Prologue
The events of this book take place before the events of the first book.
Serenity
I never imagined that my life, so rigid and forced, could become something powerful, full of purpose, full of love. I was the secret that needed to be kept until I wasn’t. I was the ploy to all of my mother’s games until he came along. He took me from a prison I couldn’t escape for fear of disappointment and made me realize my freedom was my own. My power was my own. Don’t get me wrong. He is not my savior. But without him, I’m not so sure I would have been able to do what was always within my power to do. To leave.
In order to understand my present, dear reader, you must first know my past. You see, my mother wasn’t always a cruel woman. She lived once. She loved once. I remember, although rather vaguely, a time of pure joy, of pure happiness. My father was the only reason my mother laughed. When he died, so did she. My father was a light, a force to be reckoned with. He was wealthy beyond all reason but he was frugal in some ways. I imagine it’s because he didn’t want me or my siblings to grow up egotistical. I doubt he ever imagined that we would grow up resentful instead.
I was the oldest, so the burden of keeping my family afloat after his death fell to me. When my mother finally emerged from their bedroom after two whole months in seclusion, it was like the woman who would comb my hair and kiss my forehead goodnight was gone. She looked at me with disdain. It seemed my element would forever be a constant reminder of the loss she had endured. There was a time where she would have done anything to protect my heart. She would have done anything to avoid the stares and whispers. When my father died, and consequently, so did she, all of that mothering and safety I had come to rely on also died.
I carry that guilt with me every day. His death is not my loss, it was my fault. Believe me, I know now that the lies I was fed were just that, lies. But if you had lived through what I did, if you had been through and experienced what I had, you would know that even the most damaging lies can be twisted to appear like the truth. My mother blamed me louder than all the rest.
She used me. She punished me by exploiting my power for her gain. She used me to draw the most eligible and most wealthy bachelors, neglecting my other siblings and leaving me to be for them what I had always needed her to be for me. I was the performance that would secure the suitor who didn’t mind a commodity for a wife. If I refused, my siblings paid the price. Missed dinners, forced labor, taking my place in the spotlight to humiliate them, her methods knew no bounds and she knew it would keep me in compliance with her devious schemes.
So I succumbed. I did her bidding to keep them safe. This was my life before he came. This was my duty before he showed me otherwise. This was my penance before he reminded me that my father's death was not my fault.
Does that surprise you, reader? Does it surprise you to know that it took a relative stranger to free me from my guilt? It shouldn’t. The people that knew me, the friends that I had, the people I should have been able to confide in, they were the selections of my mother. I could never trust them. When he came, he was never supposed to see behind the curtain. He saw glimpses, sure, but it was my sole desire that he never fully knew. I did my best to shield him from it. But somehow, without me noticing, he saw it all. Those glimpses were never small and the moment he discovered the ugly truth, he took it in his hands and helped me make it beautiful. It’s why I could leave without additional shame. It’s why I could make sure none of my siblings would ever know the fear, the guilt, the shame of having to live and endure my mother for a moment longer. I write this in hopes that one day, whoever finds this, will see that broken people can be fixed.
I write this in hopes that my siblings will understand that my sacrifices were for them.
I am sad to say that this next part will be quite difficult to read. I have left the only place I know as home because of an army of people who call themselves The Pure Order. I have left behind my siblings, because where I am going, they cannot join me. Where I am going, they are not meant to go. What’s coming for me next will take more from me than my mother ever could. The sacrifices I am to make in the very near future will, I’m sure, be more than I could ever imagine. But I am doing this for the greater good.
Or should I say we? You see, it’s not just me that is going on this journey to save the world. There are four of us. The last of our line. At least it will be if we don’t reach the Old Realm. There are four tombs, one for each of our elements that may be the only thing to keep us alive and restore the world to perfect peace. It has been centuries since the continents have lived in perfect harmony and I do not know if we are up to the task. My fears are real, my doubts almost insurmountable. But if I am to do this, then you should know who I am.
My name is Serenity Wilhelm. I am the daughter of an Earl, the sister of two sisters and three brothers. I am Air. Keep this, reader, because it may be the last piece of evidence that there was ever anyone whose heart was made of a natural element. This may be the only shred of evidence that someone of my heart type, of my ability, of my power had ever truly lived.
So, let this be the way you remember me. Let this be the way you remember all of us:
Valentina Vidal, Fire.
Damon Walker, Water.
Serenity Wilhelm, Air.
Kai Ashwood, Earth.
We are the four elements, we are the descendants of the Elementals of the Old Realm. We did not know that all of us existed, but we are now the closest thing to family that we will ever know. So, as I’ve said before, in order to understand my present, you must first know my past. And my past, the true start to this letter, started at a ball…
