The Book of Time: A Guardians of Time Novel

Chapter One: Queen

She brought the small cup of lily root tea to her lips and sipped as the sun crested over the top of the Bower Mountains. Its rays played in her deep green eyes while she scanned the horizon. She had spent the night before in a bed restless; haunted even, because of the terrible loss that she and her kingdom had suffered.

Now, within the beauty of Edin's nature, she sought peace. 

Unfortunately, she couldn't find it; she couldn't shake the darkness that had kept her up all night. 

I'm alone. She thought to herself. 

Kathryn Kromwelle stood on the large veranda of her late mother-in-law and the former queen, Emelia, watching the night surrender its starry skies to a warm and bright sunrise. Her husband was dead; killed by the hands of the evil king Stenos, just like his father before him. The royal weight of ruling the planet Edin now rested on her shoulders alone and it was a weight she was unsure she could bear. 

Oh, Ayden. She began crying once again. 

A tear fell into the half-empty cup, causing ripples in the fresh, hot tea.

After spending a few hours cuddling up to her two-year-old son, Skylar, she had gotten up and gone to the Timeroom where she desperately searched for Ayden's life spark. She even tried contacting him in the Midway; a place where the Temporal Warriors communicated with one another's essences, past and present. It is said that a Warrior that dies honorably rules in the Midway, but she couldn't find him. 

Her thoughts were pulled back to her current situation by tugs at her heart strings; she would have to explain to their young son that his father wasn't coming home. It had been easier when Skylar had never met his father and she could explain things to him through pictures. But their little boy now had an undeniable connection to Ayden and no matter his age, the news would devastate him.

She was here, in Emelia's room, sipping tea to try and soothe her restless spirit. But she found even the normal calm brought on by the drink wasn't working. As she grieved for Ayden, the other Warriors they had lost came to her mind as well. Brendon Toler and Rosemarie Chandine had both fallen at the blade of Stenos's men. And Kathryn had just now been informed that, despite their best efforts, Leyla Braumham had succumbed to her mortal wounds. The woman who was "the gentlest Warrior" was gone. 

The Temporal Warriors had succeeded in their attempt to stop Stenos from going back through time and killing her husband as a child. It would've changed everything about the timeline and most of the galaxies would have fallen under his rule. They had prevented Armageddon, but it had come at a heavy price. 

Her husband, their king, was dead.

It had been reported to her that the other Warriors sustained nothing more than minor injuries. News she was happy to receive. Ayden was gone and for all she knew Stenos could still be alive. The evil king was good at hiding until he was ready to strike; like a snake poisoning the galaxies he touched, destroying them.

As Kathryn lost herself in thought, the sun crested above the mountains. Now, light danced over nearly half of the valley below. She took a sip from her cup, but pulled a sour face before setting it down on the table. Her salty tears had ruined the sweet, pleasant taste. She stood and as she was leaving she was met by the royal assistant, Jakoba. 

"Are you alright, Your Highness?" He asked her as he bowed. 

"My husband is dead. The evil man that many have sacrificed their lives for may still be out there and I have to break the heart of an innocent two-year-old. No, Jakoba, I'm not alright." She folded her arms, holding herself and continued crying.