“I can leave you any way I like. You are no longer important, or influential, Maeral Orilana—now you are a part of my Garden. And I will do with you as I wish. The rulers of both kingdoms, dark and light, have granted me this power… and you would do well to remember that whatever happens behind these walls, is done with their blessing.”
The door slammed shut before I could say anything else. The same red sparks flared in the lock and I listened for the woman’s footsteps as they faded away down the corridor.
The enchanted chains that bound my wrists tightened for a moment as I stared down at them, and then the red glow faded and the chains slithered from my wrists and fell to the dark stones with a clatter.
I kicked them away and swore under my breath as I rubbed at the sore spots where the chains had made the skin raw and red. When the woman returned I had no doubt that they would spring to life again to hold me captive.
My stomach lurched and I wiped at my face to try and distract myself from the horrible thoughts swirling through my mind. I pushed myself to my feet and tried to think of what my sister would do.
My sister.
Her blood covered face—exactly like mine.
Her terrified eyes—eyes the same color and shape as mine.
We had been inseparable as children… But over the years our lives had pulled us apart and it was obvious to me now that I hadn’t even know my own sister.
I should never have let her into the Citadel that night. I should have known something was wrong. I should have known.
I touched the stone wall. It was cold and damp and I leaned my forehead against it.
Whoever had sent the Fennen Owl had overturned my sentence and sent me here. I knew that I should be grateful to be alive, but didn’t know if I should be thanking by benefactor them or cursing them straight to the fiery pit for putting me here.
But I wouldn’t get that chance.
As far as anyone knew, I was Maeral Orilana…
A spy.
A double agent for the Hollow World who had attempted to murder the man I loved—the Crown Prince of the Golden Citadel.
Liri Orilana had been left for dead in the stone corridors as the assassins had made their escape. She was a casualty of a war that had not yet been announced—
I pressed my palms against the damp stones and gritted my teeth.
Maeral would be strong. She would not crack under the pressure that was coming, and I couldn’t either. All I had to do was keep my mouth shut, and my mind clear. But the warden was right: Maeral’s reputation, my reputation now, would have arrived before I did… I would have to be on my guard, and I had no idea how I was supposed to do that.
But I was a fast learner, and I had nothing to lose.
THE END
Enjoyed this story? Be sure to leave a review for the anthology! You can also preorder THE DARKEST ROSE - Book 1 in The Black Garden Penitentiary series HERE.
About the Author
Niobe Marsh is a penname of a prolific author of many genres of romance.
Here you will find monsters, ghosts, paranormal lovers, dark heroes, and adventurous heroines in search of their happily ever after—whatever that means.
Current Series:
"Heart & Souls" - Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance
Book 1 ~ Lost Soul (Coming March 2020)
Book 2 ~ Ghost of a Chance (Coming SPRING 2020)
Book 3 ~ Free Spirit (Coming SUMMER 2020)
Black Garden Penitentiary - Paranormal Prison Series
Book 1 ~ The Darkest Rose (Coming April 2020)
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FREEBIE - Catch the Moon: A Short Shifter Romance
Spring Shifter Anthology: Bound to Change
Wicked Souls: Limited Edition Reverse Harem Romance Anthology
Conjuring Asylum
A Palmore’s Home for Wayward Mages Story
AJ Mullican
About Conjuring Asylum
Siren Smith has been a resident of Palmore’s Home for Wayward Mages for her entire adult life, but as long as she can steal intimate moments with her conjured lover, Tiras, she doesn’t mind living in the asylum. It’s the times when she gets caught, the times when they inject her with the magic-stealing serum that sends Tiras back to the Ether, that she can’t stand. When her lover starts to act strange one night only to disappear for days on end, Siren’s fragile psyche begins to unravel. Without Tiras, how will she cope with her asylum life?
Chapter One
Three orderlies, two nurses, and a sadistic doctor with a loaded syringe—that’s what it took to sedate me this time.
Next time, I’ll have to make them work harder for it.
Tears stream down my cheeks as the wretched serum steals my magic again. My companion dissolves into mist, and the staff exits. With a creak, a groan, and a clank, the door shuts and locks, and I’m left alone—bruised, naked, and sobbing—on the floor of my room. I know from past experience that it’ll be hours before the serum wears off. I won’t see Tiras again until morning at the earliest.
Tiras used to try to help me when the orderlies caught us together, but after the first time one of them hurt him, I forbade it. It broke my heart knowing he went back into the Ether with a split lip. He was fine again the next time I conjured him, but the guilt still eats at me sometimes.
With my arms and legs sore from being held down and numb from the serum, it takes a while to crawl back into bed. My empty, lonely bed. I pull the covers over my nude body,
