“The Sylvarium,” he replied without pausing his brisk pace. “It was one of your mother’s favorite places in the palace.”
“I’d love to see where she spent her time,” I said, feeling a tingle of excitement to learn more about my mom. “But what’s a Sylvarium?”
My father gave me a sideways glance and smiled. “Wait and see, my little Raynella.”
I was tempted to remind him that my name was Rain, and also I wasn’t little, but something kept the words from coming out of my mouth. Maybe I still really wanted him to like me. To think of me as his daughter.
We rounded another corner, and I saw the hall ended at a set of tall glass and metal doors. As we neared, it became evident that the glass panes were not actually glass.
“You have doors made of diamonds?” I didn’t know if I should be disgusted at the opulence or amazed at how beautiful they were. Up close, I could see all the different carvings of trees, animals and flowers that made up the eight panels.
“The Sylvarium is built mostly from glass. My own mother, however, decided many years ago that the doors needed an upgrade. She spent a lot of time here as well and felt it deserved a more elegant entry.”
At the mention of his mother, it dawned on me that I might have more than just a father. I might have grandparents or even siblings.
My mind was reeling with the familial possibilities when he pushed open the diamond-accented doors, and all other thoughts were lost to the wonders within.
Frosted glass walls and ceilings inlaid with small diamond clusters shaped like flowers filtered the late morning light into the room, casting a rainbow of colors that danced across the scene before me. Numerous woven baskets hung from the ceiling, filled with exquisite flowering plants that spilled over the edges, their berry covered vines cascading toward the ground like rippling verdant curtains. Mossy cushioned benches were scattered throughout the open room, and ropes of falling ivy encircled the soft looking sofas. Narrow trees similar to skinny willows sprouted from the ground around the edges of the space. It appeared that the Sylvarium was built directly over the soil, allowing the trees and flowering bushes to grow naturally.
And all of its beauty faded into the background because I was completely mesmerized by the small creatures flying around the room. At first, I thought they were butterflies with their vibrantly colored wings, but they were closer in size to sparrows, their wingspan as wide as my hand. As they fluttered about, soft dove-like cooing and musical chitters filled the air.
I took a few steps into the room, and two of them flittered over to me. After stretching out my arm, I held perfectly still and waited for them to land so I could get a closer look. They both perched just above my elbow, and I let out a tiny gasp when I saw that they didn’t have compound insect eyes butinstead had feline, oval-slitted orbs. The piqued curiosity in their expressions as they regarded me mirrored my own. One had thin, translucent crimson wings with white speckled throughout, while the other had bolder wings of deep purple with an opalescent sheen. The crimson one scooted further up my arm, and the miniscule claws at the end of its thin black legs gently dug into my skin as it moved. With one finger, I lightly caressed its velvet soft thorax.
I turned to my father and Dey who were waiting patiently, and the creatures flew away at the slight jostling. “What are they?” I whispered, a child-like wonder lighting up my face. There had to be a hundred or more flying around under the glass dome, some with wings of a solid color and others with spotted or translucent ones that sparkled in the rainbow light.
“They are crescia,” Dey answered.
I blinked at him, “But your pet I met in the garden… Thorell, right? You said he was a crescia. These don’t look anything like your hawk lizard.”
“That is because these ones are unbound. Once a crescia chooses their Vitaean, they go through a metamorphosis. Their final form is determined by the strength and soul of their bonded.”
My father came up behind me and took my arm, guiding me over to one of the sofas. “We can discuss that a little later. I do have responsibilities, Raynella, and we need time to discuss things before I am pulled away to attend to the needs of my people.”
I felt a little twinge of sadness as I claimed the cushion beside him, twisting my body and tucking one leg under me. Of course he would be too busy to hang out all day and answer questions. It’s not like you could call in sick when you were the king. The logic of the situation failed to make me feel better though.
Dey sat on a nearby sofa, seemingly content to bow out of this conversation.
“Raynella,” my father said, drawing my attention back to him. “I know that you are feeling very overwhelmed right now. I should have been the one to explain the prophecy to you, but Corym is the palace scholar and far more adept at telling the story of our people. You are a Vitaean, Raynella. You were born here. I know you feel human because you have spent your life surrounded by them, but you are not one. Not completely anyway. Your mother was human so you do have her blood in you, but your Vitaean side is much stronger.”
“I don’t even know what that means,” I replied, still trying to wrap my brain around being a different species. “You all look human to me.”
“I understand. The Gods who made all the worlds created life from the same template so we look similar, but I assure you, we are not. Dey can go over the differences at another time since I must soon return to my courtly duties. I thought perhaps that if I told you about your mother, then you would be more inclined to consider fulfilling the prophecy.”
It was only the desire to learn more about my mom that kept me from telling him that it was a waste of breath trying to convince me.
“You must know that my family has guarded the secret of the prophecy for thousands of years. When the original Diamond King returned here to the palace, he decreed that no Vitaean of the Diamond Court would be allowed to mate with a human because he was terrified of the child being born before his people were ready. He cared only for the wellbeing of his citizens and believed it was the right thing to do. His decree remained in place for thousands of years.”
“So what changed?” I asked.
My father ran a hand through his hair, hesitating. “My people started to get sick. It began about forty years ago. A plague born of the dark forest began infecting Vitaeans. The strongest healers tried everything but were unable to save those afflicted.” He closed his eyes for a second, struggling with his words. “My wife and children all succumbed to the illness.”
Oh, God. I felt like I should hug him, but the thought made me too uncomfortable, and I didn’t think he would appreciate the stiff gesture. “I’m so sorry,” I offered soberly, the weak words the best I could manage.
“It is all right, Raynella. It was a very long time ago. You have to realize that most Vitaeans live much longer than humans. I myself am 137 years old and still young compared to many that reside in the palace.”
I almost choked at the number. He barely appeared middle-aged.
“I realized that the only way to stop this plague is for the ley lines to be restored,” he continued. “The Walker created the dark forest to protect the Onyx Palace. To protect the condensed lines. Once they are separated, that forest should be no more, and stronger healers will be able to eradicate the disease. So I did the only thing I could do. I had my men search for a silver-haired human. It took over a decade, but they found her. Your mother, Leeara.”
