EOK Gifford-Smith

"Do you like me?" I asked. "Do you really like me?"
Imogen nodded. Water gathered at the edges of her eyes. "Yeah," she whispered, in a voice pained enough to crack my heart.
"Then let's...go out, after this," I said. "We'll go on a date. We can figure this out together, and we can take one step at a time. Okay?"
Imogen nodded again. I took her hands in mine. 
Heartwood: Forbidden is the tale of the young, headstrong Ophelia stepping into a world of magic and witches. At first it seems like her greatest challenge will be finding her Familiar or drawing her Implement from a great tree, but then she runs into Imogen, daughter and heir to the Magnolia family, and learns very quickly that romance and magic probably shouldn't be allowed to mix. If Ophelia plays the game well, she might be able to get the girl and still end up on top. But Ophelia has never been good at following the rules... 
Heartwood: Forbidden is created by EOK Gifford-Smith, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Heartwood: Forbidden

I pushed through the crowd, not caring if I was robbing kids of their place in line. A couple complained. One woman shouted angrily at me. I ignored her and pressed my nose against the glass. On the far side, the tiger--my Familiar--got as close as he could to me.


"You... you're my Familiar," I breathed, the words barely audible to even me.


"Yep." The tiger said in my head. "And you're my witch. Please, please get me out of this cage."


I felt our connection then. If someone had tried to describe it to me before, I could never have really understood it. It felt like a part of me was outside of my body. Some piece of my soul was contained in this enclosure, and I desperately needed to get it out.


"Ophelia? Are you okay?" Imogen was beside me, shaking me on the shoulder.


I couldn't turn away. "He's stuck in there."


"That's your Familiar? Are you..." she trailed off. "No, that's a dumb question. Of course you're sure."


Chapter 15: Do Not Steal Tigers