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Freya Snow Lady Ruth The Phoenix Saga

A Quick Overview of Books Gone By and Books Yet to Come…

I thought, what with there being so many now, that I would do a quick overview of all of the books I have out, as well as the books I have planned for 2017.

Aspects

Aspects is a YA sci-fi series following a group of alien-blooded warriors who are responsible for keeping the cities of humanity safe from the genetically engineered monsters that roam what remains of the Earth.

The first three books are currently available in ebook on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited, and in paperback.

There is also a prequel novella available for free.

Snowverse

The Snowverse is my urban fantasy universe, including all of the books following the Snow family, as well as their friends and enemies.

Freya Snow

Freya Snow is a YA/NA series following an Autistic, bisexual Angel who fights Demons and gets drawn into saving the world every so often. The first nine books, as well as a short story collection, are available now.

The tenth book, PRINCESS, will be released January 2018.

Other Snowverse Titles

DISGRACED is a novella following the character of Lady Caroline from Freya Snow. It acts as a prequel to both Freya Snow and the series following Lady Caroline, The Royal Cleaner, and follows Caroline in her teenage years as she struggles against the darker side of Demonic politics.

TARGET is the first book in The Royal Cleaner series and is an f/f romance novel following Caroline between the sixth and eighth Freya Snow book as she tries to keep magic a secret, even from meddling human police.

REBEL is the first book in the Engineered Rebel series, which delves into the more sci-fi end of the Snowverse and follows a group of soldiers who were genetically engineered and trained since birth to fight magic as they start to question their purpose and whether magical beings are really the bad guys. It's recommended that this series is read after the first eight Freya Snow books for spoilers.

TRAPPED is a novella following Lily Snow, Freya's mother. It's a prequel to the Freya Snow series, though there's no real reading order for it. I wrote it about the same time as WINGS, so that's probably about as good a place as any to read it, but it doesn't really matter.

FATE is a collection of short stories following Alice, Freya's adoptive sister, and is available for free to people who join my newsletter. A new story is added with every new Freya Snow book.

CASTAWAY HEART is a trilogy of mermaid romance novels set around the time of TRAPPED. It's separate enough from the main plot of FREYA SNOW that it's not necessary to read the other to understand one. The entire trilogy is available now!

THE ALMOSTS is a trilogy of paranormal heist novellas which are best described as Saints Row III meets Breaking Bad meets Charmed. The trilogy will be released all at once in August 2017 and the first book is available now from instaFreebie.

The Lady Ruth Constance Chapelstone Chronicles

Anyone who has followed me for any length of time will know the saga of Lady Ruth. A trilogy of steampunk novellas that took me far too long to finish and that were in editing hell for months. But now the entire trilogy is officially out!

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Freya Snow Lady Ruth The Phoenix Saga

Join my Beta and/or ARC Teams

Want to read my books before anyone else? Want to do for the low, low price of letting me know if you spot a typo or leaving a short review?

I’m currently looking for more people to join my Beta and ARC teams. If you follow this link, it will take you to a form, where you can specify which teams you want to join and which series you want to read.

I look forward to having you on the teams!

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Freya Snow

Protected: Trouble – Newsletter Exclusive Freya Snow Short Story

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Freya Snow

Protected: Fate Short Story – Anna

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Freya Snow Writer's Sketchbook

The Hunt Rewrite Project – New Cover Reveal

So, I’m starting this thing I’m calling the Hunt Rewrite Project.

Basically, the first Freya Snow book is a little out of whack with the rest of the series. It’s not bad. The writing style is just inconsistent. The main reason for that is that HUNT represented a return to original fiction after a long time writing fanfics. So, I was determined that my writing style not seem fanfic-y.

Of course, that’s absurd. It’s clearly absurd because I’ve slipped back into my usual writing style in the following books and peoples’ opinions of the series have only gotten better. I hurt myself by trying to be “better” than my fanfic. Which is doubly ridiculous, because I mostly got the confidence to return to original fiction by my fanfic fans telling me that I should!

So, I’m rewriting the first book to be more in-line with the rest of the series. Nothing about the plot of the book will change. The world-building won’t change, but there are a couple of things I’m bringing forward for the audience (not Freya) from books two and three, just for clarity. If you’ve already read the rest of the series, you won’t have any reason to go back and read the new version.

