Jovari the Blue

Prologue

Irelia Drakos stared at the television, her mouth agape. She blinked. The footage remained the same, replaying on a loop. She blinked again. Still, the same.

A breath whooshed from her lungs and she stepped backwards, then sank onto the sofa. Newscasters began speculating, tossing theories out, the most popular was alien abduction. The subject in question must have been taken and then returned to a different part of the world, her memories wiped clean. How else could someone explain it?

Irelia hardly heard a word, her gaze transfixed on the footage instead.

A mob of French police escorted the girl and her family into a private car from the American embassy to take them to the airport. Irelia's gaze fixed on the markings covering the girl's skin, peeking from beneath the sleeves and collar of her shirt. Turquoise luminescent tattoos. Spriten markings. Markings she'd once seen on her mother, from a time she almost couldn't remember.

She covered her face with her hands, her gnarled hands, and rubbed her eyes. When she looked up again, the footage had looped back to the beginning. She glanced down at her chest, then pulled on the collar of her dress, ignoring the sight of her sagging, wrinkled skin in favor of the single, luminescent marking she carried just above her naval. A pattern of swirls and dots. They were dim, but every once in a while, they flared to life.

The tattoo had appeared long, long ago, when she'd desperately needed hot water. Long before kettles had been invented. Back when starting a fire was more of a chore. Since then, she could warm anything with a single touch, a single desire. She'd kept it hidden, mostly because it was strange. But, she'd always had reasons to hide herself.

Now people marked themselves in all manner of styles. Tattoos of different colors and images. Now her marking was more believable. But she'd grown old, so she kept herself covered for other reasons.

She took a deep, fortifying breath, then stood, shuffling into her kitchen to put on a pot of tea. She didn't use her magic. She liked the mundane aspect of going through the motions, heating the water in the kettle, adding the tea leaves, letting it steep, pouring it into a cup, inhaling the steam as it rose. She let chore calm her.

When she sat down at the table, she reached for her tablet. Another marvelous invention that had taken time to adjust to. Technology. She'd seen too much change to be surprised by the bounds of human civilization. Gods, so much change in her many lifetimes.

She unlocked the device and began searching for flights. Myrine would need to take Darcie, the cat she'd adopted off the streets. She glanced at the feline, snoozing on the window sill in the sunlight. Perhaps this was a bad idea. She was too old to travel, her bones weary, her body all but spent.

But...no. There was something tugging her, cinching her chest tight. A need. One she hadn't felt for...how long had it been? Two thousand years? Perhaps she was mistaken. She was getting ahead of herself.

She glanced down at the flight details, hesitated, then entered her payment information. She clicked purchase before she could stop herself. Then she stood and shuffled about her home, clicking off the television. On the way to her bedroom, she glanced at the framed photos lining the hallway wall. Generations of family, come and gone. She'd been a part of their lives only briefly, often as a grandmother, to watch over them, until the time came to extricate herself. Otherwise, there'd be too many questions.

For her more ancient family, there'd been paintings of them, portraits commissioned to remember them by. She kept those tucked away, occasionally donating a few to museums. They'd be too suspicious left out in the open. Draw too much attention to her and her age.

There were other aspects of her long life, too, boxed up, filling storage units, tucked away in the spare room. Items she was fond of. Garments from another time, jewelry from another era. Things to keep her memory in tact.

She entered her bedroom, groaning as she knelt to retrieve her travel suitcase. Her arm gave a painful twinge as she reached beneath the bed. Gods, she was too old for this.

As she stood, her knees nearly gave out. She plopped her suitcase on the bed and unzipped it. Then she just stared inside its empty depths. How much would she need to pack? How long would she be gone? Should she really be doing this?

Her chest gave another twinge, of longing and fear. Something felt different about this. A nagging intuition driving her into motion. If she left her life here in Greece, she might never return. But she had to go. She needed to do this. Even if it meant answering difficult questions. Questions that were better kept secret.

It was time to return to the world she'd left behind.

💕❤️💕Don't forget to heart this chapter!❤️💕❤️

Dear Reader!

Welcome back to the world of Dragonwall. I am so happy to have you hear. Did you enjoy the prologue? Yes, I know it was short. A mere teaser! How dare I drop this bomb on you then quietly back out of the room! 

But I gave you just enough to get your brain spinning. 

Now, on to the next chapter!

--Mel