Forsaken

by Bella Kuckel

Designed to be Worthy

2020

Forsaken

By Bella Kuckel

Designed to be Worthy

2020

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Publ ished by:

Designed To Be Worthy

102 W.McElhaney Road

Taylors , SC 29687

Copyr ight 2020

Designed To Be Worthy.

Al l r ights reserved.

Pr inted in the United States of America.

First pr int ing March 2020

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Dedicated to

The great authors who inspire so many

writers to truly reach for their dreams.

“Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can.”

—J. R. R. Tolkien

xii

Acknowledgements

First , I must thank Mrs. Husman for her wonderfu l

instruct ion and encouragement. Without you, I would

be lost! And to my parents who prov ided the chance

for me to part ic ipate in Engl ish Accelerated. I t has

been an incredible b less ing. Specia l thanks to my mom

who l istened as I poured out my wri t ing worr ies on her

even i f she didn’t know what to do about i t ! A lso,

Mom, thanks so much for attempting to help me with

my covers and the map.

Thanks to P leasant Grove Bapt ist Church for

a l lowing our use of their fac i l i t ies , and to Mrs. Wong

who has done such a wonderful job running Vanguard.

Shout out to my c lassmates who a l l laughed at me

and my two-hundred-page book, which actual ly turned

out to be more than two hundred. Thanks a lot ,

people! To Cather ine Hansen, my fe l low c lassmate and

wri t ing buddy who provided a great review for my

novel . And Br i ley , g i r l , you’re awesome.

And, most of a l l , to God, who put this story on my

heart before I even knew I was taking Engl ish

Accelerated. He formed Esl i ’ s story and provided a way

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for me to share i t with the wor ld. To God be a l l the

glory!

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Table of Contents

Pro logue

1. Unexpected Changes

2. Awakened Memories

3. Strange Things

4. Hard to Bel ieve

5. Eventfu l Happenings

6. Fr iend to Fr iend

7. Str ike and Str i fe

8. Winds of Change

9. A Tournament of Wi l ls

10. Hard Knocks

11. Truth or L ies

12. Taken Again

13. Quest ions and no Answers

14. New Fami ly

15. A God Who Loves

16. Accept ing Fate

17. The End is Near

18. Worth Fight ing For

19. Fight ing for Memories

20. Final ly Beloved

Epi logue

xv

xvi

prologue

I t is the n inth year of the re ign of King Arren. The

queen has had her second chi ld. They named her

Evana: Beloved of God. And she tru ly is! The chi ld is

but two weeks of age and has a lready shown great

promise with the gi f t . The firstborn adores h is new

s ister . The God has b lessed the royal fami ly beyond

measure with their two jewels . A l l are happy for them.

But High Prophet Berr in has foretold a calamity,

one that wi l l change the course of the future. He has

caused much fear amongst the people in this joyous

t ime. K ing Arren has been prepar ing for this d isaster

xvii

as wel l as he can without knowing what is coming, but

no one has yet to ld Queen Sarra what the Prophet

sa id. Sadly , the queen has not been recover ing from

her del ivery as wel l as we had hoped.

Meanwhi le , the pr incess Evana’s potent ia l is

rather f r ightening. She draws power f rom the

Sourcestone l ike no one e lse. I f on ly we had guarded

our knowledge of the Stone more carefu l ly when the

Gi f ted One Amel l d ied, tak ing a l l h is prec ious

recordings with h im. The dear g ir l was born with

golden hair and deep blue eyes, just l ike her brother

Jarren, but a l ready her hair is turn ing dark, and her

eyes are showing flecks of gold , test imony to her

powerfu l g i f t and personal i ty .

Evana has done some rather start l ing th ings for a

chi ld of her age and has managed to shatter a g lass

vase without touching anything dur ing one of her fits,

something her ta lented four-year-o ld brother has not

yet accompl ished.

We shal l a l l pray to the God and ask that she use

her g i f t for good, not harm, in the future. In addit ion,

we must entreat Him that the coming disaster not be

quite as harsh as the esteemed Prophet foretold.

xviii

Loremaster Orrwin

Year 412; Third epoch

chapter one

Unexpected Changes

Rain poured down on the smal l v i l lage of

Amborr ly . The townspeople lodged in their warm

houses, not bothered by the v io lent wind and rain.

Only one person was out on th is ghast ly n ight: a

young gir l who was trudging through the ankle-deep

muck on the flooded road.

The gir l ’s determined eyes were fixed on the

welcoming l ight of an inn. A s ign outs ide the door

read The Snowmare and depicted a crudely carved

horse head s loppi ly pa inted white. But no matter how

bad the s ign looked, everyone agreed that the inn

served the best food in town, probably because of

Semmon, the outstanding Serr ish cook. Of course, the

v i l lagers had their doubts about the man—how could

you be sure a fore ign man with such dark skin hadn’t

xix

been a cohort with the Dark Ones, and who knew what

his name meant? However, h is cooking made up for

whatever other faults he had.

The gir l reached the Snowmare and s lumped down

on the back doorstep, s l ight ly protected from the

torrent ia l ra infal l . She knew the rout ine: wait out

here every Secondday and F i f thday evening, hoping

that Semmon would remember what day i t was and

hoping Werron wouldn’t find her and murder her .

The door creaked open, and the gir l sat up, a lert

and expectant, basking in the sudden warmth. A maid

s l ipped out of the inn, bundled in c loaks and carry ing

a bucketful of muddy water . The maid turned and

probably shr ieked, but no one could hear anything in

the storm. The bedraggled gir l on the doorstep could

see the recognit ion and hatred in the servant’s eyes.

The maid s loshed her bucketful of water out into the

ra in , and the a lready-soaked gir l knew i t was no

acc ident when hal f the dir ty water sp lashed over her .

The maid went back into the inn, and the gir l

savored one more moment of heat before the door

c losed. She huddled down again and waited.

Near ly a ha l f hour later , the door opened again,

and Semmon’s dark head poked out . Grasping the

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gir l ’s arm in h is strong gr ip , he hauled her into the

k i tchen.

“Rotten n ight, eh, Es l i?” Semmon’s deep, serene

voice d idn’t fl inch at us ing her name. Several servants

shot looks of deep disgust at the gir l , but Es l i ignored

them and s louched down in a corner.

“You shouldn’t have let me in. Werron wi l l k i l l

you,” she said , her voice raspy. She c leared her

throat .

“Last t ime he tr ied to do that , I showed h im who

was boss,” Semmon growled, h is voice changing

except ional ly when referr ing to the innkeeper.

“ I ’m actual ly more worr ied that he’d k i l l me,” Es l i

muttered. Her stomach rumbled loudly .

Semmon grabbed a p late of food off a counter .

“Here. Eat .”

Es l i d idn’t bother thanking him and dug in . “Got

any ale?”

“I would give you some, but I don’t want th is

whole stupid, superst i t ious v i l lage after my head

again.” He set a mug of water in f ront of her .

Es l i grunted assent and cont inued to scarf down

food. As she ate, an energized look came to her

pecul iar golden eyes, and her thick ebony hair s lowly

xxi

dr ied in the heat . Unrestr icted warmth seeped into

her for the first t ime in days.

After l ick ing the plate c lean and eat ing every b i t

of meat and gr ist le off her chicken bone, her eyel ids

drooped. She picked hersel f up off the floor and

nodded thanks to the only man in town who was

human enough to take care of an orphan with a cursed

name.

“Stay here for the night ,” Semmon offered.

Es l i ’s eyes widened a l i tt le . “You know what would

happen i f I d id.”

“Bah,” he waved away her protests . “ I ’ l l take care

of h im.”

Knowing fu l ly what would happen i f Werron, the

innkeeper, found her, she caut iously lowered hersel f

back into the corner, making hersel f as smal l as

possib le. S ince she had not s lept wel l in days, she

quickly fe l l as leep, feel ing extremely gratefu l to

Semmon.

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“Curse you, Semmon!” Werron’s apoplect ic voice

shattered Esl i ’s s lumber. She scrambled up, try ing to

get away from the beat ing she knew was coming. A

sharp b low caught her between the shoulder b lades,

and she tr ipped. She fe l l to the wooden floor and

spl inters p ierced her hands. Werron’s leather belt

struck her again, and she cur led into a ba l l , hoping to

survive the beat ing.

Suddenly , the blows stopped. Es l i r isked a g lance

upward. Semmon c lutched Werron’s beefy arm,

stopping the next bruta l cuff.

“Str ike her again, and I ’ l l str ike you.” The steel in

the large black Serr ish man’s vo ice subdued Werron,

and he dropped the belt .

Semmon let go of h im, and Werron grabbed Es l i by

the scruff of her neck. “Never come back in here,

Forsaken One,” he spat , then dragged her roughly to

the door. He struck her forceful ly across the face and

threw her out onto the muddy street.

Es l i touched her swol len cheek and l ip and spat

b lood into the s ludge on the road. Her back and face

throbbed, and b lood tr ick led from a wound on her

shoulder.

xxiii

“Do not br ing your curse here,” Werron shouted,

anger stra ining h is voice. “ I won’t have i t .”

Knowing how superst i t ious Werron was, Es l i

uttered a few wel l -p laced curses at h im loudly.

Werron turned a s ick ly color , then a deep red. He

hissed, “Take your p lague somewhere e lse.”

Es l i made a rude hand gesture at h is retreat ing

form and crawled unsteadi ly to her feet . The storm

had died down to a dr izz le , and i t was a lmost dawn.

Es l i groaned as pain shot through her head, making

her cower. After retching into the s lush on the road,

she straightened dizz i ly and staggered back home.

Home for Es l i was an abandoned hut outs ide

Amborr ly on the border of the woods. The smal l ,

leaky, drafty p lace was Esl i ’ s only p lace of refuge.

By the t ime she arr ived, the sun was peeking over

the far -off mountains , soaking the countrys ide with a

rosy l ight . Es l i stopped and gazed at the breathtaking

s ight . A l l her l i fe she’d been spurned and hated, and

xxiv

yet this v iew always brought her a soul ful peace.

Breathing in the invigorat ing a ir , she turned towards

her shack to get a few more hours of s leep.

Pain suddenly b loomed in her chest, and she fe l l

on a l l fours . Rol l ing over caut ious ly, Es l i squinted in

the morning l ight in an effort to see what had hit her .

There was no one in s ight . She lurched to her feet and

backed s lowly toward the hut , keeping alert . Again,

stabbing pain h i t her , and she stumbled against a

tree. Now the cramping came nonstop, and Esl i

co l lapsed, unaware of the shr iek burst ing from her

throat .

A long throb resounded in her head—and Esl i could

hear i t . I t was a lmost l ike a cal l , searching for

someone, travel ing over a l l of Er indorr . I t tore

through her, b lar ing l ike a trumpet, unt i l i t final ly

faded.

Es l i gave a sob of re l ief and l i f ted her pounding

head, but she could st i l l hear something—and i t was

growing louder. A rasping vo ice—covet ing and

tr iumphant—suddenly whispered, I am coming for you,

Great One. Esl i screamed as i t grew steadi ly louder

unt i l i t was a lmost burst ing her eardrums.

xxv

An unfami l iar stern male voice p ierced her

subconscious and bel lowed over the noise, “Close

your mind, Es l in .”

Esl i moaned at the pressure. “ I don’t know how.”

The man, obviously upset , shouted a prayer, “Holy

Creator , p lease c lose her mind against the forces of

evi l .”

The pain flared, and Esl i wr i thed on the ground,

screaming. Then i t stopped abrupt ly , leaving Es l i with

r inging ears and a throbbing head. The chaos in her

mind vanished, and the man’s comfort ing presence

disappeared.

Wiping tears f rom her cheeks, she stared at her

hands, which were t ingl ing soft ly . Heat radiated from

her body, washing her with energy. A fa int feel ing of

fear invaded her mind, and i t took Es l i a moment to

real ize i t wasn’t hers . She spun around and stared. A

rabbit sn iffed the a ir , h is velvety nose quiver ing. The

fear emanated from i t . Es l i t imidly reached out for the

creature’s mind and gasped when she fe l t i t .

Hel lo? she sent the thought mental ly , wonder ing i f

the rabbit would sense her .

The animal gave a wi ld leap. Es l i started in

surpr ise and mental ly squeezed the rabbit ’s mind. The

xxvi

rabbit p lummeted mid- leap and twitched feebly before

ly ing st i l l .

Es l i went over to i t and prodded i t with a st ick. I t

was c lear ly dead. Es l i stared. How had she done that?

As the sun beamed through the puffy c louds, Es l i

s ighed and rubbed her pounding head before trekk ing

past the trees toward the v i l lage. Maybe Semmon

would be out . She could ask h im i f he knew what was

happening to her .

She hurr ied from the woods, her head st i l l

throbbing and echoes of the strange vo ice resonat ing

through her mind.

“I have found her, Darr . I found the Great One, the

prophesied one,” an o ld man’s voice croaked out of

the darkness.

The young man to whom he was speaking squinted

in the dark, t ry ing to find h is master . The raspy voice

seemed to come from the very wal ls of the cel l - l ike

room. “Her, Master Morgus?”

“Yes. I t turns out we were a l l wrong to wait for a

mighty man, with power as great as the Stone, to xxvii

come save the Arronome from utter desolat ion. The

promised one is a young gir l , l iv ing a tortured l i fe in

a smal l town ca l led Amborr ly on the border of the Sun

Mountains. You wi l l go fetch her for me.”

“The Sun Mountains? But, Master , that is a three-

day journey, and I thought you were going to finish my

Seeker tra ining.” Darr tr ied to keep the

disappointment out of h is voice, knowing his master

would grow angry with him i f he even sounded as i f he

were defy ing his orders. He could sense that i t was

useless to ask how Master knew a l l th is . Morgus was a

Seeker . He knew everyone’s secrets.

Darr c lenched his fists as th is thought fli tted

through h is head. No. Master Morgus had promised to

never intrude in Darr ’s mind. But what about that

t ime I sensed someone sneaking in my mind? Only

Master knows how to do that because he taught me

how to keep everyone e lse out .

Stop. He couldn’t doubt Master , or Morgus might

detect treachery in h im and remove h im from his spot

on the Gorrane as captain.

To h is surpr ise, though, h is master gave a

quaver ing laugh, a whispery noise that made Darr

sh iver .

xxviii

“Darr , don’t you rea l ize the enormity of this

moment? This g ir l is the one I ’ve waited my whole l i fe

for .”

Apparent ly , Master hadn’t intruded in his mind

this t ime. Maybe Darr ’s fears were unfounded.

His master ’s trembl ing laugh turned gleeful .

“Now, you wi l l have to take the most trusted of the

Gorrane to this v i l lage so I can get her before the

Arronome do.”

“Yes, Master .” Darr bowed. “How shal l I t ransport

her?”

“You wi l l have to use the ahklenn tonic . I a l ready

have i t prepared.” Something rust led in the corner.

Darr watched as wispy, dark b lue l ight fi l led the room.

The strands of l ight were connected to h is master ’s

hands. The l ight i l luminated Morgus’s h ideously

wr inkled face.

“Here,” his master wheezed. The l ight reached

out , hold ing something with in i ts swir l ing depths.

Darr reached into the g low and pul led out a smal l

g lass v ia l fi l led with a goopy, red substance.

Darr winced when he saw the amount of the pot ion

ins ide the crystal container . “Master , don’t you th ink

xxix

this might be a b i t too much? This much could k i l l

even a strong Gi f ted one.”

His master laughed, a raspy, s ick ly sound. “ I

know, Darr . I know. But I don’t think you’ l l have to

worry .” The l ight surrounding Morgus vanished,

leaving Darr b l inded by the change.

“Now hurry. The Great One is wait ing.”

xxx

Awakened Memories

chapter two

Awakened Memories

Esl i walked down the road aimless ly , knowing that

to go to the inn so soon after being thrown out would

a lmost be committ ing suic ide. She passed Jonn’s apple

sta l l and ignored the murderous look he shot her as

he stood protect ively in front of h is booth, ho lding a

whip. Jonn was a farmer who l ived a few mi les outs ide

the town and hated Esl i enormously because she

occas ional ly swiped an apple from his sta l l .

She smirked at h im as she passed and scoffed at

the unnerved look on h is face. The gul l ib le

townspeople were so easy to f r ighten. As soon as Jonn

turned h is back on her , she sto le back and grabbed an

apple off his stand. She took off at a run, knowing

that he’d immediately miss the piece of f ru i t . Sure

enough, moments later Jonn raced after her , bel lowing

curses and waving his belt .

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Awakened MemoriesEsl i sped through the town, taking shortcuts down

al leyways and weaving her way around bui ld ings. Jonn

was bulky, but he was fast for a man of h is s ize. She

rounded a store and stopped short , rea l iz ing that Jonn

had gone the opposite d irect ion and now cut her off.

Es l i darted into an al ley, knowing that Jonn was mere

feet away from her. He barre led into the a l ley, st i l l

curs ing her loudly, and near ly ran into her . Es l i had

real ized too late that the a l leyway dead ended. She

spr inted down the a l ley, curs ing hersel f fur iously,

knowing she was caught. She wished she were back at

her hut, when suddenly her fingert ips began to g low,

and the a ir in f ront of her r ippled and tore apart.

Through the hole in the a ir Es l i could see trees. She

screamed and tr ied to stop, but she was running too

fast. She dove through the opening, unable to turn

back.

She landed hard on a p i le of dead leaves and

gasped, the wind knocked out of her . Scrambl ing to

her feet , she turned and saw Jonn’s shocked face

star ing at her through the r ippl ing a ir .

The fissure shrank s lowly . The last thing Esl i heard

before i t shut was Jonn’s fr ightened voice screaming,

“Witch!”

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Awakened MemoriesHis belt descended as the opening contracted.

With a strange sucking noise, the r i f t c losed on the

strap and cut i t c leanly in hal f .

Es l i touched the sp l i t belt with a quiver ing hand

and vomited as fear and bewi lderment overcame her,

the strange power physica l ly dra ining her body.

Eventual ly , her stomach emptied, and she sat up

weakly. Wiping her mouth, she whispered hoarsely,

“What’s happening to me?”

The sun was sett ing when Esl i resolved to go back

to the v i l lage. When she arr ived, the streets were

a lready emptying as the townspeople went home for

the n ight . Es l i passed the smal l home where Father

Tolmarr res ided. The e lder ly pr iest was outs ide say ing

his evening prayers over the town. Es l i cursed h im

under her breath. She had good reason to hate him.

This was the man who had named her Es l in—Forsaken

of the gods—and in doing so, subjected her to a

l i fet ime of hatred from others.

The superst i t ious townsfolk thought that anyone

with a cursed name deserved to be cast out of

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Awakened Memoriessociety. So, they did their best to accompl ish that ,

and unfortunately Es l i had to bear the ent i rety of this

weight.

Father Tolmarr had chr istened every orphan in the

town, g iv ing them names that meant Riches or

Happiness, knowing that the v i l lagers would only

choose a ch i ld with a good t i t le . But apparent ly , he

had run out of names by the t ime Es l i came a long, she

thought b i tter ly as she passed the praying pr iest .

“Es l in,” Father To lmarr ’s loathed voice broke into

her thoughts .

She turned and g lared. “What?”

A passing woman shot her a scandal ized look at

her tone. Es l i ignored her and cont inued scowl ing.

The pr iest beckoned her over, and she went, st i l l

looking daggers at h im. To lmarr ra ised his arms in a

pet i t ioning stance and resumed his prayers .

“What do you want?” Es l i asked loudly over h is

mutter ings.

“Eh?” The pr iest g lanced up, looking bewi ldered.

“You cal led,” she reminded him with a ro l l of her

eyes.

“Ah, yes.” Father Tolmarr looked around nervously

and lowered h is vo ice. “Today is your s ixteenth age-

day.”34

Awakened MemoriesEsl i stared at h im. “How would you know that?”

“Because today the compuls ion is l i f ted,” the o ld

man said solemnly .

“What compuls ion?” Es l i knew he must have lost

h is mind.

“The compuls ion that forced me to conceal your

past t i l l you turned s ixteen.”

“My … past?” Es l i stammered, stunned by these

revelat ions. “What do you know about my past?”

“Wel l now,” To lmarr muttered uneasi ly , “Wel l , I—”

“Tel l me,” Es l i commanded, feel ing i rr i tated with

his vague answers and mumbl ing. When he d idn’t

answer r ight away, she reached out for h is mind l ike

she had with the rabbit . The pr iest ’s mind was much

more complex, but i t was quite easy for Es l i to read.

She searched through the jumble of thoughts and

memories in h is mind. She reached further and found

she could hear what he was thinking.

How do I te l l her? I f on ly the prophet had let me

rename her!

Esl i drew away from his contemplat ions and sent a

thought to him. Tel l me what you know, pr iest .

Tolmarr fl inched and breathed, “By Besra in

heaven, g i r l , you do have the gi f t .”

Es l i stared at h im, openmouthed. “Real ly? How?”35

Awakened Memories“How else can you expla in how you just

communicated mental ly with me?” He s ighed. “ I

suspected as much when that prophet used the gi f t to

put the compuls ions on us.”

“What do you mean? I ’m not under a compuls ion,”

Es l i l i stened to h is responses hungr i ly , re l ieved at

final ly gett ing answers.

“Yes, you do. That man to ld me so when he —”

Tolmarr stopped suddenly, as i f embarrassed by

something.

“Yes?” Es l i was determined to get a l l the answers

she could.

Tolmarr hung his head. “ I d idn’t name you.”

Es l i reeled back as his statement h i t her . “What?

B-but everyone sa id you did!”

“They were meant to bel ieve that , and so were

you. I couldn’t te l l you otherwise because of the

compuls ion.”

“Who did, then?” Esl i whispered, a lmost afraid to

hear his rep ly.

Tolmarr s ighed. “A man who cal led h imsel f a

prophet of the God.” The pr iest stopped, lost in

thought.

Es l i reached out for h is mind again and gasped as

his recol lect ions flooded over her . A p icture grew in 36

Awakened Memoriesher head and became so real that Es l i knew she was

looking in on one of Tolmarr ’s memories.

Something blurred on the edges of Es l i ’s—or

rather, To lmarr ’s—vis ion. Es l i focused on the haze and

real ized i t was ra in . She turned around in the v is ion

and gaped in shock. Tolmarr stood in f ront of her ,

praying on the porch of h is house, a lmost exact ly

where he was now. On c loser inspect ion, Es l i found

that his gray hair had brown highl ights in i t and h is

face didn’t hold so many wrinkles.

Out of the gloom a horse and r ider ga l loped into

the town. The r ider d ismounted in f ront of Tolmarr ,

carry ing a smal l bundle.

“Are you the pr iest?” The voice was obviously

male.

Tolmarr nodded absentmindedly, looking as i f th is

happened every day.

The man’s strange e lectr ic b lue eyes bore into

Tolmarr , but Es l i fe l t l ike he was star ing at her a lso,

looking through her . “Here.” The man shoved the

bundle into the pr iest ’s arms.

Tolmarr l i f ted the blanket. With a shock, Es l i

real ized she was looking at her baby sel f . The chi ld

had th ick flaxen hair with streaks of b lack, and her

eyes were an intense blue, dotted with gold. Es l i knew 37

Awakened Memoriesher own eyes were golden and her hair completely

b lack, but there was something about the baby—her

rather round face, her t iny mouth with l i t t le d imples

threatening to break out into a huge smi le , her large

eyes that turned up a b i t at the edges, those odd

color ings in her hair and eyes—that made her so

fami l iar . Every t ime Esl i had seen her reflect ion, she

had seen these features.

Es l i reached to touch the l i t t le g ir l ’s cheek, but

she couldn’t see her hand. Surpr ised, Es l i reco l lected

that she was v iewing a memory. I t a l l seemed so real .

Tolmarr touched her forehead and began the

naming ceremony. “Your name, l i t t le ch i ld, b lessed of

the holy gods, wi l l be—”

“No,” the man interrupted. “She already has a

name. She is to be cal led Es l in .”

Tolmarr pa led. “Do you know what would happen i f

you were to name her that?” “Yes,” the man

murmured. “The God chose i t .”

“Fool ,” Tolmarr spat , h is express ion becoming

l iv id. “Her l i fe wi l l be misery. Do you real ly want her

to have that?”

“No,” the man murmured. “But the God

commanded i t .”

38

Awakened Memories“And who is your god?” Tolmarr snar led. “Who are

you?”

“My God is the only God. He is the one who

created everything, who ru les supreme.” The man’s

voice strengthened in volume. “ I am His prophet.”

“You’re a Wayfol lower, aren’t you. One of the

Arronome,” the o ld pr iest accused.

“I wasn’t aware that anyone knew what we are

cal led,” the prophet’s vo ice held a s l ight ly amused

tone.

“I d id my research when I became a pr iest .”

Tolmarr g lared at h im and tucked the blanket more

securely around l i t t le Es l i .

The prophet suddenly leaned in c losely. “You wi l l

not speak a word of this n ight to the gir l unt i l her

s ixteenth age-day. You shal l protect her with your

l i fe .”

Tolmarr ’s eyes went out of focus, and he stared

into space, h is expression s l ight ly g lazed. The

prophet reached down and touched Es l i ’s forehead.

“Dear ch i ld, I am sorry for your future pain,” he

murmured. S i tt ing up, he turned to the queasy- looking

pr iest . “ I f you take care of th is g i r l , the God wi l l

b less you bount i ful ly , but i f you do not , your l i fe wi l l

be as cursed as hers wi l l be.”39

Awakened MemoriesTolmarr nodded, h is face pasty. “O-of course, s i r .”

The prophet c l icked his tongue at h is horse and

gal loped out of the g loomy, drenched town.

Es l i jerked hersel f out of Tolmarr ’s memory and

reeled as a l l th is information flew through her head.

“Who was that man?”

Tolmarr shrugged, somehow not not ic ing she had

been in his head but st i l l knowing who she was ta lk ing

about. “Not sure, except that he’s a prophet of one of

the major gods.”

Es l i rubbed her temples. She was ready to go back

home and s leep the day away. “Wel l , I … have th ings

to do.”

“Wait .” Tolmarr hurr ied into h is house and came

back holding a c loth-wrapped loaf of bread. “Take

this .”

Es l i stared at the loaf stupidly . “W-what?”

“Take the bread.” The pr iest pushed i t into her

hands and turned back to his house.

“Why?” Esl i asked soft ly , unable to comprehend

his k indness.

Tolmarr coughed uncomfortably. “ I should’ve done

more for you in the past . That ’s as much as I can do

for you r ight now.”

40

Awakened Memories“Thank you,” Es l i stumbled over the words,

unused to saying them. She jogged away, hoping to

avoid another ep isode involv ing her g i f t .

41

Strange Things

chapter three

Strange Things

Esl i awoke to the cry of a hawk. Yawning

loudly, she stood and ran her fingers through her

tangled mat of hair . Having never held a comb in

her l i fe , her ha ir was a d isgust ing mess of dr ied

dirt , tangles , and l ice.

Es l i ducked under the sagging doorway, then

stepped onto the spl intered porch where her ra in

barre l sat . P lunging her head in , she scrubbed as

much of her knotted mane as possib le.

A hawk’s shr iek rang out again. Es l i l i f ted her

dr ipping head and looked up at the sky. Stra ight

overhead, a s ingle b ird dotted the b lue sky.

Es l i f rowned. Usual ly there were many b irds

flying over the trees and s inging in the woods, but

now everything seemed unnatural ly quiet .

42

Strange Things

The black bird was a few yards f rom the

treetops and was dropping not iceably lower. With

a sudden shr iek, the hawk dove for Es l i , c laws

outstretched.

Es l i gave a smal l scream and ducked. The bird

whooshed past , inches from her head. Es l i caught

a g l impse of b lood-red eyes looking back at her .

They were glowing. She shuddered and watched

the hawk fly away toward the Sun Mountains. I t

re leased a tr iumphant cry and was answered by

two other hawks’ ca l ls .

Es l i stumbled back to her house, wonder ing

what in a l l of Er indorr had just happened.

That afternoon, Es l i went back to town. I t had

been two days s ince Tolmarr ’s start l ing

revelat ion, and she had stayed home dur ing that

t ime, contemplat ing what he’d said and wonder ing

about the prophet’s ident i ty . What i f he had

43

Strange Things

known her parents? I f he was st i l l a l ive, then

maybe he knew who they were. Maybe Esl i st i l l

had a chance at a better l i fe .

Es l i s ighed. She had wanted to know who her

parents were before, but had no way of doing so,

and there st i l l seemed to be no way. Seeing

Tolmarr ’s memories awakened in her the need for

knowledge.

Es l i walked past the Snowmare. A maidservant

on the porch whispered something behind her

hand to another g ir l . Es l i ’ s sharp hear ing caught

one word: “Witch.” Apparent ly , word of her

encounter with Jonn had spread.

She ro l led her eyes. Great . Just what she

needed, another reason for the townspeople to

hate her .

A yel l came from behind her, and the

gatekeeper skidded into v iew. “Soldiers are

coming! Make way!”

Es l i started in surpr ise. There hadn’t been

authent ic sold iers s ince the downfal l of King Arren

and Queen Sarra.

“Are you sure?” she asked the man.

44

Strange Things

He cast her a f r ightened look. “Yes, of course

I ’m sure. They to ld me they came from some Lord

Morgus of the Eastern Mountains!”

“Wel l , that doesn’t necessar i ly mean that they

real ly are sold iers,” she countered.

The gatekeeper looked d isgusted. “ I know what

I ’m talk ing about, g i r l .”

“Sure you do,” Es l i muttered. The thunder of

ga l loping horses fi l led the a ir , and e ight r iders

appeared.

The mass of people on the streets pressed

back against the bui ld ings, pushing Esl i back with

them. Everyone fe l l s i lent as the leader

d ismounted.

“Where is your pr iest?” His voice was strong

and loud.

No one repl ied.

“Answer me.” Even from the back of the crowd

Es l i could hear the impat ience in his voice.

Father Tolmarr hobbled into v iew, bel lowing,

“Al l r ight , a l l r ight , what’s wrong now?”

45

Strange Things

“Ah, the pr iest.” The man ra ised h is voice as i f

addressing the whole crowd. “ I 'm looking for a

g ir l .”

“Wel l , f r iend, there are a lot of g i r ls here. You

need to be more specific,” Tolmarr sa id p leasant ly .

The man d idn’t answer. Try ing to see the

stranger , Es l i pushed her way past an extremely

bulbous man and stood on her t iptoes, wishing she

were ta l ler . The stranger was ta l l and covered in

b lack c loth. A dark mask and hood covered al l h is

face except for h is eyes, b lack gloves and boots

concealed h is hands and feet , and a sable belt

secured his dark pants over his tucked- in tunic .

One spot on h is c loth ing stood out . A large,

cr imson-red eye was embroidered onto the front of

h is tunic . The flaming orb seemed to be moving,

actual ly seeing . He ignored the pr iest ’s remark

and turned to someone in the crowd.

“You know of whom I speak, don’t you, Jonn?”

he whispered loudly.

The crowd murmured in shock as a l l wondered

who the strange man was. A few moments later the

46

Strange Things

stranger ’s voice rose above the mumbl ing, “ I ’m

looking for the cursed gir l .”

Es l i stumbled as h is words went through her.

Try ing to keep from panicking, she pushed her way

back through the crowd. She had to get away.

Whatever the men wanted, i t couldn’t be good.

The townspeople moved aside as one, leaving

the way c lear to Es l i . L i f t ing her ch in defiant ly and

curs ing the v i l lagers mental ly , she turned to face

the men.

“What do you want f rom me?” Try as she

might, her voice st i l l squeaked in fear . Squashing

the urge to swear, she widened her stance and

c lenched her fists .

The leading man stared at her , ev ident ly

unimpressed by her show of bravado. Es l i fe l t a

soft nudging in her mind. Someone was try ing to

get past her mind’s wal ls . Scowl ing feroc iously,

she mental ly pushed the intruder away, not

want ing anyone to find a flaw in her defenses.

One of the men behind the leader gasped,

pa led, and swayed on his horse before toppl ing

onto the dusty stone street .

47

Strange Things

“Captain Darr! Olarr is down.” One of the men

dismounted and knelt bes ide the fa l len man,

feel ing for h is pulse. A moment later he looked up,

h is face horrorstruck and accusing. “His mind has

been forced.”

Es l i stared. She had no idea what the man was

ta lk ing about, but she had an awful feel ing i t had

something to do with her .

The capta in turned to her . “Hm. I see.” He

stepped towards her and drew a kni fe f rom his

belt .

That was the only mot ivat ion Esl i needed. She

spun around and ran. The townspeople struggled

to get out of her way. Adrenal ine pounded through

her, creat ing the energy for her to keep going.

“Stop!” Father Tolmarr ’s voice barely

registered to Es l i through the blood pounding in

her head. Scrambl ing behind a produce stand, she

peeked out , hoping she was h idden.

Tolmarr stood in f ront of Captain Darr , holding

his hand up in a sh ie ld ing gesture. “Don’t hurt

her .”

48

Strange Things

Darr smirked, and one of h is men stepped

forward. Hold ing a spear, he drove the blunt end

into the pr iest ’s stomach. The o ld man doubled

over, gasping for breath before he co l lapsed on

the dirt road, wheezing threats and curses.

Darr bent down and whispered something to

Tolmarr , then vanished. Es l i b l inked. A l l she had

seen as he d isappeared was a swir l of b lack

smoke.

“Hel lo .”

Es l i ’s heart stopped momentar i ly and she

shr ieked in shock. Spinning around, she k icked her

leg out and fe l t i t connect . The person swore. She

gasped soft ly as she real ized whom she had h it .

The capta in stood in f ront of her , rubbing h is

masked jaw. “Wel l , you do have a strong k ick.” He

reached down and yanked her up roughly. “Get up.

You’re coming with me.”

“Wh-why?” Esl i stammered and cr ied out as his

g loved fingers dug into her r ight arm.

Darr chuckled soft ly . “Al l in good t ime, Esl in.”

Es l i gaped at h im. How did this man know her

name? She squelched the urge to scream and bit

49

Strange Things

back the mi l l ion quest ions that popped into her

head. Try ing to wrench her arm out of h is i ron

gr ip, she k icked h is sh in and swung her left fist at

h is stomach.

Darr caught her hand, inches from his stomach,

and pul led her c lose to h im in something that

would have seemed l ike an embrace i f he hadn’t

been try ing to break her arm.

“Sett le down. We’ve got a three-day journey

ahead of us, and I ’d appreciate i t i f you wouldn’t

fight me.”

Es l i g lared at h im but stopped struggl ing,

feel ing that i t would be useless.

A woman stepped forward, holding out a c loth

satchel . Es l i not iced she was dressed much the

same as the captain was, but her b lack tunic

lacked the embroidered eye. “Capta in, wi l l you

administer the tonic to the capt ive now or later?”

Es l i sh ivered. That couldn’t be good.

Darr took the bag. “Thank you, L ieutenant.

Once we leave th is town, I ’ l l do i t .” He ra ised his

voice, “People of Amborr ly , I am g lad to say that I

shal l be re l iev ing you of th is young gir l .”

50

Strange Things

Murmurs floated through the crowd, and a man

stepped forward. “Where are you taking her?”

Es l i ’s heart jerked in hope once she recognized

Semmon. He could help her , r ight?

