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I n the great hall, Enekia and the other Lapis attached ruby and opal-hued streamers to the sconces to create a festive atmosphere. The garlands of pine still hung, releasing their fresh scent.

“Are those icicles?” Vahly elbowed Arc, then pointed to the sparkling blades of ice hanging from the pine bough decorations.

“I think they are. How did they manage that?”

Arrosa stood laughing with Dimitris, who now wore a cloak that looked like Cygnus’s old one.

The sea kynd male, now a version of a human, lifted a staff and gestured to a bare stretch of garland.

Water unspooled from a bucket like glistening threads, then wrapped themselves around the pine needles, dropping and going still.

Arc’s mouth fell open. “Icicles. He just made an icicle.”

“Water magic, I guess? Where did he get that staff, and does he need it for his magic?”

“Maybe it works like your sword does for you, albeit on a much lesser scale.”

“I suppose so. But who thought of that?”

Lyra ran up to Arc and yanked hard on his tunic. She wiggled a stick in the air. “The trees gave me a waaannd.”

“A what?” Vahly accepted the stick from her open hand. “What type of tree gave this to you?” She grinned. Lyra was full of stories.

“Nix’s apple trees gave it to me. And then Dimitris found his stick near the trees outside the kitchens.”

Arc’s wide-eyed gaze found Vahly’s. “Did the Source provide new gifts?”

Vahly huffed a laugh and shrugged. “With all this change, your guess is as good as mine.”

“You’re the one with earth magic.” He tapped the hilt of her sword.

She handed Lyra her stick, then unsheathed the oaken sword. She held it next to Lyra’s applewood switch. Power sizzled through Vahly’s fingers.

Lyra barked a laugh and spun, pointing the switch. “Cake!”

A platter of Frostlight cakes flew toward Lyra, and Arc caught it neatly. Lyra inhaled one like a starving animal.

Arc knelt. “What else can you do with your wand, wicce ?”

“What did you just call her?”

“It’s from a scroll I read on healing. A female with magic that defies category was once called wicce.”

Snow blew in through the open high window, and Lyra winced. She jabbed the wand upward. The wooden window slats slammed shut, and everyone in the place went still, staring. Lyra looked up at Vahly with a grin like a dragon in gold.

Vahly eyed the room. She held up a hand. “At least nothing is exploding.”

The crowd smiled and went back to the music and feasting while Vahly lifted Lyra’s chin. “But we will have rules on this, Daughter.”

Lyra curtseyed, touched the hilt of the oaken sword, then turned and ran off toward Cygnus, who was dancing with his elven beauty beside Ursae and Rigel.

Vahly sheathed her sword and grabbed Arc. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some dancing myself.”

Arc spun her and pulled her tightly against him, her back to his stomach. He dragged his lips down her neck, making her shiver. “As always, your wish is my command, my queen.”

Vahly forgot about swords and power, about the disappointments and struggles that would come. She threw it all away for a night with her king, a Frostlight evening with the most special type of magic—true love.

My wonderful readers,

I hope you enjoyed Dragons Rising ! My next series is in the same world, one thousand years after Magic of Lore and it will be called the Kingdoms of Lore series.

It features a direct descendant of Arrosa who looks a lot like her predecessor but is loads more spirited.

She is similar in attitude to Kinneret Raza from my Queens of Steel and Starlight/Uncommon World series. Get Kingdoms of Lore Book One today!

A human princess. An elven warrior.

A betrothal bound in a curse.

Love,

Alisha

P.S. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter for Dragons Rising bonuses (wallpapers, bonus scenes, and more), free reads, and updates on the release of Kingdoms of Lore ! https://www.alishaklapheke.com/free-prequel-1

~Sneak Peek of Enchanting the Elven Mage ~

There were only two good things about the winter solstice celebration at the fae court. Wine and wine.

Aury didn’t long for the drink overmuch herself, but it was definitely her ally. Wine turned watchful eyes blurry and slowed cruel, pinching fingers.

Wishing she were still in the barn with the horses, she gripped a rough crystal goblet of spiced red and forced a smile as her aunt, the Fae Queen, strolled through the great hall in a trailing gown the color of pine needles.

The queen’s hair had been braided artfully around her twisting amethyst-and-ink-hued horns.

Though she was a nightmare crafted of snide remarks and cold looks, Aury had to admit the lady was gorgeous.

The queen’s gaze flicked away, focusing on her glittering court, and Aury slid out of the hall and into the corridor.

