Promising Hope (3 page)

“
She told Yann she knew of a way they could be
more powerful than the elders. A way they could be together. She
brought Yann to the sacred texts of the six families, a spellbook
given to the families years ago. Although they were given their
magic to protect others, they misused their gifts and they had long
forgotten their purpose from the divine.

“
Kalila and Yann explored the sacred texts and
they both came to have all six gifts of the six families: Revealing
and Hiding, Communication with Beasts, Mind Magic, Magic of the
Flesh, Magic of Alchemy, and lastly, Shifting. With her Mind Magic,
Kalila understood that Yann did not love her. She tried to kill
him, but he escaped. He stole the sacred texts and killed Kalila’s
family. He planned to kill the other elders, but they began to
overpower him. Although his powers were much stronger than his,
they were more in number.

“
He fled the castle with the sacred texts. He gave
his rebels magic, as well, but one man regretted his decision. This
man, Vol, believed that such immense power would corrupt them and
he tried to convince them to give up their magic or, if that did
not work, kill themselves. Enraged, they tried to kill him, but he
escaped. The other rebels acquired the six magics and began warring
against the elders.

“
A bloody war followed. Although Kalila wished to
help her family, they disowned her because of her betrayal. They
tried to kill her, but she also escaped.

“
She and Vol found one another in the caves near
the cliffs of the island. Together, they knew they had to stop the
war from spreading. Together, they hid the island from the world,
and hid the rest of the world from the island. Together, they stole
the sacred texts from Yann. They could not find a way to stop magic
or destroy the sacred texts, so they hid the texts from the
others.

“
When the rebels finally won and spread magic
through the island, they left the island in search of other
islands. For Vol was right, they were corrupted and had the same
desires the six families had: to conquer and rule.

“
But Kalila and Vol hid the world from them, and
the island was led to believe they were alone in the world. The new
magics warred with one another and fought, and they found when they
had children, they did not have magic. They came to hate their
children for not having magic. Although the children were oppressed
as their parents had been before them, their parents eventually
died. No one found the sacred texts that Kalila and Vol hid. Only
after every last magic had died did Kalila and Vol finally reveal
the island to the world and the world to the island. They knew of
the dangers of magic and power and the desire for both, and they
protected the island in such troubled times.”

The sounds around Sierra slowly came into focus, and
she felt like she was waking up from a dream. “What a strange
story,” she said quietly.

“What is it?” Lisbeth asked.

“It’s a story about an island where the six families
ruled over nonmagic folk,” Sierra said. “And one man found sacred
texts that gave him magic and war ravaged the whole island until
magic faded out again. And the writer warns you against…” She found
the line at the bottom. “’The dangers of magic and power and the
desire for both.’”

Lisbeth’s brow furrowed, and she touched the scroll
in Sierra’s hand. She leaned closer. “The legend of Yann and
Kalila?”

Sierra nodded. “Yes. Have you heard of it
before?”

“Jeshro,” Lisbeth said, “this scroll has the story of
Yann and Kalila.”

Jeshro’s eyes widened, gasping and jumping to his
feet. Well, ‘jumping’ as fast as an old man such as him could. “I
knew it had to be here somewhere.”

“It’s a story Jeshro’s grandfather used to tell us,”
Lisbeth told Sierra. “We’ve been searching for the scroll for
years.”

Jeshro came to stand behind Sierra. “It spurred on
legends that a nonmagic could take on magic powers.”

“Well, it says the sacred texts of the six
families—”

Jeshro took the scroll out of her hand. “Excuse me, I
must read it for myself.”

She smiled tightly. “Sure.”

Lisbeth stood and looked over Jeshro’s shoulder. Both
of them fell silent, their gazes flying over the scroll.

Sierra turned back towards the other elders and
stretched her arms above her head. “Do the other magical families
have some kind of ancient texts?” she asked Nilee.

“They say so,” Nilee said, shrugging.

“But I doubt any magical families have a collection
as extensive as this,” Mort said. He motioned to the scrolls,
parchments, and books around them.

Sierra half-smiled. What a strange thing to be proud
of. She stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the view
of the beach. Maybe she could take a break to see Evan and they
could take a walk outside.

