Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances

by T. M. Franklin

  Outside the door, she ran full tilt into Jarrod.

  “What did the queen say?” He sounded worried.

  “She never told her.” Without a backward glance, Saira strode passed them down the corridor with Tom. “Too busy giving mother grief to mention your proposal.”

  “I don’t believe your behavior sometimes,” Skye added in a paternal voice as she followed her parents out the door. She had such a tight grip on her brother’s wrist, Tamara doubted Bevan would be permitted to leave her side for a week. Maybe not even for a month.

  The nine-year-old grinned at Tamara over his shoulder and mind-spoke, That was fun.

  Skye gave him a frowning glare and tugged him along.

  Keegan slammed the door shut on all of them.

  “I see your relationship with your family is back to normal,” Jarrod observed.

  As they headed downstairs, word spread of the king’s return through the castle populace. Despite the lateness of the hour, people stirred and talked and ran from room to room.

  Tamara led Jarrod down the stairs and along the length of a portrait gallery toward her chamber. She wanted some private time to talk about Erov and her role among his people.

  All Erovians were scholars while Tamara wasn’t exactly studious. Already, she was thinking up ways to distract him from his work. What if the Erovians considered her too flighty a mate for their Chief Councilor?

  At sight of a familiar tapestry on the wall, she tugged Jarrod behind it and opened the hidden panel. Once inside the narrow passageway, the panel shut tight, enclosing them in darkness.

  Jarrod took advantage of the proximity to pull her close. “By the way, we’re not waiting two years to marry,” he said in a resolute voice, hands roaming from her shoulders to waist, as if he intended to lay claim on every inch of her right then and there.

  The walls closed in around Tamara. Her pulse shot up like a geyser and she chuckled against Jarrod’s seeking lips.

  “What is so amusing?” He sounded out of breath and provoked. “I’m serious. We’ll move to Melak today if necessary. Your parents can’t follow us there.”

  “At the moment, my legs couldn’t carry me to bed, let alone another world, Jarrod.”

  He pulled back, his restless hands turning comforting. “Are closed in places still a problem?”

  “My heart is definitely racing,” she whispered against the underside of his chin and the side of his throat. Inhaling deeply, she decided she was becoming addicted to his scent. “But not because of closed in places or tiny spaces.”

  “Ah,” Jarrod sounded pleased. “To be safe, will you allow me to show you our new home on Melak?”

  “Right now? But we just returned.”

  “I promise, we’ll be back in time for supper.”

  In a moment, he’d whisked her away.

  Would she ever get used to traveling like this? Jarrod’s newly discovered ability to go wherever he pleased, even between worlds, made her feel freer even than flying Halla.

  They arrived beside an oasis in the midst of a desert. A small bright blue tent was set up by the edge of a pool.

  “This isn’t Melak,” Tamara said, with suspicion. Had he taken her to Erov after all? She wasn’t ready to meet his people yet. She wanted to be dressed properly. Saira had said they loved color and bangles and flowing gowns. She needed time to change out of her trousers, tunic and chainmaille.

  “This is Melak,” Jarrod insisted, sounding excited. “I discovered this area on the other side of the mountain range while waiting for you to finish speaking with your mother. Melak is actually similar in terrain to Ryca.”

  Ah, there was his scholarly tone. If he broke into a lecture, she intended to kiss him. She sent a mental hello to Halla, informing her she was back on Melak.

  BUILDING NEST WITH KIRON, Halla replied. EXPECT EGGS TO HATCH BY SPRING. KIRON AND I ARE COLLECTING QUINLIN STONES FOR YOU AND FANE.

  “Thank you!” Tamara said, touched.

  Jarrod bowed deeply and gave one of his flourishing arm gestures as he invited her to step inside his tent. A hot breeze blew the front flaps open.

  With a delighted cry, Tamara ran in and discovered lavishly decorated rooms extending in every direction.

  And there were hundreds of people inside!

  She came to a startled halt, stunned by the richness of the Erovians’ clothing, their dark skin coloring, and the extraordinary smiles they beamed her way, each of which was matched with a projected image of a warm welcoming hug.

  Her throat clogged with a grateful heart, she turned to Jarrod. His people didn’t judge her at all. Instead they seemed glad to meet her.

  He raised her hand for a long lingering kiss. “I pledge with my life that you will never feel trapped or alone, Tamara. Welcome home, my queen.”

  * * *

  THE END

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  Check out Shereen’s other books.

  www.shereenvedam.com/thisland.php

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  About the Author

  Once upon a time, Shereen read fantasy and romance novels to entertain herself. Now she writes heartwarming tales braided with threads of magic and love, and mystery elements woven in for good measure. She’s a fan of resourceful women, intriguing men, and happily ever after endings. If her stories whisk you away to a different realm for a few hours, then Shereen will have achieved one of her life goals.

