"Yes," Mareya laughed. "Shad came along six years before I was able to go home and be with him full-time. I have an amazing husband."
"How did you…" Jordan paused, doing the math and shuffling through her memories, then made a sound of understanding as the story clicked into place. "When you left us to go back to Belize for seven months."
Mareya looked up at Jordan and nodded. "That's right. I was pregnant with Shad. I left just as I started to show, and did not return until Shad was two months old."
"You told us your sister was sick."
"Yes. And Allan brought in a temporary nanny for you. Angela was her name, was it?"
"Angel." Jordan shuddered. "Awful woman. We were thrilled when you came back." Jordan's eyes softened as she looked at Mareya. "How did you manage to leave a two month old baby at home?"
"King Konig asked it of me," the Nycht replied, picking up her glass and straightening. She shrugged. She took a sip and looked up at the moon. "I loved my king and I'm loyal to a fault. At least, that's what Eade would tell you. Shad spent much of his first six years with an absentee mother. But Eade is a fantastic father, and Arth stepped in as much as she could."
"I noticed Shad and Arth seem to have a special bond."
Mareya's face reflected some sadness. She nodded. "They do. And I'm glad for it." She put a warm palm on Jordan's arm. "But I owe you information. Anything you want to know?"
"When did Konig send you to Earth permanently?" Mareya had implied that she had gone back and forth from Earth to Rodania a few times after Jordan was born, but that eventually, she'd stayed.
"It was when Jaclyn disappeared again. I watched you from afar since you were an infant—–you and Ashley both, and Jaclyn too. Although, to be honest, I never cared a whit what happened to that woman." Mareya frowned when she thought of Jaclyn. "She made her bed. When Jaclyn vanished and took Ashley, I reported it. King Konig was frantic when I told him, and sent Strix to search for them." She shook her head. "Jaclyn was very clever. Staying underground."
"Surely she could have been found using Light Elf magic? After all, she wasn't even that far away."
"We tried that, but we underestimated her… as I suspect everyone who has ever met her has been doing since the day she was born." Mareya frowned. "She commissioned magic to cloak herself and Ashley from prying eyes." The Nycht shook her head. "I suspect it was black magic she bought. Coming into contact with that kind of sorcery never goes well. Insidious stuff. It will bring out every negative trait you have and suppress your good qualities. The longer you use it, the worse it gets."
Jordan mulled this over. "Are you saying that maybe Jaclyn wouldn't have been such a horrible person if she hadn't used black magic to hide herself for all those years?"
"I'm saying, it sure didn't help. We'll never know, I guess. Anyway, King Konig was distraught when we couldn't find Ashley and he was worried for you, having lost your mother and your twin. So, he bade me find a way to insert myself into your life."
"Easy enough, when Allan posted an ad for a nanny."
"Yes." Mareya smiled. "It was perfect."
"Any regrets?"
Mareya made a tsk sound and laid her palm on Jordan's cheek. "I lost time with a son, but I gained time with a daughter."
Jordan's throat closed up. She couldn't speak for fear of losing control. It was a beautiful thing to be wanted, to be cared for. Neither her mother or her father were blood relatives, and it didn't matter one bit.
She swallowed and fought to keep tears from spilling over, even though no one had seen the young Jordan cry more often than Maria had. She turned her back to the door, in case someone came out and saw her looking overwrought.
"I'm sorry, Jordan." Mareya put a hand on Jordan's back. "I'm sorry about your mother. Sorry for what happened to you. Sorry I had to keep so many secrets from you."
"Why couldn't you just tell me?" Jordan swiped at her face where a hot tear jumped ship and tracked down her cheek.
"I wasn't allowed, honey. King Konig swore me to secrecy. He was never planning to have you come back to Rodania, to uproot you from your Earthly life. He thought it would be too hard on you." Mareya paused, hesitating.
"What is it?"
"Well, it was why I gave you the locket in the first place. I disagreed with his decision not to bring you home to Oriceran. I thought you were strong, and you would have made the transition well. I couldn't actually say anything to you about the locket, because I had sworn not to, but I was hoping it would bring you home."
