Falling Kingdoms

“The hunter found the body of his love in the forest but no sign of where his daughter was. He took the ring from Eva’s finger to remember her by . . . and to lie in wait for his moment.

“The goddesses remained apart until the final battle, when they wanted to take the other’s power—realizing after many years that possessing all four of the Kindred would give one ultimate power and immortality even in the mortal world. They destroyed each other.

“The hunter had been spying on them all this time. As the goddesses were destroyed, the Kindred reappeared in their crystal form. He had Eva’s ring, so he could touch the crystals without being corrupted. He hid the crystals where no one could see them or find them. And then, having achieved this last task in his life, he died.”

“Great. A story with a happy ending,” Nic said, stunned.

“Depends how you look at it, really.” Eirene smiled. “More wine?”

Nic pushed his glass forward. “Please.”

“So the Kindred were never found,” Cleo said.

“Not to this day. Although many believe that they’re only a myth. That the Watchers are merely legend—stories told through the years with no basis in fact.”

“You said you believe in magic. But do you believe in these stories?” she asked.

Eirene poured more wine for Nic and herself. “With all my heart.”

Cleo head swam from everything she’d been told. “The Watchers search for the Kindred. Isn’t it said that they see through the eyes of birds?”

“Hawks, to be precise.” Eirene nodded. “They can take the form of hawks. They seek to find the Kindred and return it to the Sanctuary. If they ever leave other than in bird form, in these spirit journeys, they cannot return. The Sanctuary is closed off from the rest of the world. It exists on a different plane from this one. And all except a trace of magic has stayed with them—but it’s said to be dying off. The longer they go without having the Kindred in their possession, the more their world fades. Just as this one does.”

“Do you think it’s related?” Nic asked.

Eirene’s expression was grim. “Most definitely.”

“I just like the love story part,” Sera said. “The rest is kind of hard to believe, if you ask me. Grandmother, I promised a couple friends that I would meet them at the tavern. Do you mind if I go out?”

“No, go ahead.”

After bidding them farewell, Sera grabbed a cloak and walked out of the cottage, leaving the three of them alone.

“I must admit, I’m surprised that you’re not more outraged at the suggestion that your beloved goddess Valoria from Limeros is a corrupted Watcher,” Eirene said.

Cleo and Nic exchanged a look.

“We have very open minds,” Nic replied. “Although it’s a surprise that she could be as evil as you say she was.”

“I never said she was evil. Nor was she good. Even in the darkest and most cruel person, there is still a kernel of good. And within the most perfect champion, there is also darkness. The question is, will one give in to the dark or the light? It’s something we decide with every choice we make, every day that we exist. What might not be evil to you could be evil to someone else. Knowing this makes us powerful even without magic.”

“Other Watchers leave the Sanctuary.” Cleo slid her index finger around the edge of her empty glass. “They can never return. But it’s happened.”

“So the rumors go.”

“Do they keep their magic? Could a Watcher who holds healing seeds infused with earth magic really exist?”

“You have such hope for this that I would hate to say no.” Eirene smiled and reached across the table to squeeze Cleo’s hand. “You must continue to believe with all your heart. Sometimes belief is all it takes to make something real.”

“I believe I would like to go to sleep very soon,” Nic said.

Her smile widened. “An excellent suggestion, young man.”

With the story and the meal over, Eirene prepared beds on the floor by the hearth for both Nic and Cleo. She snuffed out the candles, pulled the canvas covering across the window for privacy, and bid them good night.

Cleo settled down onto the thin straw mattress and stared up at the dark ceiling.

And though her thoughts first turned unbidden to Theon and what he might be doing, when she fell asleep, she dreamed of sorceresses and goddesses and magic seeds.

“I had to escape,” Sera said later at the tavern. With its dirt floors and dirty glasses, it wasn’t much and wasn’t large enough to accommodate more than a couple dozen, but it served its purpose. It was a place for the work weary to find a cheap drink and some company.

“Really. Why’s that?”

A smile played on the lips that half the boys in a ten-mile radius were well acquainted with. “My grandmother’s taken in a couple of strays for the night. Had to suffer through her stories again. Immediately thought of you when they were introduced to me. The girl’s name is Cleo—just like that hateful princess. I’ve never known anyone else with that name.”

Jonas stared with shock at the girl seated next to him at the small wooden table in a darkened corner of the tavern. He’d never heard of anyone else with that name either. “What did she look like?”

“Looked like a princess, if you ask me. Blue eyes. Fair hair. Around my age. Pretty thing, I suppose.” Sera twisted a piece of dark brown hair between her fingers.