“My master has need of her g i f ts .” Darr

t ightened h is gr ip on her . “Do not try to hinder

me, or there wi l l be consequences.” “Semmon,

p lease,” Es l i begged as Darr dragged her to his

horse.

Semmon averted his gaze from her. Es l i fe l t a l l

hope fade as he looked away. “Semmon!”

Darr shoved her at h is l ieutenant. “Anni , t ie

her up and get her out of here. I wi l l t ry to

appease the townsfolk.”

Lieutenant Anni nodded and grabbed Esl i

roughly. “Don’t fight, and I won’t hurt you too

much.”

Es l i b i t back a couple choice words she

would’ve l iked to say and let Anni b ind her wr ists .

Anni heaved her up onto a horse, leaving Esl i on

her stomach across the saddle. She mounted in

f ront of her , near ly knocking Es l i off in the

process.

51

Strange Things

“Watch i t ,” Es l i grunted as Anni reached back

and secured her to the saddle with th ick ropes.

Anni g lanced at Darr and c lucked to her horse.

Three of the men fo l lowed her, br inging the st i l l

body of Olarr , whi le the rest stayed with the

capta in.

Es l i bounced awkwardly on the end of the

horse, held to the saddle only with the ropes

around her .

This is not how I imagined my day going, she

thought as they h i t a bump. The edge of the

saddle drove into Es l i ’s stomach, knocking the

breath out of her .

She watched as the only p lace she had ever

known faded into the distance.

52

Hard to Believechapter four

Hard to Bel ieve

Trees flew past as they gal loped down the d irt

road. Es l i b i t back yet another curse as mud

splattered on her face.

The group s lowed, and Esl i looked around intent ly

as wel l as she could whi le t ied s ideways across a

horse.

They were in a smal l c lear ing in the middle of

some trees by the s ide of the road. Anni sh i f ted, and

two men dismounted and began unloading bundles

f rom their horses.

Anni swung off her horse and somehow unbound

Es l i without even touching her. Es l i fe l l to the ground

and groaned as pained spiked through every inch of

her body.

She tr ied to ro l l over but stopped as Anni ’s sharp

boot heel dug into her wr ist .

53

Hard to Believe“What in Besra’s name are you doing now?” Esl i

spluttered as one of the sold iers stepped forward and

pul led her to her feet .

Anni ignored her and sta lked away. The man

dragged Esl i over to a tree and bound her to the

trunk.

“Oh, ser iously, you just have to t ie me up yet

again,” she said sarcast ical ly , her pat ience wear ing

thin at everyone’s stony s i lence. “Of course, I ’m

going to run away when i t ’s obvious any of you would

k i l l me i f I move in the wrong direct ion.”

Abrupt ly , the sold ier yanked her bonds, quickly

cutt ing off her b lood c i rcu lat ion. Es l i gasped at the

sharp pain and managed to swear just before he

gagged her.

The man nodded at Anni and walked over to

Olarr ’s st i l l body, which was ly ing on a bedrol l . He

c losed h is eyes.

Es l i g lanced around. Everyone around shut their

eyes. She stared as the man who had bound her

reached out h is hand and touched Olarr ’s chest .

Es l i near ly choked on her gag as the man’s hands

glowed with grey l ight . She watched with wide eyes as

everyone e lse’s hands a lso fl ickered with d ifferent ly

colored l ight .54

Hard to BelieveSuddenly , Olarr ’s body jerked, and he let out a

rasping cough. Everyone opened their eyes and went

about their bus iness as Olarr shaki ly stood up and

stretched.

He glanced at Es l i , and she thought she saw a

fa int shadow of fear cross h is face br iefly before he

turned away.

Es l i la id her head back against the hard tree trunk

and stared up at the sky. Whatever was happening, i t

was fr ightening … and fami l iar . The strange glowing

l ight and quiet people reminded her of something.

Her power. She had mental ly communicated with

Tolmarr us ing her power .

She reached out with her mind and cr inged as

comments exploded into her mind. She recognized

Anni ’s voice saying, Binn, guard the pr isoner. I f she

moves, shock her . I ’ l l expla in to Darr . Everyone be

carefu l around her. She’s dangerous.

Esl i scoffed behind her gag. So that was why they

were a l l so quiet : they could ta lk to each other’s

minds, just l ike that strange man had done in her

head when she received her g i f t … Wait a minute. That

meant these people were a lso Gi f ted, which meant

maybe she could use her powers to hurt them and

escape.55

Hard to BelieveShe suddenly rea l ized everything had gone quiet .

A l l the so ld iers were star ing at her , expressions of

shock and fear on most of their faces.

For the first t ime, one of the men spoke in a

trembl ing voice, “How did you sense our connect ion?

I t was protected.”

“Shut up, Carr ,” Anni snapped. She stepped

forward and ra ised her hands. “Whoever taught you

how to do that must’ve been ski l led, cons ider ing

you’ve only had your g i f t for a few days.” Her hands

glowed with orange l ight , and she sneered, “But you

won’t do i t again.”

She l i f ted her luminous hands, and Es l i braced

hersel f , reaching out for the l ieutenant’s mind, just

as she had done with the rabbit and Tolmarr .

She fe l t her mind connect and real ized she could

feel Anni ’s power. The woman was forming her energy

into a weapon. Suddenly, a bal l of l ight formed in the

a ir in front of Anni and flew straight at Es l i ’s face.

Es l i could feel the power, a lmost as i f she had a

connect ion with i t as wel l as with Anni . She reached

out with her mind and grabbed the bal l , just inches

from her face. Stra ining against the energy Anni was

forc ing onto her , Es l i pushed i t back at the l ieutenant.

56

Hard to BelieveAnni stumbled, and Es l i caught the beginning of a

stray thought f rom her mind, How the–

Esl i forced the power toward Anni , but the woman

kept try ing to thrust i t at Es l i . Just g ive up a lready,

Esl i thought angr i ly .

Growl ing around the rag in her mouth, Es l i

mental ly reached for the core of Anni ’s power and

broke the connect ion between the l ieutenant and her

g i f t . The bal l exploded with a huge flash of l ight , and

Anni screamed, a loud, nerve-wracking sound. Her

hands stopped glowing, and she col lapsed.

A horse whinnied, and Darr ga l loped into v iew,

fo l lowed by the men who had stayed in Amborr ly with

him. He jumped off h is horse as i t ran, and he floated

to the ground, h is eyes and hands glowing with deep,

forest-green l ight . “Anni!”

He knelt by Anni ’s s ide and l i f ted her into h is

arms, h is power st i l l fl icker ing around h im. The woman

l i f ted her head and coughed out, “ I ’m a l l r ight , Darr .

Just a l i t t le shaken.”

He nodded and s lowly stood, helping Anni to her

feet. Grabbing the c loth bag Anni had handed h im

ear l ier off h is horse’s saddle, he sta lked toward Es l i ,

an unreadable expression on his face.

57

Hard to BelieveEsl i braced hersel f for whatever awful th ing he

was about to do to her . A bead of sweat tr ick led down

her face as he pul led a c lear v ia l f rom his sack and

knelt bes ide her . His green-gray eyes bore into her .

“Hel lo , Es l in .” His voice sounded muffled beneath

his mask. Tear ing off her gag, he yanked the stopper

out of the v ia l with his teeth. Us ing h is other hand, he

pr ied open her l ips and dumped the goopy contents

into her mouth.

She thrashed as he pinched her nose, forc ing her

to swal low. After the unpleasant tonic s l id down her

throat , she fel t perfect ly fine. She gave h im a

confused frown, wonder ing what was supposed to

happen.

“Oh, don’t worry, you’ l l find out soon enough,”

Darr remarked, seeming to have read her mind.

Suddenly , heat burned ins ide her , t ravel ing s lowly

through her body. She stared as her veins bulged

against her sk in. They were turning red, the same

color as the pot ion.

Pa in flared in her head, and her whole body fe l t

l ike i t was on fire. She gasped short breaths, t ry ing to

get a i r into her lungs as they began to constr ict .

A scream burst out of her as she strained against

her bonds, foaming at the mouth past her gag, sweat 58

Hard to Believepour ing down her face. She dry-heaved against her

gag, and al l the sounds around her were suddenly

magnified.

Darr ’s inscrutable face blurred as the whole wor ld

turned white.

Voices. Whisper ing voices … A strange creaking

noise … People hurry ing past .

Es l i opened her eyes, s lowly tak ing in her

surroundings. She was in some sort of room carved

out of stone. A large wooden door was c losed in f ront

of her with two torches flicker ing on both s ides of i t .

She was bound to a s imple wooden chair . Her gag

was gone, and there was no one to be seen in the

room.

Something rasped behind her. I t sounded l ike

someone breathing. A shudder went down her sp ine as

b lue l ight fi l led the room. She knew what that was,

and she didn’t want to deal with i t .

59

Hard to BelieveA scraping noise behind her made her strain to see

what i t was. What i f they had stuck her in here with a

wi ld animal , a hungry one?

She barely st ifled a scream as an o ld man

appeared in a puff of b lack smoke a few feet in front

of her . His twisted legs dangled at odd angles below

him, aglow with b lue l ight , and i t took Esl i a few

moments to rea l ize he was floating, just inches from

the ground.

“Who in Er indorr are you?” Try as she might, her

voice trembled.

The o ld man laughed, a creaky, rasping sound that

set every one of Es l i ’s nerves on edge. “My name is

Morgus, and you are Es l in.”

“Do te l l ,” Es l i muttered, annoyed that yet another

person knew her name. “How o ld are you, l ike two

hundred?”

“No, actual ly , I am nine hundred e ighty-two.” The

man must have not iced Esl i ’s dumbstruck expression

because he added, with a s l ight ly amused tone, “That

was meant to be a joke. I know I am old , but I d id not

real ize I had forgotten how to make a joke.”

Es l i ro l led her eyes. Wel l , at least he wasn’t

ignor ing her l ike everyone e lse. “Where am I and what

do you want with me?”60

Hard to Believe“You are in Jazarr , home of the Gorrane.”

Es l i stared at h im, bemused. “Okay, so who are

the Gorrane?”

Morgus’s smi le made Esl i cower. “The overseers of

my army.”

“Oh real ly , you have an army? I find i t hard to

bel ieve that such an o ld man actual ly leads an army,”

she thrust at h im.

Morgus cackled, “Oh, no, I don’t lead the army. My

capta in Darr does. I ’m sure you have met him.”

Es l i shuddered as she remembered the strange

tonic enter ing her body.

“You are scared, aren’t you,” Morgus stated.

No, rea l ly? Esl i wanted to snap, but she

constrained hersel f to merely curs ing under her

breath.

Morgus smirked, h is wr inkled l ips twist ing into a

horr ib le expression. “You want to run, instead of

being stuck here with a madman. You feel l ike a caged

animal . You have a lways hated t ight p laces because

they make you feel power less. And you don’t l ike

feel ing powerless , do you, Es l in?”

She gaped at h im. “H-how did you know al l that?”

Morgus s ighed contentedly, “ I am a Seeker. I have

the abi l i ty to find people’s deepest , darkest secrets 61

Hard to Believethey have bur ied ins ide of them. I can tear down

people’s mental defenses with in seconds, exposing

everything they’ve ever tr ied to h ide.”

Es l i sat up stra ighter and tr ied to strengthen the

wal ls around her mind. Her voice trembled, “Wel l , at

least you’re honest . Unless that was another joke?”

she asked, ha l f hopeful ly .

“No, unfortunately for most people, that part is

t rue,” Morgus smi led, seeming to enjoy her

d iscomfort . “ I a lso not iced you seem to have retr ieved

a memory recent ly . I th ink I recognize that prophet.”

Confusion raged in Es l i ’s mind at h is words.

“Morgus—um, S ir , do you know how to connect

memories in order to retr ieve information?” she asked

in an attempt to mask her rea l wish. That she wanted

to find her fami ly .

“Wel l , now, Es l in , some memories are too hard to

recover.”

Feel ing her hopes crumble, Es l i drew in a shaky

breath. “Are you sure?”

Morgus’s smi le d idn’t seem so evi l now. “Give me

some t ime, Es l in, and maybe I can help you.” He

floated to the door and c lapped his hands. The door

flew open reveal ing a stern- looking, muscular woman

wear ing a s imple purple robe.62

Hard to Believe“Ett i wi l l show you around and explain what we do

here. She wi l l a lso f reshen you up and get you

something to eat .” Morgus’s voice rasped as he

breathed, and he gasped, “ Just fo l low her.”

Es l i ’s bonds fe l l off, and she stood, massaging her

numb wrists and legs. She looked back at Morgus, who

had sett led h imsel f in an ornate wooden chair .

“Sir , wi l l I see you again soon?”

“Al l in good t ime, Es l in, a l l in good t ime.”

63

Eventful Happeningschapter five

Eventfu l Happenings

Es l i fo l lowed Ett i down the smooth stone hal l ,

observing every detai l—from the ancient tapestr ies to

the intr icate carv ings on the wal ls . Large wooden

doors dotted the stone wal ls . She ran her fingers over

the deep etchings. There were strange figures and

complex runes tra i l ing a long the wal l .

She paused at a part icular ly interest ing one that

looked l ike a p icture of a mountain exploding. “What

are these th ings?”

Ett i g lanced back at her . “Those are runes in the

ancient language from when our founders first came to

Jazarr . They carved their h istory onto these very

wal ls , leav ing a legacy for a l l the students here to

cher ish.”

Es l i snorted in amusement. “You cher ish stone

wal ls?”

64

Eventful HappeningsEtt i br id led at her tone. “Our h istory is a noble

one, one that needs to be remembered. You wi l l

respect our founders .”

“Or what?” Es l i muttered under her breath as they

cont inued down the hal l and went down a winding set

of sta irs .

“Your room wi l l be on the fourth floor with the

other g ir ls of your age.” Ett i ’s long str ides forced Esl i

to jog to keep up.

“How many floors are there?” Es l i was pant ing now

from try ing to speak and run at the same t ime.

I f Ett i not iced her problem, she didn’t mention i t .

“Six. We were just on the s ixth, which is Lord

Morgus’s dwel l ing and tra ining spot. The floor we are

on now is where the Gorrane res ide.”

Es l i g lanced around nervously, wonder ing i f any of

the so ld iers who had captured her would find her and

hurt her again. Try ing to keep her mind off that

thought, she muttered, “What’s on the other floors?”

“The first floor is used for c lasses, and that is

where the Hal l is . The second is a lso used for c lasses,

and bedrooms are located there for the younger

chi ldren. The th ird is dwel l ing for other students.”

They reached another set of sta irs and ambled

down the twist ing staircase. By the t ime they reached 65

Eventful Happeningsthe bottom, Es l i fe l t l ike someone had sucked a l l the

breath out of her .

She bent over and wheezed, “Where are we now?”

“Your floor,” Ett i responded tart ly , not looking

winded at a l l .

Ett i pushed open a wooden door, reveal ing a large

room with about ten beds in i t . A torch dotted each

corner of the room, and a large fire roared in the

hearth. An eye, engraved into the wal l , hung above

the fireplace. The beds had s imple matching qui l ts and

pi l lows on them, and a l i t t le wooden desk with

drawers sat next to each bed.

Despite the comfort ing fire, i t was a cold, dreary

looking place, and Es l i shuddered at the thought of

l iv ing here. There were no windows, no sources of

outs ide l ight .

“You’ l l share th is room with nine other g ir ls ,” Ett i

remarked and strode into the room.

She pushed open another door, th is one leading

to a large washroom with sta l ls in i t . Washing

founta ins stood about the p lace, and four more

torches were attached to the wal ls .

Ett i mot ioned to a stool in f ront of one of the

washbasins . “Sit down.”

66

Eventful HappeningsEsl i obeyed tentat ively, not knowing whether or

not she wanted to trust this lady.

Something yanked her ha ir sharp ly, and she

jumped to her feet with a yelp .

“Sett le down.” Ett i huffed, annoyed. “ I ’m only

brushing your ha ir .”

Es l i sett led back in her chair sheepishly and let

Ett i brush her tangled mat of ha ir .

After a few moments of constantly water ing eyes

at the pain and some occas ional curses, Es l i ’s hair

was brushed and washed with lot ion. Ett i sa id the

lot ion was supposed to k i l l l i ce, but Es l i honest ly

thought i t might end up k i l l ing her instead, judging by

the smel l .

Es l i ran her fingers through her now smooth hair ,

amazed at the change. “ I d idn’ t know hair could feel

l ike th is .”

Ett i grunted, “ Just wait t i l l I cut i t .”

Es l i sat up stra ighter . “Wait , what? I don’t want

you to cut my hair …”

Her voice tra i led off as Ett i chopped off a first

lock. Es l i watched, amazed, as the pi le on the floor

grew larger and larger.

“How much are you cutt ing off?” she asked, barely

keeping the trepidat ion out of her voice.67

Eventful HappeningsEtt i only huffed and carr ied on with her work.

F ina l ly , she set as ide her shears and breathed,

“There, now you look much less l ike a vagrant.”

Es l i snorted with confused laughter . “Um, thank

you?”

Ett i handed her a smal l mirror . “Have a look for

yoursel f .”

Es l i looked into i t and bl inked, shocked by the

c lear image. The only t imes she had ever seen her

reflect ion had been in a puddle of water or a shop

window, but th is showed her features so c lear ly , she

didn’t know what to think.

She had a lways known she had golden eyes, main ly

because of how people screamed or sa id something

nasty about her eyes when they saw them, but a lso

because Semmon had pol i te ly to ld her why people

reacted that way. But she had never guessed how

unique they were.

Now they stared back at her , reveal ing yet another

strange th ing to set her apart f rom others . Es l i

d i rected her attent ion to her other features. Her nose

was s l ight ly round and long, but not as repuls ive as

she had worr ied.

Lucki ly i t ’s not crooked l ike Jonn’s , she couldn’t

help th inking as she twisted her head to get a better 68

Eventful Happeningsview.

Ett i s ighed and snatched the mirror out of Es l i ’s

res ist ing hands. “ I assume that ’s the first t ime you’ve

seen yoursel f in a mirror ,” she stated and put the

mirror in a drawer. “What do you think?”

Es l i stared off into space. “ I ’m not ugly .”

Ett i groaned, “No, what do you th ink about your

ha ir?”

“Oh,” Es l i stopped and recal led what she had

seen. Ett i had cut her ha ir just below shoulder level

and had layered i t , lett ing i t cur l away from Esl i ’ s

face. I t was quite unl ike the tangled mess Es l i was

used to, but i t was very p leasant. “ I t ’s d ifferent.”

Ett i s ighed, “That’s a l l the thanks I ’m gett ing?”

Without wait ing for an answer, she l i f ted Es l i to her

feet with one arm, then dragged her out of the

washroom and into the bedroom. “There are some

c lothes on that bed. Put them on and be quick about

i t .”

Es l i p icked up the soft wad of c lothes and carr ied

them back into the washroom. Once there, she looked

at her new att i re. There was a s imple soft white tunic

that hung just past her h ips , a brown leather vest ,

gray c loth trousers , a short dark gray c loak, and a

pair of b lack boots a long with a leather belt . She 69

Eventful Happeningslaced her jerk in up and dashed out of the room to

show Ett i .

“What do you th ink?” she asked roughly, not

a l lowing hersel f to show any apprehension and hoping

she wouldn’t get rebuffed.

“You now look l ike every other k id here,” quipped

Ett i in a bored tone.

Es l i gr inned, knowing Ett i had no idea how

comfort ing those words were.

Ett i grabbed her arm again and led her out the

door. “Let me show you what c lass you’re going to be

in.”

Es l i struggled. “But I ’m hungry.”

Ett i growled a curse and suddenly her hand g lowed

a v io let color , creat ing a r i f t in the a ir in f ront of

them, much l ike the one Es l i had made when she had

been running from Jonn.

A wonderfu l smel l of stew and fresh bread wafted

through the portal . Ett i reached in and grabbed a

p late of bread and cheese, then shoved i t into Es l i ’s

open arms.

“There. Happy?” She strode down the hal l without

looking back.

Es l i gr inned and jogged to keep up, cramming

bread into her mouth as fast as possib le.70

Eventful HappeningsAfter a few more steep flights of sta irs , they

arr ived at the bottom floor. Ett i s topped in f ront of a

door, and i t opened.

Es l i g lanced around, wonder ing how the door had

opened, but she quickly shrugged the quest ion away.

Probably another weird mind tr ick Gi f ted people do.

Al l noise ins ide the room died as Ett i shoved Esl i

into the room, saying, “ I ’ve got a new one for you,

Diarra.”

The room had many l i t t le desks fi l led with smal l

chi ldren, most por ing over open books. One chi ld was

busy r ipp ing pages out of h is book and mending them

with a g lowing hand. Another was sound asleep, drool

running down her ch in.

The young lady at the front of the room quickly

recovered from the interrupt ion and forced a smi le .

“Wonderfu l . Definite ly g lad to have her .” She turned

to one of the k ids. “Martta, move your books and let

the new kid s i t .”

The gir l Martta scowled at her teacher but shoved

her books over and scooted to the far end of the

bench in f ront of her desk.

Ett i gave Es l i a sharp nudge. “Go on, then.”

Mournful ly , Es l i looked at her and mumbled,

“These k ids are a l l l ike nine years o ld.”71

Eventful Happenings“I know. They are beginners, just l ike you.” Ett i

gave her a smal l smirk. “ I ’m sure you’ l l have a great

t ime.”

Es l i stumbled over to her desk, her face burning,

and plopped down on the creaky seat .

“Now, i f you’ l l p lease introduce yoursel f , Miss,

we’ l l carry on,” the lady, Diarra, instructed in a dul l

voice.

Es l i s louched further down in her seat . “My name’s

Es l in.”

Diarra’s face contorted s l ight ly at the name,

something Esl i had come to ant ic ipate. “Wel l , that ’s

wonderfu l . Welcome to Jazarr , Es l in .” She c lapped her

hands once, se iz ing a lmost everyone’s attent ion.

“Class , p lease g ive Miss Es l in a warm welcome.”

Al l the k ids mumbled “Welcome” and went back to

star ing at their books.

As Diarra resumed the lesson, Es l i observed her

surroundings.

They were in a stone room, much as Morgus’s room

had been. Yet again, torches were the only source of

l ight . There were about twenty desks l ined up in the

room, with a larger one at the front where Diarra sat .

A few tapestr ies hung on the wal ls , depict ing batt les,

cast les , and strange creatures.72

Eventful HappeningsEsl i s ighed at the general drear iness of the room

and looked at D iarra. The lady was saying, “ I f you

were paying attent ion in c lass yesterday, you’ l l

remember we have our c lass phys ical t ra in ing today

as the tournament is only in one month.”

Everyone l is tening sat up a l i t t le stra ighter as i f

they had been ant ic ipat ing th is moment. Someone

poked the s leeping gir l , who woke up with a loud

snort .

“Now, i f everyone would please l ine up against the

wal l , I ’ l l expla in the ru les.” The teacher waited as the

students scrambled over each other to get the best

spot, Es l i fo l lowing more s lowly in order to get in the

back of the l ine.

Diarra waved her hand, which was now glowing

with a coral co lor , causing a book to float into the a ir

and flip around. “ I know you’ve a l l been wait ing for

the t ime when you would final ly be able to use your

power l ike the masters can, but there is a reason i t

takes a lot of t ra ining to get there.”

She glanced at a torch on the wal l , and i t went

out , leaving a th in tra i l of smoke behind i t . “Today

you wi l l learn how to fort i fy your mind in order to

defend yoursel f from prying intruders .”

73

Eventful HappeningsThe boy next to Es l i made a funny noise, causing

Es l i to g lance over. He was l i tera l ly rocking back and

forth on h is heels in exc i tement. She ro l led her eyes

and turned back to the teacher.

“ In order to b lock your mind from others, you

must bui ld a mental ly bui ld a wal l . Now, th is sounds

easy enough, but in real i ty , th is is quite a d ifficult

task to master .” Diarra walked down the row of

chi ldren. “ I wi l l g ive each of you thir ty seconds to

bui ld a wal l , then I wi l l try to get past i t . Your t ime

begins now.”

Es l i looked around. Everyone seemed very

confused as to how they were supposed to bui ld

mental wal ls , but most seemed to be try ing. The boy

beside Esl i again was making strange sounds, but th is

t ime he had his eyes t ight ly shut, and he muttered

under h is breath.

Es l i tr ied to bui ld a wal l around her mind, l ike she

had done when she first found her power, but i t d idn’ t

seem to change anything at a l l .

Diarra was now sta lk ing down the l ine of ch i ldren

star ing into their eyes. The first boy she looked at

yelped and c losed his eyes. The gir l next to h im lasted

two seconds before burst ing into tears . Martta paled

as Diarra looked at her , and she seemed to be hav ing 74

Eventful Happeningstrouble hold ing down her breakfast . F inal ly , i t was

a lmost Es l i ’ s turn. The boy next to her stopped

mumbl ing and stared stra ight into Diarra’s eyes, then

he flinched and moaned.

Diarra stepped back and looked at her students.

“Who can te l l me what was wrong with your

defenses?”

Martta’s hand flew up. Obviously , she had been

ponder ing this quest ion a lready. Diarra nodded at

her , and Martta b lurted, “My wal l was just a p icture in

my mind, not an actual defense. You just pushed i t

as ide and looked at a l l my thoughts.” She blushed and

shot a g lance at the boy who had yelped. “Not that I

had anything to h ide.”

“Wel l , that is a s imple way of putt ing i t .” Diarra

put two fingers to her l ips and sa id, “You need to

reach for your power, not p icture a wal l . Use your g i f t

to push the intruder away. I f you can find your power,

you can find theirs , and you can stop them before they

even reach your mind. Try i t ,” she commanded and

stepped up to Es l i .

Es l i reached out with her mind and fe l t D iarra ’s

power . I t swir led around, e lus ive yet st i l l easy to find.

She could sense i t nudging at her wal ls , str iv ing to

get past . She smirked as Diarra b lanched at her lack 75

Eventful Happeningsof success. Es l i reached for the l ink between Diarra

and her and did the same th ing she had done with

Anni , cutt ing off Diarra’s connect ion with the g i f t . Es l i

wondered what might happen i f she took Diarra’s

power , instead of merely cutt ing i t off, but Martta ’s

cry d istracted her.

Her face pale, D iarra swayed and stumbled

backward. She gasped out, “How did you …” She

turned away and barked, “Class is d ismissed. Gather

your things and go to the Hal l , immediately.”

Es l i hurr ied out the door, intent on gett ing away

before the teacher cal led her out . Stumbl ing down the

hal l , she looked around wi ld ly , wonder ing where she

was. Now running, she rounded a corner and near ly

screamed as she came face to face with a g ir l .

The gir l was not as successfu l in holding back her

emotions. Releasing a b lood-curdl ing shr iek, she

swung out her fist and caught Es l i in the eye.

“AH!” Es l i screeched and held up a hand to her

throbbing eye. “What in Besra’s name–?”

“Oh, gods, I am so sorry,” the gir l stammered,

choking back a hyster ica l laugh. “You scared me.”

“ I scared you?” Es l i g inger ly prodded her eye and

swore at the pain. “By Drakkos, that hurts!”

76

Eventful Happenings“Oh, mighty Erryk, p lease don’t str ike me dead,”

the gir l muttered, cal l ing on one of the major gods.

She shi f ted uneas i ly . “ Is there anything I can do for

you?”

“Actual ly , yes, i f you could show me to the Hal l

and get me some ice,” Es l i snapped, sett l ing her hand

over her eye.

“Oh, yes, of course. Just fo l low me,” the gir l sa id

eager ly and started down the hal l , mutter ing curses

a l l the way.

Es l i s ighed and hurr ied after her .

77

Friend to Friendchapter s ix

Fr iend to Fr iend

The gir l led Es l i quickly , g lancing back every now

and then, st i l l mumbl ing to hersel f . Es l i stumbled

after her , ha l f -b l indly, t ry ing not to tr ip over anyone.

Whereas the hal ls had been empty before, now

they were fi l led as students came pour ing out of their

c lassrooms.

Es l i knocked shoulders with a boy as she struggled

to keep the gir l in v iew, jarr ing her hand and causing

her to yelp at the pain. The boy turned.

Es l i caught her breath. “Darr?”

It was indeed the Gorrane capta in, but now he was

miss ing h is mask. He st i l l wore his b lack outfit ,

complete with a long b lack c loak that swir led around

his feet as he s idestepped the flow of people.

Es l i stared at h is face. Without h is mask, he

seemed so young, so … so normal . H is ha ir was sandy-

colored and d isheveled, and h is green-gray eyes

seemed to stand out even more than before. Blond 78

Friend to Friendstubble shadowed h is face, and a yel lowish-purple

bruise accented his ch in.

Darr coughed, “Are you done scrut in iz ing me yet?”

“What?” Es l i b lushed. “Um, yeah.” She didn’t

know what to say to th is myster ious person who had

captured her and hurt her without b l inking, but now

stood before her a normal human.

Darr smirked and gestured to her face. “ I see

someone gave you a matching bruise. Who was i t? I

would l ike to thank them for gett ing revenge for me.”

Es l i ’s face burned as she touched her eye. So

that ’s where he got that bru ise. She had k icked h im in

the face.

The gir l Es l i had been fo l lowing appeared in the

emptying hal l . As soon as she locked eyes on Darr ,

her mouth fe l l open, and she shook her head hast i ly

at Es l i .

Es l i shrugged and pointed at her . “She did.”

The gir l groaned out loud and stumbled over to

Es l i and Darr , mumbl ing, “ I am so sorry, Captain.

She’s new here and doesn’t know the ru les yet .” She

shoved Esl i down the hal l .

“Wel l , make sure she learns, or e lse I wi l l , Miss

Fayne,” Darr ca l led after her , then spun around and

cont inued down the hal l .79

Friend to FriendEsl i struggled to keep up with the i rate g ir l , who

was now rant ing at her , “What in Besra’s name were

you thinking? You walk up to some random person who

just so happens to be the capta in of the Gorrane and

talk to h im.” She turned to Es l i , fear evident on her

face. “You could have gotten us both k i l led!”

Es l i frowned, defens ive. “He’s not a random

person. He’s the one who captured me and brought me

to this hole.”

“Oh,” the gir l mumbled. “Wel l , th is isn’ t a hole.

We’re in a mountain.”

“Real ly?” Es l i looked around. “ I f we’re above

ground, why didn’t they put any windows here?”

The gir l stared at her , a bewi ldered expression on

her face. “What do windows have to do with

anything?”

“Everything’s so dark here.” Es l i barely repressed

a shudder, determined to keep her tough façade up.

“I guess i t is ,” the gir l sa id s lowly in an

uncomfortable manner, then she br ightened. “But you

get used to i t . And anyway, people don’t normal ly

st ick windows in a mountain. C ’mon, let ’s get

something to eat .”

Again, Es l i fo l lowed the gir l down the hal l , now

wonder ing at the g ir l ’s pecul iar behavior at Es l i ’s 80

Friend to Friendcomment. They passed through a g iant pa ir of double

wooden doors, emblazoned with a s ingle eye on each.

The eyes looked fami l iar …

Es l i shook off the feel ing and walked into the Hal l ,

then stopped and gasped.

The room they were now in was more l ike a huge

cavern than anything e lse. The roof stretched up unt i l

i t was just barely v is ib le in the very br ight b lu ish

l ight . Es l i thought i t would have been dim in the Hal l ,

but the l ight was a lmost as br ight as outs ide. The

l ight i tse l f was coming from the hanging torches on

the wal ls , but the fire in these was b lue, and i t

fl ickered s lowly instead of crackl ing l ike most fire.

The gir l must ’ve not iced Esl i ’s stares because she

remarked, “That’s not actual ly fire. I t ’s the gi f t .”

“Why is i t b lue?” Es l i asked.

“They say i t ’s Master Morgus’s power because i t is

b lue, but no one real ly knows what h is power looks

l ike.”

“Oh, i t is b lue,” Es l i recal led. “ I saw i t .”

The gir l looked at her incredulously . “Are you

ser iously saying you saw Master Morgus?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Because we hardly ever see h im! He’s a lmost

a lways on the top floor .” The g ir l paused and looked 81

Friend to Friendaround quickly before murmuring, “They say he’s not

doing too wel l .”

Es l i wondered why she was whisper ing, but she

also lowered her voice, “He d idn’t seem very wel l

when I was there, but that was after he had been

talk ing to me. Maybe he was just t i red.”

The gir l shrugged. “ I t ’s impossib le to te l l with

him.”

Es l i went back to observ ing the Hal l . Many

ind iv idual tables sat scattered about, and a long

table, laden with mouthwater ing treats, sat in the far

end of the room. The Hal l was packed with hungry

students who were d igging into the food.

Situated at the end of the Hal l , a large roar ing fire

crackled with rea l fire. Several students chatted in

f ront of i ts comfortable flame.

Tapestr ies and carvings abounded on the wal ls ,

just l ike they had in the hal ls . Es l i stared at the

largest carving, s i tuated just above the fire. I t was a

huge eye, pa inted red.

Es l i tapped the gir l on the shoulder. “Why are

there so many carven eyes around here?”

“It is the s ign of the Seekers,” the gir l explained,

then dragged Esl i over to a tab le. “Come meet my

s ister .”82

Friend to FriendEsl i was about to point out that she didn’t even

know who the gir l was, let a lone her s ister , but before

she could, the gir l pushed her onto a bench next to a

s l im gir l . “Erra, I want you to meet someone.”

Erra turned to Es l i and smi led. Es l i stared for a

few moments, shocked that anyone could be that

beaut i fu l . Erra ’s wavy golden-brown hair hung down

to her waist , and her large sky-blue eyes were

wonderfu l ly accented by her pale sk in.

When she spoke, i t was in a smooth voice that

sounded l ike soft music , “ I t is a p leasure to meet you.

My name is Erra.”

Erra’s s ister turned to Es l i , her expression

embarrassed. She sheepishly admitted, “ I don’t even

know your name.”

“I was wonder ing when you’d not ice,” Es l i couldn’t

help but say. She shook Erra’s hand. “ I ’m Es l in, but

you can cal l me Esl i .”

Instead of fl inching l ike most people d id, Erra

smi led even wider than before. “ I l ike that name.”

She looked at her s ister , an amused l ight dancing in

her eyes. “Can I assume Pinny had something to do

with that bruised eye?”

Flushing, her s ister mumbled, “ I t was an

acc ident.” Then she laughed and shook Esl i ’ s other 83

Friend to Friendhand. “ I ’m Pinny, by the way. P inny Fayne.”

Es l i looked at P inny beside Erra, surpr ised at the

differences in their features. Next to Erra’s ta l l , s l im

figure, P inny looked rather short , and her eyes were

stone-gray, not at a l l b lue. Her ha ir was ash-brown

and stra ight . Despite these d ifferences, Es l i could te l l

by their face shape— and their perfect ly s ized noses—

that they were s isters.

Pinny smirked. “ I know. Beside Erra, I look l ike a

homely l i t t le creature.”

Erra f rowned at her s ister . “Oh, Pinny, stop saying

that .”

Pinny just smi led again. “ I ’m fourteen, and she’s

e ighteen. How o ld are you?”

“Sixteen, I th ink,” Es l i repl ied, feel ing drawn to

this unl ikely pa ir .

Pinny sett led back in her seat with a contented

s igh. “Erra, isn’t i t a lways n ice to make new fr iends?”