Before she could ask, the doors to the room opened,
and Myra came in. “The others from Belisha are here,” she
announced.

Jeshro groaned, his eyes trained on the scroll. “What
timing!”

“You finish reading,” Lisbeth said. “We’ll take care
of it. Sierra, wait here, we’ll be right back with Angela.
Nilee?”

Nilee nodded and stood. The two of them swept out of
the room after Myra. Sierra sat down, heaving out a breath. It
looked like she wasn’t done here yet.

Lisbeth returned a few moments later. Behind her was
a black-haired young woman who couldn’t be older than Sierra.

Lisbeth announced her as Angela to Sierra and the
older elders who hadn’t met her. Angela inclined her head, a small
smile on her face as she looked over all of them.

“Do you mind helping us right now?” Lisbeth asked
Angela. “We’re dying to see what happened to Sierra.”

“No, of course not,” Angela said.

Lisbeth turned to Sierra, ushering for her to stand
up. Sierra held back a groan as nerves started working on her
stomach.

Lisbeth put her hand on Sierra’s shoulder and guided
her to Angela. “Don’t worry.”

Freckles were dusted across Angela’s full cheeks, and
her dark eyes seemed to be avoiding Sierra. “I’ll look at your
memory first, then I’ll know what to show them,” Angela told
her.

Sierra swallowed. “How do you know what to look
for?”

“If you think about what happened in the cave, I’ll
be able to see it, too.”

“Can you see anything else?”

Angela finally met her eyes, and her own, though
pretty, seemed hard. Her mouth was pursed into a line. “If I
looked, probably.”

“Oh…” That wasn’t a pleasant thought.

Angela exhaled. “I’m not going to look for anything
else.” She motioned for Sierra’s hands, raising her eyebrows.

Sierra nodded and linked her hands with Angela’s.

“Close your eyes,” Angela told her.

Sierra did so, and suddenly she was reliving what
happened in the cave. She was there again, in the dark, stuffy air,
the firelight flickering next to her. Grace sat in front of her,
dirt smeared across her sweaty face as she looked through the trunk
they’d found. Sierra wanted to reach out, touch her, reassure
herself that she was safe and alive, but her body was working on
its own. She was only watching from the present.

She watched it all, and when they linked hands and
closed their eyes and started chanting, the magic flowed through
her again. She saw that man cursing the Avialies in a dark
language. Then she was plunged into the darkness again and lost for
a few terrible moments before she found Grace in the abyss. She saw
the Avialies, felt her magic go to them, and then came back to the
room in Jolen with Angela.

She let out a breath.

Angela opened her eyes and stared at her. “Wow,” she
breathed.

“I know,” Sierra said.

A slow smile came onto Angela’s face, and she took
Lisbeth’s hand. “You have to see it.”

“Did you feel that? Are they going to feel the
magic?” Sierra asked.

“Yes and yes,” Angela said. “Close your eyes
again.”

She relived through it again, and Lisbeth started
crying. She threw her arms around Sierra, sobbed into her shoulder,
then Jeshro went next. She went through her ordeal in the cave
again and again for Mort, Bea, Harver, then Nilee when she
returned. They yelled out in surprise and started crying and
sobbing and hugging her and thanking her and apologizing (Harver)
and clutching her hands and shoulders and announcing a banquet.

“Thank you, but—” Sierra said with a shaky voice.

“No, thank you!” Bea said, shaking her shoulders.
“Thank you, Sierra!”

Sierra cleared her throat and rubbed her forehead. A
dull ache was forming behind her eyes, and her face grew hot as she
realized everyone in the room was staring at her. “Um, I’m tired
after so much… remembering. I’m going to go lay down for a
while.”

“Yes, of course,” Nilee said. “If you need anything,
Sierra… do you want me to walk you back to your room?”

Sierra shook her head, backing away from them. “No,
no, I’m fine.” They all watched her as she went to the doors, even
Angela. She nearly ran to the lavish bedroom she and Evan were
staying in.

