The Heart of the Ancients
Kailmeyra Series, Volume 3
Elizabeth Isaacs
Published by Elizabeth Isaacs, 2018.
The Heart of the Ancients
Text copyright © 2014 by Elizabeth Isaacs
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
The Heart of the Ancients: a novel / by Elizabeth Isaacs.
Published by Raven Key Press
Cover design by Michael James Canales
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
The Heart of the Ancients (Kailmeyra Series, #3)
Chapter 1 | Training
Chapter 2 | Rena’s Truth
Chapter 3 | Changing of the Guard
Chapter 4 | Wyn’s Despair
Chapter 5 | Nora’s Guardian
Chapter 6 | Weylin’s Home
Chapter 7 | Mia’s Memory
Chapter 8 | Ester’s Secret
Chapter 9 | Weylin’s Wall
Chapter 10 | The Black Portal
Chapter 11 | An Unexpected Journey
Chapter 12 | Rune
Chapter 13 | The Urisk’s Prophecy
Chapter 14 | Denial
Chapter 15 | The Mural
Chapter 16 | The River
Chapter 17 | The Lighthouse
Chapter 18 | Cali and the Ship
Chapter 19 | At Sea
Chapter 20 | Coming to Terms
Chapter 21 | The Weapons’ Room
Chapter 22 | A Warrior of Man
Chapter 23 | Cali’s Gift
Chapter 24 | The Khiton
Chapter 25 | The Edge of the World
Chapter 26 | Gavin’s Confession
Chapter 27 | The Branding
Chapter 28 | The Cerberus’ Cave
Chapter 29 | Between
Chapter 30 | The Mountain
Chapter 31 | The Council and the Guard
Chapter 32 | The Ancients’ Tomb
Chapter 33 | A New Path
Chapter 34 | The Emperor
Chapter 35 | The Cost
Chapter 36 | Belief
Chapter 37 | Reclamation
Also By Elizabeth Isaacs
On life's journey
Faith is nourishment,
Virtuous deeds are a shelter,
Wisdom is the light by day and
Right mindfulness is the protection by night.
If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him;
If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom.
Buddha
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My heartfelt thanks go out to:
Corina Vaccarello—a freakishly talented content editor, and, more importantly, and incredible friend.
Italia Gandolfo—one of the best literary managers imaginable. Thank you for your loyalty, support, and belief.
Hope Collier—one of the best writing buddies out there. Thank you for your encouragement, your laughter, and friendship.
Mindy Ruiz—the author with a heart of gold and endless energy. You continue to inspire me.
Tracy Riva—incredible blogger extraordinaire. Thank you for loving Kailmeyra almost as much as I do.
Chapter 1
Training
Gavin stood on a tall knoll as warm morning light poured over the practice fields. I darted through the trees, smiling and waving as I dipped in and out of the forest’s fringe.
He scowled; his eyes blanked.
I jumped as Rena grabbed my hand, pulling me back into the dense underbrush. “I can’t believe you did that. He told them where we are.”
Leaves shuffled in the distance and Rena pulled me along, speeding to a flat out run. “Come on!” she cried. “They’re heading this way!”
I tripped over my feet trying to keep up as we sprinted between huge trunks and thickets.
Silver uniforms flashed among dense trees as the guard closed in.
Rena giggled, her laughter lilting in the morning breeze. “I’ve got an idea. Come on, slow poke.”
As the Keeper of the Field, Rena could call on the land to help defend. Her abilities had saved our hides several times over.
Sweat ran down my back as she pulled me to a stop and then pushed me against a large boulder. She released energy from the amulet in her bracelet, surrounding us in a deep lapis light—the color of the sea. Her hand tightened over mine as thickets and vines darted toward us, snaking around our feet. They wove together, running up our legs then around the large rock until they covered us completely. I had a feeling the guard wouldn’t be able to tell where we ended and the boulder began.
“They were just here.” Weylin, the leader of the lower guard, shouted in the distance.
Still panting from the run, I gritted my teeth and inhaled through my nose. Thorns bit and clawed my thighs, but I didn’t care. Rena and I had been playing this weird game of hide-and-seek with the guard for a few hours now, and they hadn’t come close to finding us.
Not until Gavin squealed.
“They can’t be far,” one of the other guards hollered back. Leaves and twigs crunched under their feet, the sound growing closer.
“Hold your positions,” Weylin shouted.
Silence.
I held my breath as a set of heavy boots came close.
A hand ran up my side. “They’re closer than you think.”
Weylin’s warm breath seeped through the leaves.
I pressed my back against the rock, hoping to make myself smaller. Weylin’s hand started across my shoulder, heading south toward my—
“Halt!” Gavin commanded, his voice echoing through the trees.
The hand left my body.
Gavin’s scent filtered around me. “I declare victory to the guard.”
Cheers rang through the forest.
“Nerts,” Rena grumbled. Her amulet dimmed. “How in the Sam Hill did he know?”
I smiled at one of Edna’s sayings. “No clue.”
The dense foliage unraveled, and Rena and I stepped out.
I looked at Weylin. “How did you know?”