Erra laughed. “Yes, s i l ly .” She looked at Es l i with

a smi le . “Yes, i t is .”

Es l i beamed back. Here were two people who

actual ly seemed to accept Es l i as who she was, not

who she wished she could be. “ I th ink I might l ike i t

here in Jazarr .”

84

Friend to Friend“Wel l , even i f you hate i t , you’ve got us,” Pinny

stated matter-of - fact ly . “We’re f r iends now.”

Esl i stumbled onto one of the ten beds in her room

late that night , P inny st i l l chatter ing next to her .

After taking her on a long tour, Erra and P inny had

discovered Es l i was staying in the same room as them,

and P inny hadn’t ceased to ta lk of the coinc idence

ever s ince then.

“Can you bel ieve we’re rea l ly roommates?” she

asked for the fift ieth t ime.

Somehow, Erra was st i l l smi l ing at Pinny’s

constant no ise. “Yes, P inny, I th ink we can both

bel ieve i t . Isn’t that r ight , Es l i?”

Es l i unlaced her vest and took off her boots whi le

answering in exasperat ion, “Yeah, I sa id that twenty

minutes ago, Pinny.”

Pinny s ighed happi ly . “ I know, but i t ’s st i l l pretty

cool .” She plopped onto the bed next to Es l i and

whispered conspirator ia l ly , “Now that we’re f r iends

85

Friend to Friendand roommates, we can have real f r iend to f r iend

conversat ions.”

“What’s a f r iend to f r iend conversat ion?” Es l i

asked, confused by yet another one of Pinny’s strange

ideas.

“It ’s when best fr iends te l l a l l their ju icy

secrets.” P inny explained, her eyes g leaming in the

torchl ight.

“That sounds wonderful ,” Es l i mumbled, honored

at being considered someone’s best f r iend but

f r ightened at the thought of te l l ing a l l her “ juicy

secrets”.

Erra laughed and swung a p i l low at P inny. “Go to

s leep, P inny. Deep d iscussions can wait t i l l

tomorrow.”

Pinny caught the pi l low and threw i t at Es l i with a

squeal . Es l i hur led i t at Erra ’s face, catching her in

the head.

Everything went quiet as the other seven g ir ls who

were in the room stared at Erra . She stood up, her

back to Es l i , her shoulders shaking.

Suddenly , she jumped on Es l i with a wi ld yel l and

pounded her with the feather p i l low, her laugh

sounding most un-Erra- l ike.

86

Friend to FriendThen a l l the gir ls jo ined in , screaming and s l inging

pi l lows at each other.

Es l i gr inned as a p i l low smashed into her face.

This was what she’d a lways wanted, to be able to p lay

with f r iends without shame of her posit ion, without

fear of being rebuffed.

Maybe l i fe here won’t be as bad as I thought.

87

Strike and Strifechapter seven

Str ike and Str i fe

“Str ike!” a man’s voice rang out , and s ixteen bal ls

of l ight flew through the a ir , some col l id ing with one

another and exploding, others catching their targets.

The students who were h i t stumbled back whi le

their opponents b lasted them again.

Es l i b i t her l ip as she concentrated on forming

another l ight ba l l . A l l the students wore power-

shie lds, as her instructor cal led them, but the b lasts

st i l l stung.

She s lung her ba l l of energy at her opponent,

catching him in the face and throwing him a couple

feet across the room.

“Line!” the instructor ca l led.

Al l the students scrambled back into their l ines,

e ight in each row.

“Switch opponents ,” Borren, Es l i ’s instructor ,

shouted.

88

Strike and StrifePinny l ined up across f rom Esl i , wiggled her

eyebrows, and mouthed, You’re going down.

Esl i snorted and stuck her tongue out at her f r iend

as soon as Borren’s back was turned.

“Gather … and str ike!” Again, s ixteen bal ls of

l ight flew through the a ir .

Es l i ’s ba l l caught P inny’s in midair , and they

exploded, forc ing both Esl i and P inny back. Es l i

tossed another power-bal l at Pinny and dodged the

one P inny tossed back. A yelp s ignified Es l i ’s

successfu l h i t .

Es l i b lasted P inny again, and a squeal burst out of

her throat as Pinny shot two bal ls at her , one of them

catching her left arm.

Instant ly , her arm went numb. Growl ing curses,

Es l i threw a lopsided b last at P inny, which missed

ent i re ly and flew at Borren.

Pinny gasped, and they both watched in shock as

the bal l co l l ided into the wal l by Borren’s head.

“Line!” Borren roared, h is face contort ing

magnificent ly .

The students got back into their rows, each

nervously eyeing the instructor .

89

Strike and Strife“Who here cannot fo l low s imple instruct ion, thus

endanger ing their instructor ’s l i fe?” the i rate master

yel led.

“Oh, gods,” Es l i muttered.

Borren did an about- face. “What was that , Miss

Es l in?”

“Nothing,” Es l i squeaked, then instant ly regretted

i t as Borren caught her by the ear .

“Nothing, eh?” he h issed. “ I ’ l l show you nothing!”

He dragged her to the front of the c lassroom, st i l l

ho ld ing on t ight ly to her ear . Es l i winced and yelped

as he dug his fingert ips into the top of her ear .

Turning around abrupt ly , he yel led to the c lass, “Who

thinks they can blatant ly d isrespect me to my face?

Eh?”

No one answered.

“That’s what I thought,” he snapped, p inching

Es l i ’s ear again, making her hiss at the pain. “Miss

Es l in here has grown too pompous, thinking she can

attack her instructor and get away with i t .”

“It was an acc ident!” Es l i ye l led, f rustrated with

Borren’s conceited a ir .

“Oh, rea l ly , Miss Es l in?” He leaned c loser to her

and whispered in her ear , h is breath smel l ing l ike

90

Strike and Striferotten fish, “ I don’t think i t was, and I get to make

the choices around here.”

Es l i cursed him, but he merely dropped her on the

ground. He sneered, “Class , we have a new target to

pract ice on.”

Some of the b igger students cracked their

knuckles and gr inned threateningly.

“Wait , you can’t do that!” P inny protested loudly.

“ I ’m the one who made her miss .”

“Wel l , then, you get to come up here with her ,

Miss Fayne.”

The c lass watched as P inny bounded up onto the

stage, a determined l ight in her eyes. “ I t ’s against

the ru les to br ing harm to a student, Master Borren.”

Es l i reached out for P inny’s mind and formed a

connect ion with her angry f r iend.

Pinny, i t ’s fine. Borren’s just being a jerk. You

don’t need to get hurt for me.

He’s scared of you, Es l i . You’ve moved up two

c lasses in the past month, and he’s try ing to stop you

from enter ing the tournament. Nobody moves up that

fast. P inny g lared at Borren l ike she wished she could

te l l h im al l that without being expel led.

91

Strike and StrifeEsl i groaned mental ly . P inny was going to get hurt

for no reason. He’s just a b ig bul ly . I ’ve been beaten

many t imes. I can handle another one.

“No,” P inny sa id out loud. “No, you can’t , Es l i ,

because i t ’s wrong. You should not be treated as scum

because you’re specia l .” She walked up to Borren, her

fists c lenched at her s ides. “He’s jealous of you.” She

swung her hand out, gestur ing to the whole c lass .

“They al l are.”

Borren’s fists g lowed soft ly . Es l i could feel h is

power gather ing. “Miss Fayne, you have detent ion for

a week with me after c lasses.”

“I don’t care,” P inny muttered rebel l ious ly.

Borren’s face grew red, and Esl i s ighed. This was

going too far . She seized Borren’s g i f t and cut i t off

from him, leaving h im empty of a l l h is power.

Borren screamed and fe l l to the ground, wr i th ing.

The whole c lass stared at h im, some of the gir ls

whimper ing.

Es l i started a connect ion with h is defenseless

mind. Master Borren, you cannot hurt me or my

fr iends any longer. I wi l l g ive you back your power,

but be warned, I wi l l take i t again i f I have to.

Borren moaned, and Es l i poured his energy back

into h im.92

Strike and StrifeThe weakened teacher scrambled to his feet , a

crazed expression in h is eyes. “Class … is over .” He

stumbled to his desk and dry-heaved.

The c lass c lambered out the door , some students

screaming, others cry ing loudly .

Es l i grabbed Pinny’s arm and hauled her into the

hal l . Turning around sharply , she h issed, “Pinny, you

could have gotten hurt! By Besra, can you just l isten

sometimes? I to ld you I could handle h im!”

To Esl i ’s surpr ise, tears wel led in P inny’s eyes,

and she sobbed, “ I ’m so t i red of you having to put on

a tough façade, Es l i . You don’t deserve to be hurt .”

Deeply touched by Pinny’s show of affect ion, Es l i

put her arm around her and forced a smi le . “Wel l , I do

appreciate your bravery, P inn. But now I wi l l probably

get detent ion for attacking an instructor ,” she added

with what she hoped was a comfort ing gr in.

Pinny sniffed and wiped her face. “Sorry about

that .”

The gir ls s lowly made their way to the Hal l . The

flow of students around them diminished unt i l they

were a lone.

Suddenly , the patter ing of running feet resonated

throughout the hal lway. Ett i spr inted into v iew.

93

Strike and Strife“By the gods, Es l in, I ’ve been looking for you al l

morning,” she wheezed and seized Esl i ’s arm roughly.

“Master Morgus asked for you.”

Es l i struggled as Ett i pul led her down the hal lway

and glanced back at P inny. F lashing her a weak smi le ,

she stumbled a long behind Ett i , bemused.

“What are we doing?” she asked as she barely

caught hersel f f rom tumbl ing down the steps.

Ett i grabbed her arm again and yanked her up the

steps, pant ing, “Master Morgus needs to speak with

you on the matter of the tournament.”

Fear speared Es l i , causing her stomach to wr i the

uncomfortably. She staggered onto the s ixth floor,

breathing heavi ly as Ett i pul led her to Morgus’s door.

“Here she is , Master .” Ett i forced Esl i into the

room and bowed as she backed out.

Es l i squinted, try ing to see in the dim l ight ing and

us ing her power to search for Morgus. She fe l t h is g i f t

emanat ing from a corner in the dark room, and she

turned just as he l i t up with b lue power.

The l ight cast strange shadows across his wr ink led

face. He leaned forward in h is wooden chair and

rasped, “ I t is good to see you, Es l in .”

Es l i stared at h im stoica l ly , wait ing for h im to get

to his point .94

Strike and Strife“Ah, wel l , I see you are not in the mood for

needless ta lk, so I ’ l l put th is as p la in ly as possib le.”

He s ipped out of a crystal goblet fi l led swir l ing red

l ight .

Es l i stared at i t , wonder ing what he was dr inking,

but Morgus c leared h is throat , d istract ing her f rom

her tra in of thought.

“ I want you to compete in the winter tournament,

just to test where you stand in your power.” He

plunked h is tumbler onto a smal l wooden table and

wiped h is mouth with the back of h is hand. “ I see

much potent ia l in you, much more than anyone else I

know.”

Es l i hesi tated before ventur ing, “Even Darr?”

Morgus cackled, h is b lue l ight swir l ing in smal l

eddies around h is hunched form. “Always a

compet i t ion, eh?” He sobered s l ight ly before

answering, “But, yes, more than Darr . I want you to

use your power to the fu l lest , Es l in.” He beckoned to

her , and she fe l t hersel f move forward, h is energy

flowing around her, compel l ing her to obey.

He stopped her only inches away from him and

grasped her face in h is hands. Es l i struggled against

the pul l of h is power, t rapped with in i ts c lutch.

95

Strike and StrifeMorgus’s b lack eyes began to g low with b lue l ight

as he stared into her own golden ones. “Don’t be

afra id, Es l in . I can teach you things no one else could

even imagine.”

She ceased struggl ing, h is intense gaze forc ing

her to l isten.

“I want the best for you. I want you to find your

strength,” he hissed, st i l l hold ing her face. Es l i fe l t

something in her wr i the as h is eyes g lowed br ighter .

“ I want you to become my next captain.”

Es l i gasped as h is compuls ive power left her ,

leaving her breathless and weak. She stared at her

master , s tunned by his comment. “Capta in? But s i r ,

isn’t Darr a good captain?”

Morgus re leased her face. “Yes, he is , but i t a l l

goes back to what we were saying. You have more

potent ia l for the gi f t than Darr ever wi l l .”

Es l i rubbed her sore ch in and pondered h is remark

before answering s lowly, “So, you th ink I have more

power than Darr?”

Morgus s ighed loudly. “Did I not just say that?

You’re specia l , Es l in . So, te l l me, do you want me to

tra in you?”

96

Strike and StrifeEsl i g lanced at her hands and mumbled, “Can you

teach me to use my gi f t to force others to do what I

want?”

“Like whom?” Morgus gazed at her , h is expression

unreadable.

S lowly, Es l i formed her thoughts into a sentence.

“L ike Werron. And Jonn, and the other v i l lagers who

mistreated me.” She swal lowed and massaged her

shoulder. Memories of Werron’s belt st i l l rep layed in

her mind. “ I want them to feel the pain I fe l t . I need

to show them that I am worth more than they ever

could’ve guessed.”

Final ly , Morgus reacted. A huge smi le spread

across h is face. “ I th ink I might be able to help you

with that.” He abrupt ly stopped glowing, leaving them

both in the dark. “F irst , show me your power.”

Es l i grasped her g i ft , and the room fil led with

br ight golden l ight . She stared at her fl icker ing

hands, mesmerized by the beaut i fu l rad iance.

“Good, good,” Morgus rasped. “Now, reach out

with i t . Search a l l of Er indorr for the one you want

revenge on.”

No, she thought. I t ’s wrong. Don’t hurt anyone .

Anger burned in her as she thought of how she had

been abused. Those people d idn’t deserve mercy.97

Strike and StrifeShe opened her mental defense and poured her

energy out , searching for the one she wanted revenge

on. With a thr i l l , she fe l t h is mind. I t was open to her

search, for he held no power.

She formed a connect ion with his defenseless

mind. Hel lo, Werron.

Gods! the man cursed mental ly , instant ly

panicking at the voice in h is head.

Es l i reached further and found she look through

his eyes. Br ight , natura l l ight fi l tered in through

Werron’s eyel ids, and Esl i real ized he had just woken

up as he b l inked s leepi ly , t ry ing to focus on the

myster ious vo ice in his head.

Es l i g l impsed someone bent over a metal pot in

the inn hearth. Her heart leapt as she recognized

Semmon’s cur ly hair . Semmon!

Werron cursed again, this t ime out loud, and

Semmon turned, h is k ind face weary.

“Yes, Werron?” His voice was exhausted as he

st i rred h is stew.

“Nothing, man. St ick to your work,” Werron

mumbled.

As Werron yawned and sett led back in h is seat ,

Es l i forced her words through h is mouth. “Semmon!”

98

Strike and StrifeSemmon whir led around again. “By the gods, man,

what do you want?”

Es l i smirked as an idea formed in her mind. She

couldn’t d i rect ly te l l Semmon what was going on

because he d idn’t know she was Gi f ted, but she could

have a l i t t le fun.

Werron whimpered as Es l i compel led h im to say,

“The gods have cursed me, Semmon. Fetch the pr iest .

I fear my l i fe is ending.”

Semmon gaped at Werron, a bemused look on h is

face. “O-of course, s i r .” He hurr ied out , cast ing a

f r ightened look over h is shoulder.

Werron cursed again and c lutched h is head with

his hands. “What in Besra’s name is go ing on?”

Hatred shot through Esl i as she spotted Werron’s

belt hanging on the doorframe. You’ l l never know.

She poured power into h im, ignor ing h is screams,

knowing he would soon d ie.

That’s enough, Es l in . Morgus’s voice thundered in

her mind. You have gotten your revenge.

St i l l looking through Werron’s eyes, Es l i winced at

the terror and insanity in his mind as he raved and

thrashed on the ground.

Pain suddenly spiked in her mind, forc ing her back

to Morgus’s room.99

Strike and StrifeMorgus’s b lue l ight encirc led her , f reez ing her in

p lace as he coughed weakly, “You have much power,

Es l in. What you have just done has gone far beyond

what I imagined you could do in so short a t ime.”

Es l i stared at her st i l l -g lowing hands. “ I shouldn’t

have destroyed Werron’s mind.”

“Maybe not , but i t shows your greatness. Is that

not what you wanted?”

Tears pr ick led her eyes as she remembered the

horror in Werron’s mind. “Not l ike that ,” she

mumbled. “Master Morgus, do you th ink what I d id

was wrong?”

Morgus smi led, stretching h is face unnatura l ly .

“No, Es l in , I th ink you have done wel l s tepping into

your power.”

Es l i pushed away the gui l t gnawing at her . She

bel ieved she was wrong, but i f Master sa id i t was fine

then maybe her fears were unfounded.

Maybe she could control the monster ins ide of her .

100

Two Years Later

101

102

Winds of Changechapter e ight

Winds of Change

A blast knocked Es l i off her feet and she flew

through the a ir , her arms flai l ing as she screamed.

She s lammed into the ground and wheezed as her

breath was knocked out of her .

Another b last soared toward her, and she feebly

ra ised her hand and formed a shie ld around hersel f .

The bal l exploded against i t , throwing her even

farther back.

“Es l in, focus!” Morgus bel lowed from his

wheelchair .

Es l i scrambled to her feet shaki ly as her opponent

ra ised his hand again. Made from Morgus’s b lue

energy, the l ight specter was shaped l ike a normal

man. The feature that set h im apart f rom any other

man was his g lowing and flicker ing form.

Es l i l i f ted her hand and summoned enough power

to form a l ight bal l . She re leased i t , and i t s truck the

image in the shoulder. Her opponent stumbled before 103

Winds of Changer ight ing h imsel f , whi le Es l i h i t h im with another l ight

b last .

The l ight image opened h is mouth and gave a

s i lent scream, c lawing at the hole in h is chest. Es l i

growled, feel ing her power wel l up ins ide her , fight ing

to get out .

She ra ised her hands and re leased a steady stream

of energy at the specter , lett ing i t tear through his

body, destroy ing h im.

Before she could recover f rom the fight, another

b last h i t her f rom behind. She cursed and spun

around. Three new specters charged her.

She let out a yel l and summoned al l her power,

re leas ing i t in one blast , annihi lat ing her enemies

immediately. With a f rustrated roar , she fe l t her g i f t

wel l up ins ide of her instant ly , hardly changed by the

vast amount she had used.

She turned and screamed at Morgus, “ I can’t

control i t ! My power is too much, too hard to

restra in,” she mumbled, feel ing her energy cours ing

through her. Her hands were st i l l g lowing from her

excurs ion, and she could te l l she was flicker ing with

her power.

Morgus s ighed. “ I know i t ’s hard, but you have to

control i t . You don’t have a choice.”104

Winds of ChangeEsl i re leased some of her anger by curs ing bi tter ly

to any god who would l is ten.

Morgus watched her, a twisted smirk on his

wr inkled face. “ I know the pain, Es l in. I know.”

The door swung open, and Darr strode through and

bowed to Morgus. “ I have come as you ca l led,

Master .”

“Good, good.” Morgus wheeled h is chair around to

look at Es l i . “ I have a task for you, Darr .”

Darr bowed low again. “Anything, Master .”

Morgus coughed weakly before answering

hoarsely , “ I need you to tra in Es l in to control her

powers.”

Es l i stared at h im. “What?”

“Did you not just say you needed help restra ining

your g i f t?” Morgus asked, then g lanced back at Darr .

“Every evening after I am done with her , you wi l l take

Es l in to the Gorrane tra in ing room and help her learn

to contro l her power .” He lowered his voice, even

though Esl i could st i l l hear h im, “This is essent ia l for

her to cont inue her tra ining with me.”

Darr ’s face contorted, and he looked as i f he

would rather d ie than do such a th ing. He forced out ,

“Yes, of course, Master .”

“Go with h im, Es l in,” Morgus commanded.105

Winds of ChangeEsl i shot a murderous look at her master and

trudged over to Darr .

Darr spun around and stalked out the door , not

wait ing for Es l i . She miserably p lodded after h im,

dreading her new train ing.

Darr led her to a d ifferent room, th is one much

l ike Morgus’s , but i t had a weapons rack and dummies

l ined up against the wal l .

Darr strode over to the dummies and turned to

Es l i . He growled, “Get over here and stand in f ront of

a dummy.”

Es l i obeyed sulk i ly . A t ingle in her head to ld her

someone was try ing to connect with her mind. She

reached out and fe l t Darr ’s power. Opening the

connect ion, she winced at the ic iness in h is voice.

We wi l l begin by working on defense. Darr grabbed

a staff off the rack.

Mental defense or physica l? Esl i asked, confused

by h is act ions.

In response, Darr swung the staff, knocking Es l i off

her feet . He smirked as she cursed and scrambled to

her feet . Physical .

The next b low caught her on the s ide of the head,

sending throbbing pain shoot ing through her head.

She bl inked away stars and feebly tr ied to b lock h is 106

Winds of Changenext swing which caught her hand, instant ly bruis ing

i t .

He k icked out her legs, and she crashed to the

ground, groaning.

In order to control your power, begin by learning

to contro l your temper and keep a c lear head in a

fight, he sneered.

The wooden staff smacked her on the s ide of the

leg. I f you can successful ly learn to fight without your

g i f t , you wi l l not be as dependent upon i t , thus

making i t your minor focus, which leads to you being

able to control i t .

Esl i saw the next b low coming and reached out

with her power, se iz ing the staff with her mind. Darr

b l inked in surpr ise and struggled to pul l the st ick

back, but Es l i held on with her mind, refus ing to let

go.

You are not supposed to use your power! he yel led

in their connect ion.

She k icked out her leg, knocking him off h is feet . I

don’t care! I t ’s my best chance to survive.

“It wi l l a lso hurt you i f you can’t control i t ,” he

gasped out.

She glared at h im. “Wel l , maybe I ’m wi l l ing to

take that r isk. Especia l ly i f i t keeps me safe.”107

Winds of ChangeDarr s ighed. Nothing wi l l keep you safe, Es l in. I t

is surviva l of the fittest , and your emotions make you

weak.

He rose to his feet , rubbing h is r ight arm. Next

lesson. Learning to attack without k i l l ing.

Esl i watched as h is hands g lowed with green l ight ,

forming a l ight specter l ike Morgus had.

The specter stood st i l l in f ront of Es l i , i ts b lank

stare making her sh iver .

Now, reach out for i ts core and immobi l ize i t

without k i l l ing i t .

Esl i mental ly reached out and easi ly found the

image’s core. Suddenly , the specter rushed at her , i ts

arms stretched out as i t stra ined to get her . She

jumped aside and squeezed i ts core, demol ishing i t in

a puff of dark smoke.

I sa id without ki l l ing i t , Miss Es l in . Darr ’s voice

sounded sarcast ic in her mind, and she glanced at

h im.

He busi ly formed another specter . Try again. He

looked up at her , h is green-gray eyes bor ing into her .

Try to imagine you are tortur ing the l ight specter ,

tear ing i ts mind to p ieces. There was a strange,

f r ightening gleam in his eyes. Destroy i ts mind but

not i ts body.108

Winds of ChangeEsl i stepped up to the specter and reached out for

i ts core. As before, i t rushed at her .

She mental ly took h is core and forced her own

power into i t . The l ight specter stopped and jerked.

She cont inued pour ing energy into i t , knowing

that taking in more power than physica l ly possib le

would eventual ly destroy the rec ip ient. The l ight

image let out a s i lent shr iek and c lawed at i ts head.

I ts chest emitted a golden g low as she added more

and more energy to i t .

Suddenly , the specter fe l l l imply to the ground, i ts

chest barely moving.

Es l i stared at i t , shocked at the exultant feel ing

washing through her. She had l i tera l ly just destroyed

something’s mind, even i f i t was only a figment of the

power . She was surpr ised that the v ictory fel t so

good.

Very good, Darr owned grudgingly. But look. The

specter ’s bare torso was suddenly more sol id than the

rest of h im. Red marks covered i ts body, as i f

someone had beaten him.

Es l i stared, her exultat ion fading as she took in

the s ight . Did I do that?

Darr smirked at her stunned express ion. Yes. He

began unlac ing his tunic .109

Winds of ChangeEsl i watched h im, confused. “What in Besra’s name

are you doing?”

I ’m going to let you try to se ize my mind without

physica l ly harming me. He tossed h is sh irt as ide and

turned to her .

She took in h is muscular form with trepidation.

Just looking at h is ath let ic body cemented her

real izat ion that he could easi ly beat her in any

physica l fight.

You can stop star ing, Darr ’s thought burst into her

mind, making her b lush and look away. Now try to

destroy my core without harming me, l ike you did with

the l ight specter .

Esl i b i t her l ip . But what i f I actual ly hurt you?

He rol led his eyes. That’s the point , Es l in. A green

glow emanated from his fists . But I won’t make i t easy

for you.

Esl i barely managed to b lock h is b last as i t sped

toward her face, and she quickly sent her own at h im.

He dis integrated i t with a wave of h is hand and

formed a l ight b lade, then hur led i t at her face. She

dodged i t and reached for h is mind.

I t was heavi ly guarded, and Es l i could barely feel

h is core. She started tear ing down his wal ls , but he

110

Winds of Changefought back. Seiz ing more power, she kept pour ing i t

into h im.

His defense shi f ted, and Darr stumbled. His ba l l o f

l ight flew off to the s ide, ent i rely miss ing Es l i and

str ik ing the weapons rack.

He strengthened h is mental defense and re leased

another stream of l ight at her . She formed a shie ld

and caught the energy, then sent i t back at h im.

She summoned her g i f t and re leased i t in one

blast l ike she had done with Morgus’s l ight specters.

Her power s lammed against Darr ’s defense, crumbl ing

i t instantly .

Darr let out a strangled cry and col lapsed as Es l i

poured her energy into him.

As soon as he fe l l , Es l i cut off their connect ion and

rushed to h is s ide. “Oh, gods, are you a l l r ight?”

He groaned and sat up. “ I ’m fine.” He gestured at

h is mark-free torso and gruffly admitted, “ I suppose

you passed the test .”

Es l i ’s legs fe l t weak as she helped h im to his feet .

“ I d idn’t want to hurt you, but I lost control .” She

hes itated. “ I t was a lmost l ike my power was try ing to

get out .”

111

Winds of ChangeDarr s ighed. “ I don’t th ink you understand. The

gi f t isn’t a thing that is t ry ing to get out; i t ’s your

own magic to control and use.”

“Wel l , i t ’s not that way for me,” Es l i sa id

defens ively.

Darr huffed and p icked up h is staff. “Train ing is

over . Come back after your c lass with Morgus

tomorrow, and we’ l l work on attacking.” He set the

staff down on the weapon table, s l ipped his tunic over

his head, and sta lked out of the room, not wait ing for

Es l i to answer.

She s ighed, watching as Darr ’s immobi l ized l ight

specter s lowly faded.

“You’re k idding.” P inny stared at Es l i , her

expression shocked. “F irst Master Morgus, now Darr .

You’ve got personal lessons with both of them.”

Erra shook her head in amazement. “Unbel ievable.

Your g i f t must be great for Master Morgus to want to

help you so much.”

112

Winds of ChangeI t was evening. The gir ls were in their room after

d inner, and Esl i had just to ld them the news of her

tra in ing with Darr .

Es l i punched her p i l low and sett led in f ront of the

fire. “Wel l , i t ’s not so wonderfu l when you’re actual ly

there, being beaten up.”

“St i l l ,” P inny protested, “you’re gett ing beaten up

by Capta in Darr of the Gorrane .”

“Yeah, great .” Es l i grumbled. “ I near ly got a

concussion and a bunch of broken bones, and here my

fr iend is fawning over the man who beat me up.”

Pinny blushed and arranged her b lanket. “You

don’t have to be so touchy a l l the t ime.”

Es l i ro l led her eyes and used her g i f t to make the

fire dance with a golden hue. “ I just hope I can learn

to contro l my power soon so I can get out of my

lessons.” She glanced at the stone wal l . The golden

flame cast br i l l iant shadows against i t , reveal ing the

carven Seekers’ eye. “ I t ruly hope so.”

113

Winds of ChangeEsl i s ighed and plopped her p late on the table,

then s lumped down with her head in her hands and

groaned.

“That bad, huh?” P inny sa id sympathetica l ly .

“Don’t even ta lk about i t ,” Es l i huffed and propped

her feet up on Pinny’s chair , bumping P inny.

Pinny shoved her off and stole a s l ice of her toast .

“Wel l , i t ’s not my problem.”

Es l i ro l led her eyes and turned to Erra . “How are

you, Erra?”

Erra smi led. “ I ’m fine. I ’m sorry your c lasses have

been going so badly.”

Pinny s lurped at her soup. “Buck up, Es l i . The

tournament is only three weeks away, and then you

can beat someone up.”

Es l i s ighed again. “ I don’t want to beat anyone

up.”

“Since when do you not want to do that?” P inny

asked, amazed.

“Since my lessons with Darr .” Es l i st i r red her soup

hal f -heartedly. “Trying to torture people can change

your perspect ive a l i tt le , even i f they’re only l ight

specters .”

Pinny noticed her f r iend’s troubled expression and

quickly changed the subject . “Wel l , you’ve moved up 114

Winds of Changeso much in the past two years , you could try for a

spot on the Gorrane. Wi l l you?”

Es l i g lanced at her , confused. “You know that’s

been my plan s ince Master Morgus to ld me I should.”

Pinny flushed and gulped her water , then gagged

and spat i t out .

Amidst Erra ’s and Esl i ’s peals of laughter , P inny

choked out , “Who in Er indorr put sa l t in my water?”

Erra winked at Es l i . “Wel l , i t certain ly wasn’t Es l i ,

consider ing she just got here.”

“Erra!” Pinny yel led and shoved her s ister off her

stool then tack led her .

Es l i laughed at their ant ics, then s ighed and

stared at the Seeker s ign on the wal l . The giant eye

seemed to bore into her , reveal ing her every thought.

Es l i shuddered at the thought of Darr ’s l ight

specter s i lent ly screaming, the pain evident on i ts

face. Darr ’s words rang through her mind; Nothing

wi l l keep you safe, Es l in . I t is surviva l o f the fittest .

115

A Tournament of Willschapter n ine

A Tournament of Wi l ls

The Hal l bust led with act iv i ty as the day of the

tournament arr ived. Ett i s trode around, barking

orders to nervous students.

Es l i n ibbled on the p iece of toast Erra had forced

into her hand ear l ier , urging her to eat something.

She barely managed to swal low the dry bread.

Pinny patted her shoulder and handed her a g lass

of water , with a murmured, “ I t ’s a l l r ight , Es l i . You

got this .”

Es l i gulped the water resolutely and strode to

Morgus, who sat in h is chair on the makeshi f t

pedesta l just above the stage. She bowed quickly to

him.

“Ah, Es l in, what is i t?” he coughed out.

She kept her expression emotionless and said, “ I

wanted to thank you for your tra ining. I am sure I am

ready for th is .”

116

A Tournament of WillsMorgus wheezed in laughter , “Don’t be r id icu lous,

Es l in. Of course you’re not ready.” He s ipped on a

goblet of h is strange pot ion. “Now go get in your

p lace. We’ l l start in a few minutes.”

Es l i barely caught hersel f f rom rol l ing her eyes

and went to stand among the contenders.

Suddenly , a large l ight-dome formed over the

stage to protect the audience, and Morgus’s magnified

voice rang out in the large Hal l .

“Welcome, contestants. Seeing you a l l wait ing for

your turn on the stage a lmost makes me wish I could

be down there with you.” He cackled, “Almost.”

The bystanders a l l laughed nervously, but none of

the contenders thought i t was amusing.

Es l i g lanced around. Sweat tr ick led down her

neighbor’s face, and he shi f ted uncomfortably. A g ir l

near Es l i shut her eyes t ight ly and muttered a prayer.

“Anyway, I wish most of you the best of luck, and

the others— wel l , I ’ l l be cheer ing for your downfal l ,”

he croaked, then took a s ip of wine before cont inuing,

“Let the autumn tournament begin.”

Morgus’s b lue l ight fi l led the a ir , i l luminat ing the

anxious contestants , and a horn sounded.

As the first contenders stepped onto the stage and

waited for the s ignal , Es l i g lanced up. Standing on the 117

A Tournament of Willspedesta l next to Morgus, Ett i held the horn pompously

and beamed down at everyone.

Ett i b lew the horn again, and the compet i tors

b lasted each other.

Es l i p lopped onto the ground. I t would be a whi le

before the Gorrane and their opponents would fight.

She c losed her eyes and s ighed, lett ing her wear iness

wash over her .

A few hours later , Es l i awoke with a jerk. Someone

dug their boot into her s ide again, and she h i t out .

Anni dodged her b low and smirked down at her .

“What are you doing? You haven’t fought at a l l , and

there are only a few of the Gorrane left . You might as

wel l go s i t with the audience.”

Es l i ignored her and brushed off her vest , looking

at the stage as she did so. Two Gorrane were fac ing

off. She hadn’t rea l ized how long she had been asleep.

“Did you hear me?” Anni growled.

Es l i turned to her . “Wel l , yeah, you’re bas ical ly

yel l ing. I f you could quiet down, I ’d appreciate i t .”118

A Tournament of WillsAnni stared at Es l i , her face growing red. Just

then, Darr walked up.

“Ready, Anni?” he asked in a bored voice.

Anni g lared at Es l i . “ I ’ve been ready.” She sta lked

over to the l ine of contestants .

A cheer rang from the crowd. Es l i g lanced at the

stage. Olarr of the Gorrane had just sent his opponent

B inn fly ing into the l ight-dome, thus ending their

fight.

“Does anyone want to chal lenge Olarr of the

Gorrane?” Ett i ’s magnified voice asked the

contestants. No one responded.

“Al l r ight , then,” Ett i mumbled then announced,

“Carr of the Gorrane and Metta Terren, rank nine!”

The new contenders strode onto the stage

amongst cheers whi le waving and bowing.

Es l i observed Metta d iscreet ly . She was two ranks

higher than Es l i , but mainly because she had been at

Jazarr for more than ten years. Her muscular form was

quite forb idding, and Esl i bel ieved she had

int imidated her way through the ranks, for she

seemed to be a l l brawn and no bra ins. There could be

no way she could have passed the tests at the end of

each rank without cheat ing.

119

A Tournament of WillsCarr and Metta l ined up on e i ther s ide of the stage

and faced each other. Ett i b lasted the horn, and Carr

b locked Metta’s first b low before sent a scar let

stream of l ight at her . Metta b locked i t , but Carr ’s

next b low cut past her l ight-shie ld, causing her to

stumble.

Carr formed a kni fe of l ight and threw i t at

Metta’s face. She reached her hand out as i t whist led

past her , grabbed i t , and hur led i t back at h im.

It c lanked against h is l ight-shie ld and d issolved.

Suddenly , Carr formed two large bal ls of l ight and

directed them at Metta.

She stumbled as the first one broke her sh ie ld and

screamed as the next ba l l caught her in the arm. Her

arm erupted into cr imson flames as she staggered and

fe l l .

Carr h i t her again, and she flew through the a ir

and crashed against the l ight-dome. Screams rang out

f rom the crowd as she hurt led to the ground.

Suddenly , Metta was encased in v io let l ight . Ett i

floated off the pedesta l and landed on the stage,

gent ly lower ing Metta to the ground.