She collapsed on the canopy bed, releasing a breath.
She put her hands over her eyes. They wanted to throw her a banquet
when Grace was at the castle? She should be here with her; they
should be celebrating together.

A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the
door before Evan walked in. Grinning, he crossed over to the bed
and sat down next to her. “They’re telling the whole castle about
you,” he said.

She groaned, burying her face in her pillow.

Evan stroked down her hair. “They’re excited,
Sierra.”

“I know. I am, too, but this is all too much. They’re
going to be pounding on the door any minute now.”

“No, Nilee’s told everyone to leave you alone,” Evan
said. “Do you want me to guard the door?”

Sierra smiled and brought her face up to look at him.
He was serious. “No, stay in here with me.”

“All right.” He moved closer and wrapped an arm
around her shoulders. She snuggled into his arms, breathed in his
scent. He ran a hand through her hair, sending goosebumps down her
arms. She closed her eyes and moved even closer to him, until there
was almost no space between them.

Last night was the first full night she’d spent alone
with him in a bed since he regained his health. Ever since they
left the castle, they’d been running from the Protectors and
sleeping in tents or Di’s living room with everyone else.

Now, she finally had the chance to familiarize
herself with his body again, one she used to know as well as her
own. Last night, she’d been so ready to be with him again, but she
hesitated before they could go too far, aware that her body had
been off of contraceptives for too long.

But this morning she’d asked Nilee for help. Nilee
had tried to talk her out of it, tried to tell her it was about
time she had a child, but Sierra wouldn’t even entertain the
notion. They were in the middle of a war, and she knew it was only
going to get worse since neither side had any intention of giving
up. She wasn’t bringing a child into this world, not until she was
sure she and Evan could give it safety, time, and attention.
Thankfully, Evan agreed.

“Evan,” she whispered now, tilting her head up to
kiss his chin. “I got contraceptives from Nilee.”

His hand tightened on her hip. “Oh? Did you take
them?”

She nodded. “Mahri potions. They have plenty of them
because of the curse.”

He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.
“And how long until it takes effect?”

“About five hours, then it’ll be effective for a
week.”

He kissed her again, putting more pressure on her
lips as he gently pushed her onto her back. She tugged on his
tunic, pulling him over with her. It’d been two long years—two
years. They used to be unable to go two weeks without one
another.

He broke away. “And how long ago did you take
it?”

“Oh, probably…” She wove fingers into his hair,
tugged on it lightly. “Six hours?”

His mouth crashed into hers again, and she dug her
hands deeper into his hair. She could hardly breathe, but what did
breathing matter? She was with her husband again, her best friend,
her Evan. Their frantic passion became slow, and she reveled in
every touch, every kiss, determined not to let anything ruin
this.

* * *

Chapter Three

The balcony outside of Sierra and Evan’s room had a
view of the ocean, but Sierra avoided her bedroom, knowing the roof
would be a better place to be alone. The top room in the highest
tower of the castle was a study with a desk pushed underneath the
window. With the larger library in the west wing, this one was
deserted, used only by Nilee when she wanted the tranquil view.

Sierra climbed over the desk to the window. She
pushed open the glass and carefully stepped out onto the ridge that
ran below the window. She sometimes wondered if this was
specifically designed for people to go to the roof. The ledge was
just big enough for her feet, and there were handholds in all the
right places to lead her to the stone roof of the next tower.

If she stood with her back to the wall and angled her
vision so she couldn’t see the west wing of the castle, it felt
like she was floating on air. The ocean stretched out before her
endlessly, the water glistening, the horizon disappearing into the
sky.

She only paused for a moment before moving to the
roof. She sat down on the stone, which was warm from the sun, and
fretted over how long it would be before someone came searching for
her. She’d avoided people for most of the day, but there would
inevitably be something: the banquet, the ancient texts, plans,
questions.

The warm breeze brushed through Sierra’s hair as she
took it out of her braid. Far below her, she could see Matilda’s
red hair as she walked along a lower balcony. Matilda still thought
they should tell the elders about Grace’s love potion, but she
hadn’t said anything. Sierra wasn’t sure how long her silence would
last. She’d never been able to predict Matilda. She doubted anyone
could.