Ember of Hope

Raegan took a deep breath and exhaled; readying herself. As soon as she clasped the bracelet around her hand it felt like someone had sucker punched her in the gut. She doubled over; gasping for breath. “Breath Raegan. Just keep breathing” Lilly rubbed her back soothingly. She had fallen to her knees with her fingers digging in the earth. She had her teeth clamped hard in order to stop herself from screaming but soon it became too much, “Take it off. Please take it off” she gritted out through a clenched jaw. Lilly hurried to take the bracelet off her wrist and she could finally breathe. She fell to the ground and inhaled big gulps of air.

“You should rest for a bit darling. We can try it again tomorrow morning.” Tamara smoothed her hair back from her sweaty cheeks.

“Just give me a minute. We should try again. I didn’t know what to expect.” She tried to get her arms under her but they were trembling so bad she fell back down.

“No Raegan. Your magic is all haywire; you’re in no condition to try again. It’s taking both of us to not let it burn the trees down. We should wait till tomorrow to try again”.

That night, Raegan lay in bed and reached through her bond. It was like walking a bridge from one end to the other. She was on one end and Valiance on the other. She could feel him there; just as anxious as her. Just feeling him through the bond was like a soothing balm on her aching body. The war between her magic and the stone’s had left her whole body hurting. Resisting the urge to caress his mental walls and alerting him of her presence; she took solace in knowing he was safe from her and fell asleep almost immediately.

The next morning Raegan woke up to an aroma straight from heaven. It roused her from the depths of her dreams and pulled her towards the kitchen. Apples and cinnamon were a match made in heaven and that was currently what Lilly was taking out – a piping hot apple pie. And behind her on the table was an assortment of freshly baked garlic bread, butter and cheese. On the stove was a kettle of boiling water probably for tea.

“Mmmm you’re my favorite person in the world. Can I stay here forever?” Lilly laughed at her childishness and took her hand to pull her to a seat, “I would want nothing more dearie. Sit. Let’s have a cup of tea before your grandpa arrives. He is out of town to see a patient.” Lilly poured them each a cup. Tamara hadn’t yet woken up so they sat together around the table and talked about their family. Lilly told her how she fell in love with her husband who was the son of their town’s chief. They had come to Armas from another part of the kingdom. He was a healer and his family was against his marriage to a witch even though those were good times. So he’d left home and came here to build a life with the woman he loved.

“He is here.” Lilly stood up from her chair and looked through the window of the kitchen. “How can you tell? I don’t hear anyone approaching.” Raegan asked; straining her ears to hear for footsteps crunching the grass outside but she could hear nothing.

“I can sense him.” She replied simply. Maybe it was like her bond with Valiance or maybe Lilly could sense his power signal nearing her house. But she didn’t want to ask and interrupt her so she kept quiet and kept an ear on the footsteps to know how far Lilly’s senses went.

A few seconds later she heard him. Lilly went to open the door and went out to meet him. Even after so many years together, her eagerness to meet her husband was a beautiful thing to witness. Raegan focused on her tea to give them privacy to greet each other. A few minutes later both of them entered the house and Lilly introduced them. Valiance’s grandfather - Dominique Attelberg was a tall man with surprisingly young physique. His yellow gold eyes revealed his identity as a healer. His head was full of shiny white hair accompanied by a small matching white beard. He was a beautiful man who complimented his wife’s beauty. His very presence was soothing and welcoming.

“Nico she is Raegan – Val’s mate.” He smiled at her and Raegan couldn’t help her answering smile as she extended a hand towards him in greeting. He took it and looked in her eyes in a similar way General Roth had assessed her. So she stood quietly; letting him assess her metal. When he was satisfied, he patted her hand with his other and welcomed her into his family.

“Did I hear father’s voice?” Tamara came into the kitchen and hugged her father. In that moment she looked just like a little girl who had missed her dad. Raegan felt a pang of sadness in her heart and swiftly bowed her head to push back at the pressure building behind her eyes. They all sat together for breakfast and Raegan swore Lilly could give chef a run for his money.

All the while Raegan kept sneaking glances at Dominique as if she knew him from somewhere. “Did you visit Ilya a few months back?” she finally decided to ask him directly instead of contemplating.

“Yes, I have many friends there. Why do you ask?” even his voice was warm and soothing. He was like the definition of grandfather personified.

“I think I saw you there during one of the gatherings the first time I came to Evreux”.

“Oh? But I don’t remember seeing you. Ah, maybe my eyes aren’t as sharp as they used to be.”

“I usually sat back with my friends from town so you might not have seen me at all. I don’t know why Val didn’t introduce us then. Maybe he wasn’t there that night, I don’t remember. You know he was my first friend here, and Damien.”

Then she continued to tell them the story of how she got here and met Valiance. And how she came back the second time.

……………………………………