ROUND AND ROUND WE WENT with the occasional stumble from me, thanks to my heels. My hair had tumbled down from its pins and bounced around my shoulders in long ringlets. I could feel trickles of sweat running down between my shoulder blades. All I heard was our ragged breathing and my heart pounding. I had no idea if the others were okay and the fear felt awful.We burst through the doorway at the top, into the solar. Before I could even draw a breath, something lifted us off our feet, smashing us into the wall opposite the windows. Yelping in pain when my head connected with the wall, I lay for a moment, dazed. Then I scrabbled onto my hands and knees looking for Alek. My heart made a horrible tight sensation when I spotted him just down from me, unconscious, with blood in his hair. Not thinking, I lunged for him, but got hurled back against the wall. This time my spine took the brunt of it. The pain made my head spin, and I rolled onto my side retching.That horrible laughter rang

'SSIIAANNNN?''Coming!' Sian answered automatically and sat up in bed, blinking.Oh shoot! I've overslept again.Throwing some clothes on, she hurried to Citaan and Gredel's bedroom. When she entered the room, Sian found her blue-haired friend struggling to get slippers on.'Don't! Let me,' Sian said, while fumbling for the slippers.Once they were on, she stood and offered both hands to Citaan, carefully easing the woman up from the bed, helping her to the bathroom.You wouldn't believe Citaan is seven months pregnant, Sian thought. Not that the end is far away, but she looks huge, though if you consider Gredel's height and build, as well as Citaan's siblings and father, it isn't surprising that the baby is big.Sian met the whole family the previous month at a ceremony for the unborn child. Every culture has its own traditions and for those of water-sprite heritage, like Citaan, a blessing ritual for the mother-to-be at six months along, was required. Meeting all of Citaan's f

SHOCK RANG THROUGH ME AS I stared in confusion at a strange ceiling.Where the hell am I? Why can't I move right?All my limbs felt oddly heavy, and I wasn't sure if I had the strength to push up, to look around. A scrabbling noise somewhere beyond my feet distracted me, and a frantic feeling of panic began to swell in my chest when I struggled to move again.Why am I in bed? What's happened?The sound of a door swinging open and male voices made me freeze in terror at the unknown.'Hold on a moment!' a voice commanded, and a man's face appeared, staring down in astonishment. I recognized the uniform with a jolt; a guard of the Royal Chambers, that Yakov showed me.Yakov. Oh god, I'm not on Earth.The guard carefully eased me up to a sitting position. When someone reached to adjust the blankets I flinched, the motion too close for my current state of mind. Words and images flashed through my head, like a movie reel on fast forward, and my body shook with shock while I tried to p

LOI STARED AT CAT WHO simply sat there, staring blankly at Elena. Nervous, Loi squeezed her hand.'Cat? Are you okay?'Cat began to laugh.THEIR EXPRESSIONS OF SHOCK AND concern while I laughed amused me even more, and I laughed harder. How could I not? What a truly ridiculous concept.'Why are you saying this, Elena? I've seen my baby pictures, from when I was born. This is absurd!'The anger caught me off guard, but I went with it. Seriously, I just wake up from a two-month hiatus and they try to pull a prank on me?LOI SHOT ELENA A LOOK. 'You're going to have to show her, and explain. I told you so.''Thank you, Laura.'Loi ignored the curt reply and settled into a better position. This might take a long time, she thought.The more Elena spoke, the more Cat withdrew. Her face grew whiter and whiter, her eyes vacant with shock. Loi hugged her tighter, wishing desperately that she could dull the pain.Kassie and Sian snuck into the room during that long afternoon and Cat

WE BOTH STARED ACROSS AT Alek and I took a moment to re-adjust the pillows behind my back. Audi shuffled around, getting comfy and I stroked her silky ears. 'Elena?''Hmm?''What were my parents like? Do I have any family now?'Anxiety at finally asking the questions that echoed in my dreams made my stomach ache and I shifted again, making Audi grumble.Elena began to describe them and listening to her words sort of made them more real. The Sorceress's face grew animated and soft when she alternated from talking about my father and mother. Those words though, mother and father, still felt awkward and forced.For the moment, I could still only picture my Earth parentsAlek's parentsas family; trying to envision those people in the paintings throughout the castle as my parents still felt unbelievable. But the funny anecdotes Elena remembered did help. It felt easier to believe when she switched to discussing the family I did still have.CAT'S FACE LOST SOME OF the wary look when E