(If you want to, of course, you’ll just need to re-download it from whichever site you bought it from when I upload the new version. For purists, I’ll have the old version for download indefinitely on this site.)

For now, I’m uploading the chapters as I write them to Wattpad and my Tumblr. I’m looking for as much feedback as possible, to tell me if it’s actually better than the original version.

(Obviously, the original version was beta read and edited, and this one won’t be until it’s finished, so there may be minor typos, etc.)

I’ll also be redoing the covers for the series once the new version of HUNT is released properly. So I thought I would let you guys in on the process of creating the new cover for HUNT, as well as revealing it.

(I’m not promising that I won’t wake up tomorrow and tweak it a little, but this is the finished version for now.)

WIN_20160730_21_12_28_ProStep1Step2Step3Step4Step5Step6StepMStep7Step9

Step 1: While on holiday, I logged onto Amazon and looked up the most popular books in YA urban fantasy, noting down the key elements. As you might expect, it was back to the camera, with a dark background, and enough were illustrated that I decided to go that route. So, I sketched a quick mock-up, deciding to focus on Freya’s magic and the combat in the books, not wanting it to be mistaken for a Twilight look-alike (a very real trouble with writing a YA urban fantasy).

Step 2: Once back home, I logged onto my computer and first set up the typography. This is just my personal preference so that I know the scale of the drawing going in.

Step 3: I use Clip Studio Paint (formerly Manga Studio) for all of my artwork. It’s ridiculously cheap compared to Adobe products and it has a few cool features, like pose-able 3D models for reference. I moved this model into position, mimicking the sketch cover as best I could, while also doing my best not to have the eye drawn to Freya’s butt (which I realised became a real problem in my sketches for later books where I had her in jeans – I now know why all of the models on those covers are wearing long dresses).

Step 4: I sketched around the model, adding clothing and hair as I went.

Step 5: I added a quick reference for the water, making sure that nothing was in the way of anything else.

Step 6: I filled in the sketch with a base colour.

Step 7: I added basic, flat colour to Freya and got rid of the outline.

Step 8: I added shading, highlights, and detail to Freya. There are three ways in which I broke canon here. This is supposed to be her in the final fight of the book, wearing the Witches’ combat outfit that Evelyn gave her. 1) Her hair is supposed to be in a plait, but this looked cooler. 2) The parts of the belt for storing vials is empty when Freya goes into battle. But this looked cooler. 3) She actually sustained the would on her back in the earlier fight, and I exaggerated it to make it more obvious on the cover. I decided to have her have this wound in this outfit just to make it look cooler. The exaggerated wound wouldn’t be a problem, but that wound would have cut through her bra, which it doesn’t do in the book, because holy hell, can you imagine having to fight without a bra?! Freya is not a flat-chested girl. But, again, most people will see this cover in thumbnail form on online storefronts like Amazon, so exaggerating makes sense. Basically, I broke from canon for the sake of cool. Which, as a former fanfic writer, I am perfectly fine with.

Step 9: I properly added the water.

Step 10: I finished off the background, making it darker and making Freya glow. Which is a thing that Angels do, though I’m not sure that that’s in the books yet. It will definitely be, but I can’t remember when it first comes up. Sometime before Book 6…

Okay, well, I hope you liked that little look behind the scenes. If you want to see the rest of the new covers as I finish them, you should sign up to my newsletter because that’s how I’ll be releasing them first.

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Categories
Freya Snow

Freya Snow Book 4: Oracle – Sneak Peek

So, I’ve been busy recently with some stuff, which means that writing has been a bit on the slow side.

Any of you who have finished the third Freya Snow by now might have noticed the fact that the usual sneak peek of the next book was missing. This was thanks to the writing of the book being so behind that the section I had planned for the sneak peek hadn’t been looked over yet. But now it has been, so I thought now would be a good time to give you guys that look at the next book:

The taxi took them to another glass building, even larger and more impressive than the hotel had been. Freya felt her hands go clammy and tried to inconspicuously wipe them off on her dress. Anna turned to look at her just as she did so, giving her a withering glare.

Freya shrivelled up in response as Anna gracefully moved out of the car. Freya followed her after just a moment, feeling clumsy as she struggled to get out without flashing her knickers to the street.

