“And you can’t think of any clue she might have given in all that time?”
Aleida chewed on her bottom lip for a few seconds, thinking. “I don’t know,” she said at last. “She used to be a member of the imperial court, right? Maybe she’ll go back to Jakhat, try to regain some of her old power.”
Mitul nodded. “That sounds like something the old Nandini Kumar might do, if half the things I’ve heard about her are true.”
“All right,” Saya said. “So you’ll go to Jakhat, and we’ll go to Deveaural. If everything goes well and factoring in the detour through the desert, that should take us…” She paused a moment, thinking. “Two months, maybe a bit longer. Then we’ll be headed back to Kavora.”
“We can meet in Valmandi,” Mitul suggested. “One month after the first day of winter, at the same inn we stayed at before.”
“The Saffron Fox,” Kesari said.
“Right, that’s the one. We’ll share whatever information we’ve learned about Amar and Valkyra by then, and hopefully you’ll know how to restore his memories. We can make a better plan from there.”
Kesari nodded her agreement. Saya and Aleida were still glaring daggers at each other, but they nodded, too.
With that decided, they made their preparations to depart. They buried Jameson right there in the forest. Kesari created another grave like the one she’d made for Mahati, and Saya and Mitul lowered his body into it. Saya offered a Sularan prayer, and Aleida produced a charcoal drawing from her pack—a portrait of Jameson himself. She hooked it onto a tree branch hanging over the grave.
Afterward, they found a sunny clearing near the banks of the river and ate one final meal together. Then it was time to say their goodbyes and head their separate ways. Kesari awkwardly held a hand out to Aleida while Mitul and Saya embraced. “I’m glad we met,” she said, “and that you’re on our side now.”
Aleida’s hand trembled in hers. “I’m on my own side.”
Mitul approached Kesari, his arms outstretched. She threw hers around him and squeezed tight, breathing in his campfire scent and smiling when he gently patted the back of her head. “Take care of yourself, Kes,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what your magic can do the next time we meet.”
Tears filled her eyes as she let go of him. She let them fall without even trying to hold them back. “I’ll miss you. And your music.”
He gave her head one last pat. “I’ll play something special for you when we see each other again. Lucian, I trust you’ll watch out for her?”
“I always do,” he said.
Mitul nodded and turned to Aleida. “Are you ready?”
“Just waiting on you,” she replied tersely.
He gave Saya, Kesari, and Lucian an exasperated look and shook his head, then hoisted both his own satchel and Amar’s pack over his shoulder. The hilt of Amar’s sword jutted up above his shoulder, reflecting a gleam of sunlight as he followed Aleida into the trees.
Kesari watched their backs for a few seconds as they walked away. For an instant, a sharp and familiar fear stabbed at her chest, and she saw a flash of a memory—Rajiv’s back as he ran into the burning clocktower, never to be seen again.
But this was not the same thing. She would see them both again, and she’d see Amar, too. She had to believe that.
Saya touched her arm and motioned to the narrow path that would take them south, out of the forest and toward the desert. “Shall we go?”
Kesari wiped away the last of her tears and nodded. She hated to leave the others behind, but at least she still had Saya and Lucian. With them by her side, she could face anything.
55
Savir
It took them three days of walking through the forest to reach the main road, by which time Savir was growing accustomed to the gentle weight of the Spirit Tarja perched on his shoulder. Talking to her with the familiarity she claimed they shared still didn’t feel quite natural, but he tried to strike up a conversation anyway.
“Valkyra?”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“How much farther is it to Valmandi?”
“Not far,” she replied. “A week, or perhaps a little more.”
Apprehension curled inside him. That didn’t give him very long to recover his memories, and there was so much he needed to remember. Who he was, the life he’d lived before, anything that had ever happened to him prior to waking up in the forest covered in blood with Valkyra’s spirit hovering over him. She had already explained everything several times, but that wasn’t the same as having the memories himself.
He went over her account again, hoping it would spark something. His name was Savir, formally known as Prince Savir Akraja Jai Sharma, son of Emperor Akraja Munar Sharma. He was the rightful heir to the Kavoran throne, secretly smuggled away to safety as a toddler when his mother learned of an assassination plot against them both. Unable to escape, she was killed, but Savir had spent the last seventeen years in hiding under the watchful care of his Tarja guardian, Valkyra.