The unconscious gir l remained l imp as Ett i p icked

her up. Es l i could see blood tr ick l ing from her head,

120

A Tournament of Willsand she s ighed. Too often students received

concussions or worse dur ing the tournaments.

Ett i handed Metta off to the physic ian and then

strode back to the pedesta l . Her enhanced vo ice

inquired, “Do any contestants want to chal lenge Carr

of the Gorrane?”

The quest ion was met with s i lence. Carr bowed

deeply, a cruel smirk on his face as he waved and

k issed h is hand to the crowd.

A few scattered applauds sounded in the audience,

but most bystanders g lared at h im. He stepped off the

stage, and a few of the Gorrane congratulated him.

Judging by their exaggerated hand motions and coarse

laughter , they were mocking Metta’s performance.

Ett i ignored them and announced, “Capta in Darr

and L ieutenant Anni of the Gorrane!”

Anni swaggered onto the stage and beamed at the

cheer ing crowd, fo l lowed by Darr who merely nodded

to Master Morgus and took h is p lace.

The horn sounded and Anni immediately b lasted

Darr . The capta in formed a shie ld an instant before

the blast h i t h im, and he sent a flaming bal l of l ight at

her face.

She waved her hand, and i t d issolved. Forming an

army of l ight b lades, she flung them at Darr . He 121

A Tournament of Willssuddenly soared into the a ir , h is ent i re body flicker ing

with forest-green l ight . The blades curved around,

tracking h is movements.

Whi le in the a ir , he spun around and re leased a

b last of power that fil led the ent i re dome, knocking

Anni off her feet and destroying the b lades. As Anni

scrambled to her feet , Darr landed on top of her ,

p inning her to the ground. She struggled but to no

avai l .

Darr l i f ted h is g lowing fist and yel led, “Do you

y ie ld?”

Anni laughed hoarsely. “Gods, of course not .

C ’mon, Darr , g ive the crowd a show they’ l l

remember.” She winced as he brought h is hand c loser

to her face. “Or not .”

Only the contestants could hear Darr as he

growled, “ I have better th ings to do than torture

you.”

“Oh, fine, Your Might iness, I y ie ld,” she shouted

so Ett i could hear.

Ett i b lew her horn and shouted, “L ieutenant Anni

y ie lds .”

Some people in the crowd cheered, and others

groaned in d isappointment.

122

A Tournament of WillsDarr helped Anni to her feet and patted her

shoulder. “Sorry, Anni , you’ l l have to wait unt i l the

next tournament.”

Anni scoffed, but Ett i ’s voice drowned out her next

comment.

“Does anyone chal lenge Capta in Darr of the

Gorrane?” Ett i sounded bored as people made their

way to the exits . Everyone knew no one would dare

contest Darr .

Now, Es l in , go show them who you real ly are,

Morgus’s voice burst into Es l i ’ s mind.

She stepped forward and shouted to Ett i , “ I would

l ike to chal lenge Capta in Darr .”

Time seemed to f reeze as Es l i bounded onto the

stage.

Ett i coughed uncomfortably. “Uh, i f you’re sure …”

she tra i led off as Darr turned to Es l i . He looked

puzz led, but only for a moment.

His green eyes bore into her . “ I accept your

chal lenge, Es l in.”

Es l i fe l t P inny’s power knocking in her mind and

s ighed. Knowing that opening a connect ion with Pinny

would be the worst poss ib le thing, she ignored the

incessant knocking. She strode to her p lace and

strengthened her mind’s defenses.123

A Tournament of WillsDarr l ined up on the other s ide of the stage, and

Es l i barely had t ime to breathe a prayer to any god

who would l isten before the horn sounded.

Darr d idn’t move, though, and Esl i d idn’t want to

make the first move. She p lodded to her r ight , and he

mirrored her act ions, a lways stay ing exact ly opposite

f rom her.

Fina l ly , he formed a huge energy-bal l and hur led i t

at her face. Instead of d issolv ing i t , she caught i t

with her power and absorbed i t into hersel f .

A few audience members gasped. Most students

were probably unaware absorbing the power was

possib le.

She blasted h im with a stream of l ight . In

response, he caught her b low and formed at least ten

l ight specters. They rushed at her , their arms

outstretched.

She s ide-stepped the first specter and drove her

g lowing fist into i ts sol id f rame. Her hand sank into

i ts chest l ike i t was a feather p i l low. The appar i t ion

staggered and disappeared in a puff of b lack smoke.

Suddenly , a hand scraped down her back,

scorching her and sett ing her tunic on fire. She

ext inguished the flames with her mind and turned to

the specter who had attacked her. He charged at her , 124

A Tournament of Willsand she blasted him in the chest before he reached

her.

Eight more l ight specters p lowed toward her. She

launched hersel f into the a ir , safe ly out of reach of

their grasping fingers.

Morgus’s voice broke into her mind, and she

winced. She had forgotten they st i l l were mental ly

connected. Esl in, destroy the specters and fight Darr

one-on-one. The audience needs to see who is rea l ly

in charge.

Esl i g lanced at Darr . He stared up at her , h is

expression emotionless, lett ing h is specters do a l l the

work.

She seized a vast amount of her power and threw

i t at the l ight appar i t ions who were va inly try ing to

reach her. They instant ly vanished as the l ight

touched them, and black smoke fil led the l ight-dome.

Using the thick smoke as a cover , she floated

above Darr and formed a rope of l ight . I t snaked out,

caught Darr ’s arm, and flung h im into the a ir toward

Es l i .

Darr g l ided smoothly past her , h is ba l l of power

flying at her face. Es l i barely managed to catch i t , and

then she formed three bal ls of l ight , sending them

subsequent ly toward him.125

A Tournament of WillsDarr dodged the first , d isso lved the next , and

caught the last bal l . He formed a horde of b lades as

Anni had done and hur led them at Es l i .

She soared above them, but the l ight-blades

tracked her and streaked toward her. She demol ished

a few, but they were flying too fast for her to

retal iate.

Esl in, focus. You are here to prove who is the

greatest student in Jazarr .

Esl i near ly screamed as Morgus’s voice burst into

her mind, having again forgotten he was connected to

her mind. She quickly re-col lected her thoughts and,

hoping she kept the sarcasm out of her voice,

answered, Thank you, Master .

Master Morgus? Darr ’s start led voice added to her

connect ion, and she groaned. Of course, Darr had to

find the connect ion. Now Master Morgus’s p lan would

be ruined.

Apparent ly , Morgus had the same thoughts, for he

withdrew from her mind quickly, making i t feel as i f

he had never been in her head.

Es l i re leased another huge blast of energy that

d is integrated the flying l ight-b lades and glanced at

Darr , the both of them st i l l float ing in the a ir . He

looked horr ified as he final ly real ized he had been 126

A Tournament of Willsbetrayed. Then, h is face took on a murderous

expression, and he rushed at Es l i , h is fists g lowing

with power.

Es l i cut her power and fe l l through the a ir .

Screams rang out f rom the crowd as she plunged in a

gent le arc downward, her arms stra ight at her s ides.

As the ground loomed in her v is ion, she spun in the

a ir and fired at Darr before sett l ing gent ly on the

stage.

Darr barely avoided the blast of energy. Her next

attack scraped past h im, s ingeing his arm. He swore

loudly and floated down toward Esl i .

Fin ish this now, Es l in. Morgus’s voice sounded

bored, and Es l i fe l t a twinge of annoyance at h is

ind ifference. She wondered br iefly how he had gotten

back into her head so easi ly as she dodged a flaming

blast from Darr .

She reached inward and fe l t her power surg ing

through her, stra in ing to escape her defenses. Es l i

g lanced at Darr ’s hate-fil led face and real ized he

would give her no mercy.

Her mental shie lds sh i f ted as he poured h is g i f t at

them, and she stumbled in surpr ise before quickly

strengthening her defenses. He gasped soft ly as she

127

A Tournament of Willsreal ized the captain had formed a connect ion whi le

her shie lds were weak.

Have you grown careless , Es l in? Darr sneered in

her mind. You have so much power, yet you are too

weak to control i t .

Anger surged through her at h is taunts . I am not

weak.

But you are afra id. Afra id of your power, afra id of

the monster in you. I t controls you. Nothing anyone

can do wi l l help you.

“Shut up!” Es l i roared and fort ified her mental

sh ie lds, forc ing Darr out of her mind. She snar led as

she not iced h is defenses had not been affected by her

attack.

I t a l l comes down to exper ience. Two years is not

enough t ime to become a master . Darr smirked and

hur led a l ight ba l l at her face.

She dis integrated the blast and poured energy

onto h is shie lds whi le narrowly dodging his next

attack.

His defense trembled, and he stumbled back,

surpr ised by her sudden burst of power . She snuck

past his weak defenses and located his core, energy

radiat ing from i t .

128

A Tournament of WillsThrust ing her power at h is core, Es l i fe l t i t

t remble as the green l ight sh ining from Darr ’s hands

flickered feebly. The capta in paled as she forced more

power in him.

Suddenly a yel l burst from his throat , and he

col lapsed, h is core near ly destroyed. Es l i stepped

over to him and leaned down.

“I don’t want to k i l l you, Captain,” she hissed.

“But I most certain ly wi l l i f you don’t y ie ld.”

Darr g lared at her rebel l iously, h is l ips drawn in a

firm l ine.

“Fine,” Es l i growled and ignited her power , lett ing

i t flow through her, radiat ing off her body. She raised

her g lowing fist to h is face. “Yie ld or d ie, Darr . I t ’s

your choice.”

She set her l ight-encased hand on h is shoulder,

and the smel l of scorched c loth fil led the a ir . Darr ’s

eyes widened as the golden flames l icked h is sk in, and

he re leased a pained groan.

“Just g ive up,” Es l i advised, determined to ignore

his suffer ing. Her power creeped up h is face, and a

b i tter smel l of burnt flesh oozed from him.

A scream tore f rom his throat , and, h is ent i re body

quaking as the l ight-fire spread, he rasped, “ I y ie ld.”

“He y ie lds!” Es l i shouted to Ett i . “He’s done!”129

A Tournament of WillsEsl i cut off a l l her power, re l ief flowing through

her. She had won.

She was captain of the Gorrane.

130

Hard Knockschapter ten

Hard Knocks

The crowd stared as Es l i gazed up at them in

v ictory, shocked murmurs tr ick l ing through the

audience.

Ett i , her wide eyes expressing amazement, s lowly

made her way to the stage. Once there, she took and

l i f ted Es l i ’s arm, her magnified voice proc la iming,

“The winner … Capta in Es l in of the Gorrane!”

A few scattered cheers and whist les rang out f rom

the crowd, but most just watched in d isbel ief .

Darr heaved himsel f to h is feet, b lood ooz ing from

his s inged shoulder and face. His hatefu l g lare cut

Es l i deeply. She had hoped maybe one day she could

cal l h im a f r iend, but now she real ized i t could never

be that way.

Darr l imped off the stage, h is b lond hair st ick ing

out at odd angles as he held his head high. The other

Gorrane greeted h im, confused awe on their faces.

131

Hard KnocksJudging by Darr ’s annoyed expression, they were

pepper ing h im with quest ions.

Es l i looked up at Morgus. He gave her the barest

nod, but to Es l i i t meant everything. She had final ly

earned Master ’s respect but at a great cost .

She sta lked off the stage and out of the Hal l ,

feel ing eyes fo l lowing her retreat ing form.

Esl i stared at the crackl ing fire, lost deep in

thought. The room she shared with the other g ir ls

seemed smal l , confining. She wanted to get out of the

mountain and run without fear .

She s ighed and reposit ioned hersel f in f ront of the

comfort ing flame. Glancing up, the etched Seeker’s

eye caught and held her gaze. She shuddered, feel ing,

not for the first t ime, that someone watched her out

of the scar let -painted eye.

Suddenly , the door burst open, and P inny tr ipped

into the room, c losely fo l lowed by Erra. P inny, c lumsy

as a lways, stubbed her toe on someone’s bed and

sprawled to the floor.132

Hard KnocksEsl i jumped up and reached to help her to her

feet, but P inny scrambled up before she could. The

i rate g ir l turned on Esl i and re leased a barrage of

words Es l i had never rea l ized P inny knew.

Erra gent ly pushed P inny as ide and smi led at Es l i ,

not quite ab le to h ide her worry. “What P inny means

to say is congratulat ions .”

Es l i waited for a break in P inny’s curs ing before

stat ing, “Wel l , thank you very much, P inny.”

Pinny glared at her , tears wel l ing from her eyes.

“Es l i , you promised to te l l us th ings l ike this!” She

sniffed back a sob. “What i f you had been k i l led, and I

never got to say goodbye?”

Es l i stared at P inny, shocked by her behavior . She

turned to Erra and stopped, recogniz ing the pain in

her f r iend’s eyes.

Es l i stumbled over her words, rea l iz ing how wrong

she’d been. “ I ’m sorry. I d idn’t th ink how my act ions

would hurt you both.” She fe l t tears t ick l ing her own

eyes, and she bl inked them away, determined not to

show emotion. “You’re r ight , P inn, I d id promise, but

Master Morgus made me promise to him not to te l l

anyone about our p lan.”

133

Hard KnocksPinny sniffled and cont inued glar ing at her , her

face unyie ld ing. F inal ly , she s ighed and mumbled, “ I

forgive you.”

Erra gave a l i t t le laugh and hugged Esl i . “Of

course we forgive you.”

Es l i smi led and drew Pinny into their embrace. The

three gir ls stood there in f ront of the fire in a rare

moment of comradeship.

Fina l ly , they broke away, and P inny chuckled, “Oh,

by the way, congratulat ions on your win. You

should’ve seen Anni ’s face after you left . She looked

l ike she wanted to murder someone.”

Es l i smirked. “That someone is probably me.”

The gir ls laughed and sett led in f ront of the fire as

Es l i regaled her harrowing exper ience.

The logs in the hearth popped and crackled as the

night dragged on. None of the gir ls seemed to not ice

as the Seeker’s s ign began glowing s l ight ly , but Es l i

sh ivered at the ominous feel ing nagging at her mind.

She knew i t wasn’t going to be easy as captain.

She had made enemies, and a lot of them.

She was a wanted person now.

134

Hard Knocks

Murmurs fo l lowed Esl i as she trekked down the

hal l , heading for breakfast . She strode around a bend

and halted.

A group of the Gorrane lo i tered about the

entrance to the Hal l , obv ious ly wait ing for something.

Es l i knew she was the one they expected.

She sta lked down the hal l , her eyes fixed on the

wooden doors. Sens ing mal ic ious intent radiat ing from

behind her, she stopped with a s igh and g lanced over

her shoulder.

Carr , B inn, and Olarr fo l lowed Anni toward Es l i .

Anni strode up to her and gave a mock bow.

“How are you th is morning, Capta in?” she inquired

with a smirk that made Esl i want to hi t her .

“Fine unt i l I saw you, Miss Anni .” Es l i gave her a

wide smi le that she hoped showed her d isdain for the

one-t ime l ieutenant.

Anni ’s face twisted in a hateful expression, and

she spat, “You’ l l never be a good captain.”

Exasperated by th is b latant show of loathing, Es l i

se ized her power, and her fists g lowed as she stepped

toward Anni . “Wel l , that ’s not your decis ion to make,

Anni . So, shut up and get away from me.”135

Hard KnocksAnni stepped back, enraged, her hands trembl ing.

Es l i knew she had just crossed the l ine. Undoubtedly,

Anni was now her enemy.

She pushed past the fur ious Gorrane members and

forced the doors open with her mind. They s lammed

open, drawing almost everyone’s attent ion to Es l i .

She bi t back a curse and stomped to P inny and Erra.

Es l i p lopped into a seat and snatched a p iece of roast

venison off Erra’s p late.

Erra smi led good-naturedly. “Good morning, Es l i .”

Es l i grunted in greet ing and scarfed down the

cr isp s l ice of meat.

S lowly, the Hal l went back to normal after Es l i ’s

start l ing entry, but students st i l l g lanced at Es l i as

they passed or murmured something to their f r iends.

Es l i made her way to the food table and served

hersel f a p late. Just then, the doors burst open again,

and Ett i scurr ied through, her eyes wi ld ly searching

the crowd of students.

Es l i set her p late down and waited for Ett i to find

her, s lowly eat ing a s l ice of toast with wi ldberry jam

on i t .

Ett i t r ipped her way to Es l i and grabbed her arm.

“Come with me, Capta in.”

136

Hard KnocksEsl i stumbled after her , wonder ing why Ett i a lways

had to drag her p laces.

Ett i pushed her way past the Gorrane, who were

st i l l s i tuated in the hal lway, Darr now with them. Es l i

g lanced back over her shoulder. She hadn’t seen Darr

s ince the fight the n ight before.

His green eyes seemed to burn into her as they

tracked her progress down the hal l . She tore her gaze

away from his wounded face as a curve in the hal lway

separated them.

Ett i led Es l i up to Morgus’s room, where Es l i had

assumed they were going. She pushed open the door

and shoved Esl i ins ide.

Morgus snored in h is wheeled chair next to a smal l

table with a p i le of c lothes on i t . He jerked awake as

Es l i banged the door shut behind her.

He coughed and rasped, “Ah, Es l in. Or I suppose I

should say Captain Esl in. Congratulat ions on your

v ictory.”

The compl iment was so foreign coming from

Master Morgus that Es l i stared for a moment before

bowing and murmuring, “Thank you, Master . But i t is

a l l due to your tra in ing.”

137

Hard Knocks“Yes, of course, i t is ,” Morgus remarked,

immediately pompous again. He l i f ted the c loth ing

next to h im and handed i t to Es l i .

Confused, Es l i took the c lothes. “What is this

for?”

Morgus coughed for a few moments before

answering, “These are your new capta in’s c lothes. I

would’ve had a ceremony for you, but many of the

Gorrane are unhappy about th is change in leadership,

and I ’m afra id they might d isturb something.”

Es l i stared at the black c lothes in her hands,

not ing the scar let embroidered eye on the front of the

tunic and recal l ing Darr had been wear ing a s imple

b lack tunic . He no longer had the symbol of Master ’s

trust .

She stammered, “Thank you, Master . But i f the

Gorrane are d isrespect ing you, why do you not teach

them a lesson?”

Morgus laughed creaki ly . “Oh, Es l in, I do love your

spir i t . That is one reason I wanted to speak with you.

I need you to be my spy, someone who keeps everyone

e lse in order. This wi l l be one of your many dut ies as

capta in.”

Es l i bowed. “Thank you, Master Morgus.”

138

Hard Knocks“Now, go on, Es l in , t ry on your new outfit.”

Morgus d ismissed her with a wave of h is hand. “And

remember, you are my most trusted Gorrane now.”

She strode from the room, wonder ing what her

new responsibi l i t ies were.

Esl i hurr ied down the hal l to show Pinny and Erra

her new ensemble. She rounded a corner and sprawled

onto her face.

Scrambl ing to her feet , she spun around and saw

Anni ’s fist a second too late. Sharp, b l inding pain

speared her, and red exploded in her v is ion.

Anni tr ipped her once more and drove her fist into

Es l i ’s gut . The other Gorrane stepped forward as Es l i

wheezed and struggled to stand, but she col lapsed as

another b low struck her head. She cur led into a ba l l ,

once again a l i t t le g ir l hoping her beat ing would be

over soon.

Seconds later , a thought registered in her mind.

She was captain. She was Morgus’s most trusted

Gorrane.139

Hard KnocksEsl i reached inward mental ly and fe l t the wi ld

mass of power swir l ing ins ide her . Suddenly , an idea

formed in her mind as she remembered what happened

when she tore down other people’s defenses.

Act ing on her impulse, she dropped her mind’s

sh ie lds. No longer defended, she fe l t her attackers

surge into her mind, no doubt wanting to destroy her .

Anni ’s tr iumphant voice shouted in her head, Tear

apart her mind!

As the Gorrane reached for their g i f ts , Es l i formed

her shie lds again, forc ing her attackers out of her

mind. Screams rang out , and Esl i scrambled to her

feet as the Gorrane stumbled away from her, some of

them dropping on the floor, senseless.

She wiped b lood from her spl i t l ip and spat on

Anni . “Good day, fr iends.”

She l imped away from the moaning Gorrane, intent

on finding Pinny and Erra.

Three days later , Es l i knelt before Morgus,

updat ing h im on the events of the day.140

Hard Knocks“Good work, Capta in,” he remarked. “ I know i t ’s

been hard to get the Gorrane to respect you, but I

have a feel ing they wi l l reth ink their act ions the next

t ime they attack you.”

Es l i g inger ly fingered the jagged cut next to her

eye and muttered, “They’d better .”

Morgus c leared his throat loudly and took a s ip of

h is strange glowing pot ion. “ I t is now t ime to begin

your more ser ious tra in ing.”

Es l i stared at h im, confused. “But you’ve been

tra in ing me for more than two years now. What could

be more important than what I ’ve a l ready learned?”

Morgus cackled, “Oh, Es l in, there is a lways

something new to learn.” He beckoned to her . “Rise

now, Capta in, and we wi l l learn the secrets of the

Seekers.”

141

Truth or Lieschapter e leven

Truth or L ies

“Wait , so now Master Morgus is teaching you

something new, and you can’t te l l me?”

Es l i shoved as ide c lothes, searching in her

drawers for her c loak. “Yes, exact ly , P inny.”

“Why won’t you te l l me?” P inny sounded hurt as

Es l i groaned.

“Because Morgus commanded me not to,” Es l i

huffed and threw her comb down in f rustrat ion.

“Where’s my stupid c loak?”

Pinny l i f ted Esl i ’ s b lanket off her bed and pointed

underneath i t . “Right here.”

“Thanks,” Es l i s ighed and fastened her c loak

under her chin. Str id ing to the door, she cal led over

her shoulder, “ I ’ve got to go. See you.”

142

Truth or LiesPinny watched as the wooden door c losed behind her

f r iend.

Something strange was definite ly going on.

“Es l in, welcome.” Morgus beckoned to her . “Come

here.”

Es l i hastened to h is s ide, intr igued by a strange

baaing noise coming from behind Morgus. “What do I

learn today, Master?”

Morgus gr inned and tugged on a rope t ied to the

armrest of h is wooden chair . A smal l goat scampered

into v iew.

Es l i stared at the creature and muttered, “By the

gods, my l i fe gets stranger every day.”

Morgus ignored her comment and handed her the

rope which she took ginger ly , keeping the goat at a

fa i r d istance from her.

“We have pract iced contro l l ing l ight-specters, now

i t is t ime to exper iment on a l iv ing creature, hence

the k id,” Morgus expla ined.

143

Truth or LiesEsl i cursed in surpr ise as the baby goat re leased a

mournful maa. “Why in Er indorr does i t have to be a

goat?”

“What? Would you rather a donkey?” Morgus

snorted as he shi f ted in h is seat .

Es l i s ighed resignedly.

“Now, th is wi l l be much different than the l ight-

specters . The goat wi l l act by inst inct when you

control i t ,” Morgus coughed.

Es l i g lanced at the goat which was now gnawing

contentedly on the rope. Groaning inwardly, she

reached for i ts mind and fe l t i ts core. Al l animal cores

seemed ins ignificant compared to humans, and this

goat was no different.

She formed a connect ion with the creature and,

instead of sending a thought l ike she usual ly would,

she went deeper into i ts mind and projected a

command into i ts mind. Come to me.

The k id snorted and cont inued chewing on i ts

restra ints .

Es l i stared at i t , amazed, and tr ied again. Come

here, now.

The goat belched, the rope ly ing in tatters at i ts

feet, and nosed the stone floor.

144

Truth or Lies“Get your fi l thy rump over here, you id iot!” Es l i

ye l led, smacking her hands together.

The l i t t le goat , start led by her show of

f rustrat ion, t rotted behind Morgus’s chair . Es l i ’s

master laughed loudly as Es l i swore.

“I to ld you i ts inst incts would get in the way.”

Morgus wiped tears f rom his eyes with a shaking

hand. He composed h imsel f enough to say, “Try again,

but show no mercy. I t is only a goat .”

Es l i se ized the goat with her g i f t and dragged i t

out f rom behind Morgus’s chair . “Now behave, you

good-for-nothing animal .”

The goat baaed loudly and struggled against the

golden power encirc l ing i t . Growl ing soft ly , Es l i forced

a command into the k id’s mind. Shut up.

Abrupt ly , the goat’s annoying protests ceased,

p lunging the room into a strange s i lence. Es l i gr inned

at her v ictory and ordered the goat to rear up.

The animal , obviously confused by i ts inst incts

and the commands, ro l led i ts eyes in terror before

flai l ing i ts f ront legs into the a ir . The wi ld act ion

caused the goat to col lapse on i ts s ide, where i t lay

quiet ly , i ts body barely moving.

145

Truth or LiesEsl i forced i t to r ise with her mind. The baffled

creature scrambled up then trotted over to her , i ts

tongue lo l l ing out of i ts mouth.

Morgus’s voice coughed, “Now crush i t , Es l in.”

“But …” Es l i paused. “Sir , i t—”

“Crush i t .”

So Es l i crushed i t .

The l i t t le goat ’s core winked out l ike an

ext inguished candle, and the dead animal thumped to

the ground.

Es l i stared at i t , a fa int feel ing of remorse st i rr ing

in her heart .

“By Besra, Es l in , i t ’s only a goat .” Morgus

softened his voice. “You did wel l .”

“Thank you, s i r .” Es l i brushed away her gui l t .

Morgus suddenly g lowed with his b lue power, and

he floated through the a ir , gestur ing for Es l i to

fo l low. “Now we wi l l pract ice travel ing through

porta ls .”

Es l i hurr ied after h im, the dead goat forgotten.

146

Truth or Lies“Whoa, s low down, Es l i . I get you’re exc i ted, but

st i l l ,” P inny stated as she watched Esl i scarf down a

p iece of toast .

Es l i ignored her and shoved a handful of

wi ldberr ies into her mouth, swal lowing the mouthful

without second thought.

Today was Esl i ’s last day of capta in tra ining

before she could focus completely on becoming a

Seeker . The tra ining had taken near ly a month, but

Morgus thought she was ready to move on. Her master

had planned a specia l task for her , and then she

would be a fu l l -fledged Gorrane.

“I wonder what your task is ,” Pinny mused.

Receiv ing no answer from Esl i , she s lurped a spoonful

of soup loudly.

Erra f rowned at her d isapprovingly. “Ser ious ly,

P inny?”

Suddenly , the Hal l doors burst open, Ett i

stumbl ing through.

“Wel l , here’s your escort , Es l i .” P inny shook Esl i ’s

hand solemnly.

“Erra and P inny Fayne!” Ett i scurr ied toward

them. “Come with me.”

Pinny and Erra exchanged puzzled glances before

r is ing and making their way toward Ett i .147

Truth or Lies“Wait ,” Es l i ca l led to Ett i , “where are you taking

them? What about my task?”

Ett i avoided making d irect eye contact with Es l i .

“We wi l l send for you when i t is ready.”

She hurr ied out of the Hal l , Erra and Pinny

fo l lowing c lose behind.

Es l i watched them go. Something d idn’t feel quite

r ight about this whole ordeal .

“Es l i .”

Es l i jerked awake. Ett i ’s face wavered into v iew.

Es l i struggled up s leepi ly , scrubbing at her eyes.

“E-Ett i? What’s going on?”

Ett i dragged her out of the bed. “Your task is

about to begin.”

“What the … Ett i , i t ’s midnight!” Es l i groaned and

c lutched her bedpost, her head swimming from gett ing

up too fast .

“Yes, and your task begins in five minutes,” Ett i

h issed, weaving her way around beds ho lding s leeping

gir ls .148

Truth or LiesEsl i swore as she final ly rea l ized what that meant.

“There’s no way we can get there in t ime.”

She ignited her power and formed a porta l next to

her bed. “Come on, Ett i .”

The ta l l lady stumbled back to Es l i and hurr ied

through the r i f t , Es l i fo l lowing her.

Morgus’s door stood before them, and, as Ett i

knocked, Es l i stra ightened her b lack tunic nervously,

the loud hammering at the door r inging in her head.

The wooden door swung open, and Ett i shoved Esl i

into the dark room.

Squint ing in the d im l ight , Es l i could barely make

out Morgus’s chair . Suddenly, Morgus’s b lue energy

fil led the room, i l luminat ing the faces of a l l the

Gorrane.

Morgus floated into v iew, his form a l ight with b lue

fire, and his magnified voice rang out, “Esl in , Capta in

of the Gorrane, welcome to your final task. You have

tra ined wel l so far , never waver ing in your

ass ignments, but be forewarned, this task wi l l

demand much of your sanity.” He paused and coughed

whi le Es l i shuddered at the sudden chi l l sweeping

through the room.

His words echoed in the cavern. This task wi l l

demand much of your sanity.149

Truth or LiesEsl i scowled and g lanced at Darr . His pa le face

appeared blue in Morgus’s power. A sh iver crawled

down her spine when she saw his green eyes.

A haunted look lurked in them. An express ion of

insanity.

Morgus’s l ight stretched farther, reveal ing Anni

and Carr , both holding a hooded form.

Suddenly , Es l i knew. Her heart wrenched as her

trust in Morgus crumbled. A smal l whisper crawled out

of her throat , “No.”

Morgus boomed into the s i lent room, “ In order to

truly become capta in and to gain my complete trust ,

you must do as I say.” He nodded to Anni . “You must

k i l l those you love.”

The two Gorrane r ipped the hoods off their

captors, reveal ing P inny and Erra, both petr ified with

Morgus’s g i f t .

Everyone turned to Es l i , watching her react ion.

Hate, b i t ter and consuming, wel led ins ide her . Her

trust was broken. Morgus had betrayed her. She

shoved down the scream that rose in her throat and

forced a sto ic look on her face.

She could show no weakness for them to explo i t .

“Wi l l you, Es l in?” Morgus asked, h is voice stern.

150

Truth or LiesSuddenly , a memory rose in Es l i ’ s mind, one she

had forgotten over t ime. Her l i t t le seven-year-o ld

sel f , confident ly stat ing to Semmon as he c leaned her

b loody face: “The whole wor ld is out there, Semmon.

One day I ’m going to go bui ld a new l i fe for mysel f ,

away from th is rat -hole. Then, Werron can’t hurt me

anymore.”

Semmon had chuckled, h is bulky form shaking with

his hearty laugh. “What about me?”

“Oh, you’re coming, too. I can’t leave you

behind.” L i t t le Es l i had gr inned happi ly . “I ’ l l never

hurt someone I love.”

“Never?” Semmon had unexpectedly grown

ser ious. “I t ruly hope you find the strength to keep

that promise.”

Esl i jerked hersel f out of the memory, hardly

aware of the cool tears dr ipping off her face. So much

for maintain ing a strong façade, she thought rueful ly

as she swiped at the tears.

She glared at Morgus, her power wr i th ing as hate

and bitterness surged through her. “ I ’ l l never harm

someone I love.”

Feel ing the evi l intent radiat ing from her master ,

she readied her g i f t , knowing he would attack.

151

Truth or Lies“Wel l , then,” Morgus hissed, h is face twist ing with

loathing. “you won’t mind i f I do?”

His power swel led, l i f t ing the trapped gir ls off

their feet . They hung in the a ir , their eyes g lazed as

they barely breathed.

“This is your last chance, Es l in . I would advise you

to not do anything stupid,” he sneered.

Es l i let her energy flow out of her , sett ing her

hands aglow with a golden l ight . “Everything I do is

stupid, Morgus. Why stop now?”

She blasted h im before he could snap back, and

his body flew across the room, her power pushing h im

through the a ir .

Ett i shr ieked and formed a b lanket of l ight that

caught Morgus, just inches from the ground.

“Curse you, Ett i ,” Es l i mumbled and b lasted one of

the Gorrane who moved to attack.

Erra and P inny, both free of Morgus’s g i f t ,

thudded to the ground and lay st i l l .

Es l i barely turned in t ime to see Anni and a new

Gorrane member rushing at her . The one-t ime

l ieutenant swung her fist , but Es l i s idestepped. Anni

stumbled from the force of her missed b low.

Pale p ink l ight swir led around Es l i legs as the new

Gorrane, Batt i , t r ied to f reeze her . Es l i snorted and 152

Truth or Liesdissolved her attacker’s power. She had seen th is

young lady’s performance when she beat B inn, a

former Gorrane. I t was ent i re ly chance—and Binn’s

fault— that she had won.

Es l i b lasted the gir l in the face and heard her nose

crunch. Wincing, Es l i watched as Batt i c lutched her

face, b lood and tears tr ick l ing off her cheeks.

Four more Gorrane dashed toward her, and Esl i

fe l t her power leap, eager to get out , but she forced

i t down, knowing i t would consume her.

Suddenly , Morgus’s l ight encased Es l i and l i f ted

her into the a ir . She squirmed wi ld ly he flung her

upward.

A scream burst f rom her throat as she flai led, but

she quickly recovered and used her g i ft to s low her

descent.

Anger pulsed through her. Her g i f t , her monster ,

wel led ins ide her , urging her to drop her defenses.

She knew she couldn’t control i t .

So she re leased i t .

Her golden energy burst out of her , tear ing

through the room and destroying every shie ld.

Screams fil led the a ir as the vulnerable Gorrane

scrambled away from her.

153

Truth or LiesEsl i knew she was being consumed by the

temptat ion of her vast power. But she didn’t care.

Anger, hate, and bitterness drowned out her other

emotions, and she turned to look at P inny and Erra.

Pinny had her arm around Erra’s weak form, fear

in her eyes as she gazed at Es l i .

Suddenly , Batt i ’s g i f t again encirc led her . Es l i

swore loudly and let her power tear out of her .

Batt i screamed as the l ight consumed her,

scorching her immediately . Her white-b lond hair

shr iveled in the heat , and her sk in melted as fire

c l imbed across her body.

Bi le rose in Es l i ’s throat at the stench, and she

watched Batt i ’s charred form dis integrate into a p i le

of ash.

Carr , h is face contort ing angr i ly , s lammed her

with a scar let b last . Es l i absorbed i t and fe l t her

power grow. She seized Carr ’s mind with her g i f t and

forced a command into his head.

Carr f roze, and his hands inched toward his

throat , scratching at h is neck. His hands glowed with

his g i f t , and they r ipped into h is sk in. With in a few

moments, he col lapsed, dead, having torn his own

throat out .

154

Truth or LiesForc ing down the urge to vomit , Es l i ignored the

shr ieks around her and glanced at the cei l ing of the

cavern. Seiz ing a vast amount of her power, she

blasted i t . Rocks hurt led down as sunl ight peeked

through the opening.

Despite her ravenous gi f t stra ining in her , Es l i fe l t

peace wash over her . She hadn’t seen the sky in

years. Now, she drank in the s ight of the beaut i fu l

b lue sky laced with wispy c louds.

But her re l ief was short - l ived. A b last h i t her f rom

behind, and she absorbed i t , but suddenly three more

blows hit her .

Es l i formed a sh ie ld around hersel f and shouted,

“Pinn, get out of here!”

Pinny grabbed Erra and used her power to propel

them both out of the hole in the cei l ing. Es l i watched

them go and g lanced at Morgus.

Ett i bent over his motionless form. Es l i ’s b last

must have h i t h im harder than she thought. A b low hit

her shie ld, and she hur led a l ight-bal l at her attacker.

A scream rent the a ir , and Es l i peered out to see who

she had hit .

