“I don’t think He will ever be safe as long as He is in this realm. But...He cannot die, not until Elyon wills it.”
Cam was smiling, her voice a whisper of hope. “And we will know where the Crown is when He is ready.”
Cam left Peter sleeping after they had finished talking for
hours. Talking about everything. The battles and him being inside the castle. And how it would be spring soon. Cam found her way through the passage that led outdoors into the brisk evening air. She was surrounded by pine trees, which surprisingly, were absent of snow. Fiera was perched behind a boulder with her arms resting atop it as she peered out over the landscape. Cam drew close to her sister and found that the view handed them a sliver of sea under pinksprayed heavens. The forests below were smudges along the skyline.
“I haven't seen a sky like this is in so long. The last time was when we were in those valleys between Enboria and the Forest of Thorns,” Fiera said with her eyes still fixated on the view before her. “I see that Peter has returned.”
Cam nodded, a smile splitting her lips apart. There was so much she would tell Fiera about it. About what she learned and what it meant about the future. Back to Mingroth…
No, not now. Not when what Peter had told involved Fiera’s own mother. Instead, with a grin, Cam said, “I see that you and Caleb have...resolved things.”
Fiera grinned. “You could call it that.”
Silence passed between them. A silence of calming attitude that warmed Cam. She leaned her head on Fiera’s shoulder. And finally, Fiera spoke, her voice shaky enough for Cam to know that heavy thoughts had been circling. "I nearly remained in Cinis Lumen when I heard the Seekers had formed. My position there was good. But it was all too...slow. When Tyron announced he would lead them, Caleb signed up immediately. I didn't until I knew you were going."
"To protect me?" Cam didn't ask with any indifference. Fiera shook her head. "To figure out what the message in the wooden ball means?"
Fiera shrugged. "I brought it with me thinking that since we were leaving Mirabelle it might be worth investigating. I left for you, Cam. Not to protect you, but because when living in Cinis Lumen I realized you've been my true home all these years. You and our sisters. Grandfather too even if I did hate his stories. You see, leaving Medulla was my purpose for so many years, so when I had left for good...well, I didn’t know what was next.”
Cam laughed at this the memory turning happy for once instead of sorrowful. “That's why when Terra died I felt as though I'd lost a home."
Fiera paused, turning to face Cam with a solemn expression. Her lips lifted in a small smile. “I should have savored the seasons, the time we had with our sisters. And now...for some of it, it is too late. But for you and Adria and Caleb, the people I have left, I’ll keep you all close. So any adventure you want to go on, I’m at your side.”
Fiera then released a dry laugh. “But please...let’s avoid Shadow Bearers.”
Cam’s brow rose. “We live with Shadow Bearers.” Fiera only laughed, the sound merry and bright. Cam clasped her hand with Fiera’s hand they stood in this way for a long moment. Whatever their lives brought them in the coming years, the pain and sorrow they would see again, Cam knew one thing. “You are my home too.”
To be continued... Acknowledgments:
There is something about reading acknowledgments that is always fun for me. Reading authors thanking a bunch of other people I don’t know is somewhat satisfying to read for whatever reason. Writing them myself for the people I do appreciate for being involved in the continuation of this series, is even more satisfying.
Thank you, Sher Jenkins for editing and supporting all that I write. Your fresh look on my work changes everything. Thank you to all my beta readers who did the same.
To Brenna Nance for so kindly creating the beautiful cover annnnd for showing us a line for free books at Bookcon. Hope to see you there again!
To my grandparents (especially Kathy and Marina) for asking me so many questions about what the heck was going on in my books that Igot really, really excited to share what’s next.
And I also want to thank Sarah Hill who's read my book so many times she can open it, read one word (that is not the page number) and tell me what part she’s at. (I mean, I can’t do it and I wrote the thing so....I’m impressed.) I’m sorry that I’ve made you go insane by waiting two years to publish this. To my cousin Cole Jenkins for making me a Medulla Realm necklace and being the best reading buddy there is.
To my best friends: Emma, Faith, and Cassandra. And Leah even though you aren’t officially apart of the Quadrilateral. Yet.
And to Christ for paying my ransom and to God for granting me this gift, this mechanism of healing, of finding, loving, and simply being a human. Without Him there wouldn’t be this story or the one telling it.
Author’s Note:
Many of the italicized paragraphs at the beginning of every odd numbered chapter are straight passages of Scripture. I do not consider this plagiarism as I am to write work based on the principles found in Scripture. In the course of writing this novel, I have found the Bible all the more inspiring, relevant, and life-changing. This happened mainly in course of discovering all the prophecies of the Old Testament and how they came to pass in the New Testament.
With that being said, here is included a list of the passages referenced throughout the book if you find yourself curious as to where I found each one. The translations I used were all from the ESV version.
Chapter 3: Job 3:8 , Chapter 7: Psalm 104:26, Chapter 11: Isaiah 27: 1, Chapter 15: Psalm 74: 14, Chapter 17: Ezekiel 28:13, Chapter 23: Ezekiel 28:13-19, Chapter 25: Isaiah 14:12-15, Chapter 27: Isaiah: 14: 16, Chapter 29: Isaiah 14:18, Chapter 39: Psalm 78:2, Chapter 41: Psalm 41:9, Chapter 43: Psalm 22:16, Chapter 45: Psalm 69:21, Chapter 47: Isaiah: 53:9, Chapter 49: Isaiah 53, Chapter 51: Jeremiah 31: 15, Chapter 59: Psalm 22:16
About the Author:
Lydia Redwine is a young author from Cincinnati, Ohio who completed her first novel by age 11. She writes in aims of producing work that is both refreshing and impactful. You can keep up with her work at LydiaRedwine.com
Also by Lydia: Essence of An Age: A Collection of Poetry and Prose Essence of An Age is the first poetry collection by Lydia Redwine and explores the depths of the heart, mind, and soul during the years where one is finding that they are growing up. Its emotional imagery will sweep readers into a world as real as their own, a world dealing with the dualities of life. The salt and sugar. All that is experienced in love and growth.
Instruments of Sacrifice: Spirit Followers When a Royal dies, the realms elect the one to take their place. By reasons Camaria does not know, her realm elects her as the next Royal. Now that she is the new-found sixteenth Royal of the nation of Mirabelle, Cam embarks on a journey with her sisters and a young huntsman to the four realms of the nation to complete training in the four kinds of magic. Once she has completed this training, she will then be permitted to consume her annual amount of magic and possess manifested powers. Her ventures are unexpectedly steeped in precarious events when Cam discovers a secret plan of revolt, a past she never knew, and an ancient people group thought dead who call themselves the Spirit Followers.
Keepers of the Crown Page 66