My mind's my kingdom.
~ Francis Quarles ~
Spotlight
~ ON SALE July 4-8! ~
Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Winters may be a witch, but she doesn’t know the first thing about magic—unless you count accidental bouts of spontaneous combustion. Elizabeth’s father, a wizard himself, has forbidden the use of her powers for her own protection, but when accusations of witchcraft start flying through Salem Village, she wishes she was more prepared. Despite her lack of magical knowledge, Elizabeth appoints herself to save innocent women from the demise the village has in store for them. Elizabeth finds, however, that she is not the hero Salem needs her to be. She meant to save them. She cursed them instead. |
Excerpt
Salem, Massachusetts
1692
I shiver as my bare feet hit the wood floor. It is too early to be awake. It is always too early. An incessant throbbing behind my eyes tells me I ought to be back in bed.
“Elizabeth, are you ready?” Mother calls from the kitchen.
“Yes, I’ll be right there,” I lie. With a tired shuffle I make my way to the large chest at the foot of my bed and pull out the first dress I see. It doesn’t matter much when my choices are the black dress, the dark black dress, or the other black dress. Shall I wear the one with the hole, the one with two holes, or the one the mouse chewed through?
“Elizabeth! We are going to be late, we need to leave.”
“Just a moment,” I say.
After exchanging my white nightdress for the dark black dress that the mouse chewed through, I tie a white apron around my waist, attempting to hide the hole. Before walking out the door I realize my cap is missing.
With a sigh, I pin my hair back before covering it with the white cap, a symbol of my purity. I now look like every other girl in Salem village, just how it should be. It seems a shame to let my curls go to waste and I can’t help but pull a few forward.
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