Anna strode into the building and Freya hurried to catch up with her. By the time she reached the other woman, Anna was already at the front desk, retrieving a plastic card that said GUEST, along with a lanyard, from the receptionist.

“Here,” she said, passing it to Freya before striding off again.

Freya quickly pulled it over her head, causing her to stumble a little as she tried to keep up with Anna’s pace. Thankfully, it gave her little chance to glance around, since every time she did catch a glimpse of something, it intimidated her. From the fanciest printers she had ever seen, to the clearly designer clothing a lot of the employees were wearing, everything seemed to scream to Freya that she didn’t belong there.

Anna took her to a lift before hitting the button for the top floor.

Freya focused on the buttons in front of her, since there was a glass pane behind her, gradually revealing the city as they rose. Freya had never been all that bothered by heights, but there were heights and then there were heights.

Thankfully, the lift was fairly swift, and she stepped off before she started to feel too nauseous.

There was a single black door in front of them, standing stark against the pristine white walls.

“The boss is waiting for you through there,” Anna told her before stepping back into the lift, the doors swiftly closing behind her.

Freya turned back to face the black door, goosebumps rising as the silence of the corridor roared in her ears.

After several moments of clenching and unclenching her fists in anxious thought, she finally knocked on the door.

The knock was barely audible, even to Freya’s ears, and she silently reprimanded herself for getting so worked up over a door when she regularly faced down Demons.

“Come in,” a voice called, despite Freya’s pathetic knock.

Freya opened the door, her clammy hand slipping a little on the metal handle and leaving an obvious hand-print that made her self-conscious.

Beyond the door was a room that was almost blinding. The walls, the floor, the desk, the chairs and the computer on the desk were all an immaculate shade of pure white.

Except for one wall – which wasn’t a wall, but a large window showing the whole city beyond – and the woman standing in front of it, her back to Freya.

The woman’s dress and heels were white, but her hair was jet black, cut to her jawline.

“I- I’m Freya,” Freya eventually managed, wondering if that was the right thing to say. “Anna said you wanted to see me?”

The boss turned to finally look at her, revealing that she was a Japanese woman who was maybe in her thirties.

“Of course,” the woman said before indicating to the chair in front of the desk. “Have a seat.”

Freya sat down jut as the woman did the same on the other side of the desk, before pushing a mug forward, towards Freya.

“Here, have some coffee.”

“Thank you,” Freya said, taking the mug. She sipped at the drink, finding it hot, but not enough to burn her, with just the right amount of milk.

“I suppose you’re wondering just who I am and why you’re here?” the woman asked.

Freya nodded.

“I have gone by many names. Destiny, Lady Luck, Fate… Any belief in a force controlling the circumstances around a person come back to me.”

Freya blinked at that. She shouldn’t be so surprised, she knew – this wasn’t her first time meeting one of the Big Three, after all – but she certainly hadn’t been expecting to meet Fate herself.

“As to why you’re here,” Fate continued, “I have a matter that needs to be taken care of and it’s outside the expertise of my Oracles. I thought another Angel would be best suited to the task.”

“What is it you need me to take care of?”

Fate leaned back in her chair a little, her perfectly neutral mask slipping just a little to show a weariness that Freya wouldn’t have thought possible from her before that moment. “One of my Oracles has gone missing,” she explained. “My niece, as a matter of fact. I believe the two of you are acquainted.”

Freya frowned. She didn’t know any Oracles, just a few Seers, like-

Freya could have smacked herself as she realised why her best friend’s magic had always felt like her own.

“Alice. Alice is the Oracle that’s missing.”

Fate nodded.

“But how can she be an Oracle? She’s only a little older than me. Not old enough to have been born before Hope scarred the Earth.”

“You are not the only one born through a loophole in your grandmother’s spell,” Fate explained. “My sister, another Oracle, was tricked into believing that the spell meant that she could never bear children. She agreed to a spell that she believed would grant her an ability she already had, but instead it ensured that another Oracle could be born. One magic traded for another.”

Freya frowned. “Who would trick her like that?”

“Fae. They saw a way to interfere with my plans and they took it. Anything to get back at the Creator, and those who serve Her.”

“So, Alice is missing?”

Fate nodded. “She disappeared a week ago and no one has been able to track her down. I thought, between your bond with her and your unique skill-set, you would have a better chance of finding her and bringing her back safely.”

“Do you think it’s the Fae again?”

