Excerpt
Somewhere in that thin line that exists between awake and asleep Samantha Sutter heard a voice.
Are you real Sam. Are you out there….Somewhere?
And Samantha answered. Yes.
Rebellious princess Josephine Stanford and bookworm Samantha Sutter are two very different girls from two extraordinarily different worlds with one incredible secret—they dream solely of the other. Every thought. Every emotion. Every physical sensation is shared.
The rebel princess Josephine Stanford lives within a gilded cage in Tandria, one of three Kingdoms on Cepheus—Kingdoms ruled by the Marked, gods amongst men whose Virtues curse them from feeling an ounce of human emotion.
Yet she knows not why her bars are so heavily bolted nor what she is actually being protected from.
That is, until her beloved late father’s Treaty is revealed, which will end a cold war by binding her in a loveless marriage to the Marked prince Nathaniel Montgomery, son of her country’s sworn enemy. But Josephine longs for the same magical, unbreakable connection her parents shared.
Plain Jane Samantha Sutter (AKA Schitzo Sam) of Simsbury, Connecticut, is simply hoping to survive high school. Once protected by her larger-than-life older brother, she now lives with her head down, hiding in the shadows.
Invisible.
Desperate to avoid the trauma of her past and that infamous nickname—a name she fears will return with her brother’s departure.
That is, until Simsbury High’s newly-crowned prince, Zachary Knight, takes notice of her and the very magical, unbreakable connection Josephine longs for is instantly forged. But Zack is a prime piece of high school real estate—and the social property of Samantha’s malevolent tormentor. Even acknowledging him would disrupt the finite balance of the high school hierarchy and put a target on her back…
one placed there by the same tormentor who wouldn’t hesitate to send her to the psych ward.
Again.
But things aren’t always as they appear, and a dream isn’t always just a dream. A question whispered in the darkness sets a destined course when it is miraculously heard, and, in turn, answered.
Sam and Jo discover the other is very real, and they are both Enlighteneds, magical beings gifted with an element by Mother Nature. Together they embark on a mystical quest brimming with questions and danger, but unbeknownst to them, they aren’t walking this journey alone; Nathaniel and Zack are tethered to this as well.
A shimmering golden thread binds them all together—one that had mysteriously snapped more than 300 years ago.
Whisked Away
CHAPTER ONE
Secrets and Flames
-MCMXCV-
A dancing flame flickered, dried lavender burned, wax dripped. Hildy’s candle should have welcomed slumber. It should have brought forth peace.
It should have swept me to my blissful Utopia.
It should have delivered me to her.
I laid beneath the thick crimson covers, my eyes following the dim light playing against the cold stone walls, my mind adrift—unlike the ship Lastain was poorly concealing within our port.
I tossed.
My anger simmered.
I turned.
My mind plotted.
The lessons learned within the confines of my gilded cage had been immense—my formal education excluded—yet one lesson rose above its cackling sisters, the memory of it still bleeding like an open wound: secrets killed. And the secret ushered into Stanford Castle under the cloak of darkness a fortnight ago only furthered this foreboding lesson, along with my sleepless state.
Lastain was keeping secrets. Secrets I was determined to uncover, along with confirming the presence of a familiar face. His wicked game of hide not seek was both cold-hearted and cruel. His reasons were a mystery. Yet his game was about to be uprooted—tilted on its axis and exposed by a rage-filled princess. I simply needed a plan.
And Kostas.
Rain began to pelt against vibrant stained-glass windows.
Wind howled through Stanford Castle’s long-reaching arches.
Then, like a gift carried within the breeze, the image of her arose.
My anger subsided and tired eyes closed, the promise of her presence allowing my mind to drift and slumber to take hold.
High school was such a Pandora’s box, yet she would walk this battlefield not alone. While her protector’s departure had left her feeling hollow and vulnerable, I knew there would be others standing to take his place to assist her.
One with a home cooked meal. One with words of encouragement.
And one with hair products.