His expression remained stoic. “Your breathing is especially loud after you run, Princess.”
Rena giggled, but I scowled.
Gavin glanced at me before looking away. “Guard, back to the fields to prepare for tonight’s simulation," he commanded.
Rena’s smile slipped from her face, and her eyes sparkled with frustration. She waited until most of the warriors had disappeared through the trees before she spoke. “Prince, I stand firm in my opinion. She’s not ready—”
“Your opinions have been noted, daughter of Rill.” His eyes blanked as did Rena’s, and I had a feeling she’d switched over, voicing her opinion with her mind.
“I understand your position, Rena. But I disagree. You are dismissed.” Gavin turned to Micah, the leader of the Elite Guard.
Rena’s eyes blazed as she stared at his back.
“I’ll see you later,” she muttered, storming off.
Gavin took his time reviewing with Micah the mistakes of the morning, mostly giving him pointers on spotting Rena’s handiwork when in the forest. She loved to use certain vines because their dark, broad leaves camouflaged more than others.
“Yes, Sire. Next time, we’ll be ready.” Micah bowed. He and the few remaining warrior
s walked away.
Gavin’s fingers laced with mine. He kept his eyes forward as he raised my wrist to his lips, kissing the soft flesh beneath his amulet. “Rena served you well, although Weylin has a point. We need to work on slowing your breathing.”
“Okay,” I mumbled, wondering how I was going to manage that.
“And please, don’t wave at me during a simulation. These scenarios are designed to help you and your guard prepare. You’re not taking your training seriously enough.” Gavin’s aggression burned through me. He continued to lecture as we passed through the gates and well into the courtyard.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course I’m being serious.” Really, what more did he want? We practiced every day. I could handle my own, even though he never let me try.
“Be careful what you wish for.” Gavin’s tone darkened as his eyes narrowed. He pulled me to him, his aggression finally giving way to concern. “I’ll be with the guard this afternoon, preparing. But I want you to rest in the energy field. Finish distributing power to the land if you must, but please don’t leave the mountain."
Before I had a chance to respond, Gavin leaned in for a quick peck on the lips and then jogged back through the massive front doors.
Tired, frustrated, and feeling a little lonely, I started across the palatial foyer. I understood Gavin’s fierce need to protect. It had only been a few months since the Dokkalfar had taken him, and I was forced to lead an entire race to war. We’d both managed to survive, but after everything we’d been through, we seemed ... broken. Thanks to his new ability, which allowed him to embrace negative energy, Gavin could now keep his emotions from me. I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in I couldn’t remember when, and Gavin was now distant and aggressive.
I wrestled with my thoughts as I made my way through the castle’s corridors. Weaving through a maze of tunnels, I took a right and headed down to Malachi’s old sitting chamber. I stepped across the darkened threshold and stopped. Gavin had promised to honor Malachi’s life by making this place an Archive Room. Where once stood Malachi’s clutter was now nothing but empty space.
The mountain responded to my presence, energy brightened rocky walls, and I started toward the back of the room. Anyone who looked at the far wall of this cavern would see nothing but a solid sheet of rock, but I saw radiant translucent blue energy protecting a large domed entryway.
I passed through the energy and stopped, looking at the table Gavin had insisted we bring here. The thing was massive, seating fifteen to twenty easily. He’d officially named the cavern “Keepers’ Hall.” The Ancients had once used it as a place of fellowship, and I knew Gavin secretly wished that one day it would be that way again.
The earthy smell of wet rock combined with a chilly breeze that always filtered through, and I shivered as I headed toward the energy field. Turning the corner, a low hum droned ahead. The narrow corridor widened into a massive cavern filled with a thick, light blue haze. Warmth seeped through my tunic, and I made my way to the center of the room.
Now Gavin spent endless days whipping Kailmeyra into shape. He ordered the kinsmen to take defense classes, and we now had food and weapons stored in secrets stashes in the mountain. He badgered and bartered every blacksmith in the region to create chainmail and swords so that all households had protection.
And then he turned his eyes to strengthening me.
Over the past few weeks, Gavin and I had practiced every day with the guard. There was a rhythm that flowed between us, something clicked into place when his warrior took over. Gavin fought for hours. And when he needed a break, I surrounded him with energy that no one could penetrate. Not even the Alfar’s fiercest warrior, Weylin.
My stomach rumbled, my muscles ached, and I sat on the warm rock floor. Surrounded by a haze of blue, I laid down and took a deep breath, thankful for the energy around me.
King Frey had long ago sealed most of the portals that led to Earth. Now, only two remained. I controlled the power that ran through one, but the other was controlled by the Dokkalfar. The place was nothing more than petrified trees and ash, its center held the portal’s dark waters of the abyss.
I yawned, trying to remember when I got a full eight hours of sleep. It hadn’t been since Rune was here. As the sole Urisk in the land, Rune possessed the ability to protect my mind from my subconscious. When Rune played his music, I didn’t dream.
Well, I didn’t have nightmares.
