Ariel Slick writes original fiction including short stories, novels, and memoirs to spread the joy of imagination and creativity. She also helps clients achieve their fiction writing goals with her ghostwriting skills on Upwork.com and Guru.com. Although she has  worked as a freelancer for three years, she has been dedicated to the craft all her life. Her fiction focuses on themes of love, justice, and magic, and her most popular works include romance and fantasy romance. 

What would make a girl, terrified of everything, go into the woods? Knights chasing after her, for starters. All Elaine wants is to stay in her small village forever, baking bread with her family. All that changes when she discovers that she is one of seven girls with the gift of magic. Elaine must leave behind her family and flee into the deep, dark woods where anything and everything can happen. Only guided by a talking fox, who may not be who he says on the surface, Elaine battles thieves, murderous plants, and magical creatures of all sorts. She will discover her powers and why they matter: to dethrone the evil king.  Will she be brave enough to embrace her powers?

Valient

Five other heads swiveled to look at Alicia in an instant. Maria immediately stood up, her chair crashing to the ground, and leaped at Alicia, locking her hands around her throat. Alicia tried to back away, but the house was too small.


"Traitor!" screamed Maria. "Spy!" The look of murder came into her eyes. All the pain and anger of losing her family was evident in the way her hands formed into claws, as they tried to squeeze the life out of Alicia. Mariel and Avril stood shocked, and Nicole looked as though she did not know whether to help Maria or Alicia. 


Elaine sprang out of her chair almost as quickly as Maria had. She tried to pull Maria off, but for such a tiny body, she had immense strength. 


"Have you been spying on us this whole time?" Maria yelled. "Have you? Were you thinking of running off to your father and ratting us out? Were you?!"


Chapter 39