"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 woke up in a bed I wasn't used to in a room I didn't recognize. For a moment, panic ruled me as I thought Olezhka had been taken and imprisoned again, but he was curled up beside the bed pressed as close as he could get without being up on the mattress with me.


I sat up to reach for him and winced in pain. Someone had bandaged my ribs, but there were still bruises up and down the length of my arms. Olezhka woke up immediately.


"Ophelia!" There was genuine concern in his voice. He nuzzled into me affectionately, which would have been adorable if not for the pain it induced.


"Hi. Hey. Ouch." I pushed him off. "Are you okay?"


Olezhka nodded. "I tried to eat her--Imogen's mother, I mean--she hurt you. But I couldn't get through the spell."


"It's alright buddy." I scratched him behind the ears. "I couldn't get her either. Any idea where we are?"


"You're in a hotel the Maple family owns."


Chapter 30: The House Elm