Her fine slippers were nearly silent on the mosaic tiles, but pureblood fae had far better hearing than her half-fae, half-human ears, so she kept the wine as some sort of excuse to be wandering.

She crept onward, stealing down the passageway on the sides of her feet and holding her breath.

She only needed a peek at the queen’s court itinerary to see why in the world she was to be sent on a mysterious journey in the morning.

Nearly to the door now…

A mewling sounded, and Aury’s heart jumped. She turned to see a calico ball of fluff climbing the curtains.

“Oh, no. You can’t be here, little love.” She set her wine on the floor, then detached the kitten from the silken drapes. It was the runt from the barn cat’s last litter. “The servants will beat you with a broom if they see these claw marks.”

Doing her best to keep quiet and silently praying to the Source the kitten’s mews weren’t heard, she hurried to the nearest window on the outer wall of the palace. Unlatching the locks, she gently deposited the kitten on the pebble path that led to the stables and the gardens beyond.

“Go find your mother, little love. Hurry now!”

The kitten mewed once more, then ran clumsily toward the barn.

Aury exhaled, closing the window and going back to her wine and her mission to discover where the queen was sending her tomorrow.

In the near dark of the corridor, her foot caught on something. Knee hitting the floor, she lost hold of the goblet and the wine flew, splattering red like blood over the stone walls.

“Oh, sorry!” Bathilda said, even though she was never sorry. “I didn’t mean to trip you like that.” Her lip curled as she looked down her nose at Aury. “Let me help you up, half-breed.”

Ducking out of Bathilda’s reach and away from her sharp nails, Aury grabbed her slightly cracked goblet, then shot to her feet. “I’m fine, but thanks ever so much.”

But the pureblood wasn’t to be thwarted. Bathilda snatched her arm roughly and pulled her toward the great hall. “Your presence is required, Aurora.”

Bathilda thrust Aury into the great hall, then grabbed a servant. “Take that hideous necklace off of the half-breed,” she said to the servant.

The servant tore Aury’s necklace, sending the tiny, flame-colored pearls of the dragon goddess Nix rolling across the tiles.

Tears burned Aury’s eyes, and her neck throbbed where the broken chain had bit into her skin.

Nix was the goddess of fire and festivity, and Aury had always loved the hilarious tales her cousin told of the long-ago dragon shifter.

Bathilda pointed a finger at Aury’s face. “Don’t even start to tell me that your dear cousin Werian bought you that necklace. I don’t believe he cares for a half-breed like you. You lie and lie, a deceit only those with human blood can manage. You’re disgusting, and you’re a thief.”

Werian had indeed given Aury the necklace, and she’d treasured it as a symbol of the one individual who actually seemed to care for her. “I’ve never stolen a thing in my entire life,” she said, meeting Bathilda’s glare with one of her own.

“Save your breath. I don’t believe you. I’ll make certain you’re punished for stealing tomorrow.”

“But tomorrow, I’m leaving. The queen told me so herself.”

Bathilda shrugged. “You’ll be back. And I’ll be waiting in the shadows.” Her cruel smile sent chills down Aury’s back. Bathilda crooked a finger at the servant, who had quietly stepped away. “Fetch a washing bowl. Aurora has stable mud under her fingernails.”

Aury glared. “Better than the blood of innocents.”

Bathilda laughed coldly. “What do you know of innocence? I saw you sneaking toward the queen’s rooms.”

“At least I don’t sneak toward her consort.”

Bathilda raised a hand to slap her. Aury fought the urge to flinch, and somehow, she managed it. Bathilda noticed the queen’s wandering gaze and relaxed her arm.

The servant took Aury’s goblet, then shoved a bowl of water into her hands as Bathilda sauntered away to join in the festivities.

A buzz traveled through Aury as she shook off her encounter with Bathilda, a blend of curiosity and joy. Tomorrow, she was leaving the fae court for the second time in her entire life. Finally, she’d have a break from this place and see more of the human regions of Lore.

As she pulled her hands out of the wash bowl, a deep, golden light passed through the uneven lines of the water’s reflection.

She paused, lingering over the basin. A cool tingling spread over her body, down her arms, then into the tips of her fingers as a quiet, rushing sound echoed in her ears.

It was a sound like the waves she’d heard at the Sea’s Claw during her only visit to the ocean.

The reflection in the bowl of water showed her face—that of a nineteen-year-old with pointed ears, blue eyes, and silver hair.

But her features faded away. Another face appeared.

Her stomach lifted like she’d jumped from the balcony of the Agate Palace. “What in the name of Nix’s Fire…”