Free The Changeling (Book One of The Síofra Chronicles) by K.R. Wilburn Page A

leaned over the edge of the stone, reaching down and letting my fingertips skim over the smooth surface.  It was warm to the touch and felt odd.   Aleksander nodded in approval, and I took that as my cue to push through. 
    He was right. The surface resisted. It felt like one of my mom’s gelatin molds—neither a solid nor a liquid but somewhere in between.  Pushing harder, I felt my hand free from the gelatinous water into nothingness.  I was in.
    "What next?"
    "Okay, now this is the difficult part," he said, leaning closer and watching my hand.  "You need to think of someone you love.  It doesn’t matter who it is, but you need to do it now.  A happy memory usually works best."
    As the graceful dream dancer turned and spun, her glossy dark hair whipping out in a fan around her, I thought of Becca.  She was my best friend, closer than my sister, and I would have died for her.  I focused on those powerful feelings and felt my palm tingle with heat. 
    There in my palm rested a small ball of white light the size of a golf ball.
    "You are doing well, Cassie," Aleksander encouraged.  "Now, concentrate harder. Focus all your warm feelings, all of the love you have in your heart, on this little ball and help it grow. Feed it your love."
    I thought of my parents, of my brother and sister, even Miguel. Those I loved the most.  The ball of light grew slowly and then wavered, as if changing its mind and shrinking again. 
    "Concentrate, Cassie." He put his hand on my back and started rubbing a small methodical circle with his thumb. 
    It sent a surge of heat through me, settling low in my stomach.  I turned to look at him and found his face so close to mine that our lips almost touched. My breathing hitched as I stared into his eyes, neither of us speaking.  I ignored the heat growing in my hand and felt only the wild beating of my heart as I saw the longing in his eyes.
    A growing glare in my peripheral vision distracted us both and Aleksander's head snapped back toward the water.
    "Cassie, look!" he exclaimed, withdrawing his hand and pointing it at the water.
    I turned and looked at the water, momentarily blinded by the white light that had filled the Pool.  I jerked my hand back out of the water and the light dissipated at once, but there was no dream dancer.  She was gone.
    "You did it!" Aleksander cheered, pride filling his voice. "You learned how to nudge a soul.  This is fantastic. In a nightmare situation, you not only have to contend with everything you did here, but with the nightmare world created by the dreamer.  It’s not easy, but I will show you how when you’re ready."
    A grin split my face wide open as we both sat up, and I pitched myself into him, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him to me.  Aleksander stiffened and then returned my embrace, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his chest, sending my heart fluttering.
    "I can't believe I did it!" I said happily, feeling almost giddy in my excitement. 
    "You were made for this, Cassie," he said, his warm breath tickling my ear as he held me tighter.  
    His words resonated in me, and I felt a spark of pride unfurl in my chest.  I untangled myself from his arms and grinned at him. 
    "So you think I'd be good at this?"
    "I think you're going to make an amazing Fae," he replied, his eyes shining brightly with emotion.  "This is your calling.  I know it.  Look at how easily you called that light to you. The fact that you can feel love so strongly speaks volumes about you, Cassie."
    I would never tell him that the thoughts that had consumed my body and sent the good emotions into the ball of light that had rested in my palm had only come when I thought of him.  

Chapter Eight
     
    I was surprised to find myself alone on the beach for once.  In the weeks that had passed since my birthday, Aleksander had always been there to greet me upon my arrival, but for once I had fallen asleep early.  I sat down on a large rock