Chapter One

The air around him was thick and warm as Aegeus approached the bank of the creek, and the swiftly flowing water felt refreshingly cool on his skin when he took a step down into it. Being barefoot gave him greater control even as he walked across the slick, slippery rocks on the bank and along the bottom of the creek and swept the feeling of the water through his body. He focused in on that feeling, wanting to remember every second of this experience.

As he walked further into the water it soaked into his pants and sent its chill into the center of him, seeming to seep into his bones and flow through his veins. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. Rather, it made him feel as though he was becoming a part of the creek itself, his essence separating from his temporal form so that he could meld with the planet around him, becoming an inextricable element of Uoria. He offered himself to the transformative feeling, standing in the center of the creek so that the water washed up around his waist, cleansing him.

The evening had darkened around him as he approached the creek. The top of the water glittered with light from the stars as if they had dissolved when shining through the leaves that hung over him and had rained across the surface of the creek in tiny droplets of silver. As he stood amongst them, watching them sweep past him, Aegeus heard a murmur ripple through the small crowd gathered on the bank of the creek. He looked up and saw another figure coming toward the bank of the creek. A smile came to his lips and he felt his body starting to tremble with anticipation. It was her. Ellora. The woman who had changed his life, everything about him. Everything that he had been, everything that he was, and everything that he would be was different because of her. This woman was nothing short of extraordinary and the reason for every breath that he took.

A warrior and member of the Order from a very young age, Aegeus had rarely considered anything more than a life of service for the protection of the Mikana, the kingdom, Uoria, and the Universe. He had given himself to those responsibilities, offered himself entirely to what he needed to do to ensure that his duties were fulfilled and the world continued forward as it was meant to. That was before he met Ellora. When he found her, when he discovered the love that she held within her, it was like he found something within himself that had always been there, but had been locked away, protected and preserved, just waiting for the time when she would arrive and be ready to release it. Until then Aegeus thought that all that he was devoted to was the army and to the Order, but now he knew that that wasn’t true. All that he was devoted to was Ellora and the life that they would share. The life that they were beginning now.

Ellora reached the edge of the creek and met his eyes. Even through the darkness, he could see them sparkling. He could lose himself in those eyes, dive into them and swim through their depths forever. She reached out her hand, resting just the tips of her long, slim fingers into the waiting palm of the King. Ellora didn’t take her eyes away from Aegeus as Valmont led her down the sequence of rocks that acted as stairs to guide her into the water. If the chill of the creek bothered her, Ellora didn’t show it. Her hand fell away from the King’s and she continued into the water on her own. The long, gauzy skirt of the dress she wore rose up through the water and floated on the surface, making her appear to glide through the creek toward him.

Aegeus held out his hands toward her. Ellora took them and he drew her closer until she stood just inches from him. He leaned toward her so that his face nuzzled hers barely, resisting the urge to kiss her. He would wait. It would be just a few more minutes, just a little bit longer and he would ease the need for her that had been building in the week that they had spent apart in preparation for this day.

“I love you,” Ellora whispered.

“I love you,” Aegeus whispered back.

The sound of Valmont coming through the water took them apart and Aegeus watched as the aging King took his place on a rock that elevated him from the water slightly higher than the couple. He looked at them adoringly, the pride obvious in his eyes. This was a day that the Kingdom had been awaiting, though none more intently than Aegeus and Ellora.

The water rushing around them was more than just water. It was purification. It was forgiveness. It was cleansing for their bodies, their minds, and their souls. The water swept away the lives that they had lived before they came together, taking away from them their mistakes and their regrets, their shortfalls, and their pain. It left in its place beauty and brightness, a purity that was at once completely new and anchored in the tradition of all those who had come and stood in this water before them.

“My life began when I met you,” Aegeus whispered. “From that moment my existence has been like that of one of your tears. I was born in your eyes, I live in the softness of your cheek, and I will die upon your lips. You are my everything and more, my reason for being. I have devoted all that I am to you and I will continue to every day for the rest of my life.”

Ellora looked at him with soft, deep emotion in her gaze. The words she spoke to him blended with the sound of the water, creating a rush around him that swept him out of the moment and into what felt like another plane of existence. The King spoke the words of the marriage ceremony, bringing them together, and Aegeus felt the emotion building stronger within him with each passing moment. The ceremony ended and he looked at his wife. She smiled at him, her hands tightening around his, and Aegeus leaned toward her. Their lips met and Aegeus gave himself over to the sweetness of the kiss. Suddenly everything around him dissolved. The light of the stars liquified and flowed away from him. The touch of Ellora’s lips disappeared and Aegeus felt painful cold surround his wrists. The warmth of the evening and the cool contrast of the water faded away, replaced by only a damp, sinking chill. Aegeus opened his eyes and saw only the grey of the walls around him.

