Her True Name: Volume One: Her True Name

By Donna Milward

Her True Name is an open ended series that can be read in order or as stand alone books. Each edition is a lifetime lived by Sage and Virtus in the realm of Earth as they try to earn their way home to Eden. 

When Virtus dies in a demon attack Sage defies the Energy and goes in search of his soul. She finds him on earth, and sacrifices her immortality to join him. She will pursue him through every human incarnation, each lifetime, until they can return home to Eden, together. 

Finding each other is only the beginning. Theophratus is a scholar and healer, returned to the village where he was raised. Salvia married a merchant, her greatest joy her three young boys. When Apophis, god of chaoes, meddles in the affairs of humans no one is safe. Will they find love again? Or is survival their greatest obstacle? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Donna Milward
• Release date: Feb 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9780994970206

Book preview

This book is dedicated to

Nicki Cole

High School Best Friend

And Lover of All Things Egyptian.

CHAPTER ONE

Please!

Sage despised the sound of her own pleading, but the gaping emptiness in her heart compelled her to ignore her pride. Her wings itched, and the hilt in her hand had grown slippery with sweat.

Have I not been a good and true servant to you, My Lord?

Indeed you have, Sage.

The voice in her mind did not lack pity. But as she stood before the Energy her grief numbed her to Its gentle tones.

Since the ambush, she could not feel anything but wracking grief. It hurt to breathe.

Her mouth tightened as she recalled the monstrosity that had emerged from a cloud, deadly smoke that seemed to form claws and teeth.  Her lover never stood a chance. The cowardly beast attacked Virtus from behind. It latched onto his back and tore a mouthful of his spine with fangs the length of her fingers.

She and the others on patrol had raised their swords and given chase. It did nothing to save Virtus. His blood splashed her face as he tumbled all the way down to the ground. It tainted the pristine water of the river he landed in.

You loved him well, but you know I cannot make exceptions.

But I will do anything, she said. Give me any task...

No Sage. There will be no bargain. Not for you, not for Virtus. He is not of our world any longer. He must earn his redemption back to you like all the others we have lost.

Sage raised her eyes to the brightness of the Energy’s presence as it surrounded her. She tried to take shelter in the warmth It offered, longing for It to soothe her ache with unconditional love.

But Sage remained hollow. She would never know joy again.

Eden spread all around her in a marvel of orange cliffs and dunes of soft sand. Clear giggling rivers became gargantuan roaring waterfalls alive with emerald and silver foliage never equaled in any of the Homes of Life. Gold and white clouds raced across skies the color of Virtus’ azure-violet eyes.

But now she was expected to accept that he would never be seen again.

Nothing could be so beautiful as him, and the endless horizon only served to remind her that her pain would never cease.

An unfamiliar emotion crept from her belly through her limbs. Her hands clenched and a scream erupted from a new place inside of her.

No! She lashed out with her weapon and her wings, flapping away from her god in small backward hops. She felt desperate and alone. Unloved.

If you will not help me, then you cannot comfort me.

Sage launched with a powerful thrust of her legs into the air. She needed to get away. Perhaps she would not return.

I will find you, Virtus. I will not stop until I do.

***

She flew through a gaping hole surrounded by swirling mists and blue lightning until she emerged in bright blue skies once more.

Time had once been an acquaintance, now it proved to be her enemy. Every land confused her. Some had trees, some had sand, some had water, some had snow. With each stroke of her wings, each failure to locate him, seconds of Virtus’ new life stole away. He would age in his mortal coil, grow old. She had to think.

If given a choice, or mercy of the Energy, where might he be?

Virtus had a deep affection for humans, particularly Egyptians. They never ceased to amaze him with their intelligence and love of beauty, the ingenuity with which they built enormous configurations to reach for the sun. Once she found them, she would find Virtus.

She rode the wind in the darkness and in the day. The moon and sun passed over her often, but she pressed onward until moaning sands called to her, and great structures loomed into view. At last Sage relaxed and allowed her to wings glide on arid currents before her toes touched the warmth of the ground.

She found herself near a wide river. A scattering of shelters made from mud and grass huddled a short distance away.

Although Virtus had always been a formidable warrior, he loved quiet spaces and the natural order of things. If she would find him anywhere, it would be in a tranquil village like this one.

She opened her mind and began sifting through the human emotions that bombarded her. With a simple wish she made herself unseen and strolled the settlement. She would allow her wings to rest.

No wonder Virtus found these Egyptian mortals so fascinating. They truly invented useful things with their hands. The humans wore garments on their bodies and carried food and drink in vessels made from clay and plants she saw growing beside the great river.

But feelings of peaceful goodwill and pride mixed with lust, greed, and other unfamiliar emotions. If such was the way of humans, it made Sage shudder. If not for Virtus...she would prefer to remain in Eden. Still, she sensed something about this place. Like a compulsion, Virtus’ energy had brought her here. She let her mind drift, absorbing human thoughts like plucking berries of ideas and emotion. Men, women, and children loved and laughed, bickered, and cried. 

Impatience and noise threatened to overwhelm her when she experienced the spark...like familiar birdsong. She followed her heart, down a hard packed path snaking through the whispering reeds, far away from the din of squabbling voices. Gentle splashes led her to the water.

Alone by the river, a man hunched over a bush of pale leaves. Sage felt his excitement as he squatted with his toes dug into the sands, sniffing and tasting the plants surrounding him. So engrossed was he by his discovery, he did not notice when Sage reappeared before him. He remained intent on the foliage, his eyes fastened to the greenery.

She studied his face. Same striking cheekbones, same dark glowing skin, like stone smoothed by time. She did not care for the absence of hair on his head.

Avete.

At last he gazed upward. His eyes widened and a sharp gasp parted his lips. He stared at her, terror dominating his expression and stealing color from his face.

Her heart dropped in disappointment. This human’s eyes were the color of rich brown dates, not the vivid indigo that belonged to Virtus.

But this breed of human does not have blue eyes, she reminded herself. And this soul could only be Virtus.

She saw the same joyfulness, the same twinkle in his character, the same perfect posture. She recognized his heartbeat-the way it tripped at the sight of her. It was him. And it hurt to see her soul mate wearing this unfamiliar shell.

The man prostrated his body before her, crushing the foliage and releasing a fresh woodsy aroma to the wind as he did so.

His babbling irritated her ears. She did not understand a word.

Do you know me? she asked. Could he still speak their language?

Her question resulted in a terrified shout as the man quivered with his face and palms down to the ground.

Perhaps she should put her sword away?

No. Humans could be unpredictable. He might reach for it. She decided to search his thoughts, it would save time. With telepathic ease she crept through his mind and read his emotions.

Despair rippled