The Before Series, Book 5
Fantasy
Date Published: 02-28-2024
Publisher: Sword and Thistle LLC
In a time nearly ancient, before a brave Scottish princess defied her mother, a young woman has lost everything.
Except for her unexplainable talent for magic.
Now Magda's being hunted, and in her attempt to survive, loneliness and desperation take control.
Until she meets someone who offers her a chance at happiness, at normalcy, at the fullness of life. Then she discovers something wrong, so shockingly wrong with this hopeful future, and she must make a harrowing decision to ensure her survival.
And she will have to draw on all her magic to do it.
Actions have repercussions -- Magda knows this better than anyone else -- and with her magic, she will ensure everyone else learns that lesson as well.
I
threaded the thong between my fingers and wrapped up my hair while I conjured
up images of my mother and how she looked when she opened the door and let the
light shine on her pale, freckled face. The smile she wore was truer than the
tight one that did not reach her eyes, a smile that showed the concerns of the
world, the disease treasure she held onto so tightly, was lifted from her
shoulders.
For
some reason, my charms seemed to work better outside.
Bring
Mother joy and peace, I whispered inside my head.
The
buzzing and sensation inside my head told me that my charmed intention might
well be fulfilled. It was a sensation I had come to realize when something
within my incantation might work.
Might
work.
My
charms did not work all the time – what in life did? I was still trying to
figure out exactly what tingling was and how to use it, but that did not stop
me from trying every opportunity I had.
I was still trying to discern one successful
charm from the other sensations, times I did not use my charm correctly. I had
noticed sometimes my charm led to other effects. Not bad effects, just not exactly
what I had intended.
Over
the past two years, ever since I noticed my ability to charm things, and I had
to think it just right. Even then, it did not always work. Not on significant
things, things that might make a large difference for our family, for the
MacCubbins, or for the Highlands. Those were beyond my charming ability, at
least right now.
Then,
when I messed it up and the charm was a little awkward, to say the least, I usually
had to try and undo whatever the charm was.
That
did not always work, either.
The
fortunate part of those errors was they were usually small, and unnoticeable by
everyone but me.
When
I used my charms, another thought sprung into my head once the tingling
disappeared.
Why
could I do these things?
What
was wrong with me?
Though
this charming appeared useful, why couldn’t I have the engaging smile and
character, like Effie did?
Those
were more accepted, and apparently consistent, charms.
This
time, with my hope for my mother, the tingling sensation felt right, and a wide
smile adorned my face as I returned to the hen coop just inside the woven
lean-to door.
More than a half-dozen eggs were tucked into
the hay this morning, and that would make my mother happy.
About the Author
Michelle Deerwester-Dalrymple is an award-winning author of historical romance -- Scottish, Highlanders, and Ancient! To Dance in the Glen was recently a bestseller! She also writes contemporary romance as M.D. Dalrymple -- police and campus romances, and as Strawberry Chase, paranormal romance author.
Winner of the Top Ten Author Academy Award for 2018, Best Indie Book 2019, and N.N Night's 2021 Winner for Scottish Romance.
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