“I uncovered that rock personally, and found nothing. I doubt they are involved.”

“Do you have any leads?”

“You’ll have to ask Anna. She was the Oracle in charge of finding Alice before I decided to bring you in, and she was the last one to see her.”

Freya nodded.

“You will, of course, be compensated for your time on this job. You’ll find the sum I provide far more satisfying than the paltry amount you make from bounties. After all, I often have need of someone with your unique talents.”

Freya frowned as something occurred to her. “What if I wanted something other than money?”

“Name your price.”

“My memories. From the week last year when the balance of magic in the city was upset. After I altered everyone’s memories, Alice still knew what had happened. Could you give me back my original memories from that week?”

“I could, but I won’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because spells of that magnitude require sacrifice. You proceeded with the spell, knowing full well that you would lose important things if you did so. You deemed it worth the cost. If I returned your memories to you now, it would invalidate that sacrifice, and the spell. People would start to remember.”

“But I’m not sure it was worth it. Can you tell me that much at least?”

“No. I simply do not know if it was worth it, Freya. Not to you. Only you could ever know that, and only if you held your memories once more. All I know is that, in the moment when you cast the spell, you thought it was. You’ll just have to trust yourself to have made the right decision.”

Freya nodded reluctantly, but Fate’s words did nothing to settle her unease about the situation.

“Do you have anything else to tell me?”

“No, that’s everything I know. You’ll have to talk to Anna if you want to learn more.”

Freya nodded before leaving the room.

Categories
Freya Snow Writer's Sketchbook

Writer’s Sketchbook – Mel and the Dragon

Another day, another drawing. Only this time I scanned the pencil drawing, as well as the pen outline. I also then coloured it with copic markers and digitally.

This time it’s a drawing of the Mel vs. the dragon scene from WHITE, the second Freya Snow book.

Scan_20160503

Scan_20160504

Scan_20160504 (2)

Dragon Digital

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Freya Snow Twelve Days of Christmas Flash Fiction

Freya Snow 12 Days of Christmas Flash Fiction Challenge – Day One

prompt1

“Remind me why we thought it was a good idea to drive through the night?” Freya asked as she pulled herself up onto the wooden fence of the community football field. A little down the road, she could see her foster father, Ryan, struggle with the smoking car.

Margaret, her foster mother, sighed. “Ryan thought it would be easier to drive when the roads were quiet.”

“We’re only going to the Lake District.”

“I know, but he had a whole plan with calculations and everything.”

“His plan involved drinking energy drinks from the Chinese supermarket with a sheriff badge motif that said ‘devotion, courage, sacrifice’ on it. I wouldn’t exactly call that a solid plan.”

“Well, perhaps not…”

Freya pulled her leather jacket tighter around herself as she heard something that sounded suspiciously like a wolf howling. Which was quite ridiculous, given that they were within view of a Tesco.

Speaking of, Freya thought to herself, deciding that she was particularly cold.

“Want to wander around Tesco while we wait for rescue?” Freya asked. “I’m cold and they might have one of those coffee machines.”

Margaret gave a reluctant hum, clearly not wanting to leave her husband alone in the middle of the night.

“You go, if you’ve got your phone,” Margaret told her. “Get us all some coffee and snacks and I’ll pay you back.”

Freya nodded, about to do just that, when she heard the howl again. Her hair standing on end in response.

She moved towards the supermarket, away from her foster parents, before calling out to Amber.

“Okay, so, I know it’s probably not, but I am now assuming everything even slightly weird is supernatural.”

“What is it?” her guardian asked.

“I can hear howling.” As if in response, it happened again.

Amber sighed, before looking pointedly up at the sky.

Freya squinted, not really seeing anything. It was a little overcast, but not enough to obscure of bright light of the full moon-

“Oh. Wait, Werewolves exist?”

Amber, once again, responded with just a look.

“Right, okay, shouldn’t be so surprised.”

There was another howl and Amber flinched. “It sounds like it’s in pain.”

“Really? You can tell?”

“You spend a century around magical creatures and you tend to pick up a few things.”

Freya sighed. “I should go and see, shouldn’t I?”

“You could ignore it and leave them in pain.”

“I know, I know, I’m going.”

Freya glamoured herself to make sure her foster parents wouldn’t see her as she made her way around the side of the football field, trying to sense the Werewolf.

