"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

"That is... I don't..." I pulled away from Matriarch Klaeris, not certain how to refuse her. "Your family is wonderful and all, but I need to..."


"Go commune with the tree," Klaeris said. "I understand it's a lot to take it. No one expects you to decide today. I meant only to offer you a certain future, should you want it."


A certain future. Her words continued to ring in my ears as I approached the base of the Elm. All my life I had wanted stability. Certainty. Was this really it? If so, why didn't it feel right?


I grinded my teeth in frustration. This isn't how it was supposed to work. I wanted everything to fall into place, I NEEDED it to hold still for just a minute so I could think about what I had to do. But I had been holding still for weeks, lounging in apathy and indecision.


Maybe it was me. Maybe I was the problem.


I pressed my hand against the trunk of the Elm and whispered. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do."


Chapter 32: Contemplating Connection