckage acts as a holding cell, waiting to see if the one seeking entry has the right magic. The right DNA.

If they do, the gateway to Aerwyna will be opened and they’ll be transported back. If my blood is wrong or rejected, I’ll die a slow and agonising death.

Thankfully, my centuries-old bloodline of protecting our country’s queens speaks for me, and I’m granted access.

I’d almost forgotten what portalling feels like, but as soon as my chest feels like it’s being crushed under some invisible force with the strength of concrete, it immediately comes flooding back to me. I manage to snatch one final gasp of air before the portal fully activates and begins to spin. Everything around me blurs, colours blending and merging into one blinding white light that’s so painful I have to close my eyes. Sounds of the sea mingle with ancient voices reciting the prophecies of our people. It’s dizzying, exhilarating and undeniably home.

I arrive with a bump, crashing to my knees without grace. I forgot about the landing. Clambering to my feet, I brush myself off. Thank god the others weren’t here to witness that, they’d never let me live it down.

“Welcome, Omí Saidé,” the voice of an elder says. I have no idea who because my head is respectfully bowed.

“Rise, Okuta, and let us help you,” a second elder adds.

When I look up, my palms slicken and my heart beats a little faster. I had known the elders would greet me directly once I arrived, but I wasn’t expecting to portal directly into the middle of the elders’ council. With the eyes of the thirteen upon me, nerves surface.

“My apologies, your graces. I had not intended to interrupt a council meeting.” I dip my chin once more, unsure how to proceed.

“Omo, it has been many years since you have called on us in person. Do not fear any intrusion, for there is none. We are simply gathered to greet you and offer our wisdom and support,” Ayomide, the chief elder states kindly. He’s always had something of a soft spot for me, vouching for me and my team when we volunteered for this mission and the other elders expressed their doubts.

“Omo,” Tanimola spits. He uses the term like a weapon, whereas Ayomide speaks with affection. “This is what happens when you send children to complete warrior’s work. This task should have been completed months, if not years, ago.”

I grit my teeth as the urge to snap that this task would never have been necessary if he and his team had protected the prophecy in the first place. There was no issue until word of the Star was leaked and the Shikari were alerted. There’s always been tension between the Queen’s Guard and the Prophecy Keepers. Tanimola had desired the Head Guard role and was enraged when the Council of Elders chose him to join their ranks as Prophecy Keeper. He’s never embraced his role, and his reluctance to accept his fate in the early days was what led to this entire debacle in the first place.

Why is it that as soon as I’m on home soil, I remember all of this? But as soon as I return to the island, I’ll barely be able to recall having left in the first place? Internally, I sigh at the prospect.

“Nobody knows what lies tomorrow, Tanimola. You of all people should understand that,” Ayomide admonishes softly. “Come, Omí Saidé, let us discuss why you sought us out.”

It’s been such a long time since I heard my name spoken in our native tongue, it warms my heart. Still, I hesitate, not having anticipated speaking in front of the entire council. However, I’m here now, and I’m certainly not about to downplay my concerns when I do value their guidance, and the fate of our mission, and our people, might depend on their advice.

“We believe we found the Star that the prophecy speaks of,” I begin.

“Excellent! You must bring her to us at once!” Tanimola cries, leaning forward on his chair with excitement. Reluctance and something else, something I can’t name, sits hot and heavy in my stomach.

It is wrong of me to disrespect the elders, but I don’t trust Tanimola, and there’s certainly no love lost between us. His over eagerness at my simple statement stirs something protective in me. I never said the Star was a woman. I frown, wondering if it will get me in trouble to point this out. It’s probably wisest not to, but somehow I need to remember this when I’m back on the island.

“Continue, Omo. I believe there is more to this story, otherwise you would not be here alone,” one of the other elders adds. Adeyinka, I think. It’s hard to remember, especially with some new faces staring back at me so impassively.

“Thank you, your grace. It is true that we believed a young woman on the island may have been the Star. However, she was abducted.”

“Shikari?”

“Negative. She resurfaced within forty-eight tides. But she’s…different.”

“How so, Si Okan?” I don’t miss that this is the second elder to refer to me in this way. The first called me reef knot and now twisted one? What is that about? My tongue burns to know, but I tip my head with reverence to answer his question instead.

“Your grace, she has no recollection of Cove, Reef or Bhodi.”

“She has no memories of Sojukokoro, Arinkiri Líla or Italaye?”

“So it seems, your graces.”

“And yet, she knows you?”

“I believe so.”

