Page 21 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

The cellar door outside the Lardbrak’s back porch had been locked and latched for nearly a year; the lock’s rustic metal bent slightly from the few bad storms after magic vanished. Duncan struggled to pry it open, even after using a few tools he brought from his shed. After he opened the door, they rushed into the basement just below the cottage.

Duncan reached for a bow dangling from a hook on the wall. Then he grabbed a bag with new arrows and placed it on the table next to him.

“Say it isn’t so, Duncan?!” Val cried. “This entire time, ye weren’t trainin’ ’er to sell yer bows and arrows, were ye?” Her hand went into fists, watching her husband stay silent as he gathered up more arrows. “Duncan, talk to me, eh!”

“Val—” He rested his hand on the chair next to him and drew a breathless sigh. “I’m sorry, my love.”

Nola watched the blood drain from her father’s cheeks—he feared her journey more than she did. Though their plan had been set in motion for two years. It was not a matter of if, but when she would venture to the sea. That was the day her parents needed to let her go—Val more than Duncan.

Nola turned to her mother. “I’m going to the Eastland Forest to see the Fae Queen,” she said.

The redhead paled, and her mouth snapped shut. She staggered into her husband’s arms. Nola gave her a minute to take it in, then rushed to them both and wrapped her arms around them.

“I cannot allow the king to destroy our land,” she whispered into their ears. As she released the hug, she added, holding out both her hands for her parents to take, “We will all die if the king continues to poison us with his ideology and hatred for anyone who threatens his rule. He will destroy everything we are.” Nola’s lips drew back in a snarl. “Do you see what is happening out there?”

Yah, I do,Val thought, but did not want to say it aloud.

As much as she tried to deny what was happening to their world, she had to come to reality. If they did not do something to stop the king and bring back magic, they would surely die.

“Wh’must ye be thah one to do it, huh?” Val asked, her voice caught in her throat, her accent thicker as tears drew to her green eyes. “Ma child, tell me why does it ’ave to be ye?”

Nola felt the heaviness in her chest tighten before she answered, “Because I have a feeling I am somehow special, Mother.” She wiped a tear from her mother’s cheek. “I love you more than my own life. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for becoming my mother—for loving me like no one else has.” Another tiny tear trickled down, that time from her own cheek. Then she continued, “I feel it in my heart, Mum. I believe it is my duty to lead.”

A look of fear passed across Val’s face.

“I am scared but know I will not do it alone. The Elven warriors live among the Fae, and they are strong and brave. We will fight together,” Nola added.

Mrs. Lardbrak tilted her head. “Wha’ if ’ey say no?” she asked, “Wha’ then, huh?”

The olive-skinned girl shrugged. “I will have to find out when I arrive to see the queen,” Nola said confidently.

Duncan placed his arm around his wife again and gave her a comforting squeeze.

“We ought to trust our daughter; she is stronger than you think.”

Val pulled away from Duncan’s touch and wrapped her arms around her waist.

“Yer just goin’ to get yerself killed! That’s wha’ yer goin’ to do,” she said, a hard sob escaping her. “That beast—the king—is goin’ to kill ye.”

The fear in Val’s voice pulled at Nola’s heart. She was asking her to trust in the unknown and watch her start a war. Nola needed her mother’s strength more than anything. She did not want to leave her like that, but time was running out and if she did not go then, the king’s men would stop her before she could leave the shore.

Nola’s face lit up as she wiped a tear off her cheek.

“I’d rather fall to protect the people I have been raised to love than turn my back on them and do nothing.”

Val drew her lower lip between her teeth and stepped back, placing her hand against the wall as if she were about to collapse to the floor and looked up. A long silence loomed in the cellar, all three of them deep in thought for a good minute.

“Then we—” Val paused, feeling a painful lump press against her throat, “we need to pack ye some clothes, and—”

“It’s already done,” Duncan said. “I packed her a bag two years ago.”

* * *

Tears trickled down Val’s cheek as Nola placed her forehead against her mothers. They lingered there for a few seconds, both feeling their chests tighten in sadness.

Val said softly, “Swim, Nola. Go to the sea, find answers, and become the warrior I ’ave known, yet always feared ye’d become.” She wiped her nose. “It ain’t up to me to decide yer fate.”

Val released her daughter. Then Nola turned and wrapped her arms around Duncan.

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