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“It’s called the mate journey, the ultimate test. No one knows why. There are sacred texts and stories passed through the royal line, but there is no clear-cut answer to why a royal and his fated mate must go through testing. It happens without our permission. We no longer fight it. Instead, we watch and hope our fated mate will pass the test. The frya test was your last one. If you live, you pass. If you die, you failed.”
“I could give up at any point.”
“There are only two reasons a frya passes the test. She has a solid connection with her fated and she longs to be with her family. You have both a family and a fated. I believed you would pass, and you did.” Jenna balled up her fist and slugged him in the shoulder. He was a little too smug for her. Especially since it was him, Bella, and the baby that kept her holding on. He grunted as if her small fist hurt him. That was a point in his favor. She was losing track of the points she assigned, but she was pretty sure he had more positive than negative points.
“I think I get the overall gist of it, but it doesn’t answer my question.”
SaKura looked around the room. Every eye was on him including Rakha’s who would one day be his second. There was no need to tell him right away. He wanted his brother to enjoy Earth and the children he would have.
“If you were Diza, I would say you were goddess touched and you may still be. On your planet, I believe they would say the hand of God touched you. I don’t know how, but you’ve been touched. The voices you hear are divine and the dreams are future, past, or present. They alert you to what was, will be, or is.”
Jenna shivered as miscellaneous dreams of Jeffrey and Marilyn plagued her from their first encounter. Now the mystery man joined those dreams.
“I hope you’re wrong. My dreams are not exactly pleasant. Let’s say I believe you. Why would I see my mother on this journey?”
“If family can bind you to this plane, what is the one thing that could convince you to leave?”
“Family,” she whispered. The ache of watching her mother leave was still with her a soul bruise that may never heal. Still, she knew then and now that she had made the right decision.
“Jenna, who did you see?” She met Bella’s haunted eyes.
“Mom. She wanted me to tell you she loves you and is proud. You did the right thing getting rid of the sperm donor. There was a time they were happy and there’s a chance that on the other side, they may be happy again.”
Bella nodded and ducked her head. Rakha pulled her onto his lap, and she hid her face in his pecs.
“Are all Diza built like…” Jenna took her hand and indicated SaKura’s body from head to feet.
“The royals are. We’re taught to fight from the minute we can hold a blade.”
“Of course you are. Just the males?”
“My sister could kick my ass and Rakha’s and he’s a royal warrior. You don’t get that title unless you earn it.”
“He’s a general. I bet he’s a four-star general.” The pride in Bella’s voice was clear. Jenna couldn’t help smiling at her. Her sister was happy, and that’s what she had wanted since the day they brought her home from the hospital.
“The places we visited?”
“It was your first taste that the galaxy is bigger than you or I. This is a gift from your God or goddess, and it’s supposed to help you see what’s coming and help you avoid or deal with it.” He waited to see if she would deny what he told her. “You’re taking this better than I thought you would.”
“That’s because I think you’re full of it or dealing with mental issues. I’m human. Yes, we talk about how great it would be if we were seers or had other gifts that aren’t natural to our species. We know though, that there is no such thing. Some people get television shows doing strange things, but it’s assumed that it’s all TV magic.” She was scoffing at what he said, but she was also thinking about it.
“Do you remember the time we packed what we couldn’t live without and moved in the middle of the night?” Bella asked.
Jenna had been having dreams of their house disappearing into the earth and no one in the house surviving. It got so bad that she finally confessed to Bella. Then she went to her neighbors and told them they were going to have an earthquake. They laughed and called her a weirdo for a month. When the dreams became overwhelming, she told Bella it was going to happen in the next couple of days. It didn’t matter that she was trying to play it off. She kept seeing their death and Bella said let’s go. They weren’t going to die because she wouldn’t listen to Jenna. Two days later there was an earthquake and the house they were living in fell through the cracks in the ground. Bella wasn’t a slacker, they had coverage for earthquakes. The insurance salesman laughed while taking their money to the bank. The last laugh was theirs, but only because no one died.
Bella believed everything SaKura said. Jenna could see it in her eyes. Jenna believed too, but not for the same reasons. It was the time she spent with SaKura in her dreams. She refused to think about it when she was awake, but that time spent together had left marks on her soul. The male she was with today was the same one she dreamed of.
If all of this was true and not some fever dream. Then hell. Welcome to the modern world Jenna, where some women cursed because there was no better way to get across what they were feeling.
“Bella swore me to silence when she told me this. But you’re Rakha’s brother, you should know.” She looked at Bella, needing her permission to bring it up. She’d never go behind her sister’s back even if she thought it was important.
Bella frowned before looking at Rakha. He gave a subtle nod to say it was okay.
“You can tell him.” Jenna knew that meant Bella trusted everyone in the room.
She trusted them all, too. She looked at Amelia. Would it be wrong to say she didn’t trust her? She was their cousin and best friend when they were growing up. Lately, she’d been a little squirrelly, and it had Jenna on edge. There’d been no time to think about Amelia because SaKura had happened.
“Bella told me that before recorded time when the Diza passed knowledge orally from one generation to the next…” She stopped searching for the right words. “There was a time on Earth when history was passed orally. Our planets have more in common than one might think. She said there were a few Diza’s that could shapeshift into animals.” She could see the question in Bella’s eyes, but she smiled and nodded her head like she knew what Jenna was talking about. Rakha nodded, also giving her his seal of approval. This wasn’t what Bella told her, but a gut feeling was holding her back.