  * * *

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  Author’s note:

  I hope you enjoyed reading Hushed. If you did, please consider leaving a review at the ebook store where you purchased this book. A line or two sharing what you liked best is all that is needed. And thank you for reading this book!

  Books by Shereen Vedam

  Fantasy

  Hidden, Tales of Ryca, Book 1 (novel)

  Torn (short story)

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  Mystery

  Sage It Out, a psychic mystery romance (novel)

  Historical fantasy romance novels

  A Beastly Scandal

  A Devilish Slumber

  A Scorching Dilemma

  A Perfect Curse

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  Historical fantasy romance novella

  A Season for Giving

  (From One Winter’s Night: A Regency Yuletide Collection)

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  Regency romance short story

  To Capture Love

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  Fantasy romance short stories

  Baron of Dragon’s Reach

  Daughter of the Sorcerer King

  The Misspelled Charm

  Summer of Change

  Elizabeth’s Story

  Sharon Coady

  To my sister Karen, for your endless excitement, editing help, love of the story and the characters. Your excitement is contagious. Thank you so much for believing in me. I love you.

  SUMMER OF CHANGE

  "I’ve always had thoughts of what it would be like to live in a world where magic really did exist, where wizards, fairies and dragons lived in harmony. Imagine what it would be like to know that kind of magic existed. Of course, I figure if wizards, fairies and dragons did exist there would have to be dark magic, too, and witches, vampires and werewolves. I have always thought that one could not exist without the other. I want to believe that they all still exist in our world, hidden from the eyes of humans, because of what we are."

  It’s 1969 and 17-year-old Elizabeth is looking forward to the last summer before her senior y
ear. During a family trip to Wheaton Plaza, she finds a book about the town where her father grew up. The author had written about vampires living amongst the town’s residents. When Elizabeth meets a handsome young man who agrees to help her do the research, she doesn’t know that her life is about to change forever. Vivid dreams of a house in the book start to haunt her. Not long after, a stranger contacts her and tells her he can explain the dreams she has been having about the house in the book. When she agrees to meet him she finds herself thrown into a world where magic and vampires do exist. Elizabeth finds she must join forces with this stranger not only to keep her family safe, but to keep this man and herself safe as well.

  1

  I live in a conventional neighborhood; you know, the kind where all the houses look pretty much the same, three-bedroom ranchers that have brick fronts, attached carport and a few small trees. Every house in the neighborhood seems to have kids coming out of the woodwork.

  My best friend, Stacy, lives just across the street. Our houses are always crowded since we both have four sisters. Mine tends to be more crowded because it’s where all the neighborhood kids like hanging out.

  My one escape from all the chaos has always been reading. I can go anywhere I want in the books I read, be anything or anyone I want. Coming back to reality is always the hard part.

  Have you ever thought that we lived coexisting with another world right beside us that we couldn’t see? I do. I think we get glimpses of that world sometimes, but we shrug it off.

  I know that sounds a bit crazy, doesn’t it? Some of my friends think there are spirits around that have not yet left this world. They think sometimes we feel them, or see them out of the corner of our eyes. I’ve never told them my theory because I’m pretty sure they’d just laugh at me. After all, what would a teenage girl like me know about other worlds or magic, right?

  As I said before, there are five kids in our family. Bess is just a little younger than me. She was born premature, and Mom still treats her as if she were fragile. She is shorter than me by a few inches, and has a cute heart-shaped face with blue eyes, and a turned-up nose. Her hair is a lovely shade of deep mahogany with streaks of gold running through it, and she likes to wear it at shoulder length. She is a tomboy who sometimes has knockdown fights with the neighborhood boys and she usually wins, which, if you think about it, should make Mom see that she really isn’t that fragile.

  Katherine has blonde hair with the most beautiful big blue eyes. She is a little taller than me, and very slender. She looks like our mom’s father’s side of the family. She is the one always trying to make everyone laugh, the comic of our family. She loves to see everyone happy and enjoying life. She jokes with Mom all the time that she thinks she was switched at birth, because she should be living with a family who have money. She can be a little materialistic sometimes, and always wants the prettiest clothes and the nicest shoes, but she has a really big heart and a sweet soul.

  May, my third sister, is a real sweetheart. May has beautiful hazel eyes and dark hair, much like our mom’s mother. She smiles a lot, and has the bubbliest personality, but is really shy and doesn’t talk much to others. She looks for me when she gets scared or worried about anything.

  Our youngest sister, June, is a real pistol. She is blonde, blue-eyed, and full of herself. She always wants everything that everyone else has, and more. Sometimes, I think being the youngest child means she feels entitled, like she deserves more than the rest of us. June is the most difficult for Mom; she's always testing and pushing her.

  Then there’s me, Elizabeth. I am tall and slender, with light auburn hair that shimmers red in the sun. My eyes are usually blue, but sometimes people tell me they have a green tint to them. I don’t think that I look like anyone else in the family. Mom tells me I have lovely soft features like my great grandmother. I sometimes study the pictures of her, and for the life of me, I don’t see any resemblance.