“And were you all drawn to the girl? Did you feel the fa? What makes you believe she is our Irawo?”

“There were several events, but yes, it was the pull that confirmed it.”

“I see, and how did you act on this feeling?”

I falter. I shouldn’t lie to the elders, but I’m not ready to confess my crimes either. “She was taken before we could really explore it.” Not a lie, but not the entire truth either.

Against my will, my eyes flick to Tanimola. He looks too smug, too invested in this story. Sure, the fate of our entire race hangs in the balance, but there’s something sinister about the gleam in his eye. Remember this, Vance. It’s important.

“I had planned to get closer to her, to test the bond in order to confirm her status.”

“But you were aware that this mission was time sensitive, yes? That the Shikari were actively hunting in the area?”

“Yes, your grace. There were several deaths.” There’s a sharp intake of breath, but no one comments. We all know what’s at stake, and if the Shikari had killed our people, they would already know about it.

“So what do you need, Odomokunrin?” Ayomide asks, drawing my attention back to him.

“Whatever advice you and the council see fit to give, Your Grace. We believed we had found the Star, now we are not convinced. But we do believe this girl is tangled up in this somehow.”

“An interesting choice of words, coming from you.” I dip my head in acknowledgement of his statement, even though I have no idea what he means. “We will discuss this and get back to you. Please wait for a moment.”

I nod. There’s a brief pause, and then a wash of silence spills over me. It’s always a surreal feeling standing in the centre of the council chambers, able to see everything that is going on around me, whilst not being able to hear anything. I can tell from the expressions on their faces that things are getting tense.

They keep me waiting a long time, arguing back and forth until I’m pacing and agitated. I don’t understand what they’re debating. It’s literally one of the many roles of the council to help and support those who come to them for guidance. So why can’t they just advise me and be done with it?

“Child, we are ready. We have our answer for you. Are you willing to listen to it?” Ayomide asks, drawing me back into the noise of the room as his power washes away.

“Yes. I am ready, Your Grace.”

“He won’t listen,” someone mutters.

“You may not like it,” Ayomide warns.

“Please, tell me. My team needs support. I need support. I want to bring them home before they forget everything they remember of this place.”

“You do not seek glory?”

“Never.” I shake my head. It’s true. I just want to return to normality now. Whatever that is.

“Such dedication,” snorts one of the elders who appeared to have been arguing against Ayomide.

“We have to wonder though, Omo,” another adds. “How dedicated to the cause you really are.”

I stare at the speaker in shock. He’s new; I don’t recognise him. It takes all my might to rein in my anger and not lose my shit right here. This. This is why I wouldn’t let the others come with me. Cove and Bhodi are far too emotionally volatile, and Reef is too sensitive. If their debating over whether to help us or not has driven me this close to snapping, what would they have been like?

“You question my dedication to this mission? How long have I been gone?”

“In our time? Some years,” he replies with a dismissive shrug that does nothing to tamp down my ire.

Someone mutters, “Too long.” But I can’t quite work out who.

“And yet in Earth time it’s been decades. Maybe longer. I wouldn’t know without full access to my memories. Being away from Aerwyna for such a long period of time is not the only sacrifice I have made,” I retort with barely controlled anger.

When you come of age, everyone in Aerwyna is assigned a role. You cannot turn your role down. I didn’t ask to be assigned to the Queen’s Guard. I didn’t ask to give up my family, to turn my back on my little sisters who needed me, or to call off my engagement.

Being in the Queen’s Guard is literally the only position that changes your life so drastically. While all of my peers got positions they wanted and their happily ever afters, I was left feeling like I was being punished for something; I never wanted this.

“What more would you have me do?”

I love my queen, I wouldn’t change my position for the world now. But I still resent being accused of not doing enough to save our people.

“What would you be willing to do?”

“Anything.”

“Good. Remember that, Sorapo. Remember that.”

“Why do you keep referring to me that way?” I demand, forgetting my place momentarily.

It’s Ayomide who replies. “Omo, you are so bitter. Your soul threads are twisted and frayed. Tangled so badly we fear you might never find your way home. If you are to find the Star to save our queen and our people, you must first save yourself.”

“How?”

“Sacrifice everything.”

“I already did.” My tone is as bitter as the ocean.

“Did you? Or were you set free of the bonds that shackled you? Only to replace them with resentment, anger and unnecessary vices. When the time comes, Omí Saidé, you will have to make a choice. And I fear that the weight of our world doesn’t rest on the Star’s shoulders, but on yours.”