Free The Second Life of Magnolia Mae by Angela Schroeder Page A

off of the water, causing it to sparkle. It turned the distant clouds pink and purple, painting the sky just for her, it seemed.
    “I don’t remember,” she finally whispered. She would have to relearn everything, put Magnolia behind her and become Daciana. She knew the memories were there, waiting to surface. Waiting for something to bring them crashing to the front of her mind. Perhaps if she began to think of this as her home, it would make everything easier. Because this was her home now; there was no going back to how things were.
    Dragoste crossed the floor in one quick silent leap and nudged her softly as if he sensed her distress.
    “I want to be left alone.”
    Just then Railynn returned with the water that Nonna had requested. Nonna went to the table by the bed and picked up a small pouch. She poured a bit of its contents into a clean bowl then mixed it with water, making paste of some sort. “Come, let me put this on your wounds to take away the pain. Then you may rest.
    Magnolia crossed the room and allowed the now incredibly warm mixture to be spread over the stiches that Nonna had already given her to close the knife wound. The pain stopped throbbing, diminishing to only a dull ache.
    When Nonna finished, she and Railynn left her alone. Magnolia picked up the brush. She sat and pulled it through her long, damp, knotted hair. Once done detangling, she pulled her hair back into a tight fishtail and used a ribbon to tie it. She looked in the mirror to see that her neck had purple imprints of Gordon’s fingers. That explained why the men seemed so angry when she’d reached for her neck earlier.
    She crossed the room to her bed, yanked back the covers, then lay down with Dragoste at her side. Although she was cold, she did not bother to pull the blanket back around her. She was no longer Magnolia Mae Romo. Now she was Daciana Magnolia Dietrex. Her people, the people of Avengar, needed her.
    But she needed Jace. Tears slipped down her face. Was her brother waiting for her back on the farm? What did he think happened to her? Did he think she was dead? She was dead — Magnolia Mae no longer existed, and she had given her life so that Daciana could live. She had to remember that. When she thought of herself, she would have to think of Daciana. After all, that is who she had been her entire life. Her parents had known that, and a part of her believed that Jace had even known it all along. They had all accepted it; now it was time that she do the same. By coming back here, she had already altered history as she had known it. It was time for Magnolia to accept her true fate, to start ensuring that her people were taken care of.
     

     
    Darkness surrounded her. She could hear him calling out, begging her to come to him. The more she moved, the harder it was to get anywhere. Tangled in the briars and brush, her body ached as she tried to move forward. Pain echoed in his voice as he called her name. A light shone ahead of her so that she could see his face. His golden brown eyes locked on hers, and a smile began to cross his face, only to be erased when Gordon stepped in front of him. She struggled urgently when she saw the glint of the blade going toward him. “Jace!” The scream left her, and she fell forward hitting the ground…
    She opened her eyes when she hit the stone floor. Tears poured out of them. The door to her room flung open, and there was Jaceson. He crossed the room in four long strides and picked her up from the floor. He set her back on the bed, pulled the blanket up over her, then sat down, leaning his head against the edge of the bed.
    She angled herself so that her head was closer to his. Loneliness tried to engulf her, but it was not so bad when Jaceson was near. A strand of hair had come out of the fishtail and hung over the edge of the bed. Jaceson tugged on it playfully.
    “Nightmare.” The soothing quality of his voice washed over her.
    A small sigh escaped her as she muttered a yes to