The Shadow Princess (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 6)

Bastien leaned forward in his chair, putting his untouched bourbon on the coffee table. “You are from a land called Vyronas. Kieran and I are from there as well. It is in another dimension.”

“Wait a minute,” Thalia interrupted, holding up her hand. “Assuming I believe you, are you talking about another planet?”

Bastien shook his head. “Vyronas is what’s known as an AltVeritas. A separate dimension of existence right here on Earth. There are many dimensions that exist—”

“I don’t believe you,” Thalia scoffed, again interrupting his explanation.

“You don’t have to,” Bastien replied flatly. “I’ll prove it to you soon enough.”

“How are there different dimensions?” Thalia asked, lending credence to the possibility that she might believe him a little since she wanted more of an explanation.

“Where we are now, here in Wyoming, at this particular time, is known as the Earth realm, or the First Dimension. Thousands of years ago, a meteor crashed to Earth, and it was discovered to have magical properties. The large stone was broken into smaller pieces, and the magic was used for many things, but often it was used to open doorways into other dimensions. To create other worlds coexisting with this one.”

Thalia raised an eyebrow. “Why would anyone want to create other worlds?”

“To escape persecution, poverty, prejudice,” Bastien replied. There were hundreds of reasons, but those were three very good ones. “There are similarities among the dimensions, but there are also great differences. For example, the First Dimension—which is here—is technology driven. Most other AltVeritas, including Vyronas, are driven by magics.”

“Give me an example.”

“Here on Earth, you may use a car or airplane to travel great distances. In Vyronas, we use magic to bend distance. To bring our destination to us so that we can step from one place to another.”

“I’d ask you to prove it to me now,” Thalia muttered, picking up the bourbon and taking another sip, “but I think that would waste time.”

Bastien took this to mean she believed him. He knew that her encounter with the erchras probably had more to do with her accepting this crazy story than his assurances.

“While there are several royal families, all of Vyronas is governed by a ruling sovereign from an old and advanced line of magic. House Clairmont ruled our world from the capital city of Kestevayne. Your parents were king and queen, and you are their only heir. Seven years ago, your parents were assassinated, and Kestevayne was overtaken. You were secreted away, sent to live here until such time as we were capable of reclaiming your throne. That time is now.”

Thalia sat silent as she processed. Bastien knew that what he’d said must sound preposterous, but as he promised… he could prove it to her.

Still, he allowed her a little grace for more curiosities before he sprung upon her the real truth of her life.

“Why don’t I have any memories of this supposed life? Of my parents or of Kestevayne?”

Bastien exchanged a quick look with his brother, who seemed on edge by the question. It was going to be the toughest part of the entire ordeal of bringing Thalia home—how to explain that she’d had no say in any of this.

“It was felt to be in your best interest to suppress the memories of your old life. Instead, a new life was built for you. The consensus was that it would be easier for you not to remember until it was time for you to come back.”

Thalia chewed on her lower lip, apparently brooding over what little information she had learned so far.

When no questions followed, Kieran offered, “We have the power, right now, to bring your memories back. It will answer a lot of questions you may have. Then we can fill you in on the rest.”

Thalia still said nothing, her gaze falling on the bottle of alcohol and staying there. Bastien would allow her one more sip, but past that, no more. He couldn’t afford to have her drunk when time was of the essence.

“That is, if you think it will help,” Kieran finished a bit lamely due to Thalia’s awkward silence as she brooded.

Bastien could imagine what Thalia must be thinking because he knew her so well. She’d built a very nice life here and would not want to leave based solely on their word that she had another life somewhere else. What was worse, he couldn’t even tell her it was a better life, because she’d be going back to war, death, and destruction.

He knew she had to be reeling from this information but he didn’t intend on coddling her. The Thalia he knew wouldn’t want that.

But then again, he didn’t know her at all anymore.

“What if I don’t want to go back?” Thalia suddenly asked.

Kieran scoffed. “Why would you not want to return to your home?”

“This is my home,” Thalia retorted sharply. “This is what I know and love. Tell me… why would I want to leave?”