Jordan's eyes widened at Mareya. "I could have been killed, though! I almost was. Sol saved me so many times, and Toth saved me even more."
Mareya gave a sort of grimace. "Well, I sure didn't expect you to make the journey on the very same day I gave you the locket. I thought it would take weeks, maybe even months, before you came through, or that you wouldn’t come at all. I had intended to formulate an anonymous magic message for you, something crafted by a Light Elf, to help you find your way but that wouldn't break my promise to King Konig. I couldn't do that until I got back to Oriceran myself, and by that time, you had already left Earth. It all happened so fast. By the time I got organized enough to have a Light Elf track you, you were with my very own brother and I knew he'd keep you safe."
"You couldn't have sent me a message?"
Mareya sighed. "I wanted to. But I'd used up my savings just to try and find you. Light Elf magic is so expensive. Plus, the harpy attacks started then, and it was madness around here. King Konig was getting steadily worse, and you were busy with Toth, training and fighting. I knew the right time would come, and it did."
Jordan went silent for a time, thinking about King Konig and the warm way he had welcomed her and Ashley.
"I'm pretty sure the king wanted Ashley and me to come and find you. He started to write the words 'ask for', but got too tired and had to put his arm down." Jordan gazed at Mareya. "I would bet anything that he was going to write your name."
Mareya nodded, her mouth a sad line. "Yes. Since he could no longer speak, in order to acknowledge you formally, he’d have to have a Council member present, as well as me with the nephogram. Thankfully, it all worked itself out in the end."
"What was he like?" Jordan asked quietly. "My father."
"Ah." Mareya emptied her glass and set it down. "King Konig was a complicated Arpak. He was a man of big appetites and an even bigger vision. I loved him, but he was far from perfect. At least he was for equality for the Nychts. The queen and Prince Diruk—–" she shuddered. "If it was up to them, they would have kept us down forever." Her eyes softened and she gazed at Jordan. She swept a blonde lock back from Jordan's face and tucked it behind her ear. "Thanks to you, we'll never be kept down again. Rodania 'lucked out', as Earthlings like to say, to inherit you as their queen, Jordan."
"Thank you. I have no idea what I'm doing, but…"
"You'll figure it out." Mareya jerked her chin toward the door where laughter and voices were spilling out. "You have a good advisory board, and will soon have a balanced Council, finally. You're not alone."
Jordan straightened, blinking as an idea struck. "Would you consider a place on the Council, Mareya? I can't believe I didn't think of it already!"
Mareya grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."
"Really?" Jordan's heart jumped for joy. "Why didn't you say something?"
"I didn't have to, you came around to the idea on your own." She gave Jordan a serious look. "I'd be honored. You can't imagine, all the years spent at the palace as an underling, how many stupid decisions and deceptions I saw." She shook her head. "Ten years ago, I would have said no to that kind of responsibility. But now." Her lip twitched in a smile. "I have so many ideas, and I'm ready to share them."
"Wonderful! I'm so pleased!"
"And what of Ashley?" Mareya asked, eyeing Jordan carefully.
"I don't think Council is the right place for him, at least not right now. But did you notice that he and Arth hit it off? Cou
ldn't stop talking over dinner, and still haven't shut up."
"I did notice that, in fact. What were they talking about?"
"Technologies from Earth. Seems Arth and Ashley have this interest in common."
"Why don't you see if she'd take him on as an apprentice?" Mareya suggested. "Arth has been looking for help at her workshop and needs a keen mind. Perhaps he'd like to learn how to engineer properly."
Jordan nodded, liking the idea. "I'll speak with them both about it."
Footsteps on the balcony tiles made the women turn. Eohne hovered at the doorway.
"Might I have a word?" she asked shyly. "I know you have a lot of catching up to do, but…"
"Not at all," Mareya replied, straightening. "We have plenty of time to catch up." She kissed Jordan's cheek and disappeared inside.
Eohne wandered to the balcony, her expression tentative. She came to face Jordan. It was the first moment the two friends had been alone since the princess of Charra-Rae had been to visit Jordan.