Now that he was grown, it was time to come out of the shadows and take back his throne. He and Valkyra had set out for Valmandi to reunite him with his maternal grandparents, but they hadn’t gotten far when they were attacked. Valkyra gave her life to protect him, but because she was a Tarja, her spirit lingered, tied to the physical world by the altma still within her. Savir had taken a nasty bump on the head during the fight and lost consciousness. When he came to, he found their attacker dead, blood strewn across the ground and on his shirt, which had been torn during the struggle. All that remained of Valkyra was her glowing blue spirit.
He still didn’t remember anything prior to regaining consciousness, and initially, he’d been skeptical of Valkyra’s account. Strangely, he knew the songs and stories about the lost Kavoran prince, but the idea that the figure in those tales could be him had been hard to accept at first. The longer she talked, though, the more it had begun to make sense. He may not have ever worn a crown or sat on his throne—not yet—but when he thought of himself as a prince, it seemed to fit. It was the only thing that fit, and he clung to that piece of himself hoping it would help to fill in the gaps in his memory.
Valkyra been gracious in answering all his questions and recounted the events that had led them here as many times as he’d asked, always with the same exact details. A faint gnawing feeling in his gut still gave him some doubts, but he supposed that could just as well be attributed to the uncanny discomfort of not having his memories.
And so, when she had asked him to Bond with her so she could continue guiding and watching over him, Savir had agreed. What else was he supposed to do? He didn’t have anyone else, and he would have had no idea where to go or what to do next on his own. As she had pointed out, they needed each other. Besides, the power that came with the Bond was well worth the cost of the years it would take off his life.
It had taken a full day for him to start to feel or use any of his new magical abilities, but now, he was making orbs of light and twisting lightning around his fingers like he’d been doing it all his life. “Do you think my memories will come back before we get to Valmandi?” he asked as he conjured a sphere of blue lightning in his palm. It crackled there for a few seconds before fading away.
“I hope so,” Valkyra replied. “It’s difficult to say for certain. We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but I’m sure they’ll return eventually.
Savir frowned. He’d been hoping for a clearer answer.
“Don’t worry, dear.” She brushed her silky tail across his cheek. “I’ve planned for every contingency. There are such wonderful things in store for us. Just wait and see.”
The story continues in
Curse of Shavhalla Book Two: Revenant Prince
Glossary
Altma – an energy source present in all living things which can be used by Tarja to fuel their magical abilities
Artex – the Visan deity, believed to be the creator of all things; sometimes referred to as �
�the Artist’
Bond – a magical connection between a Spirit Tarja and a living person which grants the living partner the ability to channel altma at the expense of sharing the remainder of their natural lifespan with the Spirit Tarja
Channel (altma) – the act of drawing altma from one’s surroundings and using it to perform magical feats
Curse – a specific branch of magic whose affects are longer lasting and more powerful than most types of magic; curses were outlawed in Erythyr several hundred years ago and much of the knowledge about them has been erased or forgotten
Ghayat – a species of antelope-like creatures native to the Sular Desert that are an integral part of the ecosystem and the Sularan people’s way of life
Haseph – a rite of passage undertaken by all Sularan youth at age sixteen in which the participant is required to seek out and bring back to their tribe something of value so that they may become a full-fledged member of the tribe
Kanjira – a small handheld drum, typically a circular wooden frame covered on one side with a drumhead made from animal skin while the other side is left open
Masahi – the highest-ranking member on a council of tribal leaders chosen to represent the Sularan people
Mesala – a species of plant native to the Sular Desert which is the main food source of the ghayat and whose flowers can enhance a Tarja’s magical abilities; sometimes referred to as ‘Sularan torches’
Pashlik – a Sularan curse word; a derogatory term for someone who is ignorant, irritating, or otherwise contemptible
Saraj – a Kavoran stringed instrument approximately one meter in length, which is versatile for a variety of musical styles and has a rich, reverberating sound
Spirit Tarja – the spirit of a Tarja who died prematurely; this death causes the altma within them to tether their soul to the physical world either until the altma fades or until the Spirit Tarja forms a Bond with a living partner
Storm Withering Syndrome – a fatal degenerative disease with no known cure, named for the purple and bluish skin discoloration that occurs in later stages of the disease due to poor circulation
