She looked up and saw Kai swallow. “Well, I was hoping Isla might have some more insight into that. We found this in her father’s room. It has a book with the Vasileia family tree inside of it.” Kai unlatched the small box and pulled out a worn book, the cover and binding made of faded brown leather. “The most recent names recorded are Isla’s parents, Isla, and her brother.”
The room filled with resounding silence. Pieces rearranged and collapsed against one another in Jade’s mind like the earth shifting beneath her feet.
The Vasileia bloodline was almost as ancient as the elementals. They had been the ruling family of Iona, and their line had born many great and noble leaders who were fair to the people and wanted what was best for the kingdom. But as with any dynasty, there had been the occasional bad seed that sought to make their subjects bend to their will, drunk on the idea of power and possession. The last several Vasileia monarchs before the dissolution of the kingdom had been of this breed. It was one of the reasons she and the other elementals had been able to gain the kind of traction needed to grasp control of the throne.
After she and the other three had decided to slumber and close off Iona to the world beyond, Jade had not known what would become of the Vasileia—or, really, any other family that fled to the other three kingdoms. She had only hoped they would find safety and peace. Seeing as she had woken up not even two fortnights ago, she had not yet been able to track down the descendants of those who had lived on the island with them. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to.
And here they were, with the Vasileia heir dropped in their laps.
“But your name is Belthare,” Rynn said, his words drawn out in confusion.
“Well, yes and no. Vasileia is my father’s surname. It was mine until I took my mother’s after she died two years ago,” Isla explained.
Jade stared at her, in disbelief of how utterly simple it was, but that the truth had evaded them this whole time. The posterity of Iona cozied up with them for weeks.
Isla’s cheeks turned slightly pink. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think it was a big deal. I go by Isla Belthare now. I wasn’t trying to lie to you or anything. But I’ve never seen that box before. What—what does this mean?”
“The Vasileia were a very powerful monarchy on Iona. They almost exclusively ruled the kingdom for most of its existence. According to this,”—Kai drummed her fingers along the ancient book—“you’re descended from them. The last of the bloodline.”
Isla slowly crossed to the barrel that held the book. Brielle stood by her friend’s side and shot Rynn a warning glare when he tried to intercede. Isla opened the book, and Jade leaned in to peek at the intricate family tree written across the pages. She watched Isla’s curious eyes roam over it, drinking in her history. Her legacy. A shadow passed over the girl’s face when she turned the page, and Jade looked down. Written there were Isla’s parents’ names, and below, her and her brother’s.
“It’s my father’s handwriting,” Isla said, a little breathlessly. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me about any of this.”
Rynn cleared his throat behind her. “I can imagine that, over the generations, the history of many families that came from Iona was diluted and forgotten. Your home is Evonlea now. Perhaps your father did not understand the weight of his ancestry.”
“He obviously thought it was still important if he kept the book and even recorded us in the family tree.” Isla turned the page again, her eyes scanning the contents. “Long live,” she murmured.
At those words, Jade glanced at the other elementals. Isla coughed and spoke louder. “That’s what this page says. Long live the Vasileia, and—”
“May they forever reign,” Jade, Kai, Rynn, and Aidan finished the phrase, their soft voices blending and sending chills down Jade’s spine. Isla gave them all quizzical looks.
“It was the mantra of the Vasileia, so to speak,” Kai chimed in quietly. “Long live, and may they forever reign.It’s something we’ve heard more times than we can count. I never thought we’d speak those words again,” she said, and Jade detected a bit of awe lacing her voice.
“And in front of a true Vasileia, no less,” Aidan nodded to Isla.
Jade tried not to bristle, but the turn of this conversation made her skin crawl. She didn’t understand why the others were reacting this way—they had not bowed to anyone in millennia, and yet they acted as if they were standing in front of royalty, ready to serve the crown on Iona. She wanted to go back to their island more than anyone, but these delusions would get them nowhere. There was no going back, no more hope for their past life. She had to shut down this line of wishful thinking. It was better to quash the sliver of an impossible dream than to have it ripped away from her again.
“It doesn’t matter. This changes nothing. The Vasileia line might as well be dead for all it means today. We need to focus on the prophecy and what must be donenow. We have to find the dagger,” Jade said. A pang of guilt struck her chest at the hurt that crossed Isla’s face, but she knew it was for the best.
“Speaking of which, did you three make any progress on locking down passage to Iona while we were gone?” Kai asked, slipping out of her reverie.
“Have a little faith, sweetheart.” Aidan kissed Kai on the cheek. “Of course, we did. Our friend August is coming to the rescue again.”
Isla and Brielle look at each other, eyes wide. “August? From Krill?” Isla asked. Aidan nodded.
“Will a handsome man named Damien be there, by any chance?” Brielle questioned smoothly.
Aidan scratched his head. “Ah, that part I don’t know. I’m sorry, do you know these people?”
Brielle shimmied her shoulders and looped her arm through Isla’s in response. “When do we leave?”
Chapter Forty-One
Isla
Theyhadthreedaysto pack and plan before setting sail to Iona in search of the dagger. While Isla and Kai had been in Lockhurt, Aidan had gone to Krill to locate August, hoping the kind man who had helped them once before would have a solution for finding passage to Iona. One thing led to another, and August offered to let them commandeer his old cargo vessel. Since the raids had begun, he hadn’t used it much, so it was docked at the rocky port of Vyros and “ready to be put to good use.”
It was a stroke of luck they desperately needed. Isla, Bri, and the elementals were all pleasantly surprised by their various connections to August, leading Isla to believe for a brief moment that perhaps fate was on their side after all.
