The Forgotten Promise

By Domonique Kendrix

Zola is excited to finally visit her grandparents in the beautiful beach-side town of Kaprisa, but it doesn’t take her long to notice that there’s something they aren’t telling her. What they do tell her is to stay away from the water, which is hard to do when there is nowhere in town she can go without being near it.
Zola soon wishes that someone had told her about the man with shark fins who knows too much about her. She wishes that someone had told her that ignoring his invitation to join him in the sea would not be as easy as walking away. Zola finds herself dragged off to the Realm of the Sea-folk, to fulfill a promise she doesn’t remember making. If she ever wants to make it home, she must escape the man with the shark fins and find a way to survive her encounters with the sea-beings who want her dead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Domonique Kendrix
• Release date: Nov 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463286210

Domonique Kendrix

I’m a Southern California native, raised on fairy tales, fantasy, and anime. I’ve been imagining up stories that take place far from the desert I live in, for as long as I can remember. No matter the destination of the story, my readers can find something real-world and relatable in them. I enjoy writing fantasy and fairy tale themed stories with various sub-genres and themes. I love creating romantic stories, but I still enjoy stories where the love of family or friends can drive a person to save the day. When I’m not reading or writing, I can be found watching ridiculously bad sci-fi monster movies, or visiting places around California.

Book preview

The Forgotten Promise

Domonique Kendrix

Copyright © 2018 Domonique Kendrix.

This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter One

‘There’s something hypnotic about the waves,’ Zola thought as she hopped off the back of a cart, with her bag. She said goodbye to the family friend who had kindly brought her through the valley with him. It was a shame that it was the first time she had been back to the cozy coastal town of Kaprisa in nearly fifteen years.

When she was younger, Zola’s parents had suddenly taken her and relocated their family far from her grandparents, who remained in Kaprisa. She had never understood why they would want to leave such a beautiful place. They had left in the middle of the night, because it was easier to travel through the hot, arid valley they had to cross. That was what her parents had said, and it made sense to her, but she didn’t remember getting to say good-bye to anyone.

She still rarely got to see anyone from Kaprisa. Her grandparents always insisted on coming inland to visit, and when she suggest coming to them, they wouldn’t hear it. They had been too old to travel such a long distance for a while, and finally relented when Zola insisted that she be the one to come to them this time. Her parent were just as concerned about her visiting without them—as though she would walk off the cliff side into the ocean or get lost in the hills—so they were glad to send her along with someone who was used to the trip.

Unfortunately, they were too busy with crafting new materials to come along. Summer was the most profitable time to sell the jewelry and home goods they crafted from the unique materials shipped to them from Kaprisa, and they had to be ready to meet demands. Zola thought her parents’ crafts were beautiful and skillfully made, but thought it was strange that they never quite matched the uniqueness of the shark tooth and mother-of-pearl bracelet that her grandparent gave her before they moved.

Zola followed the road uphill on the side closest to the rock face, as she had been directed to. That was where her grandfather would be waiting for her. She was sure he would be worried about her if she took too long, and she didn’t want him to come down the slope if he didn’t need to. The incline of the slope was not steep, but is was unpleasant in a way that made it seem unending, which was made worse by the weight of two weeks’ worth of clothing in her bag.

She let out a breath of relief when she got to the top and set her bag down. She heard a voice say, If you had let us come to you, you would not have had to come up that hill.

She turned to see her grandfather sitting on a flat stone off to the side of the road where it was shady. She should have known he would be waiting closer to the drop off than they had agree.

One little hill isn’t going to stand in my way, Grandad, she said, hoping he didn’t hear her breathing unsteadily. He raised his eyebrows knowingly, and adjusted the hat over his closely shaved gray hair. She said, I notice you didn’t meet me at the bottom of it.

Hush, girl, he said, getting up with the help of a cane he only carried for the sake of fending off bothersome animals. He extended his arms for a hug and changed the subject. I hope your journey here wasn’t too rough.

No. It’s really not that far. It’s just boring, she said, and once he had let her go, she let him take up the bag that she brought, as he liked to do. She turned to look at the beautiful water where there were people fishing and children playing, and said, I’ve been looking forward to seeing this place again.

Let’s not worry about that now, her grandfather’s hand closed on her shoulder a little stiffly and he turned her toward him. There was a tight smile on his face and he said, Let’s get home. Your grandmother is eager to see you.

Ok, she said, slightly taken aback by her grandfather’s response. He extended his arm behind her back and hurried her