Excerpt from Lunamae: Chapter 14

As I was strewn haphazardly in bed, one leg over the side, and my head propped up with a pillow, I heard a knock on the door. I pulled myself up from the bed and went over to it. It was not a long walk, even though our home was quite large given Theron’s status. It was a two-story house complete with thatched roofs and a wooden floor (which I delighted in as it was so much easier to clean). As our living quarters were on the second floor, I had requested he move the bed down one level so I could be closer to the eating area. Theron wasn’t too pleased with the thought of sleeping downstairs, so we came to an agreement. He made me what he called a “day” bed, which looked more like a one-person bed, with arm rests on either side and a wooden back. It was comfortable enough for the day. When he came home, he’d hold my hand which seemed to ease the pain from my back and we would walk up the stairs to our room together.

I pulled my shawl around my shoulders and opened the door. There, standing before me, was Angharad. I gulped, wondering why she was back so quickly and without any type of announcement from the guards. Was this a deceptive work from a mage? Magic was only practiced in the southern regions where the reach of the Creator had not touched. Some women, like those who guard Harper Wood, use a sort of magic channeled through prayer to the Creator. Miracles are what came of this magic.