Intent on dressing herself, Liana hopped out of the bed and shoved her legs into her dress as Kavi turned to face the stranger. “Who are you?” he repeated, crossing his arms and leaning back on his heels.
Behind the woman, an elegantly dressed, bald-headed male stepped forward with a curt nod. “She be Magdala, Elder Counselor of Amatista.”
Magdala’s hand shot out and waved him away as she turned her attention back to Liana. “I am the one who sent you for the Fohers,” she said.
Looking into her eyes, Liana had an eerie sensation, as if she were looking at her own reflection.
“You’re the one who…” Liana shook her head, sudden anger welling up inside her. She turned quickly and lifted her dress, gathering the material up to her shoulders and exposing her backside.
Exposing the map—the source of so much of her pain.
She glared over her shoulder at the woman. “You did this to me?”
If she’d expected a reaction, she got none. Liana pursed her lips when all she heard was silence. Indeed. That woman had seen her back before.
“Turn around, child,” Magdala said, and when Liana cautiously did, she began to explain. “The goddess’s mark is on your back. Amaya asked for a sacrifice, asked us to give up what was most pure and treasured to our city, else she’d not forgive the Fohers for their ambitions—so we sent you. Liana. Datta su Magdala.”
Liana frowned in confusion then shook her head again. “I don’t understand. Was I born here then? How did I end up on Earth?”
“For years we perished. The Fohers are our strength, and with so many gone we grew weak, for the balance of strength and intelligence was precariously tilted. For seventy years we offered sacrifices but the goddess would not take them, she would not forgive the sins of our kin. Until you, Liana.” Her smile held tenderness, glowing up to her eyes. “The goddess was pleased with you, and you were sent in the arms of an elder in search of the Fohers, but we did not know the true intentions of his heart—or at least…I did not know his heart, even when other counselors warned me.”
Magdala’s ageless face darkened, as if she were remembering a dark epoch she’d rather forget. “He was human, like me, but he did not mean to bring the Fohers back. He intended to rule Amatista, and with the Fohers here, he could not. So he took the technology we provided for his search and took you to Earth instead, so that no Foher would ever find the map. When he came back to Oriana, he claimed you had perished. But I knew—I knew you had not. His lies were in his eyes, and the counselors banished him from the city.”
She shook her head, lips thinning in distaste as she continued. “Still, I was a fool, and I wanted to redeem him, to redeem a man…I had cared for.” Snorting in disgust, she continued, “He had impregnated a woman while on Earth. He went back after his banishment but died before his child was born. So I beseeched the goddess again, pleaded with her to grant me one bit of magic to right so many wrongs. She granted my request. So I appeared in his son’s dreams, once he was old enough to understand. I urged this child to right the wrongs of his father—bade him to bring you back to Oriana—to find the Fohers and return them home.”
“This…this man was Lyle?” Liana asked.
“Yes. But greed again turned another human against us, and when sent to fetch you, he instead tried to take Amatista for himself, like his father who betrayed us.”
Liana was loathing the direction things were taking, and though her belly churned and her heart constricted, she still had to ask, “Was this man…this traitor…what was he to me?”
Magdala’s gaze softened. Her head tilted sideways, as if that could diminish the blow her words caused. “He was your father.”
Liana reeled from the news, a hand flying up to her chest as she inhaled sharply. Oh Lord. Her father! Somehow Liana had always imagined her father as a hero, a man of goodwill, honor and integrity. And now all she’d ever wanted to know, she realized might had been best kept in the dark.
With a tender smile, Magdala stepped forward, stretching her hand out, palm up to her. “It is better you know,” she said, as if she’d read her thoughts. “And you, Fallon’s daughter—you have redeemed him by your kind, selfless act. He will be forgiven by the goddess. Now tell me.” Her hand clutched Liana’s, and although delicate, her grip was strong. “Anything you want, you will have it. Everything will be yours, datta su Magdala.”
“I only want a home?
?and to be with Kavi.”
Magdala smiled as though the words gave her pleasure. “Liana,” she said in a breathy murmur. Her eyes shone as she pulled her into her arms for an intimate embrace. “Sumi datta.”
Liana felt tears well in her eyes. Magdala’s tone of voice was as beautiful as the wind chimes she’d heard on the streets. Liana had never been held in such a gentle, comforting embrace, and when she drew back, her legs were near folding. As she stepped back, she was grateful when Kavi came to stand by her side, and she quickly slipped a hand under his arm, turning to lean against him.
“Liana,” Kavi said as he tilted her face up to his. “Do you know what datta means?”
Liana frowned, shaking her head. “No. What is it?” she asked, noting the lights dancing in Kavi’s eyes, and the curling ends of his lips.
“What do you think it means?” he prodded.
Something whirled inside her stomach at the way he asked. She felt an inner glow, like the recognition of something important.
“It means daughter,” he told her. “You found your mother, Liana.”
“My mother?” Turning on stiffened legs, she stared at the woman before her with new eyes, watching her nod tearfully. That beautiful, kind-spoken woman with such brilliant eyes and a soft, tender smile…was her mother?
Kavi kissed her temple, gently pushing her frozen legs forward, urging her toward Magdala. “Go to her.”