Anni c lutched the s ide of her face, b lood tr ick l ing

between her fingers. She snar led and launched hersel f

at Es l i .155

Truth or LiesEsl i dodged her charge and barely kept back a

curse as the other Gorrane al l rushed at her ,

determined to avenge their master . As her g i f t

wr i thed with in her , she connected with each of her

attackers’ minds before re leas ing a b last that l inked

with the Gorranes’ core, tear ing at their powers.

Her opponents stumbled back, some col lapsing

under the pressure of her g i f t , others los ing control

of their power. As the Gorrane Olarr jumped at her ,

she drove her i l luminated fist into h is chest .

I t sank deeper than she had expected, and, as he

let out a choking cry, she yanked i t out roughly. He

sagged, dead before h i tt ing the ground.

Unexpectedly, a sharp blow glanced off Es l i ’s

head, and darkness ate at the edge of her v is ion. As

her v is ion d immed, she saw Darr ’s face float ing above

her own, a crysta l v ia l in h is fist .

A hand grasped her face, and a b i tter sensat ion

fi l led her mouth.

The br ight sunl ight seeping through the cei l ing

faded, taking Es l i with i t .

156

Taken Againchapter twelve

Taken Again

White l ight fi l tered through Es l i ’s eyel ids . A

murmur of voices barely registered in her mind as

footsteps echoed c lose to her ear .

She pr ied her stuck eyel ids open and stared at

Erra’s sky-blue eyes float ing above her. Es l i groaned

and struggled to s i t up as Erra gent ly pushed her back

down.

Her body quiver ing, Es l i rasped, “What

happened?”

Erra la id a wet c loth on Es l i ’s forehead and gave

her a strained smi le . “We escaped from Master Morgus

through the hole you made in the cei l ing. Darr

knocked you over the head with Morgus’s chair and

forced ahklenn down your throat. P inny used her

power to l i f t you out , and we ran down the mountain.

I t ’s been three days s ince we escaped, and we’ve

been car ing for you ever s ince.”

157

Taken AgainEsl i knocked Erra’s hand away and sat up. Tears

pr ick led at her eyes as she hung her head. “ I k i l led

them, d idn’t I?”

Erra hes itated, obviously ponder ing what to say.

“Wel l , they were attacking you.”

Es l i let the tears flow as she sobbed, “ I d idn’t

want to … they just wouldn’t leave me alone.” She

made no effort to wipe away the teardrops and wai led,

“They were so easy to k i l l . I t fe l t l ike squishing a bug.

They were worth less in my eyes. Al l they wanted to do

was hurt us .”

She sniffled as teardrops s l id down her face. Her

voice rose to a scream, and she jumped to her feet .

The wor ld spun as her confused emotions whir led.

“ I ’m sorry , so sorry . I abused my powers. I put you

and P inny in danger.”

Erra put her arm around her and murmured, “ I t

isn’t your fault , Es l i .”

Es l i shoved Erra away and shr ieked, “Yes, i t is! I

k i l led them, and I might hurt you even i f i t is an

acc ident!”

She turned and spr inted bl ind ly through the trees.

“Es l i , come back!” Erra cr ied, scrambl ing after

her .

158

Taken AgainEsl i dashed onward, not looking back, with tears

streaming down her face. She tr ipped and s lammed

onto the ground. Crumpl ing into a miserable heap, she

wai led, feel ing her g i f t pushing against her , s tr iv ing

to get out .

She didn’t care anymore. She dropped her

defenses and screamed as her power surged out of

her . She lay on the ground, paralyzed by the shocking

amount of energy. An explosion shook the earth, the

reverberat ions quaking through the forest . As the

echoes faded, Es l i scrambled to her feet , fl icker ing

with golden l ight .

She stood in a c lear ing, demol ished trees

scattered about her , stumps poking out of the ground.

Wiping away tears with trembl ing fingers, she stared

at her other hand. L ight danced across i t , leaping

l ight ly l ike heat less flames.

Glancing around again, she suddenly rea l ized she

had knocked down the trees with her power. B i le rose

in her throat as she gazed upon the wreck, the fa l len

trees reveal ing more ru in she had brought upon

something.

Tears again gushed from her eyes as she stumbled

down the mountainside.

159

Taken Again

Water splashed Esl i , and she flinched at the

shocking coolness.

She had been stumbl ing down the mountain for

c lose to three hours, her mind utter ly devoid of any

thoughts but to run. Regarding the cold stream

swir l ing past her feet , she s ighed, not car ing in the

s l ightest that she was completely lost .

A branch crackled behind Esl i , and she spun

around, us ing her power to search for the cause of the

no ise. As a fa int mood of cur ious desire pr ick led her

nerves, she fo l lowed the feel ing with her mind.

Es l i stared up at the treetops, golden sunl ight

fi l ter ing through them, and momentar i ly forgot the

strange emotion around her.

Suddenly , a wi ld cry rang out , and Esl i was

abruptly encased in nets. She yelped as a wooden c lub

swung toward her face.

Cr imson exploded in her v is ion, and pain tore

through her as everything went dark.

160

Taken Again

Esl i moaned and struggled to touch her throbbing

forehead, but her arms wouldn’t respond. Wrenching

her eyes open, she stared at her arms in panic .

Thick, scratchy ropes bound her to a tree trunk, so

t ight she could barely move her hands. She released a

torrent of curses, hardly bel ieving how many

unfortunate events had passed s ince she ran away

from Erra.

“Es l i?” someone whispered.

Es l i jerked her head to the s ide and stared at the

tree next to her .

Pinny and Erra sat s ide-by-s ide, bound with the

same th ick ropes holding Esl i . P inny had a cut l ip , and

dirt was smeared across Erra ’s forehead.

“What in Er indorr are you doing here?” Es l i

gasped.

“Shh!” Pinny h issed. “We were captured by a

crowd of people in masks a few hours ago and brought

here.”

Es l i la id her head against her tree and stared at

the quiver ing leaves above her. How had i t happened

that they had a l l been captured?161

Taken Again“Gods, I hate th is day,” she growled and reached

for her g i f t . To her utter shock, she encountered a

foggy mass of nothing.

Her shock must have shown, for P inny remarked,

“Our captors forced ahklenn tonic down your throat

whi le you were unconscious.”

Es l i sensed a shr iek burning ins ide her . She hated

feel ing so powerless , knowing she was no longer in

control .

She forced down the scream and took in her

surroundings for the first t ime s ince gaining

consc iousness.

The gir ls were s i tuated on the edge of a c lear ing.

C loth tents encirc led a roar ing fire, and people

chanted around the blaze. As P inny had ment ioned,

their captors wore strange wooden masks shaped l ike

animal faces.

A shirt less man with a carven hawk’s face cover ing

his own strode onto a makeshi f t podium and l i f ted his

arms above the masked congregat ion. A strange

language poured from his mouth, and the people’s

chants grew louder.

Suddenly , the fire roared and exploded, flames

l ick ing at the tops of the trees. The masked people

fe l l down on their faces, incantat ions ro l l ing off their 162

Taken Againtongues as the man on the stage bowed before the

fire, h is vo ice r is ing to a scream.

The capt ive gir ls watched the strange performance

in awe.

“Now that ’s something you don’t see every day,”

Pinny whispered, sweat tr ick l ing down her face at the

heat of the fire.

Es l i turned to the gir ls . “We need to get out of

here. I can’t use my gi f t , but i f P inny can get these

ropes off, maybe you, Erra , could guard us.”

Erra nodded, her eyes wide. “But you know how

us ing the power to harm people weakens me.”

“Yeah, so we’ l l have to work fast ,” Es l i muttered

and took charge. “Pinny, get these ropes off us.”

Pinny gr inned. “ I ’ve a lways wanted to have an

adventure l ike th is .” Her hands g lowed and the ropes

wr i thed.

“Hurry!” Es l i barked, watching as their masked

captors rose indiv idual ly . Three men sta lked toward

the gir ls .

The bindings fe l l away, and Esl i scrambled to her

feet, grabbing Erra’s arm and pushing P inny behind

the tree.

163

Taken AgainThen the three masked men spotted them. One

emitted a howl ing shr iek whi le the other two charged

the gir ls .

Erra stepped away from Es l i , her hands flicker ing

with coral l ight . She stared at the men, and they

crumpled with strangled cr ies.

Es l i barely caught her f r iend as she col lapsed.

S l ing ing Erra’s insens ible form over her shoulder, she

caught Pinny’s e lbow and yanked her away from the

camp.

“C’mon, P inn!” she shouted over the growing

c lamor behind them.

One of their pursuers howled and shot a bolt of

energy at them, h is companions cheer ing loudly.

Es l i cursed and ducked as the b last h i t a tree

which s lammed into the ground, b lue flames l ick ing at

i ts bark. Of course, their strange attackers had the

gi f t .

She shouted at Pinny, “Take him out!”

Whooping, the ecstat ic g i r l shot a b last at the

man. I t caught h im in the chest and s lung him

backward.

“Direct h i t !” Pinny cheered.

“Shut up,” Es l i h issed and jerked her behind a

tree as another b last hurt led toward them. 164

Taken AgainI t struck the ground near them, the explosion

knocking them both off their feet .

Es l i scrambled to her feet, grabbed Erra’s l imp

hand, and hauled her forward, P inny stumbl ing behind

her.

Suddenly , the mountains ide s loped downward, and

Es l i s l id a few paces before catching hersel f . P inny,

not not ic ing her abrupt stop, smacked into her ,

throwing them both forward.

The gir ls tumbled, screaming, down the muddy

inc l ine, rocks and dirt knock ing loose and thudding

into them. The inc l ine grew steeper as they

descended.

Es l i barely managed to catch ho ld of a boulder as

Pinny shot past her , her arms flai l ing as she shr ieked.

“Pinn!” Es l i ye l led and g lanced back. A crowd of

the masked people were c los ing in on them, whooping

and swinging wooden c lubs.

Es l i spotted a g l impse of white in between her and

their pursuers. Erra!

Clawing at the s l ick boulder, Es l i hauled hersel f to

her feet and stumbled forward, s l ipping every few

steps. Her f r iend struggled weakly, her leather vest

caught on a low-hanging tree branch.

165

Taken AgainEsl i tr ipped again, but she managed to grasp

Erra’s arm as she fe l l . The vest tore with a loud

r ipping sound, and the g ir ls s l id a few paces down the

inc l ine.

Es l i staggered to her feet and shouted, “Erra,

fo l low me!”

Erra stumbled after her ha l f -b l ind ly. Es l i r isked a

g lance backward. Their attackers were gain ing quickly

as the gir ls ran down the steep s lope.

A bubbl ing stream broke the inc l ine. Es l i leapt

into gurg l ing water and waded against the strong

current toward Pinny who stood on the opposite bank,

her hand outstretched for Es l i to grab.

Suddenly , br ight yel low l ight encirc led P inny, and

she froze, her eyes glaz ing over.

“Pinny!” Es l i screamed and struggled out of the

water , P inny standing r ig id ly mere feet away from

her. Es l i g lanced back at Erra . The s ick ly- looking gir l

was fight ing weakly against the roar ing current .

Es l i gasped as a ta l l man stepped out of the

bushes, the lower hal f of h is face covered with forest

green c loth. His dark brown eyes bore into her as

Pinny floated toward h im, her immobi l ized form

yie ld ing eas i ly to h is power.

166

Taken AgainEsl i watched her helpless f r iend, torn between her

and Erra, desperately wishing she could use her g i f t .

Then three more men stepped from the

undergrowth, one grabbing Esl i ’s arm as the others

waded toward Erra. Es l i struggled useless ly against

her captor ’s strong gr ip.

The man grasping her twisted her wr ist behind her

back, causing her to swear loudly as he shoved her at

Pinny.

Meanwhi le , the power ho lding Pinny d isappeared,

dropping the gir l onto the hard ground. She wheezed

and cur led into a bal l as Es l i crawled toward her.

Suddenly , the man with the yel low energy yanked

her to her feet roughly and stared into her eyes. His

voice sounded muffled as he demanded, “Who are

you?”

Es l i g lared at h im, determined not to answer. She

turned to Erra and watched as her captors dragged

her out of the water and released her next to P inny.

Es l i studied Erra’s pa le face worr ied ly, but the

pasty g ir l gave her a wan smi le . Definite ly not very

reassur ing.

The man hold ing Esl i jerked her over to the other

g ir ls and dropped her.

“Tel l me who you are,” he ordered.167

Taken AgainEsl i opened her mouth to speak, but Erra beat her

to i t .

“My name is Erra, and these are my s isters, P inny

and Esl in .” She held a hand to her wet forehead

weakly.

The man turned to Es l i . “This one doesn’t seem to

be re lated to you, Miss.”

Es l i g lared at h im as Erra stammered, “Uh, she’s

our ha l f -s ister .”

“Where are you from?” he inquired, skept ic ism

obvious on h is face.

Es l i spoke up, “Amborr ly , by the Sun Mountains .”

The man looked at h is comrades. They stepped

forward and seized the gir ls .

“Come with us,” the brown-eyed man instructed.

“Who are you?” Esl i ca l led after h im.

He scrut inized her before answering, “Tarran,

capta in of the King’s guard.”

Es l i stumbled. “Capta in of the k ing? Which k ing?”

Tarran bl inked. “King Arren.”

“But he’s dead,” Es l i protested.

His face contort ing into a strange gr imace, Tarran

turned away. “Fol low me.”

168

Taken AgainThe other three men herded the gir ls after the

capta in, their c loth masks conceal ing any emotion

they might have shown.

The gir ls marched for near ly an hour, and Es l i

grew worr ied as she watched Erra’s face pale with

every step. F inal ly , she turned to Tarran.

“Excuse me, but my fr iend is i l l . Could we rest?”

Es l i asked, her voice laced with accusat ion.

Tarran halted and looked back, a strange smi le

lurk ing on h is l ips. “We’re near ly there.”

Es l i opened her mouth to ask where “there” was

when the capta in and h is men stopped in a c lear ing.

Stone br icks and pi l lars lay scattered, their weather -

beaten s ides reveal ing age.

Tarran emitted a low whist le , and two other

warbles answered him. Four men stepped out of the

undergrowth and forced c loth hoods over the gir ls ’

eyes.

Es l i d idn’t res ist , knowing i t would be useless. She

could hear Pinny mumbl ing threats as the men led

them forward.

After what seemed l ike eternity, someone removed

the hoods, leaving the gir ls b l ink ing in the br ight

sunshine.

169

Taken AgainEsl i ’s jaw dropped as she observed her

surroundings. They stood on a paved stone street ,

people thronging past shops and low bui ld ings.

A horse c lattered down the road, i ts hoofs beat ing

against the stones. People hurr ied out of the way,

some waving to the man mounted on the horse.

Es l i stared. Everything about th is bust l ing town

was so different f rom Amborr ly . I t seemed as i f

everyone were completely happy, and the joyfu lness

appeared to be contagious.

Tarran swept out h is hand and gestured to the

busy v i l lage. “Welcome to Ebronn, town of the

Arronome.” He strode down the street , h is men and

the gir ls fo l lowing.

Es l i gaped as a vast cast le came into v iew. I ts

br i l l iant stonework showed incredible ta lent . An

immense moat encirc led an int imidat ing stone wal l ,

and the cast le ’s drawbridge hung open.

As they crossed the drawbridge, Es l i noted the

murky water in the moat and wondered what wi ld

creatures dwelt in the c loudy depths.

A loud rapping drew her attent ion to Tarran. He

stood in f ront of a smal l gatehouse, knocking against

the wooden door.

170

Taken AgainA bleary- looking gatekeeper appeared, h is brown

cap t i l ted to the s ide. “Who’s i t?” Then he not iced

Tarran and stra ightened. “Oh, Capta in, go on in .”

Tarran gr inned at h im as he passed. “Thanks,

Wi l ls .”

Wi l ls gave h im a s loppy salute and shut the door.

Tarran led the way through the gate, and Esl i

could barely keep her jaw shut as she goggled at the

busy l i fe with in the cast le ’s wal ls .

A large courtyard was fil led with rough sold iers in

d ingy leather armor sparr ing with wooden swords.

Peals of laughter fi l led the a ir as smal l chi ldren

tossed a c loth bal l into the a ir . A maidservant

scurr ied past the captain and curts ied before hurry ing

on.

Es l i saw the form of a hunched man in a dark c loak

s i lhouett ing the entrance of the cast le. Her nerves

t ing led as a strange feel ing of fami l iar i ty h i t her .

She strode over, d isregarding the cur ious stares

f rom onlookers. The man extended a wooden cane as

she drew near, h is s louched frame informing her of

h is o ld age.

She halted in f ront of h im and stared into h is

e lectr ic b lue eyes s l ight ly h idden by h is large hood,

171

Taken Againand a rush of nausea overwhelmed her as she rasped,

“ I know you.”

The man straightened and tugged off h is hood, h is

pecul iar eyes holding her gaze. “So, you’ve final ly

arr ived, Great One.”

172

Questions and No Answerschapter thir teen

Quest ions and No Answers

Esl i scrut in ized the lav ish throne before her ,

ignor ing the bead of sweat inching down her face.

Pinny shi f ted next to her and grunted.

The gir ls had been wait ing for hal f an hour. After

Es l i ’s strange meet ing with the o ld man, Tarran had

escorted them to a vast room with rows of wooden

benches. He had to ld them to wait and sta lked out the

door, leaving two men to guard them.

Es l i heaved a s igh and adjusted her posit ion. The

wooden seats weren’t exact ly soft . She turned to Erra.

The weak gir l was st i l l pa le, and she swayed

s l ight ly on her bench.

“Hold on, Erra,” Es l i muttered and stood, intent

on finding something to help re l ieve her f r iend’s

d iscomfort .

The door thudded open, and Es l i cursed in

surpr ise.

“Ooh, foul language. How excit ing.” The speaker

strode into v iew.173

Questions and No AnswersI t was a young man, dressed in a dark red velvet

doublet , h is puffy white tunic s leeves poking out of

the extravagant jerk in. A th in c i rc let of gold crowned

his chin- length flaxen hair , and h is br i l l iant b lue eyes

shone in exc i tement.

Overa l l , Es l i was not very impressed with the

energetic young man, at least not unt i l Tarran

announced, “Al l hai l Pr ince Jarren of Er indorr .”

Everyone present, which inc luded P inny and Erra,

the two guards, Tarran, and a thin, fidgety man,

bowed. Es l i just gaped, not bel ieving this … th is boy

could real ly be royalty.

And i f i t was true, that meant the rumors were

true. One of the royal fami ly had survived, which

meant the boy before Es l i was the r ightfu l k ing to a l l

Er indorr .

She glanced at Tarran, not ic ing the reproachful

f rown on h is face. Real iz ing she hadn’t bowed, she

quickly stooped to do so, but the pr ince interrupted

her gesture.

“Al l r ight , enough with useless decorum, let ’s get

down to business.” He cracked his knuckles and

gr inned. “First quest ion, who are you? Next , wh—”

“Are we on tr ia l?” P inny broke in .

174

Questions and No AnswersPrince Jarren turned and frowned at the men

standing awkwardly before h im. “Ser ious ly? You

captured three g ir ls and didn’t te l l them why?”

Tarran ro l led h is eyes and motioned to the throne

at the front of the room. “Your

Highness, s i t down.”

Jarren scowled at Tarran. “Who makes the orders ,

Capta in, you or me?” He strode up to the throne and

plopped down, instant ly seeming uncomfortable.

The ta l l , extremely th in man deposited a book

onto a desk near the pr ince’s throne and twitched h is

spectac les off h is nose, ignor ing the threatening glare

Jarren shot him. Posit ioning an inkwel l onto the

wooden tabletop, he dipped a feather pen into the

dark l iquid and scr ibbled on a p iece of parchment.

Tarran dropped onto one of the wooden benches

and propped h is feet up, utter ly nonchalant . He

gr inned at the pr ince and wiggled h is eyebrows.

Suddenly , Es l i rea l ized what was d ifferent about

the men. They al l seemed completely comfortable with

each other. A strong feel ing of comradeship

permeated the a ir , and even Jarren’s sour look

appeared to be fake. They obviously were a l l c losely-

knit , especia l ly Tarran and the pr ince.

175

Questions and No AnswersSomething c lacked against the stone floor in the

doorway, and the o ld man who had cal led Es l i the

Great One strode into the room, wie ld ing his wooden

cane. Es l i st iffened and watched h im discreet ly .

The men present stood and bowed deeply to h im.

Apparent ly , he was of h igh standing.

He hobbled up to Jarren and placed a hand on h is

shoulder before turning to the gir ls and nodding.

“Whoa,” P inny whispered. “He’s got weird eyes.”

“Shut i t ,” Es l i h issed and directed her attent ion to

the man.

The thin man with the feather pen squeaked,

“Present ing High Prophet Berr in , esteemed pr iest of

the God.”

The prophet ra ised h is staff. “Let the tr ia l

commence.”

“Final ly ,” Jarren muttered. “Blazes, man, you took

long enough.”

The fidgety man c leared h is throat and shot the

pr ince a warning look.

“Oh, fine, Tobbs,” Jarren growled. He sat up and

smoothed h is doublet . “Welcome, esteemed prophet.

May we please cont inue?”

The prophet retained a sto ic expression. “Of

course, Your Highness.” He turned to the g ir ls , not 176

Questions and No Answersmaking direct eye contact with Es l i . “What are your

names?”

“Es l in, Erra , and Pinny. Oh, and Es l in’s not their

s ister ,” Tarran stated, po int ing to each g ir l in turn.

“Thank you, Capta in,” the prophet responded,

heedless of the interruption.

With a g lare that could melt metal , Tobbs uttered

a l i t t le “ahem” before mot ioning for Berr in to

cont inue.

Tarran gr inned and leaned back as the prophet

asked, “Where are you from?”

Pinny spoke up, “Erra and I l ived in Jazarr for

most of our l ives.”

Everyone stared at her .

“ Jazarr?” Tobbs rasped. “ In the Eastern

Mountains?”

Berr in beat P inny to answering. “Yes, Master

Tobbs.” He looked at Es l i , h is penetrat ing gaze

sending shudders down her spine. “What about you,

Miss Es l in?”

Es l i g lared at h im and shook off the odd feel ing. “ I

th ink you know, Prophet.”

Tarran huffed. “Why does she keep act ing l ike she

knows you, Prophet Berr in?”

177

Questions and No AnswersBerr in murmured, “ I t is not the t ime for that

answer.”

Tarran sett led back, content with the response. He

ruffled his l ight brown hair , creat ing a windswept

appearance, and stared at Es l i , a smal l smirk lurk ing

on h is l ips . “Wel l , Miss Es l in, what about you? The

prophet might know where you l ive, but the rest of us

do not .”

“I to ld the truth ear l ier , Captain,” she sneered. “ I

real ly am from Amborr ly .”

Tarran snorted sarcast ical ly . “So, you’re angry

because I don’t t rust you? You don’t trust me, and I ’m

just returning the favor.”

Es l i turned her back on h im. “ I don’t want your

trust .”

“That’s enough,” the prophet’s voice sternly

repr imanded them.

Tarran ran h is fingers through his hair once again

and nodded to Berr in , an abashed express ion on h is

face. Es l i huffed and s lumped in her seat , completely

done with everything.

Berr in c leared h is throat and smi led at the gir ls .

“You are probably wonder ing why we brought you

here. Wel l , to put i t p la in ly , we know you have the

gi f t .” He turned to Es l i . “Even though your power is 178

Questions and No Answershampered by the ahklenn tonic , i t is easy to see you

hold much of i t .”

Es l i mental ly swore. “So, you want to abuse my

gi f t a lso?”

The room fe l l s i lent , and a l l eyes turned to Es l i .

His expression confused, Jarren, before Tobbs and

Berr in could stop h im, demanded, “What in b lazes do

you mean?”

Es l i opened her mouth to snap at the pr ince’s

insolence but stopped and hissed as pain flared in her

head. Her v is ion glowed red whi le screams rang in her

ears . She whimpered, helpless, her mind replaying

that awful day. Batt i , screaming, her b lond hair

cur l ing about her face as she shr iveled to a cr isp;

Anni , b lood flowing down her face, her l ips bared in a

snar l ; Carr c lawing his out throat as Es l i commanded

his mind.

With a shr iek, Es l i pul led hersel f out of the

horr ific memory and dry-heaved. Pinny’s f r ightened

face swam in and out of v iew, and a rabble of voices

echoed in Es l i ’s mind.

“Is she al l r ight?” Erra’s f rantic vo ice gasped.

Es l i shoved Pinny away and staggered to her feet ,

tears tr ick l ing down her cheeks.

179

Questions and No AnswersSomething wavered in her v iew. Berr in . He stood

before her , compassion on h is face.

“Es l in, you can be forgiven,” h is serene voice

resonated through her mind.

Es l i screamed, the terr ib le v is ion st i l l fl icker ing in

her memory. Grasping at her power, she sobbed at the

confused muddle of her emotions and the hindered

energy.

She thrusted P inny and Erra away, intent on

running. Stumbl ing to the door, she g lanced back.

His face grave, the prophet stated, “Running from

your pain wi l l on ly hurt worse, Es l in. I t cannot help

you.”

“Don’t cal l me that!” Es l i shouted and scrambled

through the door, tears swimming in her eyes.

“Es l i !” Erra ’s voice faded as the weeping gir l

spr inted down a hal l of br ight , cheerful tapestr ies.

When Esl i stumbled past a wooden door, she

barely not iced what she was doing as she shoved i t

open and hurr ied through.

Dazz l ing sunl ight b l inded her, and she staggered

back before reco l lect ing her wits . She stood in vast

garden, beaut i ful flowers beckoning to her .

She gent ly touched one of the colorfu l p lants and

smi led through her tears at the s imple beauty of i ts 180

Questions and No Answerspurple petals . Looking up, she let the sun’s rays soak

into her face, dry ing her tears quickly.

She dropped on a l l fours and crawled off the dir t

path under the flower bushes, their branches and

green leaves h id ing her f rom anyone’s pry ing v iew.

Looking around her l i t t le h id ing place, Es l i

observed the trampled branches and wondered i f they

had been purposely pushed down. A gent le breeze

whispered through the garden, washing al l quest ions

f rom her mind.

She cur led into a bal l , emotional ly drained. Her

eyel ids drooped, and her l ight breathing deepened as

the warm l ight seeped into her sk in.

Something rust led next to her , and she jerked out

of the warm c loud of s leep.

The br ight sunl ight was now golden, and she

real ized she had been s leeping for quite some t ime.

She turned as the leaves trembled again.

181

Questions and No AnswersTarran’s l ight ly tanned face poked through the

branches, and Esl i re leased a start led shr iek and

shoved h im.

“Blazes!” the young capta in exc la imed as he

scrambled to his feet and brushed dirt off h is c loak. “ I

was only checking to see i f i t was you. We’ve been

looking for you for hours.”

Es l i d idn’t move from her hid ing p lace. “Sorry.”

Tarran caut iously stuck h is head back through the

leaves. Es l i couldn’t help but sn icker at h is awkward

pos it ion, and she patted the ground next to her .

“Come s i t .”

He laughed and scrambled into the confined place.

Es l i tucked her feet in , try ing to avoid touching h im

as he reposit ioned h imsel f .

“ I guess you found my famous h ideout,” he

remarked as he plucked a f resh green leaf off h is

c loak.

“Your h ideout?” Es l i wr inkled her nose at the

thought of the grown man crawl ing under the bushes.

Tarran chuckled again as he caught s ight of her

face. “Yeah, I found i t when I was n ine, and i t ’s been

mine ever s ince.”

“Wel l , in that case, I ’ l l leave,” Es l i pushed as ide

the branches to scramble out .182

Questions and No Answers“If you say so. I haven’t been here for c lose to two

years, though, so I don’t know i f i t s t i l l counts as

mine.” He leaned back and tucked h is arms behind h is

head, gazing up through the swaying leaves.

Es l i stopped and turned to him. “How old are

you?”

The capta in gr inned. “Twenty-two.”

“You hid here when you were twenty?” Es l i

smirked at the thought.

“Hey, don’t judge. You’re here, aren’t you? You

can’t be too much younger than me.” He tous led his

ha ir again and stuck a grass b lade into h is mouth. Es l i

ro l led her eyes. She was gett ing rather i r r i tated with

his indifferent personal i ty .

She huffed and sett led in her former posit ion,

forc ing Tarran to s l ide backwards. Reaching back to

snap off an annoying branch, she wondered aloud,

“Were Erra and P inny worr ied about me?”

Tarran chuckled. “L ike b lazes they were. Tobbs,

Berr in, and I a l l left Jarren with them to go find you.

The last th ing I heard was your f r iend, P inny, yel l ing

at h im.” He snickered. “ Jarren’s face was pr ice less.

He looked l ike he was in a cage with wi ld animals.”

183

Questions and No AnswersEsl i couldn’t help but gr in at the thought of an

i rate P inny rant ing at the Crown Pr ince of Er indorr .

“Pinny’s l ike that .”

Tarran shoved aside branches and peered out at

the path. “ I suppose we’d better inform everyone that

you’re safe.”

Es l i crawled out of the undergrowth, fo l lowed by

Tarran. She stood and brushed off her tunic .

Tarran turned to her and smirked. “ I l ike your

ha ir .”

She reached up and fe l t her fuzzy head. Twigs and

leaves c lung to her hair . With a chuckle, she yanked

on a part icu lar ly stubborn st ick and gr i t ted her teeth

at the st inging pain.

“Let me help you.” Tarran gent ly untangled the

intrusive branches from her ha ir .

Es l i b i t her l ip as she sensed h is fingers

separat ing her ha ir . She didn’t l ike th is . The feel ing

of someone being so c lose reminded her of Darr , and

the thought of Darr a lways brought painfu l memories.

“There.” Tarran stepped back to v iew his

handiwork. “Much better .”

“Thanks,” Es l i muttered and headed for the

garden entrance.

184

Questions and No Answers“Where are you going?” The capta in ca l led after

her . “We need to go that way.” He pointed in the

opposite d irect ion.

Es l i s ighed and changed courses.

A crash and a br ief shr iek shattered the st i l l a i r ,

and loud curs ing sounded from the garden entrance.

Pinny appeared, a broken c lay flowerpot in her

hand, her face flushed and her eyes angry. Spott ing

Es l i , she yelped and spr inted to her , d iscarding the

cracked pot .

“Es l i ! Oh gods, g i r l , p lease don’t run off l ike that

ever again,” she yel led in Es l i ’s face.

Es l i winced as sp itt le flew from Pinny’s mouth,

coat ing Esl i ’s cheek. She s ighed and patted her i rate

f r iend on the shoulder, us ing her other hand to scrub

the sa l iva off. “Thanks, Pinny. Now, let ’s go back to

the cast le .”

Pinny gave the capta in a searching glare. “For

Besra’s sake, what is he doing here? I had a hard-

enough t ime gett ing away from the other one.”

Es l i swal lowed a laugh and g lanced at Tarran. His

eyes were twinkl ing, but h is face remained impass ive.

When Pinny got no answer, she cont inued as i f

nothing had happened. Grabbing Esl i ’s arm, she

yanked her down the path. “We need to go find that 185

Questions and No Answersprophet and the pr ince. They sa id they had lodging

for us .”

“What?” Es l i looked at Tarran. “Why are we

staying here?”

Tarran shrugged. “ I expect the God has to ld

Prophet Berr in to keep you here. Often, the God wants

us to do something, and He’ l l explain i t later .”

“Does Berr in rule you? And why do you say the

God? Are you Wayfol lowers?” Es l i asked, confused.

Tarran stared at her , h is brown eyes wide. “No,

Berr in is a messenger for us. The God uses h im to

expla in His p lans.” He paused br iefly and lowered h is

voice. “And yes, I am a Wayfol lower. We bel ieve there

is only one god, the God.” With a smi le, the capta in

strode

toward the garden entrance. “Come, we

mustn’t keep the esteemed prophet wait ing.”

Pinny and Esl i hurr ied after h im, each lost in their

own confused thoughts.

186

New Familychapter fourteen

New Fami ly

Golden sunshine filtered through th ick mahogany

curta ins, l ight ly rest ing on Esl i ’s s leeping form.

An explos ion of shatter ing glass jo l ted Esl i awake,

and she jerked upr ight, st i l l ha l f -as leep.

She stumbled out of bed, scrubbing s leep from her

eyes, and b it back a surpr ised curse as someone’s

voice yel led from outs ide her door.

“Essi , wake up. Mamma’s going crazy ‘cause

Pinny’s try ing to help in the k i tchen again.”

Es l i opened the door and smi led at the speaker. I t

was a l i t t le boy, h is auburn hair st ick ing in every

d irect ion, h ighl ight ing his deep green eyes. His

wr inkled shirtta i ls hung in f ront of h is trousers again,

and Esl i s ighed. This was the th ird morning he had put

on h is tunic wrong.

“Rayyon, I thought I taught you how to put your

tunic on.” She spun h im around and unbuttoned the

piece of c lothing.187

New FamilyLitt le Rayyon squirmed and whined, “Your hands

are cold, Ess i !”

“Oh, come now, they can’t be that bad,” she

chuckled at the dark scowl on h is face as she

stra ightened h is now-fixed tunic and patted his

shoulder. “Al l better .”

Gr inning, Rayyon tackled her , ignor ing her loud

protests , but he was soon pinned under her strong

grasp.

“Poor l i tt le Rayyon, bested by a g ir l yet again,”

she teased and t ick led h im.

His loud squeals fil led the a ir as they ro l led over ,

h is smal l f rame now on top of her .

“ I got you now, Ess i !” he cheered and pounded h is

fist on her chest .

“Rayyon!”

The wrest lers both looked up gui l t i ly at the young

lady standing in the doorway. Her long chestnut ha ir

flowed over her shoulders, f raming her round face.

Freck les spi l led over her nose and onto her cheeks,

accent ing her hazel -brown eyes. A smal l f rown twisted

her fu l l l ips, and her furrowed brow expressed her

d isp leasure. At n ineteen years o ld , Rayyon’s s ister

Gwynndolen was a str ict and aloof g i r l , at least with

Es l i .188

New FamilyAs Rayyon sulk i ly made h is way to the gir l , Es l i

ventured, “ I t wasn’t a problem, Gwynn. We were just

having some fun.”

Gwynn c lutched Rayyon’s hand. “Nevertheless,

Es l in, Mamma told Rayyon to behave around you

lad ies , for you are our guests .”

Es l i ran her fingers through her tangled raven hair

and watched Gwynn lead a struggl ing Rayyon out the

door. She s ighed and strode to the washbasin.

Two weeks ago, the gir ls had moved into the

Trenon’s home. Seven-year-o ld Rayyon Trenon had

taken an instant l ik ing to Es l i , though she wasn’t sure

why. She knew that of three gir ls , she was the

moodiest and least appreciat ive of anything, but the

l i t t le boy didn’t seem to care.

Al lon Trenon was a b lacksmith, wel l -known

throughout Ebronn. He and h is wi fe, Remma, had

three chi ldren: Gwynn, Imma, and Rayyon.

They had offered to g ive the Faynes and Esl i

lodging, something the prophet Berr in had been

adamant about. When Es l i had tr ied to ask h im why

they had to stay in Ebronn, he had said something

about answers coming in the God’s t ime.

189

New FamilyLacing up the bodice of her dress , Es l i wondered

why everything that had happened to her and the

Faynes had been so confus ing s ince they left Jazarr .

