by Lynette Noni
Despite her resolve, she couldn’t stop the fresh tears that slid down her cheeks. “I don’t know what to do, Roka.”
“Yes, you do,” he told her gently. He placed a hand against his heart and said, “Your answer is here.” Then he pointed towards the other side of the clearing. “And your answer is there.”
She turned and saw her friends clinging to each other as they mourned the fate of their friend.
“Go to them, Alex,” Roka said. “Everything else can wait. They need you now.”
When Alex nodded, he pulled her into a warm embrace, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. A long moment passed before he released her, promising to be in touch soon so she could begin her training.
As she began to walk away, Roka said, “Remember, your friend isn’t lost to you yet. Don’t grieve as if he is.”
Alex knew he was right. And she knew that if she was going to save Jordan, she needed to be strong enough to fight for him, as Caspar Lennox had said. Maybe to fight against him again. And when the time came, she would make sure she was ready.
With determined strides, Alex walked across the clearing to rejoin her friends. “It’s time for us to leave.”
“Alex, I’m not sure—” Darrius started to say, but she cut him off.
“We’re going, Darrius,” she said. “We’re on holidays and we’re going to Woodhaven as planned.”
D.C. and Bear looked at her with surprise, as though they’d thought their situation had changed now that Jordan was no longer with them. But Alex was going to make sure everything remained as normal as possible until their friend returned to them.
Darrius eyed her appraisingly, observing her unwavering expression. He pulled three military ITDs out of his pocket along with three Bubblers. “Take these with you. The wards are activated now,” he said.
Alex and her friends took the objects, although she knew they would have no need of them now that Aven had what he wanted.
“We’ll see you in two weeks,” she told Darrius. “But if you hear anything before then…”
“I’ll contact you immediately,” Darrius promised. “Just as I expect you to do the same.”
She nodded and asked, “Are you all coming back with us?”
“We’re waiting to speak with Prince Roka; he’ll return us to the academy afterwards,” Darrius said. “Hunter has some information about Aven’s Claimed humans and we need to work out a strategy to ensure they remain out of Meya. Aven doesn’t have access to the Valispath, but he’s now able to use the Library’s doorways to bring others here. We mustn’t allow that to happen.”
“Let me know if I can do anything,” Alex offered, secretly hoping they wouldn’t.
“That’s very kind, Alex, but you’ve already done more than we have the right to ask,” Darrius said. “Go to Woodhaven, and try not to worry about the rest until you have to.”
That was easier said than done. But she would try to follow his advice.
“Wait, little human,” Zain called out as she and her friends were walking away. “I’ll activate the Valispath and escort you to your destination.”
“Zain, I’m not sure that’s the best idea…” Fletcher tried to advise him, but the warrior waved away his concern.
“I’m fine,” he said dismissively. “Never better.”
His words might have been more believable if he hadn’t slurred them while tripping over his own feet.
“It’s okay, Zain,” Alex told him. “We’ll go back through the Library. You look like death warmed up, so you should probably follow Fletcher’s instructions until the Hyroa blood is out of your system.”
“I could still beat you in a fight,” Zain grumbled.
Alex cracked her first real smile since she’d arrived at the clearing. “I reckon I could take you.”
“By the sounds of your talk with Roka, we might soon have the chance to discover whether that’s true or not,” he said, an excited glint in his eyes.
Meyarin hearing really didn’t allow for any secrets, Alex realised with a pang of annoyance.
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” she said. “But I don’t want to win by default and be stuck listening to you whinge about me taking advantage of your weakened state. So pay attention to the good doctor’s orders and get better quickly, yeah?”
He mumbled something under his breath but nodded in agreement.
Alex smiled softly again as she turned to lead her friends into the middle of Raelia. A door opened almost immediately by her will, and the three of them halted in front of it.
“What’re we going to do now?” D.C. whispered, her voice wobbling with emotion.
“We’re going to continue on with our lives as much as possible,” Alex said. “That means we go to Woodhaven, and while we’re there, we’ll come up with a plan.”
“A plan?” D.C. repeated.
“A plan to get Jordan back.”
