The Queen by Suzanna Lynn Read Free Book Online Page A

woman.

Chapter Nine

    Luana gazed at the mysterious glowing form
that stood before her. It appeared to be a woman, with long hair
that flowed down her back like a rushing waterfall. She was slender
and tall, draped in a liquescent flowing gown that pooled at her
feet. She began to solidify, revealing porcelain skin and pale blue
eyes. She appeared to glow from her head to where she touched the
surface of the pond.
    The woman walked across the pond on the
surface of the still water, leaving a luminous trail in her
wake.
    Luana stood as the woman reached the edge of
the pool where she waited. “Mother?”
    Lyra nodded, smiling. “Oh my daughter, could
it be you? Has it been so long?”
    Luana’s heart raced in her chest. Is this
really happening? How is this happening? Could this really be my
mother? “It’s been… I’m nineteen.”
    Lyra appeared to be holding back her
sadness. “You have grown so beautiful, my child.”
    “Thank you,” Luana murmured. Her mind tried
to make sense of what she was seeing. “How is this possible?”
    Lyra gave a puzzled look. “Your uncle Rydel
has not told you?”
    “No. Well, yes,” Luana fumbled with her
words. “He told me it was where all the souls of elves went. He
didn’t explain how. He didn’t tell me how you died or who my father
is.”
    Lyra looked up at Baylin and his elven
companions that stood a short distance from Luana. She bowed her
head. “Rydel, Faylen.”
    They bowed in return.
    “And who do we have here?” Lyra asked,
reaching out a hand and pointing toward Baylin.
    “This is Baylin. He is the Prince of
Grasmere, the heir to the throne,” Faylen said. “Luana became his
bed wife and—”
    Rydel hissed at his sister’s
talkativeness.
    “A bed wife?” Lyra spat. “No, this simply
cannot be. You are royalty, Luana. You are above this mongrel.”
    Luana put up her hands. “No, you don’t
understand. I love him, and he loves me. We have a son together and
plan to be married.” The words sounded foreign to say out loud. She
always dreamed of it, and they spoke of their plans to wed in
secret. Yet she never told them to another living soul.
    “Married?” Lyra asked. “Interesting.” She
paused in thought.
    “Sister, I do not wish to rush this
reunion,” Rydel said. “But it is important that you discuss Luana’s
lineage now. Grasmere is in great danger of war and your
instruction could save her life.”
    Baylin, who had been so quiet up until then,
spouted, “And how is it more informative coming from her than you?
Could you not have told her weeks ago about her ancestry?”
    “No,” Lyra said. “The magical line of the
elves can only be shared from parent to child. My brother could
tell her she was elf kind, but he could not discuss her magical
abilities and heritage. That is the job of the parents.”
    “This is why the Pool of Souls is so
important,” Faylen piped in. “Without our ancestors to lead us on
the proper path, our race would have been lost centuries ago.”
    Lyra drew her attention back to Luana, her
sparkling sapphire eyes glimmered in the light from the pool. “It
is time you knew the truth, the whole truth.”
    Luana took in a deep breath and nodded,
signaling she was ready.
    “I met your father one evening in Fagin
Forest,” Lyra began. “He was a young blacksmith from Black Hallows.
He had no parents or siblings to provide for, but he had hit hard
times and was searching for game to help make it through the
winter. He, like most people of Wintervale, believed the elves had
all but left these lands. They believed those few left behind
remained to scare people ignorant enough to enter the forest.
    “However, desperate hunger must have
overwhelmed his sense, because I found him traipsing through the
wood in the dark of night. He had about as much chance of taking
down a stag as he did finding a needle in a cornfield. That is when
I found him.
    “At first he seemed afraid, terrified
actually. But I told him that I