It didn’t take her long to find them, hiding just behind the trees. They were whimpering, as if in pain, though Freya could see no sign of a wound.

“There, on the neck,” Amber prompted, and Freya looked to see a small bite mark.

“What happened?” Freya asked.

The large wolf nuzzled up close to her, seeming not even slightly threatening.

“If I had to hazard a guess? A Vampyre. Their bite is poisonous to Werewolves.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Do you have your hunting gear?”

Freya nodded, indicating to her handbag. She never left the house without it.

“What about that anti-venom poultice you made up?”

Freya pulled it out of the bag with an apologetic look at the wolf. She wasn’t exactly good when it came to potions and poultices. Amber had tried to teach her when her foster parents were out, but they barely worked and often had nasty side-effects.

“This is going to sting,” Freya said as she opened the Tupperware box. “Like, a lot.”

She scooped out a significant portion of the goop.

“Please don’t freak out and hurt me,” she pleaded, with no idea of how much the wolf understood.

It let out a pained squeal as she applied the poultice, but seemed to be doing their best to stay still.

“Yeah, I know, it’s not supposed to sting. But it’ll probably work,” she said as she brought out a pack of babywipes from her bag. Amber had shown her a spell to enlarge the inside and Freya had taken to hoarding everything.

Freya wiped her hands clean along with the outside of the Tupperware box, before putting the rest of the poultice away.

The wolf seemed to have perked up at that point.

“He seems recovered,” Amber noted. “It must be working.”

“He?” Freya asked.

Amber gave one of her pointed looks.

“What- Oh! Oh, okay, that- That’s a wolf penis…”

Freya shook herself as the wolf let out a huff.

“Sorry, I just… That was Amber’s fault. She’s a ghost. It’s a long story.”

Freya turned back to her guardian. “And you can’t just assume someone’s a guy because they have a dick.”

Amber just blinked at her.

“You know ‘I died in the nineties’ only works as an excuse for so long.”

The wolf was back on their feet by that point, their breath slightly odd in a way that made Freya worry, but she eventually realised that they were laughing.

“You better now?” Freya asked.

The wolf responded by licking her hand.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Freya said quickly. She wasn’t good with sliminess, though she appreciated the gesture. “Can you get home or whatever?”

The wolf gave its best imitation of nodding before giving her one last lick and rushing off.

“Okay. Now I definitely need coffee,” Freya said to Amber as she made her way back. “Or one of Ryan’s dubious energy drinks…”


AN: Btw, that energy drink is not made up. It’s called M-150 and the bottle design is just the best.

Also, I’m going to be writing one of these every day for the next twelve days, so put prompts in the comments if you want me to write something specific.

Categories
Freya Snow

Freya Snow Guide – Angels

So, the release for Freya Snow: Book Two is swiftly approaching and I thought it would be fun to do some ancillary world-building content. Every Monday from now until the book’s release (1st of February), I’ll do a post on an aspect of the world.

This week: Angels.

When Earth was created, the two prior guardians of Eden (the Ancients) were no longer able to guide Creation.

In their place, the Upper Council was created.

The Upper Council is made up of Death, Life, Fate and Mother Nature.

Their primary purpose is to guide Creation (though, to what end, no one knows) and this is an extremely taxing job, leaving them with no time for minutia.

That’s where Angels come in.

Angels are the most powerful beings after the Upper Council and have different powers depending on which council member they are attached to.

Reapers (Death)

Sebastian

Reapers, once they reach a certain age, are given a list by Death. This list includes all of the souls they must ferry from Earth that day. This then becomes their job, with Death organising that they be paid a wage through Fate.

The Reapers are arguably the least powerful of the Angels, with only the ability to commune with those souls which have yet to pass on and the ability to manipulate their raw Energy, which every magical being possesses.

Angels of Life (Life)

Angela

Angels of Life (most often shortened to simply ‘Angels’) tend to have the most direct involvement in the mortal realm. Life is reclusive and is never seen, not even by her Angels, which means that they are left to do as they please.

However, Angels of Life are extremely powerful, with much deeper Energy reserves than any other being, making them a force to be reckoned with. An Angel of Life is created at the meeting of certain criteria, rather than being solely genetic (though an Angel is more likely to bear another Angel), so they are often born from other magical beings. Which kind of magical being usually dictates the Angel’s abilities, and Angels of mixed blood do not experience the same dilution of power that would normally occur.