Tarja – any person capable of channeling altma to perform magical feats; a Tarja may be born with the ability to use magic or, less commonly, may be someone who has gained those abilities by forming a Bond with a Spirit Tarja
Cast & Notable Figures
Akraja Munar Sharma – deceased, former Emperor of Kavora, father of Prince Savir, sister of Empress Dashiva
Aleida Ceran – a young Visan woman orphaned during Kavora’s invasion of Vis, older sister to Tyrus, became a Tarja through her Bond with Valkyra
Amar – a Kavoran man with a mysterious past, long-time friend of Mitul
Bhajan Vora – king of the city of Valmandi within the Kavoran Empire, husband of Queen Indira, father of Princess Priyani, grandfather of Prince Savir
Dashiva Sharma – reigning Empress of Kavora, younger sister of the late Emperor Akraja
Dev Ashaya – A magistrate of Valmandi, formerly a member of Empress Dashiva’s Imperial Council
Feros – a strix belonging to Aleida and Tyrus Ceran who often carries messages between them
Hasan Khurana – a Tarja healer and farmer who lives in Chatanda, guardian of Tyrus and Aleida
Indira Vora – queen of the city of Valmandi within the Kavoran Empire, wife of King Bhajan, mother of Princess Priyani, grandmother of Prince Savir
Jameson Weatherford – an Atrean Tarja of great skill and renown, sometimes referred to by his formal title The Great and Honorable Wizard Jameson
Kamaal Ruman – a famous Kavoran painter
Kesari Eves – an Atrean girl with Kavoran ancestry, sister of Rajiv and Navya, became a Tarja through her Bond with Lucian
Lucian – Kesari’s Spirit Tarja, takes the form of hovering flames and is typically about the size of an apple
Mitul Rama – a middle-aged Kavoran musician, long-time friend of Amar
Nandini Kumar – deceased, former Tarja advisor to Empress Dashiva
Navya Eves – younger sister of Kesari and Rajiv
Olivia Rutledge – a former pirate now enlisted in the Atrean Navy, captain of the Vindicator
Priyani Vora Sharma – deceased, former Princess of Valmandi and Empress of Kavora (through marriage to Emperor Akraja), daughter of King Bhajan and Queen Indira of Valmandi, mother of Prince Savir
Rajiv Eves – deceased, Kesari’s older brother, formerly a sailor aboard the Vindicator
Savir Akraja Jai Sharma – son of Emperor Akraja and Princess Priyani, former heir to the Kavoran imperial throne, officially reported dead but believed to be alive by some
Saya has Seda – a young Sularan woman currently undergoing her haseph, companion of Amar and Mitul
Tamaya Takhar – an elderly Tarja healer known for her great skill and knowledge
Tyrus Ceran – a young Visan orphan suffering from a terminal illness, younger brother of Aleida
Valkyra – Aleida’s Spirit Tarja, takes the form of a small furred and feathered white dragon
Zefar has Yaratha – a Sularan mercenary and an outcast among his tribe, Saya’s former mentor
Dear Reader
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Acknowledgements
If there’s ever been a book in me that I wanted to write more than any other, it’s this one. Some of these characters have been in my head for more than a decade, and the fact that I’m finally getting their story out there is a dream come true. Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help and encouragement of the following people.
First of all, I have to thank the amazing beta readers, critique partners, and sensitivity readers who provided the valuable feedback and insights I needed to do this story justice. Jordan, Stephanie, Megan, Taylor, Michelle, Sarah, Jenn, Chris, Mandy, and Katarina—you guys made the best group of early readers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Whatever I managed to do well in this book is only as good as it is because of you all, so thank you.
There are so many pieces of myself in this story and things I’ve learned from the incredible people who have shaped me over the years. To my family, my friends, my mentors and teachers—thank you for being a part of my growth. I also want to thank my husband Alex, who continues to be unyieldingly supportive of everything I pursue, as well as my daughters, who have been incredibly patient with me on the numerous Saturdays I’ve forgotten about lunch because I was so wrapped up in this story.
And of course, thank you, reader, for stepping into the world of my imagination and investing your time in this story. It means everything to me.
About the Author
T. A. Hernandez is a science fiction and fantasy author and long-time fan of speculative fiction. She grew up with her nose habitually stuck in a book and her mind constantly wandering to make-believe worlds full of magic and adventure. She was first inspired to write after reading J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings many years ago and is now happily engaged in an exciting and lifelong quest to tell captivating stories.
She is a clinical social worker and the proud mother of two girls. She also enjoys drawing, reading, graphic design, playing video games, and making happy memories with her family and friends.
Other works by T. A. Hernandez
The Secrets of PEACE Trilogy
Secrets of PEACE
Renegades of PEACE
Survivors of
PEACE
Other Stories
Calico Thunder Rides Again
Whispers of Shadow and Starlight
Tethered Spirits Page 46