Her door burst open, and Esl i whir led around.

Twelve-year -o ld Imma skipped into the room, her

bra ided pigta i ls bouncing behind her.

“Es l i , breakfast is served!” she ca l led exc i tedly

and plopped onto Es l i ’ s bed.

Es l i exhaled heavi ly . “Thanks, Imma.”

Imma gr inned and led the way to the warm

kitchen, chatter ing loudly the whole way.

Remma was sweeping up shards of pottery as Es l i

walked up. “Oh, Es l in , dear, there is some toast

wait ing over by the stove. And make sure you get

some fru i t . Oh, your f r iends and Gwynn went for a

stro l l .”

Es l i gr inned at the lady’s mother ly care. “Thank

you, Madam Trenon.”

Remma thumped her wooden broom against the

floor. “Excuse me, Es l in , how many t imes have I to ld

you to ca l l me Remma?”

With a chuckle, Es l i patted Remma’s shoulder.

“Sorry, Remma.”

The woman turned back to her work, sat isfied,

whi le Es l i scarfed down toast and jam. Washing down 190

New Familythe meal with a cup of fresh goat’s mi lk , Es l i sa id a

hurr ied farewel l to Remma and strode out the door.

Outs ide, the cool breeze whispered through the

trees, br inging with i t scents of b looming flowers and

plants. Es l i breathed in the fresh air , lett ing i t fi l l her

lungs and chase away her worr ies.

She wandered about for some t ime and eventual ly

found hersel f cross ing the cast le br idge. The

gatehouse was empty, and Esl i d idn’t think twice as

she s l ipped into the courtyard.

Two soldiers were sparr ing with staffs as Es l i

stro l led across the courtyard, and a group of e lder ly

lad ies chatted by a door leading to the cast le. A flock

of b i rds fluttered down and landed on the cold

cobblestone ground, their l i t t le heads bobbing as they

pecked at the ground.

With squawks of protests, they flitted above Esl i ’s

head as she ambled through the pack, her b i l lowing

c loak fr ightening them into the a ir .

Trudging past the group of women, Es l i came to

another courtyard. A row of archery targets l ined one

of the wal ls encirc l ing the enclosure. Shoved against

a wal l , a few weapon racks held bows and swords.

An arrow thwacked into a c loth target , quiver ing

in the red spot which marked the center of the target . 191

New FamilyTarran nocked another arrow and a imed, h is muscular

arms bulg ing against h is s leeves.

Pausing, Es l i watched as h is next arrow struck the

target , spl i t t ing a feather off the first shaft , and she

pondered how to best venture her quest ion to the

capta in. She knew Madam Grenna Tennsley, the o ld

lady who kept a sharp eye on al l the young people,

was constant ly patrol l ing, and Es l i doubted Grenna

would appreciate her being a lone in the presence of a

man.

Smirking, Es l i s trode to the weapon rack and

selected a beaut i fu l ly carved longbow. Who cared

what Grenna Tennsley would think.

She waited for Tarran to release another arrow

before cal l ing, “Morning, Captain.”

Jerking his head in Es l i ’s d i rect ion, Tarran re laxed

his gr ip on h is longbow and nodded to her . “Morning,

Miss . You need something?”

She stro l led to h im and held out her bow. “ I was

wonder ing i f you could teach me to fight.”

Tarran stared at the bow and wrinkled his brow.

“Why?”

Es l i c leared her throat , hoping he wouldn’t ask too

many quest ions, and said, “ I ’ve been watching you

192

New Familypract ice for the past few days, and I ’d l ike to be able

to protect mysel f with more than just the power.”

Tarran raised his eyebrows. “You were watching

me?”

Flushing br ight ly , Es l i mumbled, “ I was just

passing through, and I saw you.” Something about the

capta in’s easygoing personal i ty made Esl i feel

awkward around him. She d idn’t want him to assume

anything about her . Taking a deep breath, she

launched into an explanat ion. “Your technique with

combining your weapons and the gi f t to attack and

defend is very intr iguing. I don’t want to depend on

my power as much as I have been doing.”

With a gr in , Tarran remarked, “You know Madam

Tennsley would not approve.”

Es l i smirked. “Exact ly .”

Tarran burst into laughter . “ I l ike you.” He took a

moment to consider . “ I guess I can spare some t ime to

tra in you.” He took her bow and plucked the str ing.

“Where’d you get this?”

Es l i gestured to the weapon table. “From the

rack.”

“Huh,” the capta in grunted and nocked an arrow.

Drawing the str ing to the corner of h is mouth, he

193

New Familyaimed and re leased the shaft into a gent le arc . With a

dul l thud, i t struck the center of the target .

He handed her the bow. “Go get the arrow.”

Es l i shot h im a puzz led look and obeyed

re luctantly . The arrow had sunk a few inches into the

target . She wrenched i t out and hurr ied back to

Tarran.

The capta in gr inned, h is brown eyes l ight ing up.

“Thanks. That saved me some trouble.”

Es l i spluttered in protest , but then fe l l s i lent , not

knowing how to respond to him. Shoot ing him a g lare,

she shoved the arrow into h is hands.

Tarran shrugged nonchalant ly at her att i tude and

passed her the bow. “Now you try.” The next instant ,

he snorted and adjusted her gr ip. “No, you use these

fingers to hold the arrow on the str ing.”

Es l i rearranged her grasp on the wooden weapon

and pul led back the str ing, surpr ised at the difficulty.

With a stra ined grunt, she loosed the arrow and

yelped as the str ing scraped against her arm,

instant ly ra is ing a nasty purple bruise.

Tarran burst into laughter at her shocked

expression. Es l i tossed the bow onto the ground and

smacked his shoulder.

194

New Family“Some teacher you are! For Besra’s sake, you

could at least try to help me.” She rubbed the

growing bruise.

Tarran choked down his laughter and picked up

the bow. “You should never leave your bow on the

ground. I t wi l l harm your str ing.”

Es l i g lared at h im rebel l iously and turned away to

find her arrow. I t was nowhere in s ight.

Tarran gr inned. “Looking for your arrow? I th ink i t

landed somewhere in Kimdon.” He dodged the blow

she a imed at h im. “F ine, be that way. I t ’s by the

weapon rack.”

Es l i trekked t i red ly over to retr ieve her arrow, her

shoulders sagging as wear iness surged through her.

Tarran not iced her dejected appearance. “What’s

up?”

She dropped the arrow and col lapsed beside i t . “ I

just had real ly set my hopes on gett ing these

lessons.” Heaving a s igh, she added, “Everybody is so

nice here, but I often feel l ike they are expect ing

something of me. I ’m different, Tarran, and nobody

understands.”

Tarran seized her arm and yanked her to her feet .

“Wel l , gr ip ing about i t isn’t going to get you

195

New Familyanywhere. Let ’s shoot a few more rounds, and I ’ l l

teach you defensive tact ics with a sword.”

Es l i a l ready held her bow in her hand. “Al l r ight!”

The wooden sword swiped down and cut just next

to Es l i ’s leg. She yelped and swung her weapon

bl indly.

“C’mon, Es l in , you have to try,” Tarran growled as

he easi ly b locked her str ike.

“I am try ing!” Es l i ’s yel l morphed into a squeal as

Tarran c l ipped her leg with the flat s ide of h is sword.

“Ouch!”

“Always stay on guard,” Tarran admonished and

whacked her hand.

Es l i ’s sword tumbled to the ground, and she

plopped down next to i t , exasperated. “ I ’ l l never get

i t .”

“Not i f you have that k ind of att i tude,” Tarran

crouched next to her . “Remember what I to ld you,

Es l in. Focus on your surroundings. Know what is

around you so you don’t get caught by your

opponent.”196

New FamilyEsl i c losed her eyes and l istened. Metal c lanked

loudly over by the weapon rack … So, someone was

pract ic ing. Voices came to Es l i f rom the entrance to

the pract ice courtyard. The new recruits were

probably here for their lessons.

Opening her eyes, she saw a laughing l i t t le boy

run across the courtyard, a young woman chasing him.

A flock of b i rds descended before a maid who was

toss ing crumbs onto the ground.

The smel l of f reshly c l ipped grass registered in

Es l i ’s mind, and she detected a scent of body odor

and st inky feet . She turned and burst into laughter .

“What?” Tarran asked, bewi ldered.

Es l i choked down her merr iment. “You smel l !”

Whi le he processed this information, Es l i tackled

him and snickered, “Always keep up your guard,

Tarran!”

Splutter ing, Tarran ro l led out f rom underneath her

and pinned her down with one arm. “Why, you l i t t le—”

Laughing, Es l i squirmed out of h is grasp and

snatched her wooden sword. Holding the blade to his

throat , she ra ised her eyebrows. “L i tt le what?”

He grasped her sword and pul led her forward. Es l i

fe l l awkwardly into h is arms as he wrenched the

weapon away from her.197

New Family“Captain!”

Es l i and the captain both fl inched v is ib ly . Turning

to the speaker, Tarran gave her a weak smi le . “Yes,

Madam Tennsley?”

Grenna Tennsley strode to Es l i and yanked her

away from Tarran. “ Is th is what you do as soon as my

back is turned? F l i r t with a l l the gir ls?”

Tarran looked so aghast at the accusat ion that Es l i

couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

Grenna spun around, hands on her h ips . “And you,

Miss Es l in, should know better than to be a lone in the

presence of a man.”

Es l i gr inned broadly . “Excuse me, Madam, I ra ised

mysel f . How am I to know any better? I l ived in a town

where immoral people thr ived. Being a lone with a man

wasn’t the worst th ing that could happen.”

Grenna’s face had grown pasty as Es l i was

speaking. Both she and Tarran stared at Es l i , shocked

by th is revelat ion.

“I ’m only joking,” Es l i hast i ly reassured them, but

the captain and the e lder ly lady merely gazed at her ,

Grenna horr ified, Tarran sto ic .

“Wel l .” Grenna breathed deeply before snapping,

“Obviously , you need instruct ion in et iquette. I wi l l

198

New Familyspeak with the pr ince, and I wi l l see i f I can arrange

something.”

“What in b lazes do you mean?” Es l i asked,

bewi ldered.

Grenna tossed her short gray hair . “Now I know

you’ve been spending too much t ime with Tarran.”

She stro l led away, leav ing Esl i and Tarran speechless.

Tarran drew in a breath. “And that is why Grenna

Tennsley is the most feared woman in a l l Ebronn.” He

glanced at Es l i . “Was what you said true? About the

town you l ived in?”

Es l i crossed her arms and hunched over , wishing

she hadn’t ment ioned Amborr ly . “Yeah, i t was just

l i fe . P lenty of young gir ls were assaulted. I was only

left a lone because I ’m cursed. I t ’s the one good th ing

my name d id for me.”

Tarran stood s i lent ly before p icking up her sword

and offer ing i t to her . “Are you up to sparr ing?”

Es l i ro l led her eyes and snatched the blade out of

h is hands. She didn’t want to be babied. “What do you

think?” Brandishing the weapon fiercely, Es l i s truck at

h is legs, cuffing him before he could react . She wiped

the sweat off her brow, determined not to show any

emotion that the d iscussion had brought to the

surface.199

New FamilyTarran had been tra in ing Esl i for near ly three

weeks, hav ing decided she was worth the effort , or , as

he put i t , she “had enough fight in her to last a l i t t le

whi le”. She had quickly proved that her gr i t would go

farther than he could’ve imagined. She couldn’t quit

now.

Breathing heavi ly , Es l i gr inned through her sweat

as she blocked Tarran’s b low. She swung her sword in

a wide arc , c l ipping h is forearm.

She wouldn’t quit now.

200

A God Who Loveschapter fifteen

A God Who Loves

“So, do you l ike h im?”

Es l i turned to Pinny. “L ike who?”

Pinny smirked. “Tarran, of course.”

Snicker ing, Gwynn added, “You’ve set your s ights

high, haven’t you?”

Es l i g lanced at her confusedly , and she explained,

“He’s the most attract ive guy in Ebronn. Don’t te l l me

you haven’t not iced.”

“No, I real ly haven’t ,” Es l i mumbled and

quickened her pace, intent on escaping the prying

quest ions. Catching up to Erra, she gr inned nervous ly.

“Wel l , P inny’s obviously found a new fr iend. Two peas

in a pod, eh?”

Erra smi led wanly, her face strangely pale. She

s lung her arm around Esl i ’s neck and leaned heavi ly

on her .

Worr ied, Es l i asked, “Erra? Are you al l r ight?”

201

A God Who LovesErra nodded feebly and mumbled, “Merely

exhausted. The healer ’s work never seems to end with

the P lague sweeping through the town.”

Es l i braced her weak fr iend carefu l ly . Ever s ince

Es l i had begun tra ining with Tarran near ly two months

before, Erra had been apprent ic ing for Master Ardonn,

Ebronn’s main healer . Erra ’s k ind and gent le nature

had instant ly made her a favor i te among the pat ients,

but unfortunately i t took a lot of her strength to keep

up with the constant demands of the i l l .

A c loaked man strode down the cast le garden’s

d irt path, h is cane support ing h im. He ca l led out,

“Greet ings, Es l in.”

“Morning, Prophet.” Es l i nodded to h im

respectfu l ly . After seeing his strong character , she

had grown to esteem the e lder ly prophet.

The prophet la id a hand on Erra’s shoulder, h is

b lue eyes express ing concern as he spoke to Pinny,

“Miss Pinny, the pr ince has requested your presence

with h im immediately.”

Pinny blushed scar let as the other three gir ls

looked at her in awe. “O-of course, Master Prophet.”

She scurr ied after h im, ignor ing her gawking

fr iends.

202

A God Who LovesGwynn inhaled sharply. “Wel l . What do you think

that ’s a l l about?”

Es l i smirked. “Not sure, but maybe you shouldn’t

be teasing me.” She stro l led through the garden

gates, wonder ing what was going on.

“Es l i !” P inny h issed.

Thock.

Esl i ’s arrow struck the target ’s center as she

turned to Pinny. “Yeah, what?”

“I need you to fo l low me,” Pinny whispered.

Sighing inwardly, Es l i hurr ied to her f r iend. Who

knew what Pinny was doing now. “How’d your meet ing

with the pr ince go?”

Pinny flushed and averted her gaze from Esl i ’s

sweaty face, her eyes dart ing wi ld ly . “Uh, I ’ l l te l l you

later .”

Es l i d idn’t feel l ike pry ing. “Whatever.”

Pinny led her quickly out of the cast le ’s tra in ing

yard and across the courtyard.

As they entered the main cast le bui ld ing, Es l i

asked, “So, can you te l l me where we’re going?”203

A God Who LovesPinny stopped in f ront of the giant double doors

leading to the Great Hal l . “ In here.”

Es l i stepped into the vast room. She hadn’t been

here s ince the interrogat ion four months before.

Pr ince Jarren, Tobbs, Berr in , and Tarran lo i tered

in the front of the room, near Jarren’s throne. They a l l

g lanced up as Es l i strode in, and Tarran flushed,

fiddl ing with the sword hanging by his s ide.

Berr in announced, “Miss Es l in , you are no doubt

wonder ing why we summoned you here. The pr ince,

h is ass istant , and I are a l l witnesses for Capta in

Tarran. Oh, and Miss Pinny.”

Es l i stared at Tarran, utter ly baffled. “And what is

Tarran doing?”

Tarran wiped h is sweaty hands on h is c loak and

swept h is fingers through h is ha ir nervous ly. “Esl i—

Miss Esl in— I would l ike to ask your permiss ion to

court you.”

A thousand quest ions flew through Es l i ’s mind as

she froze in shock. Her breath came in short gasps as

she registered h is quest ion. “C-court me?”

Berr in broke in , “The matter of court ing is merely

a formal way of gett ing to know someone.”

204

A God Who LovesEsl i nodded feebly. Grenna’s et iquette lessons had

taught her that much. Swal lowing her astonishment,

she whispered, “Why me?”

Tarran gulped and glanced at the pr ince. Jarren

wiggled his eyebrows at the capta in, a mischievous

expression on h is face.

“Because I admire your spir i t and personal i ty .”

Tarran’s voice strengthened as he spoke. “You have

made me v iew the wor ld in a new way. I have been

chal lenged in my bel iefs , and yet I feel stronger in my

fa i th than before.”

Es l i cont inued star ing in shock. At least he hadn’t

sa id anything extremely flowery. She mental ly berated

hersel f . Th is was Tarran. Of course he wouldn’t be

over ly dramatic .

“Wel l?” Berr in prompted her . “What is your

answer?”

She shot Pinny a f rant ic look. Her f r iend gr inned

unsympathet ical ly . Es l i scowled at her and turned to

Tarran, working up an answer in the meant ime. “ I … I

would l ike to accept, but i t ’s a lot to think over.”

Apparent ly the spokesman of the group, the

prophet again answered, “This is not a rea l

commitment to a re lat ionship. This is only a chance to

become more fami l iar with one another.”205

A God Who LovesEsl i gr i t ted her teeth. She had no idea what to do.

Anything to get away. “ I accept your request .” There.

That sounded fancy.

“Al l r ight!” Jarren cheered and gr inned at Pinny.

“Thanks for your help, Miss Pinny.”

“Pinny?” Esl i spun around, aghast . “You knew?”

Pinny ro l led her eyes. “Of course. I was one of the

witnesses.” She looked at Jarren. “Should we

introduce them to their chaperone?”

Es l i groaned inwardly at the express ion on Pinny’s

face. She was enjoying this way too much.

The double doors burst open, spi l l ing Grenna

Tennsley into their midst . The e lder ly lady stalked up

to the prophet.

“ I thought you were going to use me as a witness,

esteemed prophet,” she snapped.

Berr in thumped h is cane against the ground and

s ighed loudly. “Captain, Es l in, th is is your

chaperone.”

Es l i mumbled a curse and g lared at P inny who was

chuckl ing behind her hand. The surpr ise of being

asked to court Tarran was suddenly k i l led by the

real izat ion that Grenna would be watching their every

move.

206

A God Who LovesJudging by the shock on Tarran’s face, he hadn’t

known either . The capta in quickly recovered though,

and he smi led sheepishly. “Es l i , would you l ike to go

for a stro l l around the garden?”

Grenna c leared her throat . “No informal t i t les

whi le court ing, p lease.”

Tarran gr i t ted h is teeth and offered h is arm to

Es l i . As she reached to take i t , their chaperone broke

in, “No touching, e i ther .”

Es l i groaned loudly and stalked out of the room,

Tarran and Grenna tra i l ing behind her.

How much more could one person take?

“Congratulat ions!” Erra cr ied as Es l i to ld her the

news. She turned to P inny. “So, that ’s what you were

doing with the pr ince? Planning this?”

“Yeah.” P inny gr inned. “ I guess we were r ight , eh,

Gwynn?”

The gir l smirked as Es l i b lushed. “Of course we

were.”

207

A God Who LovesRemma smi led at Es l i . “Are you happy with th is ,

dear?”

Es l i paused. Was she tru ly happy? Slowly

processing her thoughts , she answered, “Yes, I th ink I

am. I t ’s a b ig change, but I do l ike h im.”

“Wel l , I th ink th is cal ls for a ce lebrat ion.” Remma

led the way out the door. “Come on, I ’ve got a cake in

the oven.”

Laughing, the gir ls fo l lowed her. Es l i g lanced back

as she rea l ized one of their number was miss ing.

“Erra? You coming?” she asked, worr ied ly

examining her f r iend’s pale face.

Erra paused in the doorway, swaying s l ight ly .

Suddenly , she coughed and c lutched her head.

A gasp tear ing out of her throat , Es l i lunged for

her f r iend, seconds too late as Erra h i t the ground.

Es l i grabbed her arm and patted her l i fe less face

frant ical ly .

“Erra!” Pinny rushed back and knelt beside her

s ister .

Remma took one look at Erra and barked, “Gwynn,

go fetch healer Ardonn. P inny, help me take her

ins ide.”

Es l i watched in shock as they carr ied her

unconscious f r iend into the house. Stumbl ing to her 208

A God Who Lovesfeet, she struggled away from the house, away from

the pain.

The stream tr ick led, adding to the symphony of

the whisper ing breeze. The soft wind k issed Esl i ’ s

face, burning her dry eyes.

She leaned back and stared at the sky. Three lone

c louds dotted the sky, marr ing the deep blue beauty.

A branch crackled behind her , and she t i redly

reached out with her mind. Tarran’s power gathered

in the forest .

As Tarran stepped out f rom the trees, tears

suddenly pr ick led Esl i ’s eyes. Jumping to her feet , she

threw her arms around his sturdy form and c lutched

him firmly, fear ing she would lose her composure i f

she released h im. “Oh, Tarran,” she whispered,

fiercely b l inking back tears.

He patted her head awkwardly as they embraced,

and Esl i vaguely rea l ized they had never tru ly touched

each other in an affect ionate way. She squeezed him

t ighter , banishing the thought f rom her mind.209

A God Who LovesHe murmured gent ly in her ear , “Madam Remma

has requested you come back and see Erra.”

Es l i swal lowed hard, forc ing down her sorrow. Her

voice quivered as she whispered, “Al l r ight .”

He gr ipped her hand and guided her through the

woods carefu l ly .

When they arr ived at the Trenons’ home, Remma

was wait ing outs ide the house.

“Erra’s been asking for you,” she sa id soft ly , the

gr ief in her eyes a lmost more than Es l i could bear.

Es l i nodded and made her way into the house.

Sobbing met her ears as she entered the k i tchen.

Pinny rocked back and worth, wai ls tear ing from

her throat as Gwynn p laced a comfort ing arm over

her . Gwynn spotted Esl i and murmured to P inny,

causing the distraught g ir l to look up.

“Es l i , I - I …” She broke off, tears streaming down

her face.

Es l i la id her hand on her f r iend’s shoulder and

walked toward Erra’s room, her mind a confusing mass

of emotions she didn’t want to deal with. She cracked

open the door. D im l ight and a smel l of crushed herbs

greeted her.

She strode to Erra ’s bed and knelt beside the

pal let . “Erra, I ’m here.”210

A God Who LovesErra coughed weakly and turned her head in Es l i ’s

d i rect ion. “E-Esl i?”

“Yes.” Es l i arranged the bedclothes around her

f r iend. “ I t ’s a l l r ight .” Those words sounded so

shal low. Nothing was a l l r ight . Another part of Es l i ’s

l i fe was crashing down. A tear dr ipped off her cheek,

and she wiped i t away hurr iedly.

Erra must’ve seen her act ion, for she mumbled,

“ I t ’s not bad to cry, Es l i .”

With that , Es l i burst into tears, sobs racking her

ent i re body as she c lutched Erra’s hand. “ I - I ’ve

a l ready lost so much. Do you have to go, too?”

Erra smi led weakly. “ I don’t fear death, Es l i . I

used to, but now I ’ve found a reason to be joyful .”

She coughed again, her body trembl ing v io lent ly .

When she recovered, she explained, “ I ’ve accepted

the God, Es l i . The Arronome’s God.” She paused. “ I

never to ld you, for I d idn’ t know how you would take

i t . You never seemed to have much pat ience with

things l ike re l ig ion, and I d idn’t want to hurt you.”

She lowered her voice to a whisper , and Es l i had

to strain to hear her . “But I don’t have any fear now.

The God has strengthened my fa i th.”

“Erra, I …” Es l i t ra i led off, not knowing what to

say. “ I am truly happy that you have found joy , and I 211

A God Who Loveshold nothing against you for accept ing the

Wayfol lowers’ God.”

Erra struggled to s i t up, her voice emanat ing

urgency. “The God commanded me to te l l you

something, Es l i . Even though you are forsaken of a l l

the petty gods, you are loved by the one true God.

Accept Him, and you wi l l find new purpose for your

l i fe .” She grasped Esl i ’s hand. “Please, Es l i . He said

that your l i fe had to be difficult . He is prepar ing you

for your future.”

Erra s lumped back in her bed, her breathing heavy

and labored. “Please, th ink about Him, Es l i .”

“Erra?” Es l i smoothed the s ick g ir l ’s long hair off

her forehead.

Erra’s eyes s l id c losed, and she mumbled,

“Please.”

“Of course,” Es l i agreed. Anything to keep her

f r iend a l ive. “Stay with me, Erra .”

A feeble smi le p layed on Erra’s l ips as her hand

went l imp, fa l l ing out of Es l i ’s grasp.

A cry tore out of Es l i ’s throat , and she frantica l ly

reached for her f r iend’s core. I t was gone.

Erra was dead.

212

A God Who Loves

“Es l i?” Tarran’s worr ied voice broke through Esl i ’ s

numb thoughts .

He stuck h is head through the swaying branches

leading to the smal l h id ing p lace in the garden

bushes.

She ignored h im and shredded another leaf . The

pieces fluttered down to jo in the others.

Tarran scrambled into the bushes and la id a hand

on her shoulder. “ I ’m sorry , Es l i .”

“How can you say you worship a God who loves?”

She snar led and turned on h im. “How do you bel ieve

that? I f He’s so great , why is there so much pain and

death in th is wor ld?”

Tarran s ighed. “ I don’t know, Es l i . But I bel ieve

the God loves us . I don’t know why awful th ings

happen, but I do know God is the only way to true

happiness.”

“Then what about a l l the other gods?” Es l i asked,

confus ion whir l ing in her mind.

Tarran la id h is hand over hers. “ I don’t bel ieve

they ex ist . The God is the only one. The petty gods

are just images of Him that people have invented.”213

A God Who LovesEsl i leaned back against h is chest and wrapped h is

arms around hersel f with a s igh.

“How did you escape Madam Tennsley?” Tarran

gent ly rested his ch in on her head.

Es l i chuckled, grateful for the distract ion from her

emotions. “Actual ly , I to ld her the truth. That I

needed to be a lone. She said she was going to watch

the garden entrance. How’d you get past?” She

twisted her head to see h is flushing face.

“I saw her, so I c l imbed over the wal l when she

wasn’t looking,” Tarran laughed. “ I used to do i t a l l

the t ime.”

Es l i smi led and rested her head on h is shoulder.

Death was an ugly monster , but i f what Erra and

Tarran sa id was true then maybe the God could help

her overcome the pain.

She just had to trust Him.

214

Accepting Fatechapter s ixteen

Accept ing Fate

A large gray stone floated above Esl i ’s head as she

control led i t , her golden power fl icker ing around i ts

rough surface. Distant shr ieks echoed in her mind,

and she gr i t ted her teeth, the boulder trembl ing as

her attent ion wavered.

“Focus, Es l i .” Tarran’s voice broke through the

cr ies. “ Ignore i t .”

As she struggled to drown out the screams, Es l i

mumbled a lu l laby Remma sang to Rayyon every n ight .

Sleep, my chi ld, s leep

Fear nothing, I am here

I wi l l ho ld you, I wi l l keep

My promises I wi l l bear

Fear not, my chi ld, fear not

My love for you is great

I know my love is caught

I wi l l force the shadows to abate215

Accepting Fate

Sleep, my chi ld, s leep

The rock shuddered as a bead of sweat tr ick led

down Esl i ’s face, and suddenly the stone exploded.

Curs ing, Es l i brushed stone fragments off her tunic

and turned to Tarran. “ I t ’s hopeless. I can’t force my

power to do what I want. I t ’s been near ly five months

s ince I lost control in Jazarr , but I ’m st i l l no c loser to

commanding i t .” With a f rustrated s igh, she plopped

onto the ground.

Tarran knelt bes ide her and rested h is hand on her

shoulder then winced as Grenna cal led out , “No

touching.”

He shot their e lder ly chaperone a g lare and helped

Es l i to her feet.

“No touching!” Grenna yel led again, her hands on

her h ips.

“Leave us a lone,” Tarran muttered rebel l iously

and turned to Es l i . “Do you want to ta lk about i t?”

Not real ly . She brushed away the thought. She

could trust Tarran.

“I ’m afra id, Tarran. Afra id that i f I use my power ,

I ’ l l turn back into the monster that k i l led the

Gorrane.” Her stomach ro i led as Batt i ’s screams again 216

Accepting Fatebroke into her thoughts . “ I don’t want to face that

part of me again.”

“You’re not a monster , Es l i , and you won’t become

one. Yes, you lost control of your g i f t , but that

doesn’t mean you can’t command i t again.” He

lowered h is voice. “Don’t let the bad things define

your l i fe .”

Es l i stood, feel ing somewhat bo lstered. “ I guess I

might as wel l keep pract ic ing.”

She seized her power, determined not to cower

away from the swir l ing depths with in her . Grasping

another large stone, she hur led i t into the a ir and

formed a porta l to catch i t . The boulder hurt led

through the portal and, once she created another r i f t ,

ro l led onto the ground next to her .

Tarran cheered as Es l i wiped sweat off her face.

She could feel her power bo i l ing ins ide her , struggl ing

to get out . Forc ing i t down, she re laxed s l ight ly .

Maybe she was overthinking this . Maybe she was safe

f rom hersel f .

Tarran strode toward her and hes itant ly asked,

“May I see your power?”

Confused, Es l i wondered what he meant. He’d been

seeing her g i f t the ent i re day. Then she rea l ized. “Oh.

Are you sure?”217

Accepting FateTarran nodded reso lutely, and Esl i opened her

mind to h im. She fe l t h is presence enter her energy.

He gasped soft ly as he beheld the vast amount of

power she possessed. Es l i formed a connect ion with

him.

Do you see my problem?

Esl i couldn’t read his emotions as he answered,

Yes.

Final ly , he smi led at Es l i , complete trust in h is

eyes. “ I bel ieve in you, Es l i .”

She bl inked back tears and embraced him, needing

something to hold onto.

“NO TOUCHING!” Grenna stormed up and jerked

Es l i away from Tarran.

Anger surged through Esl i , and she turned to yel l

at Grenna but stopped as she saw Berr in str id ing

toward them. “Berr in?”

“Es l in, the God commanded me to come find you,”

the prophet puffed. “ I t is t ime for answers.”

Es l i stared at h im in surpr ise. “What answers?”

“To the quest ions that c l ing to your mind. The

ones you ask yoursel f every morning and evening, and

every moment in between.” His b lue eyes seemed to

dr i l l into her . “For example, ‘Am I t ru ly supposed to

be here? ’ , and ‘Does the God actual ly ex ist? ’” He 218

Accepting Fateglanced at Tarran. “ ‘How can there be so much joy

and pain at the same t ime?’”

Shocked, Es l i mumbled, “ I suppose the God to ld

you al l that?”

Berr in smi led at her gent ly . “My dear g ir l , what do

you think?” He c lapped his hands, and four of the

cast le guards stepped out of the trees. “Now, take

these men and go into the woods. Keep wander ing

unt i l you find the p lace that feels r ight .”

Hear ing the urgency in h is vo ice, Es l i nodded and

hugged Tarran quickly before Grenna could react .

“Goodbye, Tarran.”

Grenna opened her mouth to protest , but a g lare

f rom the prophet s i lenced her.

Tarran placed his hand on top of her head. “ I love

you, Es l i .”

Es l i flushed, a warm feel ing spreading over her .

She smi led up at h im, joy drowning out a l l other

emotions, at least unt i l Berr in interrupted, “ I am

sorry , but you need to go.”

St i l l b lushing, Es l i nodded again and beckoned to

the men. With one l inger ing g lance backward at the

three people behind her, she set off through the

trees.

I t was t ime for answers.219

Accepting Fate

A bird twittered soft ly in a tree above Es l i ’s head

as she led the men through the undergrowth. A branch

snagged her c loak, and she jerked i t away quickly, a

feel ing of desperat ion pervading her senses.

One of the guards stopped and hacked at a

part icular ly strong thorn bush. Sweat tr ick led down

his face as he asked, “So, where are we going, Miss?”

Es l i waited impat ient ly for h im to cut down the

shrub. “ I don’t know. I ’m just obeying the prophet’s

command.”

Another sold ier h issed, “Tenn, High Prophet Berr in

to ld us not to ask quest ions.”

Tenn growled in annoyance at h is comrade. “ I

know, but aren’t you cur ious?”

The other so ld ier ro l led his eyes. “Come on, Tenn.

Fo l low the lady.”

Es l i ignored them and dashed through the fo l iage.

She knew she had to find the place of answers,

wherever that was.

220

Accepting FateNear ly five hours later , she col lapsed beside the

r iver , utter ly exhausted. The four men stopped with

her , pant ing.

“I know we’re c lose. We’ve made good t ime. I t

usual ly takes c lose to n ine hours to make i t to the

r iver ,” she gasped and sp lashed water over her face.

Tenn groaned. “There’s no possib le way we

could’ve made i t th is far so fast .”

His companion, Boyyen, snorted, “Haven’t you

learned, Tenn? With the God, even the imposs ible is

easy.”

Es l i observed the men cur iously. Judging from

their banter dur ing the tr ip, they a l l seemed to have

different opin ions on how the God worked. Tenn acted

l ike He was a bothersome father who said a lot and

did nothing. Boyyen seemed a lmost f r ightened of the

God and treated Him l ike He was some commander

who would punish every wrong word or act ion. The

other two men appeared to have mixed emotions

about Him.

She turned to Tenn. “How can you say you worship

the God, yet you treat Him as i f He’s not worth

trust ing? I f you don’t want to bel ieve in Him then

don’t . No one’s forc ing you to.”

Tenn gaped at her , shock etched onto h is face.221

Accepting FateGlancing at Boyyen, she added, “ I f the God is so

loving, don’t you think He might forg ive you i f you

mess up? I don’t think you’re wrong to be wary around

Him, but I a lso bel ieve you can be a l i t t le more

trust ing.”

Boyyen pondered her statement ser iously .

Why did I say a l l that? Esl i flushed. “Let ’s keep

moving. I t ’s near ly dark.”

She set off at a jog, wry ly thinking, When I

dec ided to trust You, God, I d idn’t mean I was going

to preach to everyone!

The men fo l lowed her uncompla in ingly now as the

sky darkened. The ful l moon rose above their heads,

l ight ing the way through the thick woods. A wol f

howled, and Tenn muttered under h is breath.

Three hours later , they a l l s tumbled wear i ly into a

c lear ing.

Suddenly , Es l i knew she had to continue by

hersel f . She turned to the exhausted men and

ordered, “Bed down here for the night , men. I ’m going

on a lone.”

Boyyen shook his head fervent ly . “Miss, Prophet

Berr in commanded us to protect you.”

“Trust me, Boyyen.” She smi led. “Trust the God.”

222

Accepting FateBoyyen nodded re luctantly and barked to h is

companions, “You heard her , men. Set up camp.” He

looked at Es l i . “The God go with you, Miss.”

“And you,” she responded and spr inted into the

forest .

The shadows seemed much more int imidat ing now

that she was a lone, and once she yelped as an owl

hooted loudly. Berat ing hersel f mental ly , she growled

in f rustrat ion and forced her way onward, the

thickening woods making v is ib i l i ty poor.

Near ly an hour later , she stopped and looked

around. Something fe l t d ifferent about this p lace …

COME.

Esl i fl inched and whir led around, start led by the

v ibrant vo ice. Abrupt ly , her g i f t jerked within her ,

pul l ing her through the trees.

She didn’t understand. I t a lmost fe l t l ike someone

was … control l ing her power, dragging her forward.

She stepped into a large c lear ing and gasped.

Beaut i fu l white flowers encirc led a smooth lake

reflect ing the br ight l ight of the moon, i ts depths

seeming to ca l l to Es l i .