  I have always tried to be the peacekeeper of the family. I don’t like turmoil, or anyone being upset, or fighting. But when you have five girls living under one roof, sparks can fly from time to time. Bess and I always try to keep the younger ones apart when we see their tempers start to flare. We give each other “the look” and we each grab one, and head in different directions. We try to keep this from Mom and Dad, since they have more to worry about than these small fights.

  Mom tells me all the time that I’m an old soul. She never seems to worry about me like she does the others, which makes me feel good that I am one less kid for her to be concerned about or chase after.

  Sometimes, being the oldest is hard on me. My parents expect a lot because my younger sisters look up to me. Mom got really sick when we were younger, and our father encouraged Bess and I to step in and help. We have no relatives living close by, so we had to help take care of our younger sisters. I was only twelve, Bess was ten, but we did what we could, bathing the little ones and tucking them in bed, watching over them and calming their fears when they had a nightmare. When Mom was able to come home from the hospital it was hard for us to completely relinquish doing that with our younger sisters, it was something that had become second nature for Bess and me. Mom understood, and did her best to help us be kids again.

  We have a wonderful life, and a lot of friends. I’ve just always had the feeling that I am missing something somewhere, like I don’t fit in sometimes. I often wonder if I should have been born when magic really did exist in our world.

  Bess says she feels like I do about the supernatural. She loves to talk we me about believing in fairies, vampires, werewolves, and witches. Of course, neither of us has ever felt like we could mention any of this to our friends. We figure they would think we were crazy, so we keep it between us. Sometimes our dad’s father would start to tell us stories about fairies, and Grandmother would tell us not to listen to him because they were just tales he made up.

  School was ending for the year, and my sisters and I were excited because Mom was taking us shopping at Wheaton Plaza for our summer bathing suits and short sets today. We always looked forward to this shopping trip, since it meant getting into town and seeing all the new clothes and shoes that were coming out for the next season. Bess and I really didn’t care so much about the clothes, we always shared, since we wore the same size. Stacy understood, because she felt the same way. I got more excited about going because it meant I got a chance to stop at the bookstore, and get a book or two to read over the summer.

  I couldn’t believe that I was going to be starting my last year of high school in the fall. There was so much I wanted to do this summer. We’d been making plans to spend as much time out at Crane’s pool as we could, since most of the kids we knew would be going out there as well. It’s something we all looked forward to every summer. As each year goes by some of the older kids have stopped coming and now that I’m going to be in my senior year, I can’t help but feel there will be a lot of changes ahead.

  I was still running through the list of what I wanted to do in my mind as we pulled into the shopping plaza. Mom found a place to park and we all climbed out of the car and headed into our favorite store to start looking for bathing suits.

  Mom told me earlier that morning I could get a two-piece if I wanted. That embarrassed me, because as strange as that may seem to other girls my age, I’m not one to show off my body. I have always been a little shy when it comes to that. There are a lot of girls in my school that don’t seem to have any problem with it at all, though. I guess I’m just really modest.

  My sisters all headed for the swimsuit racks eagerly, seeming to know just what they wanted. I started going through the suits. These look really skimpy. Just as I was ready to give up, I spotted a rack with one-piece suits. Walking over, I started looking through them. Suddenly I found a really cute one that was the prettiest shade of blue. Stacy always says blue is my color, that it brings out my eyes. She always tells me that I’m pretty and have such beautiful skin. I laugh, because I have always been p
aler than my sisters, and I love how she and my sisters get such beautiful tans. I guess I get my fair skin from my dad.

  My mom is petite with soft brown hair and big brown eyes. Her skin turns a beautiful light bronze in the summer. I think she is the most beautiful mother on the block. She has the sweetest personality of all the mothers, that’s for sure. In contrast, my father’s hair is so dark it almost looks black, and he has pale blue eyes with a fair complexion just like me. My friends all say he looks like that new singer Mom doesn’t let us watch because of what she calls his suggestive dance moves. When they tell him that, he always laughs and says he doesn’t.

  Mom tells me that I have what people call porcelain skin. All I know is that I have to be so careful out in the sun, or I burn. My sisters all tan, just like my mother, so I guess that’s another reason to get a one-piece; less of me to get burned.

  I took the bathing suit into a dressing room, and tried it on. Looking in the mirror I thought it looked good on me, and it sure wasn’t skimpy enough to make me feel like I was showing more of my body than what I’m comfortable showing. I checked the price tag to make sure that it wasn’t more than what Mom would want to spend. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. This suit looked like it would be something that would make us both happy. After putting my clothes back on, I headed out into the store to find my sisters still looking through the racks and picking out a ton of suits to try on. Poor Mom was standing there, leaning against the counter watching them. I walked up and smiled at her. “Mom, this one fits me, and it’s on sale. Do you think I can get it?” I asked.