Oracles (Fate)

Oracle

Oracles (for the most part) start life as Seers. A Seer may be any kind of being, even Human, and is especially attuned to Fate’s plan. This most often takes the form of visions, though it may also be an especially accurate sixth sense or an ability to see the past of people without the need to ask.

When Fate needs a new Oracle, she visits a Seer who she has felt has either already lived a fulfilled life, or is in desperate need. She then offers then the chance to ascend.

Once a Seer becomes an Oracle, they then gain the ability to affect probability. They use this to ensure that parts of Fate’s plan occur as they are meant to.

Elementals (Mother Nature)

Juniper

The Elementals are, unusually for Angels, the actual offspring of Mother Nature. They are usually created when she feels that she needs to reconnect with humanity.

Elementals have power over only a single element until they unlock their full powers. Because they are the intermediaries between nature and humanity, their powers are only unlocked when they experience true love (in the magically defined sense of unreserved and reciprocated) for a Human.

The last Elementals to be born were responsible for the events of the Fifth Alternate Timeline, which is widely believed to be why Mother Nature has not created any in the last hundred years, despite the alarming effects of climate change.

The Angel Twilight

AT

Of course, it would be remiss to write about Angels without mentioning the Twilight.

A Reaper, born of Amber Cohen (the second holder of the last Ancient), and an Angel of Life, born of one of the Elementals behind the Fifth Alternate Timeline, fell in love and had a child.

This child, despite it not previously being thought possible, held within her the power of both a Reaper and an Angel of Life, as well as abilities born of her uniquely conflicting nature.

When the Shadows began to creep back into Earth, despite the seals Caetlin Cohen had put on the Old Worlds to contain them, the Angel Twilight proved enough to destroy them as her grandmother repaired the seal.

Once magic was revealed and the Seventh Alternate Timeline began, the Angel Twilight went into hiding and was not heard from again until she committed suicide and her blood scarred the Earth, making it so that no more Angels could be born there.

Next Week: Shadows

Categories
Freya Snow

Hunt – Prologue

Hey guys, I thought I would put the prologue of Hunt up here so that you could have a read, since I’ve started a prequel over on Wattpad which is mostly an extension of it. The first chapter (and maybe the second, I can’t remember) is also available to preview on the Look Inside function on Amazon.


 

Lily had never held a gun before in her life. The weight felt wrong in her hand and she was sure that she wouldn’t be able to hit the broadside of a truck with it.

She soon found out as two more guards rounded the corner. Memories flooded into her mind, as they had so often taken to doing since she had awoken on Earth. Two different sets of memories existed within her, covering the five years she had spent away and still, even after so many months, they clawed at her mind, each fighting for dominance.

It was a fight the Rebel Queen usually won but the memories which flooded forth this time were from her Dark counterpart. Memories of gentle hands instructing her on how to aim and fire a crossbow, not this heavy firearm. She pushed away the memories as her heart began to ache at the loss of the owner of the gentle hands. The loss would give way to anger over his death. Anger at the Rebel Queen which would do no good.

The memories were enough so that her shots landed at least, taking down the two guards. However, she wasn’t expecting the ringing in her ears or the kickback which caused her to stumble backwards, barely managing to stay on her feet. The new-born, held to her chest by a makeshift sling and her left arm, stirred at the noise of the pistol and the sudden movement of her mother stumbling back.

“Hey, shh, shh, you’re okay,” Lily murmured as she started moving once more, trying to calm her daughter so that she wouldn’t start crying and give away their position. Lily wanted to throw the gun to one side and switch to her magic, but all that she could muster in her weakened state was directed to shielding her daughter.

“I can’t believe this was the best distraction I could come up with,” Lily muttered, putting a considerable amount of effort into keeping her voice light and sarcastic, instead of wavering.

“You knew this plan was ill-conceived at the outset,” her ghostly companion responded, her black gown having shifted into a much more practical tunic over pants. Not that practicality should matter to the dead. Amber had nothing to fear here.

“I knew that I couldn’t let these monsters have my child,” Lily countered before letting out a frustrated sigh. “What’s the time on the spell?”

“Sixty seconds,” Amber replied before regarding Lily carefully. “Are you sure about this?” The undercurrent of sadness beneath Amber’s calm tone told her that she already knew the answer.

