A sudden flare of silver light blinded Emmeric when her finger connected with the magic jewel.
Chapter 49
Iyana
“Don’t…”
Iyana heard Emmeric’s warning, but there was no time to process it before she touched the amulet. She was unsure anyway if she’d be able to pull back solely because he asked her to; the call of the glowing jewel was too strong.
Silver surrounded her, and when her vision cleared, the tomb had disappeared.
Instead, Iyana stood in a meadow. Tall grasses rose to her waist, swaying in a gentle breeze. Sunshine warmed Iyana while the wind brought a slight chill, like spring was trying to begin while the world clung to winter. A cottage stood off in the distance, smoke curling out of the chimney. There was something about it that whisperedhometo Iyana. It differed completely from her hut in Imothia, but the feeling was there all the same. She ran her hands over the soft grass around her. This place was a quiet paradise, and she envisioned herself staying for a while, taking a break from the chaos her life had become.
A woman in a long dress left the cottage and headed towards Iyana, her hair and dress blowing in the wind. As she cut a path through the grass, also running her hands along the blades, Iyana reached for her magic as protection. However, as she sought the woman made of fire, who she now recognized as the first Aztia, she was nowhere to be found. Iyana’s heart raced as she searched every nook and cranny in which her magic might possibly hide. Before, when she couldn’t reach her magic, the feeling of it was still there, just slightly out of reach or running through her fingers like water. This time, it was gone. Completely.
“You won’t be able to do magic here,” the woman said. Iyana started. While she was panicking about her magic, the woman had crossed the distance and was now standing in front of her. She was middle-aged, with slight wrinkles at the corners of eyes and lips, telling the tale of a woman who smiled and laughed often. From her features, Iyana thought she hailed from Istora; she had slightly tanned skin, dark brown eyes with flecks of gold, and long, wavy chestnut hair. She was only slightly taller than Iyana, and still slim, but with the curves that came with age and a life well lived.
“Alessia,” Iyana whispered. The woman grinned, wrinkles accentuated by the movement; but instead of making her look older, it brightened her face so significantly she appeared more youthful.
“Please, call me Les.”
Iyana returned her smile. Les made her feel safe.Loved, somehow. Like a mother would. She glanced around the meadow again. “Where are we?”
“This is my home.”
“Am I…is this the Everlands?”
Les chuckled. “No, Iyana, you’re not dead. And this is actually my home.” Now the older woman frowned. “I don’t actually know how you’re here, only that I felt your presence as soon as you arrived.”
“How is this possible? You’re alive where you are right now?”
“Magic,” Les said, shrugging, a smirk pulling up the corner of her lips. “But, honestly? No idea how this is happening. I’m alive, as far as I know. All of my excitement is twenty years in the past. Now, I live here with my husband and children.”
“Your Kanaliza.”
“Yes, Theo.” Les grinned fully. It was obvious she was very much in love with her husband all these years later. Iyana had renewed hope for her own romantic future. The thought of Altair gave her butterflies.
Iyana frowned, a question on the tip of her tongue. “How did you know Theo wasthe one?” Probably not the best time to ask—there were more important queries at hand—but suddenly this one was the most important.
Les forced air from her pursed lips before she beamed again. This woman definitely smiled often; it made Iyana trust her all that much more. “That is a long story. How long do you have?”
Looking behind her, expecting to see a door—or something—leading back to the tomb, Iyana shrugged when there was nothing there but more grass. “No idea.”
“Then let’s sit.” Les waved a hand over the area they were standing, and Iyana watched in awe as the grass receded into the earth. A springy, soft moss replaced it, which is where Les settled down, legs crossed. She noticed Iyana’s gawking. “What?”
“That was amazing!”
“You can’t do that?”
“No.” Iyana sat down next to Les, stretching out her legs and inhaling the sweet scent of honeysuckle. “In my time, there’s hardly any magic left. My grandmother somehow locked mine away, and so I’ve only been practicing for a couple of moons. I’m decent with air and fire, and I can occasionally summon a sort of pure force? But that’s about it.”
“Your time…when is it?”
Iyana was shocked. “You don’t know?”
Les shook her head. “I only know what I was told—one Aztia and Kanaliza would be born each generation. I sensed your arrival and your name whispered through my head—I’ve learned to stop questioning those types of things.” She fiddled with a necklace. Not a necklace. The amulet. Iyana immediately wanted to ask about it, but thought it only polite to answer Les’s question first.
“I’m a millennium in the future. Most humans possess no magic whatsoever, except for healers, and even then we only have a touch. Until recently, I had never heard of the Aztia or Kanaliza; they’d been mostly erased or forgotten from our history.”