Eohne's eyes drifted to Jordan's left arm, which was covered by the long billowy sleeve of her blouse. The Elf reached for Jordan's hand and held it, turning her palm over in the torchlight. She ran a thumb over the puckered scars running up Jordan's wrist. She unbuttoned Jordan's cuff and slowly rolled the sleeve up her arm, revealing the marks left behind by the Unbreakable Promise. Eohne's eyes grew glassy as she traced the leftover glyphs with her fingertips.
"No one has ever done anything like that for me before," the Elf said, her voice cracking. She lifted her eyes to Jordan's. "Thank you. I don't know how I can ever repay you."
"I would do it a thousand times over, Eohne. And you don't need to repay me. You've done so much for me and my Dad. It's I who owes you."
Eohne shook her head and sighed, pulling Jordan's sleeve down and buttoning the cuff.
"Did Sohne come to see you before she left?" Jordan asked.
"Yes. She almost gave me a heart attack. She appeared in my room sometime before dawn, right after she'd been with you. Her face was like thunder." Eohne took a breath. "I have never seen her so furious. I thought for sure she'd come to punish me, to take me home for good right that minute. I could hardly believe it when she gifted me with the freedom to visit Charra-Rae as I wished instead. She didn't explain why, or what happened, so I was very confused at first. Then, over dinner just now…" Eohne blinked rapidly and brushed at her eyes. "I spotted the scars on your palm when you picked up your wine glass, and figured it out. I'm grateful, but that was either very brave or very stupid of you, Jordan. You could have died."
Jordan shook her head, thinking back on the pain, which she could now hardly even remember. "I knew Sohne wouldn't let me die; that has never been what she was after. Even less so, now that I'm Queen of Rodania."
Eohne nodded, smiling at her friend. "And what a queen you'll make."
EPILOGUE
Jordan stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was swept up and back into a low braid and lay over her shoulder. Simple pearl earrings sat in her ears and tendrils curled from her temples and hairline. The low elegant hairdo had been crafted by Mareya, and left room for the crown Jordan would be coronated with in less than an hour's time.
She wore a floor-length gown in white with delicate trim in blue, Rodania's colors. The gown was long-sleeved with a wide neckline that exposed Jordan's collarbones. The dress was plain on purpose; it left room for the sash and gilded crest that would be placed over Jordan's left shoulder and right hip. The crest had already been altered: one of the two Arpak wings had been removed and replaced with a Nycht wing. Jordan had refused to be coronated under the old symbol, so there had been a flurry of activity throughout the palace to update every crest.
The distant sounds of a crowd gathering drifted in through Jordan's open terrace door from the park below. She was alone with her thoughts, but not for long. Mareya would come to fetch her in less than fifteen minutes, along with Ashley and Sol and four members of the Royal Guard to escort the group down to the park.
Jordan bowed her head and closed her eyes, shutting out the room and her reflection. She put her hand on her heart and felt it beating. Little butterflies danced up and down her spine, and her palms felt a little damp, but she was relieved that there were no more nerves than this. It was a big thing she was doing today. It signalled the true end of her life as an Earthling. Not that she was ever considering going back, but the promise she was making today meant that she was no longer living her life for herself, but for the citizens of Rodania.
She opened her eyes and nodded to her reflection.
"We can do this," she said to the soon-to-be-Queen looking back. "Thank God we won't have to wear a dress if we don't want to, though. I miss my leggings." She blinked. "Oh my God, I'm talking to myself." She looked to the wall, where a portrait of King Konig was hung over the fireplace. His teal eyes looked down at her, and she imagined him winking. "Did you talk to yourself? Of course you did. All the great leaders did, right? I think I read that somewhere. Great, now I'm babbling."
There was a tap at the door, and it opened a crack.
"You look so beautiful," said Sol, entering and shutting the door behind him. His eyes drifted over her appreciatively. "You look like a queen." A doubt crossed his face. "You're not going to wear dresses all the time, though, are you?"
"Absolutely not."
"Good, because I already miss the leggings and daggers." Sol crossed the floor to her and kissed her on both cheeks.
Jordan threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight. His warmth and solidity filled her with confidence.
"Are you ready for this?" Sol asked into her hair.
