Kellen stopped just before them and stared down at his sister and Fitch with a stony glare. “You’re unhurt?” It was as much an observation as it was a question. Aiyana nodded mutely, while Fitch kept his eyes focused on the laces of his boots, as if realizing the intricacies of their weaving for the...Read More

“Whoa!” cried Fitch, his eyes wide. “Wh-… when… where… how did you do that?” When she was little, Aiyana would lie in bed at night and call forth the light, playing with it through her fingers to comfort her until the darkness was merely her eyes closing and she fell asleep. But as she got...Read More

Samaire had once told Aiyana that there was a legend amongst the elders that in the moments before a person died, their most important life memories would play out in their mind, however briefly. As Aiyana and Fitch stared up at the bear and their lantern began to flicker dangerously, she remembered two things. The...Read More

“Do you think they're still out there?" Fitch whispered, his eyes wide and his breathing still ragged. When they'd reached the forest, the children had run headlong into the overgrowth and found shelter in what remained of the hollowed out trunk of a fallen tree. Roots and underbrush obscured them from view, but also made...Read More

“We have men stationed here, here, and there,” said Captain Cheven as he pointed at the blue flags that marked strategic locations on the map of the continent of Earlis that stretched across the large table in front of him. Cheven stood at one end of the massive wooden table while around it sat more...Read More

“Hey, watch it, ya filthy brats,” yelled the disgruntled owner of a cart filled with the foul smelling karussen fruit as Fitch blindly backed into it, causing the precariously stacked produce to shudder and tilt. To Aiyana’s horror, one of the large, dark green, spiked globes toppled and fell to the cobbles, breaking open upon...Read More

The cobblestone streets of Almontera were busy, as they always were in the late afternoon hours. People from the surrounding villages flocked to the busy markets to sell their wares or buy exotic goods brought in from the capital city’s nearby harbor while the locals bustled about between the open-air markets or the decadent shops...Read More

She wished she was a boy. She wished she was tall and strong and clever, dressed in armor with a sword at her side, off on adventures and exploring the world. Boys did that. Girls, she was told, were quiet and pretty, with perfect manners and fluffy skirts and a desire for nothing more than...Read More