No. He couldn’t let it take him. He had to remember. Go back further…

“Who’s that?”

Aegeus stood at the edge of the orchard and watched the stunning young woman reach up to take another piece of fruit from the tree, tucking it into the basket that she held under one arm. Athan stepped up beside him and followed his gaze.

“Her name is Ellora,” he said.

“She’s beautiful.”

“She is.”

Aegeus strode into the orchard and up to the lovely woman. She reached for another piece of fruit and he reached up with her, letting his hand just brush hers as he wrapped his fingers around the fruit.

“Let me help you,” he said, looking down at her as he plucked the fruit from the branch.

“Thank you,” she said, looking up at him with eyes that nearly made his heart stop.

Aegeus handed her the fruit and she rested it into the basket with the rest.

“My name is Aegeus,” he said.

“Ellora,” she told him.

She glanced down shyly and walked toward the next tree. He followed her, feeling drawn after her. They continued to pick fruit together, their conversation gently growing, their lure to one another softly increasing. Soon his heart was stitched to hers, irrevocably devoted to her. The first moment that she held his hand was like he had never felt before. The first kiss was as though he had never breathed and she was filling his lungs with her breath. The first time that he took her into his arms, tenderly removed her clothing and rested her back against the softness of his bed…

There was darkness where that memory should be. It was only grey, faded, the edges disappearing as those treasured moments seemed to collapse in on itself.

He had to remember. Forward now…

“Come meet your son.”

The words sank into Aegeus’ heart and created a place there, burrowing within him and ensuring that he would never be the same. His son. He was a father. The love that he and his wife shared had created something miraculous. They had come together to form a new life, a baby boy who now lay in his mother’s arms, drawing in his first breaths, seeing everything around him for the first time, imprinting the world with his presence, his very existence.

This was Maxim, his first son. The relationship that Aegeus had with his own father was one of the most treasured relationships that he had in his life. His father was indescribably dear to him and he looked up to him with everything that was within him, aiming always to even begin to be like him, to be as good of a man as he was. Now Aegeus had his own son and he hoped that he would be able to emulate his father in his relationship with Maxim. He was in awe of this new baby and of his wife for bringing him safely into the world, and he hoped that he could raise him to be a strong man. He wanted him to learn what he knew, to see what he did, to understand what he did. Deep in his heart, he also hoped that the world that his son grew up in wouldn’t be the same one that he lived in now. Aegeus hoped that there would be changes and that some of what he knew and suffered would disappear long before Maxim would be old enough to be aware of them.

He was exceedingly proud of Maxim and the role of being a father, and this only furthered when Kyven was born. A second son, born just a few short years after the first time that Aegeus looked into the face of his first child and realized that this was the purpose of the rest of his life. There was nothing more amazing than the time that he was able to spend with his family. When they were babies he would cradle them to him and let the sound of his heart and the murmured stories that he told them lull them to sleep. As they got older he marveled watching them grow and learn. He played with them, taught them, helped them discover the very beginning of the skills that they would someday need when they became members of the army and took their place within the Order.

When they slept, he and Ellora would lie together in their bed, sharing their dreams for their children. There was so much that they wanted for them. So much that they hoped for both of the boys that they had created and the men they hoped to raise.

The feeling of the bed beneath him disappeared and Aegeus felt the memories of those whispered dreams slip out of his mind until he could no longer hear the words that Ellora spoke in his mind.

He couldn’t let them go. He couldn’t let this happen. He had to fight. He had to remember.

Aegeus struggled against the feeling of the chains around his wrists, yanking against the pressure of the shackles until he could feel the blood running along his wrists and down onto his hands. He didn’t care. The more he felt, the more he bled, the better he was able to keep his mind under his control. This couldn’t be the end of it all. It couldn’t be the end of all that he had done. He couldn’t give himself, his wife, or his children over to them.

Back now. One month ago…

The taste of Ellora’s lips. A kiss goodbye. It was like so many others. Countless others that he had given to Ellora in the years that they had spent together. But this one he allowed to linger just a moment longer. He needed her to reassure him, to carry him through what was ahead. This morning was different. The day was going to be different. The battle different. But it was what needed to be done.

Aegeus fought against the chains, screamed out against the sound of them scraping across the stone floor at his feet and the feeling of them dragging him back, holding him against the walls. How did this happen? How did he get here? Where did he go wrong?

Go back again. Remember. Eight months ago…