barely remember her own name.
“Can I just say yes, and thank you?”
That got a laugh. “Fine with me. I’m going to email you a contract. Read it over. Call or email me with any questions or concerns. When and if you’re satisfied, sign it and send it back, and we’ll get started. I’d love to see anything else you’re working on.”
“I started another with Bollocks, but it’s only the opening of a first draft because . . . I’ve been writing an adult novel, a fantasy. It’s not—”
“Can you send me the first couple chapters of the novel?”
Could a heart explode? Was it physically possible?
“You want to see it? Really?”
“Yes, I do. You’re very talented, Breen. Your writing’s fresh and fun, and Bollocks is a gem.”
“Yes,” Breen murmured, stroking his head. “He is.”
“I want to help you build your career. I’m going to get ahead of myself for a minute. I’m confident I can pitch and sell your YA as a series with an initial three-book deal. If your adult novel shows the same fresh voice and sense of story and world-building, I’ll work hard to put it in the hands of the right publisher.”
“Thank you. I never really expected to get this far.”
“Oh, I promise you, we’re just beginning. I’ll lay all this out for you in a cover letter so you have it in writing, and attach the contract. You contact me, anytime, with any questions. And send me those chapters.”
“I will.”
“Have a lovely evening, and we’ll talk soon.”
“Yes. Thank you. Bye.”
She stared at the phone. “I’m not dreaming. That happened. That happened.” She slid out of bed to hug the joyful dog. “Look what you’ve given me!” Overwhelmed, she pressed her face into the dog’s curls. “You are a gem. My magic gem. My lucky charm. Who can sleep now? Let’s go down, get you a treat, and send those chapters. I have to call Marco!”
She jumped up. “No, no, I might jinx it. Tell no one. It’s just you and me for now, my canine muse.”
She did read the contract, and in her blissful haze found every word thrilling. As she composed a cover letter she drank a glass of wine as much to help her sleep as to celebrate. She sent back the signed contract and, with a tangle of trepidation and hope, sent the first two chapters of her novel.
She’d make a trip to the village to send the hard copy of the contract, but for now, she took the rest of her wine and the dog outside.
The cool night air on her face, and her whole future rolling out in front of her like the sea.
She took the flickers of light dancing in the dark as fireflies at first, then realized they were pixies. Did they come every night after she slept? she wondered. Were they part of her guard, her protection?
She stood here, and only a mile away others danced in the dark, or slept in their beds, or rocked a fretful baby.
Two worlds, both somehow hers. How would she ever balance them?
“I have to find a way. But I’m not going to find it tonight. Come on, Bollocks. Let’s try to get some sleep.”
Since she only managed four hours, and it showed, she tried her first glamour—not for vanity, but to ward off questions and concerns.
She lived in the world of one moon for the morning, in the world where any magick stayed below the surface, then made her way to the land of the Fey.
“You seem distracted.”
With Marg, Breen stood in the circle she’d cast. She’d brought the fire under the cauldron, selected the ingredients. And with Sedric’s help—as she could barely draw stick figures—had sketched the image of the athame she would create for herself.
Some tools, Marg told her, could and should be passed on or gifted. Others should come from the one who would use it.
“Did I make a mistake?”
“Not at all, but I can see your mind go somewhere. You said you didn’t dream.”
“I didn’t. But I didn’t sleep long. I got caught up writing.”
Not a lie, she thought, as she’d written the cover letter and a brief synopsis to go with the two chapters.
“You ask much of yourself.”
“I do?”
“My darling girl.” Gently, Marg rubbed a hand along Breen’s arm. “You have your stories, and this is work. You ask me to push you harder, and I have. You ask Keegan to train you harder, and he does. I know this, as Morena spends time watching your