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

As night fell, Imogen once again proved how cool her magic was.


"So the theory," she explained, while waving her hands in a comedically arcane manner, "is that this location--the air, the plants, the ground--it remembers how it was in the past, even if it's not the same way you and I remember things."


I admired her. She looked hot, even doing ridiculous poses. "And the gesturing helps?" I asked.


Imogen stuck her tongue out at me. "Some spells are complicated. Having a pattern or a routine can help keep you focused. Any more interruptions from the class?"


"Hmm, yes. Ophelia was it?" Imogen pretended to call on me from an imaginary crowd.


"Mrs. Imogen," I asked. "How come you're so cool?"


"The THEORY GOES," Imogen said loudly, but I could see her smiling. "That even though the location doesn't recollect things like you or I do, it still holds and preserves information. Which leaves me some dominion to work magic in."


Chapter 21: Tiger Heist