Chapter One

Chapter One
Roslynn Blakefield
Sweetwater, Louisiana
July 7, 2012
 
   ‘The dreams are back.’  That was the first thought that flickered through Roslynn Blakefield’s mind when we woke up on the morning that would change her entire existence. The dreams she was referring to had been haunting her sleep since she could remember. Usually they were pleasant dreams but once in a while, they were more like bad memories than real dreams. One of the two dreams she had had the night before had been like that. They had both taken place on the familiar beach, the one she had seen in most of the dreams. In the first one, she had been standing in front of a woman, arguing over something. They had argued for a long time before the woman had stepped forward and placed the tip of a long silver dagger against her heart. Roslynn remembered the searing pain she would felt as the dagger was embedded deep into her heart. A voice had called out to her as the woman disappeared into the night and Roslynn remembered dropping to the sand as warm arms circled her waist. The second dream had been shorter than the first. She remembered begging the man that was holding her not to cry, the way her heart broke when he had started to cry, the way his kiss had tasted on her lips, she remembered it all as if it were a memory instead of a dream.
   Rolling her eyes, Roslynn shook her head and climbed out of bed. The clock on her bedside table told her it was noon and past time to wake up. Grabbing a sundress from the closet, she stumbled into the bathroom to get dressed. Twenty minutes later, she found herself wandering downstairs towards the kitchen where she could hear her parents talking quietly. She smiled a little at first, hearing her parents talk always made her smile, until she heard the sound of her mother sobbing quietly. Frowning, she walked into the kitchen and sat next to her father.
 “Mom? Are you all right?”
   Violet Blakefield looked over at her daughter and took a deep breath, preparing to tell the story that would change the girl’s life. By her side, her husband had gone completely still and silent. This was her story to tell and Violet would tell it the way it had happened. When it was over Roslynn would leave, to fulfill the duty she had been born into. After a few moments of silence, Violet looked straight into her daughter’s eyes and smiled softly.
“I have something to tell you Roslynn. I need you to listen carefully and not say anything until I reach the end of the story. It isn’t a story that’s easily believed but I promise you that every word is true.”
“All right…” Roslynn was confused but she would listen to her mother, Violet knew she would.
“Those stories I used to tell you when you were little, the ones about the Immortal Isles? They are true. The Immortal Isles are a real place. I was born there, as was your father. My mother, Thorne Blakefield, was the direct descendent of a woman named Rayanne Blakefield. Rayanne was the Queen of Immortals once, the Last Great Queen. She ruled in peace for 3,000 years before trouble came. Trouble in the form of her childhood best friend, Arianne Knight, that is. Rayanne and Arianne got into a fight and Rayanne was killed. As she was dying, she promised her soulmate Colt Darkvein that she would return someday. Her daughter grew up and married and had a daughter of her own, Thorne my own mother gave birth to me, and I had you. I have known since the day I got pregnant with you that you would have a destiny to fulfill, which is why I told you those stories. I wanted to prepare you for your future.”
   Roslynn was silent for a long time, staring at her mother. It made sense, she realized suddenly. The dreams she had been having since she was born, they fit into the story her mother had just told. They were not just dreams; they were memories, her memories.
 “It all makes sense now. The dreams, the ones I have told you about before, they aren’t just dreams are they? They’re memories of when I was Rayanne. That’s why you never wanted to talk about them.” She whispered, looking at her mother.
“You’re right. Those memories are your mind’s way of getting you to remember who you are, where you belong. Two months after you were born Colt sent two letters. One of them was addressed to us, the other to you. We promised him that we’d give you your letter on the anniversary of Rayanne’s death.”
   Roslynn watched in silence as her mother stood and walked out of the room. She came back a few minutes later carrying a small envelope. Handing it to her daughter, Violet watched as she stared at the writing on the front, remembering the person that wrote the words. Roslynn closed her eyes, picturing his face in her mind. His face came easily, the short black hair, vivid blue eyes, and reckless grin that she’d fallen in love with in her first life. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes again and opening the envelope. A letter fell out first, followed by a ring. She laid the ring aside for a moment while she read the letter.
Dear Roslynn,
   By the time, you read a letter 360 years will have passed since your death. You were born just two months ago and I knew from the very first second that I laid eyes on you I knew who you were. You stared up at me, your bright green eyes seeming to say a million words in the space of one second. You will not grow up in our world but you will hear stories from our world and hopefully will remember your previous life, the life you lived as Rayanne Blakefield, my beautiful soulmate. You are my soulmate still, even though the body your soul inhabits now is not Rayanne’s body, and I love you the same way I loved you back then. I will always love you, never doubt that Roslynn. You will always be the best part of me.
   As you read this, you may be remembering our life together. If you remember nothing else, remember the night I asked you to marry me. I remember it as though it was only yesterday. We were on the beach, in the very same spot where we first met, and I remember thinking that you looked like a goddess. I will never forget the look on your face when I pulled the ring out of my pocket and asked you to be my wife. Your eyes sparkled with sudden tears and you kissed me, with so much passion that I could not doubt that your answer was a resounding yes. You were – and are – the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
   I love you Roslynn Satirra Blakefield. I loved you then and I love you now the same exact way.
Forever Yours,
Colt Jaxon Darkvein
 
“I remember it…I remember you…”
   Roslynn let the letter slip through her fingers and picked up the ring. It was the same ring Colt had given her the day they’d become man and wife. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at it. The memories came flooding back to her then, tears falling slowly down her cheeks. Suddenly, sitting in the tiny kitchen surrounded on both sides by her parents, something inside of her seemed to click. She wasn’t Roslynn Blakefield anymore. In that, second she became Rayanne Blakefield once more. Roslynn Blakefield was only the name she’d been given, to replace the one destiny had given her. Now that she had accepted her destiny, the name Roslynn had no part in her life.
“I am Rayanne Satirra Blakefield, Queen of Immortals, and Soulmate of Colt Jaxon Darkvein.”
   Her voice was little more than a whisper but she felt as though she were shouting, exclaiming the truth to the world. She looked up, meeting the astonished gaze of her parents, and felt a sudden burst of joy. For several minutes no one spoke. The silence grew until it was a thick wall between the Blakefield parents and the girl that had once been their daughter. They stood staring at each other for a long while before James Blakefield spoke.
 “I knew this would happen someday. You’d read his letter and remember fully who you are. Rayanne Satirra Blakefield, our Queen, would return in the form of our daughter.”
Rayanne was silent, watching the man that had raised her with a careful eye. A part of her – the part that had belonged to Roslynn – mourned the loss of the people that had raised her. It was natural, she assumed, to feel as though a part of her was being lost with this sudden revelation. They had, after all, given her this life. Without their help, she would never have been born again.
 “Rayanne?”
   It was him. It was Colt. After 360 years of waiting, he was here, standing only yards away. She turned towards the living room and saw him standing there, his eyes on her face. He wore a black button-up t-shirt thrown open over a form-fitting black muscle shirt. A pair of black jeans covered his legs. His short black hair was set in neat spikes. But the focal point was his eyes. The sky blue eyes that seemed to look straight into her soul were filled with tears, locked with her own.
“Colt.”
   His name came out in a whisper as she hurled herself against his chest. As his arms tightened around her and they both started to sob, tears of joy rolling down their faces, their world righted itself. They clung to each other, crying and laughing, until they could no longer breathe. Then they simply held each other as though they would never let go.