Premonition (The Anima Trilogy Book 1) by Rachael Krotec

Author:Rachael Krotec [Krotec, Rachael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781733711814
Publisher: Nib and Feather, LLC
Published: 2019-03-03T05:00:00+00:00

“I don’t think we can answer that without lying. Who knows her true motivations?” Jia says, holding knitted hands against the bodice of her blue silk dress. “We only know she seeks you because of the prophecy.”

“Prophecy?” Lilah repeats, wide-eyed.

Jia clears her throat, her voice soft. “When you were but a child, right after the death of your father, she came to Florence.” Lilah’s eyes widen further, and Jia smiles. “They had their moments, even in the middle of war.”

But that is not why Lilah’s eyes widened. Perhaps this was a truth she knew long ago, too: her father is dead. This is somehow easier for Lilah to accept. To know that he couldn’t find her and raise her than to know that he wouldn’t—didn’t want to—is a mercy. She exhales. How do you mourn someone you never knew, and yet, are inexplicably tied to?

“She brought you to Florence. I was Florence’s chambermaid. In camp, I cleaned her tent and helped her dress, got her meals. One night, Alessandra came. Cloaked, she held you in her arms as you slept. She was clearly distraught when she asked Florence to grant her safe passage to an orphanage, to a Guardian. You were so young, so innocent. Few knew Alessandra was pregnant to begin with, and Rowley hid you under a protective incantation at that house for three—almost four—years.” Jia grows thoughtful, looking off beyond Lilah. “She admitted she’d gone to the seer, Cassandra of the Lockwood, and was adamant that she wanted you taken into the care of a Guardian, far away from her. Florence refused to let Alessandra go herself but made a promise that she would instead take you.” Jia sighs and makes a small noise of sorrow.

Lilah wrings her hands, her anticipation growing reckless.

“Then, a weeks later, Alessandra came back, demanding that the child be given to her, but Florence had already gone great lengths to protect you by giving you to an orphanage. Alessandra raving, absolutely mad. She kept saying she’d been shown ‘the truth’ about anima and that a shadow had come to help her.” A sad smile comes over Jia’s lips.

Leaning forward, Lilah asks, “What did the seer say?”

Aza, her eyes dark and her mouth covered by lacy fabric, says, “Does it matter what the seer actually said? We all know Alessandra wants you dead. That is that.”

Marcus shifts his feet and the floorboards creak underfoot, echoing in the silence. “Essentially, it says that a new world will begin. Alessandra clearly took it to mean that you would be the leader of that new world.”

Lilah listens to his voice, hears the words rolling from his lips, but they lose their structure and turn into a death knell. The word but lingers on Lilah’s tongue. But what if she’s wrong? What about the dreams or visions? Why would she . . . It is much easier to deny than to accept, to question rather than trust. She tempers herself, like iron in the forge, and sets her mouth into a hard, straight line.

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