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Prologue
Agrum Di Vinum – 500 Years Ago
Terror consumed our people. A darkness blanketed Agrum Di Vinum and as the four other leaders clustered around me, I wondered if we could even stop it.
“Amelie, do you see a way for us to fix this?” Kingsley demanded. I could see the animalistic energy rippling under his skin as he paced the floor, and I quickly sent a look to Edda to send a calming feeling over his skin. We couldn’t get worked up, not when the rest of our people were on the edge of turmoil themselves.
Amelie, my dear friend since birth, shook her midnight black hair back and forth. I often thought Amelie held the hardest job. As the lead Seer of our community, she constantly envisioned the dangers that could ruin the harmony we created. “As I told you many moons ago, I could onlyseethe darkness. I cannot see who is causing it, I cannot see how to stop it, I can only see the destruction of our world and people.”
A glass shattering alerted my attention to Leland, fangs elongated, displaying his anger. I eyed him warily, the chaos fraying even the strongest nerves. “I’m in control, Willow, no need to throw me in captivity with the bloodlust Drax. But we need to find a solution. We cannot let our world succumb to ruin.”
I understood the anger and urgency. I felt it myself. This was my home. And for the first time in a millennium, we had found harmony between all our people. For so long, the Enchanters, Drax, Shifters, Ethos, and Seers had been at war, each wanting to stake a claim onto this world as their own. But under the guidance of us five, we had found peace. And now the darkness ravaged Agrum Di Vinum. We couldn’t let this continue.Icouldn’t let this continue.
The four voices around me argued as they tried to think of a way to stop the darkness. I tuned them out as I focused on the facts. Amelie had seen the darkness several years ago and had warned us of it, but she hadn’t been able to see what it would cause. “Destruction” all she had uttered. But now, as the darkness grew, we were seeing the effects that no one could have predicted. The Shifters were losing control of their animals and turning rabid. The Drax were falling victim to their bloodlust and ripping out the throats of any Divine within reach. The Ethos were using their gifts to enhance the fear and agony. The Seers were altering futures to cause chaos. And the Enchanters, my people, were using their powers to cause the destruction Fayre had seen, burning our community to the ground. If we didn’t find a solution today, not only would all our people perish, but so would our world.
“What if we section off the upper forests and have the Enchanters that haven’t succumbed to the madness forge walls? Those who have not been affected by the darkness can move there.” Edda suggested in her calming tone.
“That won’t work, the walls won’t hold forever.” Kingsley growled, but her words sparked an idea inside of me.
No, the walls wouldn’t hold forever. But what if we did move our people? I loved our home, but I loved our people more.
“Amelie, I need you toseefor me.” I spoke for the first time since we had all joined together for this meeting.
All four heads turned towards me. Edda spoke first.
“She cannot see anything past the darkness. What more could you hope for her to see Willow?”
“Another solution. We cannot save our world right now. We are not strong enough. But we know that as more generations are born, their strength grows. Are we not stronger than all the leaders before us?”
My four friends nodded in agreement but still looked at me with skepticism. I continued.
“Our heirs will be stronger than us. Strong enough to fight this darkness we cannot contain. If we do not wish for our people to perish, we must find a way for our heirs to survive. We must leave our home, find a new one, until the strongest are ready to reclaim our land from the Darkness.”
I looked at the faces in front of me as they changed from fear, to doubt, to hope. Hope that one day Agrum Di Vinum would be a haven for our people again.
“Could it work?” Leland questioned, looking to Amelie. We all focused on her as she closed her eyes and used her gift toseeinto the possible futures. After several hours, Fayre reopened her eyes and looked at us with something close to acceptance in her eyes.
“I cannot see a clear path for the future, but I see a safe passage for us and our people to the human realm. We will create a new community in their realm and our heirs will be the strongest born. I cannot see which generation of heirs will bring us home, or if that version of the future will come to pass, but thereisa path of hope for our people.”
The five of us glanced around at each other as we let the idea manifest. Could we do this? Could we leave our home and place faith in a new generation to bring back peace to our world?
We sat in silence for a while longer before anyone said anything. Edda stood first and headed towards the door. Before she exited, she spoke three words. Three words that cemented our immediate future.
“For our people.”
Chapter One
Halley – Present Day
“You’re my once in a lifetime miracle, sweet Halley, always remember that.” Mommy whispered softly as tears tracked down her cheeks. We were hidden behind a large tree Mommy had stopped at in the middle of running through the woods. I wasn’t sure why we were running. Or why Mommy looked so scared. All I knew was she had woken me up in a frantic rush and told me we had to go. My whole life Mommy had often packed us up randomly and moved but never in the middle of the night or without any of our things.
“Mommy, I’m scared. Why are we running?”
She smoothed my wild curls from around my face and kissed my forehead softly. “Some bad people are chasing us, my dear. I’m afraid that they may catch us this time.”
As she spoke, I heard shouts and footsteps racing towards us. Mommy’s wide eyes searched around before landing back on my face. Her eyes welled with tears as she accepted the fate we had been handed. Quickly, she stood us up from where we had crouched and squeezed both of my hands.
“I love you forever Halley. You are more special than the entire world will ever comprehend. I need you to run now, Halley, run and do not look back.”
