The night air smells like cinnamon and fryer oil from the cart vendors down below. Swing jazz floats on the breeze from the club three shops down. I tap my fingers moodily on the rusty edge of the fire escape. It’s Independence Day, but I don’t feel much like celebrating.
Tomorrow, my brother leaves for war.
Alaric and I had fled west, narrowly escaping the assassins from our world. After a month with no further attempts on our lives, I began to breathe easier and embraced Earth’s comforts—even settling into a routine. My brother, on the other hand, stayed vigilant. He didn’t believe that the assassins had given up.
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“Let’s not say anything about fireworks to Mossy.” Grandma arches a brow as she carries a platter overflowing with red, white, and blue striped donuts to the front door. “I would hate for anyone to lose a finger today—or a talon.”
An emerald blur shoots through the open window, warbling a made-up song…
I remember my first glimpse of her in early July. She peeked in the window of my bakery as I went about my opening routine. I may never forget the morning sun shining on her platinum hair, surrounding her with a luminous halo.
She next brightened the door of Bob’s House of the Rising Bun…
So many humans seem to love their fairy tales more than their own world. They wish yourselves back to the days of knights and princesses, dragons and mermaids….
Well, this mermaid is happy to have progressed beyond that. I for one am delighted with the opportunities these modern times give. I’ve learned so much…
I was but a fresh-faced eighteen-year-old, the summer I worked grounds crew at Camp Sand Lake.
Sand was a given, being smack in the Mojave Desert, and it would’ve been omitted altogether in an alternate universe where “Camp Lake” made good branding. The eponymous lake, however, was a mystery. How deep was it?
I was about to flip the sign on the front door of my office from “Closed” to “Open” when I spotted a bulky black form on the sidewalk. My heart jumped.
Then I recognized my visitor and smiled.
“Papa Bear! You caught me by surprise.” I swung the door open. “Come in.”
I assume you’ve heard of the princess and the frog: a darling meet-cute about a prince transformed into a frog by an evil witch, and the princess who saved him with a kiss. Such a romantic story—and a complete lie.
While a witch was involved, she wasn’t evil. Galavia had been hired…
Jerry squeezed his hands together, staring at a narrow strip of ground bordering Main Street. The year before, Reedville had added a watermelon seed-spitting contest in that very spot. Jerry had come in third. To Ma, it was just another loss. To Jerry? He’d felt amazed as he wiped off his chin.
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I flipped another page and blew out a surprised breath. Wow, that chapter had gone fast. Action-packed and a main character with depth. This book was most definitely a page-turner—the perfect summer read.
Discovered in the beach’s Grab-N’-Read Library—a wooden box on a pole buried in the sand—it surpassed the usual finds that beachgoers left behind.
Ailith slammed her staff against the straw dummy’s head, envisioning the man who’d asked her to marry him last night. The vibration traveled up her arms and into her spine as she readied another blow.
He’d ruined everything.
The Midsummer Feast was the only royal celebration where she didn’t have to wade through…
Esteemed Master Librarian,
In case you are unaware, I have retired from my scholarly pursuits. However, something unexpected has occurred. Please accept this first-hand account as proof that Weather Wielders exist, and I have the key to unlocking their potential.
It began last summer, when an elf knocked on my door, disturbing my mid-day tea.
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