Her power st i l l tugging her forward, she t iptoed

toward the flowers. Her heart beat wi ld ly at the

myster iousness of the p lace. 223

Accepting FateThe trees were perfect ly st i l l , and the flowers

seemed frozen in p lace as Es l i walked toward the lake.

Nothing moved, and al l was s i lent .

Es l i looked around cur iously, wonder ing why even

the atmosphere was st i l l . The a ir seemed to be

ho lding i ts breath, for there was no breeze. Stepping

over the perfect , pr ist ine white flowers, Es l i made her

way reverent ly over to the c lear water , knowing that

there was something, a lmost l ike a energy greater

than hers, at work here.

She breathed in the smel l of p ine trees and the

sweet scent of f resh berr ies . Es l i g lanced down at her

feet. Strangely, the berry smel l seemed to be coming

from the flowers.

I t was perfect ly s i lent . Es l i knelt by the water and

peered in . She spotted a few rocks and plants dott ing

the lakebed. Reaching out , she touched the

mot ionless water , d isappointed at the bor ing s ight .

As soon as her hand brushed the water , a shock

ran through her, and a r ipp le spread out across the

water . The water swir led, and suddenly Es l i saw

br ight stars reflect ing in the water . With a gasp, she

watched as the stars spira led toward her. In unison,

they sett led on top of her reflect ion.

224

Accepting FateShe squinted. The stars a lmost looked l ike … a

crown. What d id that mean? Why would she have a

crown? What was the lake try ing to show her?

WATCH, the voice rang in her mind again.

So, she watched. Suddenly , a fire burned with in

the water , devour ing the stars. Es l i leaned c loser

unt i l her face was near ly touching the st i l l lake. The

flames c leared unt i l Es l i could see an out l ine of a

bui ld ing.

Confusion raged in Es l i ’s mind. What was going

on? She fe l t heat r is ing from the water as she bent

forward. Sweat dr ipped off her face and h it the water ,

creat ing smal l r ipples that grew and spread. She

leaned c loser … and c loser … Her nose touched the

water .

Instant ly , hot pain shot through her, and a shr iek

bui l t in her throat as her v is ion swir led around her.

When her s ight c leared, she was standing in an

abandoned street , burning bui ld ings surrounding her.

A blue explosion l i t up the sky, and Esl i hurr ied

forward to invest igate. She skidded around a corner

and gasped.

Dead bodies l i t tered the ground whi le mult ico lored

powers flowed through the sky. The burning s i lhouette

of a large cast le fi l led Es l i ’ s v iew.225

Accepting FateSomeone screamed, and Esl i jerked around. A bal l

of orange l ight soared through the a ir and s izz led

through Esl i ’s waist .

She gasped, expect ing pain, but nothing

happened. I t took her a moment to real ize she was

viewing the scene, l ike she had with Tolmarr ’s

memory. She wasn’t a part of the act ion.

Her stomach c lenched as she watched the bal l o f

l ight str ike a young lady in the chest . I t tore through

her, and the gir l dropped dead.

Es l i gr i t ted her teeth. She had expected answers,

not th is . She d idn’t want to see anyone e lse d ie.

A man shadowed one of the nearby doors. Another

b last zoomed through the a ir , and the man d issolved

i t with a wave of h is hand.

As three sold iers dressed completely in b lack with

red eyes embroidered on their tunics spr inted into

v iew, the man stepped forward and formed a red

shie ld.

Es l i gasped as she caught s ight of v iv id b lue eyes

beneath the man’s hood. I t was Berr in.

Suddenly , i t made sense. Berr in had named her

and brought her to Amborr ly . Maybe th is memory

would show her what had happened.

226

Accepting FateShe glanced around frantica l ly , searching for

answers. What i f her fami ly was here? She spr inted

exc i tedly down the street unt i l she reached a large

open courtyard. B lue and gold powers fl i tted through

the a ir , touching each other quickly before leaping

away.

Mesmerized, Es l i watched the two opposing gi f ts

perform a beaut i fu l , yet deadly, dance. She l inked the

gi f ts back to their possessors.

A ta l l , rugged man wielded the golden power, and

Es l i observed h im openly. She had never seen anyone

e lse with a golden gi f t . She had thought she was the

only one.

Es l i turned to the bearer of the b lue energy and

fe l t as i f someone had punched her in the gut . Her

former master , h is face twisted into a h ideous snar l ,

attacked his opponent feroc iously .

She stared, confused. What was Morgus doing

here? Why was he attacking the other man?

A muffled cry drew her attent ion, and she hurr ied

through a gaping hole in one of the bui ld ings.

A young woman was c lutching a l i t t le boy’s hand,

tears streaming down her face. “Please, my lady,

don’t do this .”

227

Accepting FateEsl i turned and saw a beaut i fu l lady dressed in

ornate fabr ics peer ing out at the duel ing pair in the

courtyard.

The r ichly dressed woman’s voice sounded t i red,

“ I must, Jenna. My p lace is beside my husband. I wi l l

not leave him to d ie.” She smi led down at the l i t t le

boy, tears g l istening in her eyes. “Protect my l i t t le

Jarren and get h im to safety.”

A thr i l l shot through Esl i . This was Queen Sarra of

Er indorr , which meant the man fighting Morgus was …

King Arren. Es l i was v iewing the Batt le of Almorr ,

where the o ld cast le was razed to the ground.

The queen planted a k iss on young Jarren’s

forehead and forced Jenna out the door. “Go, before

Morgus sees you.”

“Excuse me, my queen, what about Evana?” a maid

asked from the shadows.

At that moment, Berr in burst through the sagging

doorway. “My lady, g ive me Evana, quickly.” The

queen handed the pr incess to Berr in unquest ioningly,

but the prophet paused before taking the chi ld . “Your

Highness, the God has commanded me to change the

pr incess’s name.”

“Do whatever the God says, Berr in. I t rust you,”

Sarra answered.228

Accepting FateThe prophet took the chi ld and stepped into the

l ight , reveal ing the baby’s face.

No. Esl i stared, d isbel ief stopping a l l other

emotions. No, no, NO.

The l i t t le pr incess whimpered, and Queen Sarra

bent over her .

“My baby, my prec ious baby,” she murmured,

tears dr ipping onto the chi ld ’s face. “My beloved

Evana.”

Tears streamed down Es l i ’s face, and a wai l burst

out of her throat . She was the pr incess. She was

Evana . The miss ing pr incess everyone assumed had

died in the attack on Almorr .

“NO!” she screamed, unable to accept i t . Th is was

her fami ly , her parents , her brother … And her

parents were about to d ie.

She lunged for the queen but s l ipped through her.

NO.

The queen strode into the courtyard, her fists

g lowing with v io let l ight , Es l i hurry ing after her .

Sarra formed a l ight-bal l and hur led i t at Morgus.

Es l i ’s o ld master cursed as the b last scraped h is

arm. Suddenly, h is whole body burst into b lue flame,

and he cackled, the same terr ib le laugh Esl i had

exper ienced so many t imes.229

Accepting FateA long blast of l ight shot out of h is hands, str ik ing

King Arren in the chest . The k ing hung, suspended, in

the a ir for a moment before fa l l ing in a gent le arc to

the ground.

“NO!” Es l i and Sarra screamed at the same t ime,

Es l i rushing to her dead father, Sarra attacking

Morgus.

Es l i knelt beside the k ing and whimpered, “Please,

no, no, no …”

The k ing’s b lue eyes seemed to emanate love,

even in death. His legs twisted at an unnatura l angle

beneath h im, and an urge to help h im shot through

Es l i , but she was unable to do anything.

A cry drew Esl i ’s attent ion, and she bl inked

through tears . The queen’s arm had burst into b lue

flame, yet she struggled toward Morgus.

Es l i watched, love and respect growing for this

courageous woman as she stumbled through the pain.

Sarra l i f ted a flicker ing hand.

“Protect my l i t t le loves, my Father,” she

whispered and shot a bal l of l ight— toward the cast le ,

just above where Morgus floated.

The blast co l l ided with the cast le wal l , and stones

soared down, str ik ing Morgus out of the a ir . He

230

Accepting Fatescreamed as a fa l l ing stone pinned him to the ground,

crushing h is legs.

Sarra formed a sh ie ld around hersel f , but i t

fl ickered as the heavy boulders beat through i t .

Suddenly , her defense wavered, and a smal l rock

glanced off her burnt arm. The queen fel l with a

scream, too weak to defend hersel f as rubble poured

from above.

When the dust c leared, Es l i found the queen’s

crushed body, near ly ent i re ly covered with debr is .

She col lapsed bes ide her dead mother.

“Why?” she sobbed. “Why, God?”

I HAVE CHOSEN YOU. YOU ARE MY BELOVED CHILD.

THOUGH YOU THINK YOU ARE FORSAKEN, YOU ARE

LOVED BY ME.

Tears tr ick led down Esl i ’s face as the God’s

presence warmed her f rom the ins ide. “ I don’t

understand. Why is there so much pain?”

BECAUSE I AM PREPARING YOU.

The God’s comfort ing presence disappeared,

leaving Esl i a lone in a memory of pain and death.

231

Restored Lovechapter seventeen

Restored Love

L ight swir led in Es l i ’s v is ion as she pr ied open her

eyes. She sat up and gasped as water rushed off her

face.

She had been ly ing underneath the surface of the

lake, yet somehow her lungs were c lear of water .

Crawl ing t i redly out of the lake, Es l i barely not iced

that her c lothes were completely dry. She co l lapsed

on the mossy ground in the middle of the white

flowers and stared at the br ight sky. The sunl ight

soaked into her sk in as she rested, cushioned by the

soft ground.

Suddenly , she jerked upr ight . I t was midday. She

had been in the water ever s ince the n ight before.

With a bemused gasp, Es l i leapt to her feet and

scrambled away from the lake into the woods.

She had to find Berr in .

232

Restored Love“Es l i !” Tarran shouted as she spr inted into the

cast le courtyard.

She bent over, gasping heavi ly . “B-Berr in . I - I need

him.”

Tarran scrut in ized her worr iedly. “Of course.”

He hurr ied off, and Es l i co l lapsed onto the rough

stone ground. The four sold iers who had accompanied

her staggered into the courtyard, one nurs ing a

bruised leg.

“Who knew some emotional g i r l could be so fast?”

Tenn wheezed, h is hands on h is knees.

Berr in marched toward Esl i , h is wooden cane

str ik ing the ground loudly with str ide, Tarran and a

group of people fo l lowing h im. He peered into her

exhausted eyes and t i l ted h is head. “Do you know?”

Es l i understood what he meant, and she nodded.

The prophet took her arm, and she scrambled to her

feet, a cramp spreading in her s ide.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jarren’s vo ice scattered

her thoughts .

Es l i stared at h im, unable to devise an answer, her

mind a confused jumble of emotions.

“Your Highness …” the prophet tra i led off and

looked at Es l i . “Esl in has something to te l l you.”

233

Restored Love“Wel l , sp i t i t out ,” Jarren demanded. “ I can’t

stand needless suspense.”

Es l i ro l led her eyes. Brothers rea l ly could be

annoying.

Pinny jogged up to Es l i , the Trenons and Tarran

r ight behind her. “What in Er indorr were you doing?

You worry us a l l s ick because the prophet says you

had an ‘urgent task’ then you just show up out of

nowhere? What’s going on?”

Es l i opened her mouth to speak but found she

couldn’t form a coherent sentence. “Uh …” She

paused and thought hard. “Wel l , I t raveled for a long

t ime and found a lake with white flowers around i t—”

“The Evenlake,” Berr in interrupted.

“Yeah, that .” She cont inued, “Anyway, I looked in ,

and I saw a memory of the Batt le of Almorr .”

Jarren st iffened. “Did … did you see i t a l l?”

Es l i nodded wear i ly . “ I t was awful .”

Jarren paled, and Esl i figured she probably

could’ve sa id that in a more comfort ing way. Too late.

She s ighed and b lurted, “ Jarren, I ’m your s ister .”

For the first t ime Esl i could remember, Jarren

swore. “That’s not funny.”

“I ’m not joking,” she snapped. “Why would I jest

about something l ike that?”234

Restored LoveRunning h is fingers through h is ha ir , Jarren stared

at her with wide eyes. “You’re ser ious.”

She glared at h im, and he mumbled, “You’re

Evana.”

“That’s what I ’ve been try ing to say!” she huffed.

Jarren whir led around and poked Berr in in the

chest . “You knew, d idn’t you?”

“Wait a second, he’s r ight .” She stomped up to

the prophet, her hands on her hips. “You knew the

whole t ime.”

The s ib l ings stood s ide-by-s ide and g lared the o ld

prophet. He merely laughed at their angry

expressions.

“ I t ’s a wonder nobody not iced that you are

fami ly ,” he teased.

A hand sett led on Esl i ’s shoulder, and she jerked

around. Tarran beamed at her , h is k ind smi le sending

a thr i l l down her sp ine.

“So you’re the pr incess,” he stated. He s lowly

removed h is hand from her and asked, “Does th is

change anything between us?”

Es l i gaped at h im. “Blazes, NO.”

He gr inned. “ I was hoping you’d say that .”

235

Restored LovePinny enveloped Es l i in a wi ld embrace mixed with

tears whi le she laughed hyster ical ly , “Oh, honey, I ’m

so happy for you!”

Es l i chuckled and patted her exc i ted fr iend on the

back. “Thanks, P inn.”

The Trenons al l bowed awkwardly as Es l i turned,

f rom Al lon to l i t t le Rayyon.

“Oh, come on.” Es l i grabbed Remma in a t ight hug.

“Thank you so much for everything you d id for me.”

Remma wiped away tears. “Oh, Your Highness, i t

was a p leasure.”

“Cal l me that again, and I might not be so

gratefu l .” Es l i gave her a mock glare and spun

around. “Wel l , Berr in , now what?”

Berr in smi led at her . “Now we celebrate!”

The crowd cheered and dispersed.

Es l i g lanced around in confusion. “Where’s

everyone going?”

Jarren gr inned. “We’re going to ce lebrate in true

Er indorr ian sty le. I t ’ l l probably take unt i l tomorrow

evening to have everything ready, but i t ’ l l be worth

the wait .” He shot Tarran a pointed look. “Capta in,

can we continue that d iscussion we were having

ear l ier?”

236

Restored LoveTarran nodded, a l i tt le nervously, Es l i couldn’t

help but not ice, and fo l lowed Jarren.

“What do you th ink that ’s a l l about?” she

muttered to P inny, but her f r iend was eager ly

pratt l ing to a rather subdued Gwynn.

Es l i looked up, observ ing everything from the

cast le gates to the towers soar ing above everyone.

She was home.

Esl i jerked awake, start led by the softness of the

sheets enfold ing her .

She yawned and stretched, wonder ing where she

was. Oh, yeah r ight . I ’m the pr incess.

She was in a huge bedchamber that eas i ly could’ve

held twenty people. Ornately carved furniture

surrounded her, and an open wardrobe stuffed with

r ich c loth ing stared at her .

Es l i s ighed and ro l led out of bed, want ing to get

to the tra in ing yard before anyone e lse woke up.

B l indly fumbl ing with a set of lav ish c lothes, she

final ly gave up and s l ipped her d irty trousers over her 237

Restored Lovenight tunic . Yanking on the pair of Al lon Trenon’s o ld

boots that she requested from Remma many months

before, she c lasped her c loak under her ch in and

strode out into the hal lway.

She made i t to the empty tra ining field without

much inc ident except to knock over a crystal vase and

watch i t explode against the ground. A maid had

scurr ied out of nowhere to help her , and Esl i had

decided to leave the gir l to i t .

The sun was just peeking over the cast le wal l as

she selected a bow and quiver . After a few shots, she

fe l t warmed up enough to pract ice some harder

moves.

A few hours later , the courtyard had fil led as

random people came to watch Esl i d iscreet ly , or

openly in some cases, but no one attempted to

converse with her . She s ighed in f rustrat ion. So what,

she was the pr incess. That d idn’t mean everyone had

to treat her l ike a g lass dol l .

“Morning, Es l i ,” Tarran cal led, str id ing toward

her.

Final ly .

“Where have you been?” she snapped.

“Whoa, Your Might iness , I was s leeping,” he held

up h is hands in an innocent gesture. “What’s up?”238

Restored LoveEsl i huffed, “Everyone keeps looking at me.” Then

she softened her voice. This was Tarran. She had no

reason to be angry with h im. “Sorry.”

“It ’s fine. I get i t , you’re stressed.”

“That’s a s imple way of putt ing i t ,” Es l i mumbled

and re leased an arrow. I t s truck the center of the

target , shaving a feather off another shaft .

A large group of cast le guards entered the

courtyard, ta lk ing boisterous ly, Grenna tra i l ing them

anxiously .

“We’ve got company,” Es l i groaned.

Tarran spotted Grenna and nodded to a random

sold ier . The guard hurr ied off and, judging from his

exaggerated hand motions, in i t iated a conversat ion

with the e lder ly chaperone.

Good luck with that , so ld ier , Es l i thought wryly.

Abrupt ly , she and Tarran were surrounded by guards.

“Wel l , excuse me,” Es l i muttered. “ I was

pract ic ing.”

She turned to te l l Tarran to get the rowdy soldiers

to leave and froze in shock.

Tarran held h is hand out to her . A del icately

carved metal rose dangled from a th in chain,

g l istening in h is palm.

239

Restored LoveShe knew what that meant. D isbel ievingly, she

whispered, “No way.”

Tarran gr inned at her . “Wi l l you marry me, Es l i?”

It took Es l i less than hal f a second to shout,

“YES!”

She threw her arms around Tarran’s neck,

laughing with shock and joy. “You—you l i t t le …”

“Litt le what?” he smi led down at her , happiness

l ight ing in his eyes.

“You wonderfu l person,” she breathed then

flushed. This was tota l ly un-Esl i - l ike. Es l i d idn’t say

things l ike wonderfu l , at least not in a romant ic way .

Who cares? I ’ve changed, and I hope for the better .

Tarran leaned c loser to her , h is hands encirc l ing

her waist . “Can I k iss you?”

Of course, her mind shouted, but she sa id, “What

about Grenna? And al l these sold iers?”

“I don’t th ink you need to worry about Grenna.”

He smirked. “And these men helped me plan th is , so I

feel l ike they should see some fru i t f rom their labor.”

Es l i craned her neck and spotted Grenna

frant ical ly— and unsuccessfu l ly— try ing to force her

way through the dense crowd of guards.

She gr inned. “Wel l , in that case … what are you

wait ing for?”240

Restored Love“Oh, Es l i , I love you,” he chuckled and pressed h is

l ips against hers, cutt ing off her remark.

She inhaled sharp ly but re laxed as a peaceful

feel ing swept over her . H is warm breath caressed her

sk in, sending a p leasant sh iver down her spine.

The sold iers cheered loudly, some whist l ing for

their captain. Es l i laughed against Tarran’s face,

which made the k iss even more awkward because

Tarran wouldn’t let go, and she didn’t want him to.

Suddenly , she fe l t hersel f being jerked away from

Tarran’s embrace, and she gasped in surpr ise.

Grenna, her hands on her h ips and her eyes

blaz ing fury , shouted, “Of a l l the insubordinate things

—”

Esl i dangled the necklace in f ront of their

chaperone’s face.

Grenna choked down her torrent of words with

d ifficulty and stared at the charm. “Oh, my.”

Tarran put h is arm around Es l i . “ I bel ieve that was

a ‘congratulat ions’ , my love.”

Es l i swatted h is chest with a chuckle. “ I l ike your

way interpret ing Madam Tennsley.”

Splutter ing loudly, Grenna gaped at them,

d isbel ief on her face.

241

Restored Love“And I th ink that strange noise means ‘ kiss the

one you love’ .”

He swooped down, and h is l ips brushed hers so

soft ly , she wondered i f she’d imagined i t .

“Oh, a l l r ight , spare me.” Grenna shook her head

at the captain, a lmost teasingly .

Wait , what? Grenna Tennsley, teasing?

With a laugh, Tarran steered Esl i around. Tenn,

the so ld ier who had escorted Esl i to the Evenlake,

held an e laborately carved bow. Tarran plucked i t up

and offered i t to Es l i with a sweeping gesture.

“Del ivery to my lady from her captain.” He c losed

her hands around i t . “ I carved i t mysel f .”

“Oh, Tarran. I t ’s beaut i fu l ,” she breathed and

plucked the str ing. I t v ibrated sweet ly .

Es l i nocked an arrow and drew back the str ing.

With a soft twang, the arrow sped toward the target ,

str ik ing i t with a dul l thud.

“Like i t?” Tarran asked with a gr in . At Es l i ’ s nod,

he lowered his voice. “Do you want me to ca l l you

Evana?”

Es l i pondered his quest ion. “No. Es l i i s who I am. I

know in my heart that I am loved, and that means

more to me than a name ever could.”

242

Restored LoveTarran smi led understandingly and p laced her rose

locket around her neck. I t flopped against her chest , a

reminder that she was engaged. She beamed, joy

rushing through her. She was engaged.

Tarran sa luted her sharply , h is men fo l lowing h is

example as they marched off.

Es l i gazed at the bow rest ing in her hands. Oh,

thank You, God. She turned to Grenna.

Her formerly grumpy old chaperone smi led fondly.

“Are you truly happy, Your Highness?”

Es l i breathed deeply, Tarran’s k iss replaying in

her mind. “Without a doubt, Madam.”

“Wel l , my dear, congratulat ions.” Grenna laughed,

“ I am glad I don’t have to struggle to keep up with

you two anymore. I ’m growing a l i t t le too o ld for

this .”

Shame rushed through Esl i as she thought of every

t ime she had mis judged Grenna— which was basica l ly

every moment she saw her. “Grenna, I ’m sorry I

rebel led so much.”

“Oh, come, none of that .” The lady brushed off her

apology. “This is a day to rejo ice. Apologies can wait .

Now, let ’s find you a dress for the celebrat ion

tonight.”

243

Restored Love

Soft music floated through the Great Hal l as

people mi l led about the large cast le , explor ing the

ancient bui ld ing.

Ins ide the Great Hal l , Es l i s tood by the

refreshments table with P inny and Gwynn, rete l l ing

her engagement story for the fift ieth t ime and

expla ining how Grenna had miraculously managed to

find a bal l gown for Es l i because, as she said , a

pr incess must a lways dress for the occasion.

Honest ly , Es l i thought the dress was an incredible

waste of fabr ic a l though i t was beaut i fu l . The pale

b lue corset held long, t ight sky-b lue s leeves that

s l ipped off her shoulders and traveled to Es l i ’s wr ists .

An ivory sash encirc led Esl i ’s waist , separat ing the

l ight b lue top from the indigo skirt .

The skirt i tse l f was a thing to behold, for i t flared

out , creat ing a b lue c loud around Esl i . A sheer over lay

of white and s i lver fabr ic caused the dress to shimmer

in the lantern l ight .

Overa l l , Es l i fe l t l ike a fake.244

Restored LoveHer golden engagement rose was her only comfort

in her outfit . She reached up and touched i t , reca l l ing

how gently Tarran had c lasped i t around her neck.

“So, what does the rose mean? I got the rest of

the story, but why a rose?” P inny broke into Es l i ’s

thoughts.

Gwynn eager ly explained, “ I t doesn’t have to be a

rose. Main ly, an engagement token can be anything,

but i t is most genera l ly a charm on a necklace. I t

shows commitment to the agreement to remain true to

one another throughout betrothal . Once marr ied, both

members accept a matching r ing to show their last ing

dedicat ion.”

“Oh, how sweet,” Pinny gushed.

Es l i ro l led her eyes. More l ike, mushy nonsense.

Even i f she had no phys ical th ing to show her

commitment to Tarran, she’d st i l l hold fast to h im.

But I guess i t i s nice anyway.

“You look beaut i fu l .”

Es l i whir led around, a smi le stretching her l ips.

“There you are.”

“Care to dance?” At Es l i ’s nod, Tarran p laced h is

hand on her back and led her through the crowd of

swaying couples.

245

Restored LoveTarran gr inned down at her as they flowed to the

music . “How are you and Jarren gett ing a long?”

Es l i snorted. “ I ’ve barely seen h im s ince

yesterday, so i t ’s hard to tel l . I don’t know how to

react to this . I t ’s so strange, knowing my past . I ’ve

l ived in fear of that knowledge for so long, and then

i t was thrown on top of me.”

The music drowned out Tarran’s next remark as

the tempo picked up, and he guided her back to the

refreshments table.

He gestured toward one of the empty hal ls . “Want

to get away before Madam Tennsley sees us?”

“Oh, yes, p lease.” She grabbed h is hand and

dragged h im to the hal l .

The music instant ly quieted as the wal ls b locked

the sound.

Tarran s ighed and stretched. “Much better .”

Es l i hauled h im to a smal l ba lcony enclosed by

curta ins. She yanked the drapes shut and smi led

innocent ly at Tarran. “ Just in case.”

Tarran mot ioned to drapes. “Should I ask why we

need these?”

Es l i stood on t iptoes and pecked h im on the l ips.

“For that.”

246

Restored LoveTarran gr inned. “Ooh, you mischievous l i t t le

thing.” He suddenly drew her into h is arms and k issed

her.

Es l i breathed in the embrace, surrounded by love.

She rested her hands on h is shoulders and s ighed into

the k iss .

“Wel l , excuse me.”

The gui l ty lovers spun around, Es l i entrapped

against Tarran’s chest .

Jarren stood before them, a huge gr in on his face

as he took in the s ight . He shook his head in mock

sorrow. “ Insubordination, people.”

“Go away,” Es l i huffed and shut the drapes in his

face.

“Oh, very wel l . I ’ l l go get Madam Tennsley to

handle you two.”

He strode away, but Es l i chased h im as wel l as she

could in her c loud of fabr ic .

“ Jarren! Don’t you dare—” She stopped with a

gasp as Grenna appeared around the corner.

The former chaperone eyed them suspic iously .

“And just what are you doing back here?”

Jarren pasted on an innocent gr in . “Oh, Madam, I

was showing my s ister the moon. I t ’s quite beaut i fu l ,

isn’t i t?”247

Restored LoveGrenna g lanced out the balcony at the moon

skept ica l ly . “Yes, very pretty.”

She spun around and left , obviously on a miss ion.

“Thanks.” Es l i smirked to Jarren. “Were you real ly

going to show me the moon?”

“Bel ieve i t or not , yes,” he answered soft ly , more

gent ly than she had ever heard h im speak. He

c lenched h is fists behind h is back and stared up at the

br i l l iant moon. “ I remember showing you the moon,

Evana. I was only four , but I would explain i t anyway.”

He turned to Es l i . “ I missed you so much, Eva.”

“Eva?” she whispered, tears in her eyes.

“My n ickname for you. After the attack, when

Jenna brought me here, I used to imagine you cal l ing

me ‘ Jarr - Jarr ’ a l though I made that up.”

Es l i embraced her brother. “ I missed you too, Jarr -

Jarr .”

Jarren smi led and held her t ight as Tarran

encirc led them both in his arms.

They stood there, in the l ight of the moon, the

bond of love unit ing them.

248

The End is Nearchapter e ighteen

The End is Near

The door burst open, sp i l l ing Berr in ’s scar let

power into Es l i ’s d im room.

“Pr incess, wake up!” His urgent vo ice p ierced the

haze of s leep around Esl i , and she sat up s lowly.

“B-Berr in? What’s wrong?” She smacked her l ips

and yawned.

A bundle of fabr ic h i t her face, and she yelped

loudly, now fu l ly awake.

“What was that for?” she demanded, c lawing her

way out of the huge bed.

“Get dressed, Your H ighness. The God has

commanded you to find the Sourcestone.”

Es l i stared stupid ly at the c lothes in her hand and

jumped as Berr in smacked h is cane next to her head.

“Get dressed! I ’ l l wake the others.” He bounded

out of her room with an energy that bel ied h is age.

The Sourcestone?

Tear ing off her n ightgown, Es l i s l ipped into a c lean

tunic and some trousers then c inched i t with a belt . 249

The End is NearThrowing a c loak over her shoulders, she stuffed her

feet into new leather boots.

She stumbled out the door and was jo ined by a

s leepy P inny and an a lert Tarran. The capta in nodded

br isk ly to her as P inny yawned loudly enough to wake

the whole cast le .

“What’s going on?” Jarren mumbled as he jo ined

the group behind Berr in.

Berr in launched into an explanat ion. “ I awoke ten

minutes ago with the God commanding me to te l l the

pr incess th is : The t ime has come for the Sourcestone

to be revealed. Evana, i t is t ime for you to find out

why you have the power that you do.” The prophet

paused and recal led the God’s words. “He sa id the

end is near, Pr incess. I ’m not sure what that means,

but He to ld me to inform you.”

Es l i nodded, final ly grasping part of the s i tuat ion.

“ Is anyone to go with me?”

Berr in mot ioned as he spoke, “Captain Tarran wi l l

lead seventy men to guard you, and Miss Pinny wi l l be

your emotional support .”

At that moment, P inny looked l ike she needed

emotional support. She gaped dumbly at the Prophet.

“We’re going somewhere?”

250

The End is NearBerr in shoved Esl i , Tarran, and Pinny toward the

exit . “Evana, ignite your power . You must never stop

i t . Keep your sh ie lds strong but retain control over i t .

Th is is the only way you can find the Stone. Your

energy is natural ly drawn to the Sourcestone.”

Es l i se ized her power and fe l t i t ro i l ins ide her .

Oh, shut up, you stupid g i f t . Now was not the t ime

cower away from her power.

She had a job to do.

Rain pattered against Es l i ’s c loak, soaking her to

the skin.

She wiped at the water running down her face and

gasped out, “Pinny, watch your step. There’s a smal l

drop-off to our r ight .”

Pinny murmured assent and passed the message

down the l ine.

They were travel ing s ingle fi le across the pla ins of

Er indorr toward the South Mountains, Es l i leading the

seventy men, Tarran, and Pinny. Where is my power

taking us? Esl i couldn’t help but wonder. And why 251

The End is Nearseventy men? This could be much faster with only a

few. She peered up at the dark sky. And i f i t would

stop ra ining.

Abrupt ly , her g i f t jerked in her , dragging her

through the ta l l reeds. Her foot caught on a root , and

she s lammed into the ground.

“Es l i ! Are you a l l r ight?” P inny asked frant ica l ly .

“Yeah, just fine,” She grumbled. Stupid power.

In the c loudy l ight, she spotted a smal l d i rt path

twist ing out of s ight in the reeds.

Maybe you aren’t as dumb as I thought you were,

she grudgingly added and h issed to P inny, “There’s a

path here. Fol low me.”

Feel ing her way a lmost b l indly down the path, Es l i

stumbled and tr ipped again, landing in the mud. She

bit back a curse and scrambled to her feet .

“Watch your step,” she muttered back to Pinny. I t

wasn’t much fun being the leader in th is weather.

They had been travel ing for near ly two days

through the soggy pla ins. The torrentia l ra infal l

reminded Es l i of Amborr ly , where i t was a lways e i ther

the wet or the dry season, nothing e lse.

She shook away the thought and trudged on.

Suddenly , a huge fork of l ightning tore the sky in two.

A start led yel l burst out of Es l i ’s throat , and she 252

The End is Nearducked inst inct ively . A roar of thunder seemed to

shake the earth, and Esl i heard cr ies f rom behind her.

She poked her head above the reeds and gasped as

another burst of l ightening rent the sky, i l luminat ing

the hor izon.

“Pinny!” she shouted over the thunder. “Pinn, I

saw them! The South Mountains!”

Pinny re leased a joyfu l cry and yel led the news

back to Tarran.

Es l i ’s hands s l ipped on the s l ick mud as she

crawled along the path, t ry ing to find a foothold to

help her stand. R is ing shaki ly , she cr inged as

l ightening spl i t the c louds.

A great cheer rose from behind her, and she

assumed the men had heard the news. Gr inning, Es l i

not iced that the end of the path led stra ight to the

foothi l ls of the mountains .

“Pra ise God,” she breathed and staggered out of

the ta l l grass .

Soon they arr ived at the foothi l ls , and she

commanded her men to set up camp. With a groan,

Es l i co l lapsed onto a boulder, utter ly exhausted.

Tarran fe l l next to her . “You look great .”

Es l i ro l led her eyes and g lanced at her body.

Covered with mud from head to toe, her c lothes 253

The End is Nearseemed to be dyed a dul l brown color . “ I ’m sure

you’ve seen me in better .”

Tarran smirked, h is eyes weary. He leaned back

against the stone and s ighed heavi ly as the ra in

dusted h is face. “Can you te l l i f we’re c lose?”

Es l i stroked h is wet locks thoughtfu l ly . “ I ’m not

sure. My power seems more … wi ld than usual , so

maybe that ’s a good s ign.”

Pinny stro l led up to them and plopped down on

Es l i ’s other s ide. “How’s l i fe?”

“Tir ing,” Es l i mumbled as fat igue overcame her.

Unexpectedly, her energy wr i thed, caus ing her to jerk

upr ight .

Tarran saw her shocked express ion. “What’s up?”

Fight ing to keep the panic off her face, Es l i

repl ied hurr ied ly, “We need to move.” She scrambled

to her feet and yel led to the men, “Pack up camp. We

have to get out of here!”

“Es l i?” Tarran trotted after her . “What’s go ing

on?”

Es l i turned to him, her face pale. “ I don’t know,

but something feels wrong about th is p lace.”

Suddenly , a loud rumbl ing fil led the a ir , and Es l i

screamed, “Move!”

254

The End is NearShe stumbled away, the men fo l lowing her as

rocks sprayed off the mountain.

“Rocksl ide!” one of the men cr ied and hunkered

underneath a smal l overhang.

Es l i staggered off the path to a large cave. Dread

fil led her as she watched the pour ing rocks devour

their camp. Tarran and P inny col lapsed into the

cavern.

Slowly, the rumbl ing faded, and Esl i peered out of

the cave entrance.

There was nothing left of their camp. Mounds of

rubble covered what used to be their belongings.

Es l i s ighed. “Tarran, check i f everyone’s a l l

r ight .”

Tarran nodded, and Esl i fe l t h im use his power to

cal l out to h is men. She turned to Pinny. “You good?”

Her face pale, P inny whispered, “ I th ink I spra ined

my ankle.”

Bit ing back curses at their d i re c i rcumstance, Es l i

smi led wanly and helped P inny stand up. “We need to

keep moving. I can feel i t .”

Pinny gr i t ted her teeth and ventured to take a

step. She col lapsed immediately and cursed.

Es l i beckoned to one of the men who had stumbled

into the cavern. “Carry her .”255

The End is NearThe soldier bowed and heaved P inny off the

ground. The hurt g i r l shot Es l i an uncomfortable look

as she c lung to the guard.

“Es l i .”

Es l i turned and spotted Tarran. “Yeah?”

He s ighed. “We lost two men underneath the

debr is , and three others are wounded.”

Groaning inwardly, Es l i pasted on a sto ic

expression. “See i f we can recover the bodies, and

we’ l l bury them before we head out .”

Tarran la id a comfort ing hand on her shoulder

before stepping out of the cave. Es l i s ighed, sorrow

near ly overcoming her. She fe l t responsible for the

deaths. After a l l , she was the pr incess, and she had

led these men out here.

