Prologue
Evander,
My dearest friend. If you are reading this, I am gone. I don’t have much time to write, and I’m sorry for the things that I won’t be able to say. I have never really been one with words, so I more than likely would not have been able to convey my feelings astutely anyway, but please know, that the love and respect I hold for you, Hayes and Lux is insurmountable.
Do not mourn my loss any more than you need to. Do not feel sorry for me, for I do not feel sorry for myself. I have seen more lifetimes than anyone and experienced great love and loss. For all of this, I am lucky.
I discovered something recently, and if you haven’t already figured it out, it was my purpose in life. This realisation has given me closure. Over the years, I’ve grown weary. I have grown tired. My heart and soul have yearned for love—a love that they were never to experience again. That was, until Meira came into our lives.
Not only was she my heart’s love, but she was my soul’s purpose.
Braylin’s Grandfather wrote of a prophecy that stated the oldest, most powerful being would ultimately become a God once all essences were absorbed. Meira may not be older than me in terms of years lived in this world…but with respect to the power that flows within her veins, she is more ancient than anything we could imagine.
I carried and nurtured Cielle’s essence within my body for seven thousand years—yet, it was never mine to keep. It was Meira’s. It always had been, and it always will be.
I do not have all the answers—far from it. I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface, and now I ask that you do all that you can to find the answers Meira needs to save Nebilliha and restore her to her former glory. I fear that without the melding of all six essences, we are perhaps only years away from another Fracturing; a Fracturing the Light Lands and Dark Lands will not survive.
Time is running out and I must cut this letter short. There are two additional letters in my drawer. One is to be given to Meira once the time is right; you will know when that is. The other parchment is signed in my blood and declares, in the event of my death, that Meira is to be crowned Queen of the Light Lands. This is non-negotiable. She holds the essence of Cielle and therefore has a direct link to the land and its power. Of course, she also has a direct link to the Dark Lands, too—once again, I do not have all of the answers, so I don’t know what this will mean—but I trust you, and trust that you, Hayes and Lux…along with Meira’s mothers, will protect and guide Meira.
I can’t express this strongly enough: Meira must be protected at all costs.
Until we meet again, take care of yourself. Fight with no restraint, live with no bounds, love freely and powerfully.
Your King and dear friend, Laith.
I almost forgot—You must investigate the wards. I don’t know how, but you must find out what is on the other side. I believe that is where so many of the answers to our questions lay.