Saying his name hurt, but Alex’s resolve was strengthening by the minute. As Roka had said, she wouldn’t grieve for her friend because he wasn’t yet lost to them.
“We’re going to fight for him,” she continued. “He needs us to fight for him. And we’re going to find a way to bring him back to us.”
Bear’s face still reflected his sorrow, but now it showed a trace of hope as well. “Do you really think we’ll be able to?”
“I’m certain of it,” she said, her confidence leaving no room for doubt.
D.C. looked at her, tears still glittering in her eyes. “What makes you so sure?”
“He promised, Dix,” Alex told her gently. “Remember that night in our room? You made him promise to come back, and he promised he would. He promised that no matter what happened, he’d find a way back to us—back to you. The Jordan Sparker I know would never break a promise. Not to you, Dix. Not to the girl he loves. Not to the girl who loves him back.”
At her words, D.C. broke into heaving sobs. Neither she nor Jordan had acknowledged the depth of their feelings to each other, but they would have the opportunity one day.
Alex would make sure of it.
On that thought, she ushered Bear and D.C. through the doorway and turned to glance back at Raelia one last time.
A crossroad. That was where she was. Multiple paths lay before her, but she knew which one she had to take.
Alex closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thinking about the challenges she would have to face. But it would be worth the struggle.
It had to be.
Decision made, Alex opened her eyes and stepped through the doorway after her friends, her mind focused on a single thought.
Hold on, Jordan. We’re coming.
one el se.
Alex’s journey continues in the
next instalment of
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the first book of this series my acknowledgements were nearly as long as the story itself. So this time, I wish to say a huge bulk ‘thank you’ to everyone I mentioned all over again—God, my parents, my brother and the rest of my wonderful family and friends. Your continued support, encouragement and love gives me the strength I need to wander through this beautiful thing called life, and I’m forever grateful to you all.
To add just a handful of additional mentions, thank you also to everyone at Pantera Press for yet again doing everything in your power to continue making my dreams come to light. Special thanks go to Ali, who is not just my publisher but also my freebie therapist. I can’t thank you enough for listening to my irrelevant musings on an embarrassingly frequent basis (I still haven’t tried that sideways toaster grilled-cheese, but it’s on the top of my list). Also, massive hugs go to my incredible publicist—‘My Susan’—for opening so many doorways of opportunities for me this year. Extra gratitude for the fact that no matter where I go, you always make sure I end up with a hot chocolate in my hands. That alone is a testimony to just how awesome you are.
Copious amounts of thanks also go to my editor, Glenda Downing; the fa
bulous editorial team at Pantera Press (especially my masterful copyeditor James Read and my amazing proofreader, Lucy Bell); as well as the wondrous cover-making talent at XOU Creative. This story wouldn’t be what it is without you all contributing your own special kinds of magic.
I’m also hugely grateful to all of my fabulous early readers, with special mentions to Dana Summer, for your overwhelming and unquenchable enthusiasm; Emily Davison, for your emotional investment in the story and its characters; and Frannie Panglossa, for fangirling with me over Twitter for hours on end.
And last but most definitely not least, I want to thank you, my readers. Every time you contact me via my website or social media to gush about Alex and her friends, it warms my heart to see how much you love them and the journey they’re on. I can’t promise it will be an easy ride, but I can assure you we’ll travel with them together, following wherever their paths may lead. Thank you for sticking by them, thank you for sticking by me. I can’t wait to see which doors we’ll step through next!
Lynette Noni grew up on a farm in outback Australia until she moved to the beautiful Sunshine Coast and swapped her mud-stained boots for sand-splashed flip-flops. She has always been an avid reader and most of her childhood was spent lost in daydreams of far-off places and magical worlds. She was devastated when her Hogwarts letter didn’t arrive, but she consoled herself by looking inside every wardrobe she could find, and she’s still determined to find her way to Narnia one day. While waiting for that to happen, she creates her own fantasy worlds and enjoys spending time with the characters she meets along the way.
Raelia is the second of five books in Lynette’s YA fantasy series, The Medoran Chronicles.
Lynette loves to chat with her readers—connect with her online:
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