Pinny spoke up from the sold ier ’s arms. “Es l i , th is

isn’t your fault . You couldn’t have prevented their

deaths. Don’t beat yoursel f up about i t .”

“You real ly are my emotional support .” Es l i

smirked at her . “ I t would be more comfort ing i f you

didn’t look so r id iculous.”

Pinny scowled at her . “You’re the one who to ld

him to p ick me up.”

Es l i turned away. Despite Pinny’s words, she fe l t

as i f she could’ve done something.256

The End is Near

A l i t t le fire crack led, emitt ing barely enough heat

to warm the three people hunched over i t .

As she massaged her hands over the smal l flames,

Es l i observed Tarran’s drawn face, h ighl ighted by the

fl icker ing flames. He had bur ied his men and was no

doubt struggl ing with the same gui l t she fe l t .

P inny shi f ted and yelped as her foot twisted. Her

expression contorted with pain. With a heavy s igh,

Es l i offered her f r iend a f reshly brewed mug of herbal

tea.

They had h iked up the mountain after the funera l ,

carry ing their wounded men. S ince c l imbing c lose to

the top of the mountain, the a ir had grown much

colder . I t d idn’t help that Es l i ’s power was going

crazy, forc ing her to stay awake though she needed

s leep badly.

The scouts reported for the next watch shi f t ,

re l iev ing the first five men. Es l i watched them march

about the encampment, their g i f ts ignited, ready to

use at a moment’s not ice.

“Es l i?” Pinny muttered.

“Hm?” Esl i wear i ly looked at her f r iend.257

The End is NearPinny hes itated before asking, “Do you bel ieve in

the God?”

Es l i stared at P inny, s lowly processing her

quest ion. “Do I … Um … Yeah, I th ink I do.”

“Why?” P inny pers isted.

“Uh,” Es l i mumbled. “Because He’s spoken to me.”

“But do you bel ieve in Him? L ike, do you trust

Him?” Pinny scrunched her brow. “Have you accepted

Him?”

Have you accepted Him? The quest ion echoed

through Esl i ’s mind. She whispered, “Not yet .”

“Wel l , I have, and I just wanted to know i f you …”

Pinny tra i led off and stared at the fire.

“Pinny?” Esl i asked, urgency surg ing through her.

“ I want to accept Him.”

Slowly, a huge gr in spread on P inny’s face. “What

are you wait ing for?”

“I …” Esl i paused. What was she wait ing for? God,

I don’t know why I ’m so uncertain. I … I want to

accept you. I want to be forgiven— but wi l l you rea l ly

forgive me? A soul fu l peace flowed through her, and

she suddenly knew He would a lways accept her . She

was forgiven.

She smi led at her f r iend. “Yeah, I ’ve accepted

Him.”258

The End is NearPinny gr inned back. “Good r id—"

Abrupt ly , a scream pierced the s i lent n ight . Es l i

leapt to her feet as orange l ight l i t up the sky,

i l luminating a l imp form hurt l ing through the a ir .

The body smashed into the ground, and Pinny

shr ieked.

Es l i stared down at the dead man. I t was one of

her sold iers. She dropped bes ide him and heaved h im

onto h is back.

A gaping hole in h is chest showed where the power

had h it . F ight ing back nausea, Es l i c losed the man’s

eyes.

“The God go with you, sold ier ,” she whispered and

scrambled up. “Tarran! Defens ive posit ions!”

The capta in nodded sharply and yel led commands

to his men. They quickly grouped in strange

formations that meant nothing to Es l i .

She turned to three guards huddled together. “You

two, with me.” Point ing at the other, she ordered,

“Carry P inny.”

Pinny muttered a quiet protest as the re luctant

sold ier heaved her over h is shoulder.

Es l i ventured into the dark woods growing on the

mountain. Catching s ight of an orange gl immer, she

took off running, her two guards fo l lowing her c losely. 259

The End is NearThe glow flickered as the possessor of the g i f t

expert ly weaved through the trees. Es l i could sense

the energy emanat ing from the owner, and she

reached out with her mind— and gasped.

The Gi fted one she was pursuing was Anni . And i f

Anni were here, that meant …

“Halt ,” she h issed, holding up her hand.

Her men stumbled to a stop and war i ly looked

around. Es l i mot ioned for them to be s i lent , and she

seized her power, thrust ing hersel f into the a ir .

She hovered above the trees and scouted the area.

Propel l ing hersel f down the mountainside, she

reached a large c lear ing and jerked to a stop.

An army rested below her, ranks upon ranks

stretching into the trees. Thousands of sold iers

extended as far as she could see, a l l of them dressed

in b lack outfits with red embroidered eyes on the

tunics.

Es l i swore soft ly as she recognized the emblem.

Ser ious ly? Frant ical ly , she formed a connect ion with

Tarran’s mind. Tarran, we’re under attack! Morgus is

here, and he’s brought an army. Get to the top of the

mountain, and I ’ l l meet you there.

Esl i fe l t a larm surge through Tarran. Hurry, Es l i .

260

The End is NearEsl i launched hersel f back toward the mountain

peak, ca l l ing to her men as she d id so; Fal l back to

camp and await my orders.

The soldiers confirmed her command, and Esl i cut

off the connect ion.

When she arr ived back at the camp, Tarran was

herd ing h is men up the mountainside.

“There you are,” he breathed, obviously rel ieved.

“What are we going to do?”

Es l i a l ready had an answer. “We need to contact

Berr in and ask for h is adv ice. Meanwhi le , we’ l l c l imb

the mountain for h igher ground and defend ourselves

f rom there.” She arched her neck to look at the high

peak towering above them. “And I have a Sourcestone

to find.”

261

Worth Dying Forchapter n ineteen

Worth Dying For

An explos ion rent the a ir , throwing Esl i off her

feet. She scrambled up and b lasted her assai lant in

the chest .

C’mon, Berr in! she thought f rant ical ly as she

formed a l ight-shie ld around hersel f , b locking three

more attacks.

I t was the morning after Es l i had spotted Morgus’s

army. She had immediately contacted Berr in , but the

prophet was unable to help.

We’l l be s laughtered! She forced down the

thought. Now was not the t ime for negat iv i ty . She

needed to stay a l ive.

Shoot ing a b last at her attackers, she stunned

them and spr inted away. The Sourcestone was st i l l

missing.

Suddenly , the a ir in front of her shimmered and

spl i t , reveal ing a young man. He stepped out of the

porta l and dissolved a b last flying toward Es l i .

262

Worth Dying ForHe bowed to her . “Your Highness, the prophet

Berr in and your brother are on their way with an

army. The esteemed prophet sent me and my soldiers

to re inforce your men.”

Es l i near ly cr ied in re l ief . “Thank God! Get your

men in here now .”

The sold ier bowed again, and unexpectedly the a ir

fl ickered as numerous portals opened.

Es l i l i stened as the leader formed a connect ion

with the new guards and mental ly yel led, Al l r ight ,

men, spread out and protect the pr incess.

He turned back to Es l i . “There are only a hundred

of us , but Berr in is on h is way. I f the God grants h im

speed, he might arr ive in t ime.”

Might.

“Thank you, sold ier ,” she answered cr isp ly.

“Please find five wi l l ing men to guard me as I search

for the Sourcestone.”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

Es l i dashed off, the five men fo l lowing her quick ly.

She fe l t her energy heave as she entered the

mountain peak.

Ear l ier , she had scouted the area and found the

opening to the mountain. Her core had stra ined to

pul l her inward, and she natura l ly assumed the 263

Worth Dying ForSourcestone was in the mountain. Now al l that was

left was to find the Stone and wait for the God to

expla in why he wanted her here.

Hopeful ly , that would be soon.

Es l i se ized her power and let i t fl icker over her

body, l ight ing the cavern. Tarran, I ’m in the

mountain.

Great . We’re a l l fa l l ing back.

That d idn’t bode wel l .

With in moments, men poured into the cave,

support ing wounded comrades and tot ing dead bodies.

Tarran found Esl i , h is face pale. Blood splattered

his face, and dirt c lung to h is c lothes. “We lost twelve

men before the re inforcements arr ived.” He lowered

his voice. “We’re los ing, Es l i , and i t ’s bad. Where’s

Berr in?”

She s ighed. “The God only knows. He’s coming,

though. We just have to survive.”

“I don’t know i f we can,” he muttered so only she

could hear. “You have to find that Stone.”

A boom shook the mountain, throwing Tarran and

Es l i off their feet . Es l i quick ly scrambled off Tarran as

dust and debr is ra ined down.

“I ’m going now,” she agreed, k iss ing him soft ly .

“ I ’ l l be back.”264

Worth Dying ForAnother loud bang sounded, and the rock wal l

crumbled. Morgus’s sold iers poured into the

mountain, b last ing the Arronome as they came.

A l ight-bal l crackled through the a ir , a imed for

Es l i ’s face. Tarran d issolved i t before she could react ,

and he gave her a smal l shove.

“Get out of here. We’ l l protect you.”

Es l i g lanced from the tunnels leading into the

mountain and back to the Jazarr sold iers. “Stay safe.”

She lunged for a tunnel , her power urging her

forward, and five men fo l lowed after her . Pausing at

the burrow’s entrance, she shot a br ief look

backward. The Arronome faced overwhelming odds,

but she knew finding the Sourcestone was the only

way she could help.

She spr inted through the tunnel , her g i f t guid ing

her around the many twists and turns. Reaching a fork

in the burrow, she paused br iefly and looked back.

Her men staggered up to her , pant ing heavi ly .

YOU MUST GO ALONE.

Esl i gasped as warmth flowed through her at the

God’s voice. She turned to the guards.

“Get back to the fight. I need to go on a lone.” She

raised her hands to stop any protests . “ I ’m safe.

Don’t worry about me.”265

Worth Dying ForThe men nodded re luctant ly and trotted back the

way they had come.

Es l i took the passage on the left , her power

jerk ing wi ld ly . She must be near to the Stone.

As she stumbled through the dark tunnel ,

i l luminated by her energy, she noticed ancient- look ing

runes hewn into the rock wal ls . She ran her finger

over one, the strange carvings making no sense to

her .

A distant rumble shook the mountain, jo l t ing her

back to her task. She staggered forward, her crazed

gi f t making i t hard to concentrate.

Suddenly , she reached a smal l doorway

e laborately decorated with carvings and symbols . She

stepped through— and gasped.

The doorway led to an enormous cavern, i ts ce i l ing

stretching beyond her l ine of s ight . She gaped, but

the vastness of the cave was not what had captured

her attent ion.

In the middle of the cavern, a s imple stone glowed

with pure white l ight , a lmost too white. The snowy-

white br ightness flickered a long the stone’s surface,

reveal ing a pecul iar r ing of carv ings surrounding the

Stone.

She had found i t . The Sourcestone.266

Worth Dying ForWith t imid steps, she ventured c loser to i t ,

fight ing against the strain of her power. Once she

stood c lose enough to touch i t , she halted.

Heat burned through her as she gazed at the

Stone, and her breathing hi tched at the sudden pain.

ESLIN, MY DAUGHTER, WELCOME TO THIS PLACE OF

WORSHIP.

Confusion shot through Esl i . Worship?

YES. THIS MOUNTAIN USED TO BE A TEMPLE FOR

ME, LONG BEFORE ERINDORR WAS FOUNDED. BUT MY

PEOPLE FELL AWAY AND WORSHIPED THE STONE

RATHER THAN ME. THE STONE HAS SERVED ITS

PURPOSE, AND IT IS T IME FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND

YOUR EXISTENCE. YOU MUST LISTEN.

Esl i c lutched her head as the God’s voice rang

through her mind. “Y-yes, S i r .”

YOU HAVE WONDERED MANY TIMES WHY YOU HOLD

SO MUCH POWER. MY DAUGHTER, IT WAS FOR ONE

PURPOSE.

The God fe l l s i lent , and Esl i waited with bated

breath.

YOU ARE THE STONE, ESLIN.

Esl i gasped, bewi ldered. “What?”

WHEN I FORMED THE SOURCESTONE, IT WAS

INTENDED TO BE A CONNECTION BETWEEN ME AND MY 267

Worth Dying ForPEOPLE, BUT THEY WORSHIPED IT INSTEAD OF ME. I

CREATED YOU TO BE THE STONE INSTEAD. AS YOUR

TASK DRAWS NEAR, REMEMBER THIS: THE END IS NEAR.

“W-why am I the Stone?” Esl i stammered, unable

to grasp the fact .

YOU WILL KNOW WHEN THE TIME COMES.

With that , the God’s presence left Es l i , leaving her

in a mass of confused thoughts.

As the mountain trembled again, Es l i p laced her

hand on the g l immer ing Sourcestone.

Pain flared in her head, and a scream burst out of

her throat as her go lden power shot out of her ,

mingl ing with the white l ight of the Stone. She

col lapsed, her hand st ick ing to the Stone’s surface.

The blended gi f ts soared up into the cavern,

tear ing through the rock as i f i t were d irt . Rubble

crashed around Esl i , but her g i ft formed a shie ld

around her .

She stared in awe as the golden-white power

spread outward, consuming everything in i ts path. As

she frant ical ly tugged on her hand, she final ly

d is lodged her fist f rom the Stone’s surface.

The expanding energy halted and dissolved,

leaving a mass of destruct ion behind.

268

Worth Dying ForEsl i spr inted out of the cavern. Whatever her task

was, she knew she needed to protect the Stone, but

she couldn’t do that a lone.

Dirt sprayed around Esl i as a boulder crashed next

to her . She waved her hand, d is integrat ing the rock

wal l in f ront of her .

Ever s ince her encounter with the Stone, she fe l t

more energy surging ins ide her . She might be the

Sourcestone in human form, but she didn’t understand

how she was surv iv ing the insane amount of power.

She stepped through the hole she had formed and

stopped.

Bodies and debr is l i t tered the ground, and

explos ions of energy l i t up the a ir . Rocks tumbled

down as the mountain trembled again.

Es l i dashed onward, arr iv ing at the batt le . Ignit ing

her g i f t , she chopped down one of the attacking

Gorrane with a l ight-blade and treaded around the

body. The sold ier she had saved nodded in thanks and

darted off to stop another of Morgus’s fo l lowers .

269

Worth Dying ForHer men, scattered about the cavern, fought hard,

and P inny and Tarran were nowhere to be seen. A cry

drew Esl i ’s attent ion, and she spun around.

Pinny leaned against a large boulder, her g i f t

fl icker ing weakly as she strove to hold off her

attacker. Es l i b lasted the Gorrane and scrambled to

Pinny’s s ide.

“Where’s Tarran?” she asked Pinny, fa i l ing to

keep the panic out of her voice.

Pinny muttered something unintel l ig ib le and

s lumped back.

Princess, we’re here! Berr in’s voice cr ied in her

mind. Did you find the Sourcestone?

Yes. Esl i breathed thanks to the God for the t imely

arr ival .

An orange blast struck an Arronome, k i l l ing h im

instant ly , and Esl i gr i t ted her teeth. She knew where

that came from.

Hurry ing over, she spotted Tarran and Anni

fight ing feroc iously . Es l i formed an army of l ight-

blades and hur led them at Anni .

The Gorrane l ieutenant b locked them, surpr ise in

her eyes as she struggled to fend off Tarran’s attack.

Anni d isappeared in a c loud of smoke, and Tarran

turned to Es l i , re l ief in his eyes.270

Worth Dying ForSuddenly , a huge blast of power struck Tarran’s

chest , and he fe l l with a gasp.

“Tarran!” Es l i screamed and dove for h is s ide,

ignor ing Anni as she floated above their heads.

“Aw, how sweet,” the Gorrane sneered. “What, d id

you love him?” She formed a long l ight-sword and

hissed, “ I t must hurt to watch the ones you love die. I

might as wel l—”

A scar let bal l crack led through the a ir , s tr ik ing

Anni in the back and s l inging her into the wal l . She

fe l l with a thud and lay st i l l .

Es l i watched her d ie, dread twist ing in her chest

as she looked down at Tarran. “Tarran? Tarran, p lease

don’t go.”

The wounded capta in pr ied h is eyes open. “E-

Es l i?”

Es l i grasped h is hand t ight ly and smoothed h is

ha ir off h is forehead. “ I ’m here, Tarran.”

A smi le , fu l l of pa in and love, p layed at h is l ips as

he gasped out, “Y-you’re worth dying for .”

A tear s l ipped off Esl i ’s face, str ik ing his cheek.

She gathered h is b leeding form in her lap and pressed

her l ips to h is , a sob threatening to break out of her

throat .

271

Worth Dying ForShe reached for h is core and fe l t i t fl icker feebly

before winking out .

“No,” she choked. “Please, God, not Tarran.”

She frant ica l ly se ized her power and attempted to

force i t into Tarran’s ext inguished core. “No, no, no.

Please.”

A hand rested on Esl i ’ s shoulder, and she whir led

around, st i l l c lutching Tarran in her arms.

Berr in gazed at her , h is eyes ful l of sorrow. “He’s

dead, Evana.”

A wai l tore out of her , and she col lapsed on

Tarran’s l imp chest . Tears gushed from her eyes as

she sobbed, Berr in ’s comfort ing presence behind her.

“NO!” she screamed. Why, God? After everything

you’ve taken from me, why the one I love the most?

I AM HERE.

Esl i couldn’t grasp why there was so much pain

and death in the wor ld, but she real ized that the God

was the only one she needed. She gent ly re leased

Tarran’s l i fe less form, love surging through her for

h im and the God.

“May the God go with you, my love,” she

whispered, trust ing that he was in the God’s hands.

272

Worth Dying ForAl l her hopes for a future of l i fe and happiness

crumbled, and suddenly her task made much more

sense. The end is near.

She l i f ted her quiver ing hand and s lowly

evaporated the ground, creat ing a s lope that led down

… to the Sourcestone.

She turned to Berr in , wiping tears f rom her eyes.

“ I need your help.”

273

Finally Belovedchapter twenty

Final ly Beloved

The Arronome gathered together in the

Sourcestone’s cavern, some dragging hurt f r iends on

c loaks, others bandaging wounds.

Es l i looked around at her exhausted men, Jarren

next to her , h is face pale. He had arr ived in the nick

of t ime. Fourteen out of the seventy men who had

accompanied Es l i survived, and they had been

struggl ing to make i t out a l ive.

Jarren, gr ief in h is eyes, muttered hoarsely ,

“What’s the plan, Eva?”

Es l i p laced a comfort ing hand on her brother’s

shoulder. When Tarran d ied, she had lost her love,

and he had lost h is l i fe- long fr iend.

“I know what I need to do with the Sourcestone,

but I ’ l l need protect ion. Set up a guard around the

entrance. Keep the Gorrane off me,” she commanded.

She turned to P inny. The gir l massaged her

spra ined ankle, pain twist ing her features.

274

Finally Beloved“Pinny, p lease help Berr in with the wounded

men.”

Everyone scrambled to obey her orders, and Esl i

smi led through her wear iness, apprec iat ive of the

service. God, am I rea l ly supposed to do th is?

THE END IS NEAR.

Esl i stepped up to the Sourcestone, g lancing

around to make sure everyone was out of the way.

Heaving in a deep breath, she ignited her power.

Shr ieks rang out f rom behind her as Morgus and

his fo l lowers attacked in a desperate attempt to reach

the Sourcestone. Es l i refused to look back as she shot

a b last at the Stone.

Eva, what in b lazes are you doing? Jarren’s

confused voice broke into her thoughts. She had

forgotten that she had left her mind open in a

connect ion with her army.

Trust me. She cast a br ief look over her shoulder

at her brother. He nodded s lowly .

Suddenly , a b lue explosion threw her off her feet.

Morgus floated through the opening, h is twisted body

al ight with power.

“Tra itor!” he shr ieked at Es l i as he hurt led toward

her.

275

Finally BelovedEsl i ducked and formed a sh ie ld, b locking h is

l ight-blast . Gr i t t ing her teeth, she attacked the Stone

again.

Morgus sett led behind her , hover ing inches above

the ground. “Do you even know what you’re doing?

That Stone is what holds our wor ld together. I f you

destroy i t , you destroy us a l l .”

Es l i struck the Sourcestone with a l ight-bal l . The

Stone appeared to absorb the energy. Well , that

d idn’t work.

Morgus snar led, “You’re a troublemaker, just l ike

your parents. I had to d ispose of them, and now I ’ l l do

the same to you.”

Anger burned through Es l i , but she concentrated

her attent ion on the Stone. She had to stay focused.

A blast caught her between the shoulder b lades,

and a yelp escaped her throat . She strengthened her

sh ie ld and poured more power into the Stone.

A bi tter yel l burst out behind her, and she shot a

g lance over her shoulder . Jarren leapt at Morgus,

hatred in h is eyes.

PROTECT HIM.

Esl i lunged away from the Sourcestone and

dissolved Morgus’s b last . Using her energy, she

276

Finally Belovedformed a cocoon of l ight around Jarren, forc ing him

away from the Gorrane master .

Morgus shot her again as her attent ion was

diverted, and the blast s inged her shoulder. She

bl inked away the pain and shouted into the

connect ion, Jarren, there’s nothing you can do about

i t . Revenge wi l l get you nowhere.

I need to protect you, Jarren’s voice echoed

through her head, broken and sorrowful . I was too

weak to help our parents. I can’t let that happen

again.

This is my choice, Jarren. Trust me.

Jarren met her eyes, h is own ful l of pa in as he

hes itant ly answered, Al l r ight . Just … don’t leave me.

Esl i turned away, not want ing to make empty

promises. Who knew what might happen.

Morgus b lasted her, but her sh ie ld absorbed the

blow. Es l i b i t her l ip . Nothing she was doing was

affect ing the stone.

By now, a desperate batt le was raging around her,

but she had to cont inue with her task. She forced her

focus through the screams around her and located the

Stone’s core.

277

Finally BelovedThe shocking amount of power f r ightened her. I t

fe l t ident ica l to the g i f t s torming ins ide her , yet i t

was so much purer than her own.

She t imidly pushed energy into the Stone, and her

power wr i thed. With a gasp, she rea l ized the

Sourcestone had added more power to her core.

“What do you have left to fight for? You’ve lost

everything,” Morgus h issed as he floated a safe

d istance from Esl i . “You are fight ing for memories .

Memories of dead people who can’t ass ist you. You’re

help less, Es l in .”

“Not real ly ,” she muttered, forc ing more power

into the Stone. Just keep going.

Suddenly , Morgus’s power struck her shoulders ,

but th is t ime i t d idn’ t stop. Es l i could feel her shie ld

crumbl ing, and she g lanced over her shoulder.

Morgus shot a steady stream of b lue energy at

her . I t overwhelmed Esl i ’s l ight-shie ld , and she

shr ieked as burning pain shot through her .

Through the haze of pa in, Es l i had one constant

thought: Keep going.

She squeezed more energy into the Stone’s core,

her power growing with each blast .

USE THE PAIN.

278

Finally BelovedEsl i gasped at the sudden burst of p leasant

warmth. Use the pain.

She dropped al l her sh ields and compel led

Morgus’s power into her core. Abrupt ly , her power

surged as she screamed.

A crack shot across the smooth surface of the

Sourcestone, and white l ight spi l led out of i t . Sweat

tr ick l ing down her face, Es l i cont inued forc ing

Morgus’s power through her core and into the Stone.

Morgus, h is expression twist ing h ideously, cut off

his power, making Esl i stumble f rom the sudden

change. The Stone’s f racture ceased spreading as Es l i

f rant ical ly attempted to over load i ts core.

Instead, more energy flowed into her . Groaning in

f rustrat ion, she real ized she would have to use

Morgus’s g i f t with her own. I t was the only way she

could have more power than the Stone.

She hur led a l ight-bal l at Morgus, and he snar led

as he caught i t .

“What game are you p laying, Forsaken One?” he

snapped, throwing an army of l ight-blades at Es l i .

One of them sl iced her leg as d issolved the others.

His next b last struck her in the face, only s l ight ly

hindered by the feeble shie ld around her.

279

Finally Beloved“Not a game,” she mumbled through a mouthful of

b lood and touched her nose. B lood gushed from i t , but

i t wasn’t broken. Thank God . “Not forsaken.”

He forced another stream of power at her , and she

dropped her l ight-shie lds , absorbing the energy.

Spinning around, she again forced his power into the

Stone.

The mountain quaked as the fracture grew larger.

With a cry, Morgus cut off h is power, and Esl i cursed.

He had figured out why she was us ing h is energy.

The Gorrane Master g lowered at Es l i . “You th ink

you’re so smart , us ing me to destroy the Stone? Wel l ,

I don’t th ink so.”

“Took you long enough,” she rasped and spat

b lood on the ground. Now what should she do? “Uh …

Why’d you k i l l my parents?”

A smirk spread on Morgus’s face. “Because of you.

When your mother gave bir th to you, I sensed your

power . I attacked Almorr to find you.”

Dread doused Esl i l ike a sudden chi l l . “Why would

you even want me?”

Morgus re leased a dramatic s igh and launched into

his ta le . “Many years ago, I found a way to get more

power . Doing so dra ined the l i fe f rom me, but the g i f t

strengthened me. Anyway, I formed a cyc le: every 280

Finally Belovedt ime old age caught up with me, I would take someone

e lse’s power. I t would remove a b i t of my l i fe , but I

would just add more with the gi f t .” He coughed

loudly. “There are many aspects of the g i ft that

people can’t comprehend.”

Es l i final ly understood. “You were try ing to take

my power.”

Morgus cackled. “You have so much of i t . The

Sourcestone … I t is the only thing that can compare

with your g i f t .” He paused, probably to re l ish her

shocked react ion.

Es l i ro l led her eyes. “Yeah, I know.”

“Oh,” Morgus croaked. Then he br ightened. “But

now that you have led me to the Sourcestone, I ’ l l

never run out of energy again.” He g lanced at the

leaking Stone.

God, how do I destroy i t now? Esl i inquired, panic

r is ing.

USE MY POWER.

“What?” she wondered a loud. She observed the

Stone. The God’s power? I don’t understand.

Berr in’s voice broke through her thoughts. Then

pray, Evana.

“Oh, b lazes,” she muttered, having forgotten she

st i l l had the connect ion running. Ignor ing a snicker in 281

Finally Belovedher mind, probably f rom Pinny, Es l i asked, “Uh, God,

i f you have some power I could use, that’d be great

…” She tra i led off, feel ing dumb.

Amusement wel led in her , and she knew i t wasn’t

her own merr iment. Was the God … laughing at her?

Well , excuse me, she thought angr i ly , then the

answer h i t her . Al l the power was the God’s . “Oh.”

She seized her energy, embarrassment rushing

through her. Morgus turned away from the Stone,

greed emanat ing from him.

“Now that I have the Sourcestone, I don’t need

you around anymore,” he stated, and h is power l icked

over h im.

Anger surged through Esl i . That was a l l her o ld

master thought of her . She was merely a thing to be

used, and once he was done, he could just cast her

off.

She lunged for the Stone, her g i f t boi l ing

fur ious ly. As she c lapped her hand onto the cracked

surface, heat burned through her, sear ing her very

soul .

With a fur ious yel l , Morgus launched h imsel f at

Es l i , grasping her wr ist— and screamed.

They formed a chain, locked together by the pain:

Morgus c lutching Esl i , h is energy flowing into her; Es l i 282

Finally Belovedc lasping the Sourcestone, both of their powers

pour ing out of her; and the Stone i tse l f , s i t t ing

innocent ly , the cause of a l l the trouble.

With a deafening roar , the Sourcestone exploded.

A br i l l iant white shockwave tore through cavern,

knocking every person off their feet .

The white l ight encompassed Es l i , fi l l ing her v is ion

and l i f t ing her into the a ir . A gasp froze in her throat

as she hung paralyzed by the l ight . She could see

nothing but white a l l around her.

Shock ran through her as her power receded. She

could feel i t peel ing sharply away from her, l ike a

keen blade was carv ing the g i f t out of her soul .

Warmth spread throughout her immobi l ized form

as the God entered her mind.

WELL DONE, MY BELOVED CHILD. IT IS TIME TO

COME HOME.

Esl i sensed her own core fl icker . As a loud rushing

noise l ike a waterfa l l pervaded her hear ing, she

smi led, final ly understanding.

She was beloved.

283

Finally Beloved

284

Epilogueepi logue

White l ight … Whimpers … Cr ies for help …

Darr pr ied open h is eyes, b l ink ing in the natural

l ight of the cavern. The cei l ing had been near ly

ent i re ly b lown off with the blast f rom the

Sourcestone.

He struggled to h is feet , gr i tt ing h is teeth at the

sharp pain in h is arm. Glancing down, he saw b lood

dr ipping off his torn s leeve.

A loud cry fi l led the cavern, se iz ing Darr ’s

attent ion. A young man, h is straw-blond hair s l icked

with sweat, knelt beside Es l i ’s l imp form.

Darr staggered forward, hardly bel iev ing the

truth.

Es l i was dead.

He dropped to h is knees, c lose enough to see h is

former capta in.

She lay in a huddled heap, her stained c loak

spread underneath her . Something struck Darr as

strange as he gazed at her dead body.

Her hair was golden blond, a lmost to the point of

white.i

EpilogueHe inched c loser , attempting to avoid detect ion.

The young man c lutched Esl i ’ s body in his arms,

h is eyes haunted by sorrow.

“Oh, Jarren,” a soft voice breathed.

Darr g lanced at the speaker and flinched. P inny

Fayne knelt beside the man named Jarren, her arm

around h is shoulders, tears tracking down her face.

She looked up and saw Darr .

Shock shot across her face, fo l lowed by anger, and

final ly sorrow. Pinny nodded curt ly to Darr and turned

away.

Rel ief flowed through h im as P inny’s accusing eyes

left h is face. He peered back at Es l i .

Her eyes remained open, the blank look haunt ing

Darr , and he got h is second shock.

Her eyes were blue, not the wi ld gold he had

always seen. Br i l l iant sky-blue, just l ike … Suddenly,

Darr rea l ized. Just l ike the young man’s .

As a tear dr ipped off Jarren’s face, the capta in

l imped away, the man’s sorrow grat ing against Darr ’s

nerves.

He col lapsed next to Morgus’s body, hatred

rushing through h im. This man was a l iar . Darr s ighed.

Too late, he real ized Esl i hadn’t been h is enemy—

Morgus had been.ii

EpilogueAs Darr stared at h is dead master ’s form,

footsteps broke his thoughts, and he g lanced up.

An elder ly man leaning on a cane peered down at

him, h is intense blue eyes bor ing into Darr . “Did you

know this man?”

Darr g lared at h im s i lent ly unt i l he perceived that

he owed Morgus no loyalty. “Yes. Or I thought I d id.”

The old man offered Darr h is hand. “ I am Berr in ,

prophet of the God.”

Darr a l lowed Berr in to heave h im onto h is feet .

“Darr .”

“But you are more than that , aren’t you?” the

prophet inquired, st i l l gaz ing at Darr .

Darr g lanced away uncomfortably . “ I was the

capta in of the Gorrane.” He flinched. What had caused

him to say that? To distract h imsel f and the prophet,

he po inted and asked, “Who is that man over there?”

The prophet d idn’t look away. “Pr ince Jarren of

Er indorr . Es l in was h is s ister .”

Darr stared at the pr ince, fight ing to keep the

shock off h is face. Morgus had informed him of Es l in’s

true ident i ty after she had betrayed them both, but

Darr hadn’t rea l ized Jarren had also escaped from

Almorr .

“Can you fight without the power?” iii

EpilogueThe prophet’s quest ion start led Darr out of h is

rever ie , and he answered hesitant ly , “Yes.”

“Good,” Berr in commented, final ly looking away.

Annoyed by the prophet’s crypt ic answer, Darr

threw caut ion to the wind. “Why d id Es l in d ie? Why

didn’t she just run?”

Berr in s ighed wear i ly . “ I t was the only way Jarren

could take his r ightfu l p lace on the throne of

Er indorr . I f she hadn’t destroyed the Sourcestone, he

would’ve been instant ly overthrown by the Gi f ted who

would oppose him.”

Darr reached for h is power and encountered

nothing. Dread c lenched in h is stomach, and he stared

at the gr iev ing pr ince.

His whole wor ld crumbled as he took in events

that had occurred. He was homeless , hungry, t i red,

and at the complete mercy of the Arronome. Morgus’s

students were in the same place as he was, and

technical ly he would need to lead them, seeing as he

was the captain.

“Have no fear , Darr , the God wi l l watch over you,”

Berr in stated, seemingly having read h is mind.

Just then, Pinny led the pr ince over. Jarren looked

crushed. His shoulders sagged as he shuffled behind

Pinny, and h is eyes were haunted with pain. iv

EpilogueBerr in squeezed Jarren’s shoulder comfort ingly

and knelt before h im. “My k ing, the God says th is :

‘ Jarren, k ing of Er indorr , t rust me always, and I wi l l

guide you. L isten to my commands, and I wi l l b less

you. Take comfort , for I am with you’ .”

Jarren nodded to the prophet, and Darr thought

his sorrow made him seem more l ike royalty .

The k ing turned to Darr . “Who are you?”

Darr fl inched. Now was the t ime to test i f the

Arronome were merc i ful . He sa luted and bowed before

the k ing. “Darr of the Gorrane, former capta in to Lord

Morgus.”

Jarren glanced h im over. “ I suppose you have

fight ing exper ience?”

“Yes, Your H ighness,” Darr responded.

Jarren rubbed h is eyes wear i ly . “Wonderfu l . Come

with me. I need help gather ing the wounded.”

Darr bowed again and fo l lowed the k ing, surpr ised

by h is att i tude.

Maybe the prophet was r ight . Maybe the Gorrane

could find a p lace among the Arronome.

Maybe Darr could be redeemed.

v

About the Author

Bel la Kuckel is a fifteen-year-o ld aspir ing author,

actor , and art ist . When not f rant ica l ly typing or

act ing in f ront of her mirror , she loves reading books,

especia l ly fantasy and anything fict ion. She l ives on a

farm in Inman, South Caro l ina, with n ine s ib l ings and

a random assortment of animals . Having been

homeschooled her whole l i fe , she has been exposed to

many great novels and authors. She is proud to

present Forsaken as her first completed novel , and

she hopes to br ing many more stor ies to the wor ld .

Class photo 2020

“Father Tolmarr had chr istened every orphan in

the town, g iv ing them names that

meant  Riches  or  Happiness,  knowing that the v i l lagers

would only choose a ch i ld with a good t i t le . But

apparent ly , he had run out of names when Esl i came

along. . .”

   

 

What’s in a name? Everything, as Es l in wel l knows.

L iv ing a cursed l i fe had taught Es l in her value, but on

her s ixteenth age-day, she was launched

unsuspectedly into the next part of her l i fe , which

became a whole new paradigm, a l i fe in which she

excel led because of her g i f ts . The act ion in th is

breath-taking novel wi l l keep you turning pages a l l

n ight , but the heart of this novel wi l l sp in in your

head and in your heart much longer than a s ingle

night . Just knowing who you are and for whom you are

fight ing is key, as Es l in d iscovers . Reminiscent of

C .S.Lewis , J .R.R.Tolk ien, and other c lass ic wr i ters

because of their fantast ica l wor lds in which a batt le

for good rages,  Bel la Kuckel 's masterfu l ly inventive

fict ional wor ld, where not a l l i s as i t seems,

chal lenges the reader to cheer for good to defeat evi l .

                                              - -M.B.Husman