But if we managed to seal the abyss, maybe these bad dreams would go away. That’s what Gavin thought, anyway. We had a plan. We’d strengthen the citizens of Kailmeyra so they could defend themselves, and then we’d go to Earth and hunt Mia down. She was Gavin’s ex and the only Alfar who had turned to darkness since the Ancients were in power. Hopefully, getting rid of her would weaken the Dokkalfar, and then we’d be able to smother those wretched black flames and seal the abyss. What started the blaze, and why they kept the Dokkalfar strong was a mystery the Ancients never solved.
I inhaled slowly, allowing the air to seep quietly out of my lungs.
Why couldn’t I have breathed that way when Rena and I were hiding? I took another slow, deep breath. Warmth seeped through my clothes like sunshine on a spring day. I relaxed, my eyes grew heavy, and I placed my hands under my head and closed my eyes.
“NORA?” GAVIN NUDGED my shoulder.
I blinked several times, confused, before remembering where I was. “How long have I been asleep?”
“I’m not sure, but dinner is about to be served.”
Yawning, I sat up. “That’s good. I’m starving.”
Gavin’s eyes softened as he helped me to my feet. “I’m glad you slept.” His thumb ran across the soul stone around my wrist. “And I’m pleased to see your amulet is full.”
Gavin’s soul stone allowed me to store energy, which I could release if I needed to. Lately, he’d been obsessed that I keep as much power saved as possible.
As we walked across the energy field, Gavin filled me in on Queen Lera’s latest conflict with her council.
“Seems like they’ve disagreed with her a lot lately,” I commented as we passed several tunnels before making our way to Keeper’s Hall.
Gavin frowned. “I know.”
We walked through Malachi’s empty chamber and passed the corridor that led to our suite. Jagged rock leveled into smooth hallways as we neared the front of the castle. As soon as we made our way into the dining hall, Micah held up his hand, motioning Gavin over.
“I’ll be a few minutes. Why don’t you have a seat,” Gavin muttered, his emotions becoming muted and distant. He nudged me forward before making his way in the opposite direction.
I sighed and headed toward the front table.
I missed the way things used to be. Before the Dokkalfar attack, Gavin’s emotions always surged through me. Now he kept his feelings clamped down. Worse, he’d learned how to keep them from me altogether. And while he still held me until I fell asleep, he was still attentive, and he made love to me every night, everything else had changed. Masculine determination now drove every thought, every action, and every decision.
Gavin was a man obsessed.
Rena entered the chamber, followed closely by Tark and Weylin. Her clipped stride and scowl made it clear that she wasn’t in the mood for fun and games. Tark started to catch up to her, but her hand flew up, and he stopped in his tracks. Rumpled, tired, and more than a little grumpy, she flopped down next to me and took a long drink from her goblet, setting it down with a thump.
“Having a good day?” I smiled.
She raised a graceful eyebrow. “Not really.”
“What’s wrong?”
Rena’s eyes stayed fixed on the group across the way. “That’s the last time I help with the recruits.”
“Why?”
Her normally lilting voice sounded low, aggressive. “Tark suggested we put the new warriors through their paces by using our little gifts.”
“Oh?” I smiled, a little confused. Ren
a was the Keeper of the Field. She could take on an army of Dokkalfar. Surely a few student warriors weren’t a problem.
“What I mean to say,” she corrected as we watched Tark glance over. “Is my little gift. It seems I was the warm-up act before tonight’s main event.”
I patted her arm. “What happened?”
Rena’s scowl darkened. Gavin, Tark, Weylin, and Micah glanced up from their conversation, pointedly staring in our direction.
“At first, all was well. The terrain responded to my call, and I had the young ones easily contained with vine and loam.” She jerked her head toward the only warrior slightly taller than Gavin. “And then he showed up.”
I grimaced. “Weylin.”
He must have heard his name because he looked over. His turquoise eyes, such a contrast to his olive skin and dark hair, narrowed. He tipped his head as if to say hello.
We both ignored him.
Weylin was one of Gavin’s oldest friends as well as the leader of the lower guard. He also happened to be the only one that could pinpoint my weaknesses. Off the field, Weylin was like a brother—sometimes annoying, other times protective and sweet. On the field, he was a merciless brute.
“Yes, Weylin,” Rena hissed. “It seems his practice with you has given him the insight to exploit my weaknesses too. And apparently your mate,” she threw an accusatory glare Gavin’s way, “has given him permission to test not only you but all the Keepers as well.”
“So, what did you do?”
“What do you think?” she grumbled. “I lost my concentration, the young warriors charged, and I was overrun.”
I frowned. “Having your defenses stripped away stinks, doesn’t it?”
Weylin had taunted me yesterday until I lost my concentration, and Gavin actually had to defend me until I found my focus again.
“My lady, your ability to understate situations is, at times, staggering.” Rena’s usually bright tone was thick with anger. Tark glanced over, his deep Lapis eyes steeped in an apology, but she refused to look at him.
Gavin, Weylin, Micah and a few of the top-ranking warriors walked across the room. Even though we couldn’t hear what they were saying, from the masculine emotions churning, I knew we were in for a rough night.
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