“I want my daughter to have her best shot at a normal life. With the War, that’s no longer possible for any of our kind. Reversing it is the only way.”

Amber gave her a measured look. “Even at the cost of your life?”

Lily nodded. The argument was an old one. This plan had been in motion for months now. The only thing Lily had been waiting on was her daughter. “I know. But it’s the only way out.”

“If you change the timeline… without the War, I doubt your parents would have met.”

“What does it matter? I have to sacrifice myself for the spell anyway.”

“And what of your child?”

“She’s more powerful than I am,” Lily told her without a moment’s hesitation. “She’ll survive the change.” Before Amber could respond, they heard guards approaching. “I think the time for debate has passed.”

“Agreed,” Amber told her. “The charms will finish charging in three, two, one…”

Lily closed her eyes, remembering the incantation and trying not to stumble over the Ancient words in her head as she went. Her energy drained away as she silently recited the words, fuelling the power behind them with her very soul. She dropped the gun and brought her other arm up to help hold her daughter close as she fell to her knees, her strength fading quickly.

By the time she had finished, she barely had enough strength to open her eyes. The world had shifted around her so that she was now outside the hospital. It had never been repurposed by the human military and was still used for treating civilians, though it was slightly smaller. That was why she was now outside, despite not having moved.

“Amber,” she managed, her voice weak.

“I’m here,” her guardian assured her.

“You have to promise me… Promise me you’ll take care of her.”

Amber looked uneasy for a moment but nodded.

“I promise.”

“Thank you…”

“You know, if I knew who her father was, I could make sure she gets to him.”

Lily shook her head. “No. I think he’s dead but… Even if he isn’t, keep her from him.”

The Dark Queen argued with more memories of gentle hands and a loving gaze. Her Rebel counterpart simply reminded Lily that all she knew of him was seen through the lens of fear and a want for freedom from responsibility. She had an inkling of who he was in this world and that possibility frightened her more than a little. But even if she was wrong, outside of the Shadow Realm he was essentially a stranger, and not one she could trust her daughter with.

“Will you at least tell me who he is so that I can properly protect her?”

Lily shook her head, the last of her strength failing her.

“No… That’s a secret I shall take to the grave, I think…”

Finally, as the weakness overcame her, someone ran over, possibly a nurse.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

She responded by thrusting the baby forward into his arms so that she wouldn’t have to worry about causing her daughter harm as she passed.

“Make sure she’s alright,” she managed to tell him, her words coming through her throat like a death rattle.

The world faded from her and, when it returned, she found that she was standing over her body, now a ghostly form much like Amber.

“Why do you two insist on making my job ten times harder?” she heard from behind her, recognising Death’s familiar, tired voice.

She turned to see a man with bright white skin and jet black hair and eyes. In fact, his eyes showed no white at all. She might be disconcerted by that if she wasn’t so used to it. He was shorter than her and wearing a black suit with a white tie. He approached Lily, shaking his head as she realised that Amber was now gone.

“She said that she would only stay long enough to see the child born. Now this promise has her beyond my grasp.”

“Just for now,” Lily suggested.

“It’s an imbalance,” he countered.

“I couldn’t leave my daughter unprotected,” she said simply. “You couldn’t honestly expect me to, could you, Grandfather?”

He sighed. “No, I suppose not. I’m proud of you, Lily. For making this sacrifice. I know how difficult this decision must have been for you.”

Lily responded by looking around. The world seemed… calm. There were no sounds of fighting, and there were no ruins within her line of sight. Even the ever-present smell of burning was gone.

“No, it wasn’t. This is the world I want my daughter to live in. Even if it has to be without me.”

“Just because we’re no longer fighting humans doesn’t mean you’ve created a world without conflict.”

Lily nodded.

“I know. Trust me, I’m not that optimistic…” She paused, frowning a little as she folded her arms. “Grandfather… What about Edric?”

“He’s still alive.”

“How? I saw him die in the Shadow Realm. I killed him.”

Death nodded.

“He will eventually die on this side too. But not yet. Right now he’s wondering what has become of his family.”

“Amber will keep her safe,” Lily reasoned, clearly trying to assure herself more than Death.

“Come on,” he said, deciding not to address it. “Your mother’s waiting for you…”


Again, the next chapter can be read for free on Amazon.