"I'll never be readier, let's put it that way."
"Good enough." Sol's hands slipped down her arms to her hands. "Shall we?"
"I was expecting Mareya. And where is Ashley?"
"Ah. Yes, there's has been a change of plans. They've gone down ahead of us." Sol pulled her through the open terrace door and onto the balcony where the sounds of the crowd below had grown louder. "It's a bit last minute, but we thought of a more appropriate entrance for you." Sol gestured to the sky. "Your escort awaits."
The sound of great wings beating at the air approached, and Jordan looked down, her own wings vibrating with joy. "Blue!"
Her reptilian friend gave a piercing whistle followed by a long throaty roar as he hovered beside the balcony.
Jordan hiked up her gown, spread her wings wide, and took to the air. With Sol at her back and Blue leading her, they flew down to the park together where a nation of Strix, their friends, and a colossal red dragon waited to celebrate the coronation of their rightful Queen.
The End
Author Notes - A.L. Knorr
Written March 17, 2018
So, here we are at the end! What a ride! The Kacy Chronicles book 4 marks the completion of my first full series of books. Began in July 2017 and completed in March 2018.
When I was a kid, my greatest wish was to be able to fly. I loved laying in the grass on the farm I grew up on in Southwestern Ontario and watching the birds glide and swoop across the backdrop of infinite blue. How incredible to be that free. How amazing to have a view of the world from up there. I thought nothing could be better, and dreamed about it during my waking hours as well as at night.
When I was sixteen I had an idea for a race of winged people, a nation united by their ability to fly, but divided by the differences in their anatomy, a nation of those with feathers, and those with the membranes of a bat. When Martha Carr asked me to join her and Michael Anderle’s Oriceran universe, I dusted off this idea and fleshed it out. This is how the Arpaks and the Nychts got their start. I’m thrilled to have finally brought an idea to light which I wasn’t sure would ever surface. Check. Dream fulfilled.
I can’t say enough thanks to Nicola Aquino, Shandi Petersen, the JIT Team at LMBPN Publishing, Steve, Jen, Martha and Michael at LMBPN, and last but definitely not least the group of fans a
nd readers in my VIP Reader’s Lounge on Facebook. I feel like pretty much the luckiest writer ever to have had you all at my back.
I try to respond to what readers want, so even though The Kacy Chronicles are complete, I have a couple of spin-off stories in mind for Toth and Eohne. If these are stories you would like to read, please either email me directly or message me on Facebook.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the adventures of my winged creatures as much as I've enjoyed dreaming them up. I am a little biased, to be sure, but I think there is a little Strix in all of us, a winged creature waiting to burst forward and take to the skies.
A.L. Knorr
Written in London, England.
Author Notes - Martha Carr
March 18, 2018
Okay, Abby Lynn Knorr (Abs to a lot of us) is the perfect author for these author notes. The girl knows how to live a full, rich balanced life and keep things in perspective. Has anyone seen the video of her Irish step dancing on Facebook lately? I look forward to seeing her pictures of Italy or even her small hometown in Canada and then there’s the side trips to Scotland. No wonder she can write so well in Fantasy. She’s feeding her imagination and giving herself time to breathe.
Which brings me to my last conversation with Magic Mike. The main takeaway for me was that I wasn’t looking at how I could take the most from this experience and create the ideal life for myself. It’s easy to let things get away from you. My first job was at 15 years old, and I was a single mother, and then the Great Recession and along came cancer over and over again and paying back big cancer bills.
I have been on survival mode for so long that switching over to thrive is taking some doing. Who knew? That’s where I’m downright blessed to be surrounded by people who do it so easily like Abs and Mike.
Letting go of doing as much as possible just in case takes time and happens in layers. But it’s happening… Instead of wondering how I could punch out another series and find a few more hours I’m thinking about how I can write and edit… and embroider, and go out with friends, and take boxing lessons (yes, boxing but no in the ring sparring… sorry Mike and Craig), and travel, travel, travel. And then there’s that thing about meeting a hot 50-ish guy. Why not?
Transcendent: The Revelations of Oriceran (The Kacy Chronicles Book 4) Page 24
