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  Water Clan Largest clan, whose people draw their power from water, are marked by blue eye color, and are located in a wide band along the southern and western rocky coastline of Tenavae, with the eastern border partially delineated by the Bron River.

  Other Tenavae Terms

  Bloodbond: Bond forced upon Water Clan citizens, allowing Vindrake to control their actions.

  Bondmark: Magickal indication of Vindrake’s bloodbond.

  Fize Fist-sized fruit that grows on a vine; sour green fruit ripens to sweet red fruit.

  Oath of fealty: Pledge spoken by one receiving Vindrake’s bloodbond.

  Sightstone: Smooth black stone imbued with magick properties. One gifted in farsight can see through the eyes of one who wears the sightstone and send a predetermined impression to the wearer.

  Soulmates: A male and female who are magickally bonded. The soulmate bond cannot be applied by choice, but rather happens without warning when the soulmates touch for the first time. The bond, which usually occurs when the couple has at least twenty-two years, enhances their gifting, but requires contact on a daily basis to sustain the bond. If the bond is not maintained by daily contact, the couple will experience separation sickness, eventually leading to death.

  Wander-Jewel: A multifaceted stone present at birth in the navel of those gifted as bearers.

  Wendt: Winged monster with thick scaly hide, clawed feet, and razor-sharp teeth, created by Vindrake, utilizing the life force of a sacrificed person. The creature seeks out human flesh, but does not attack those protected with Vindrake’s bondmark.

  Magick

  Magick is real in the realm of Tenavae and every citizen develops "gifts," magickally enhanced senses and abilities. Minor gifts appear between the ages of twelve and sixteen. At least one major gift develops at the age of sixteen. Gifts practical to survival are more common than others, and all gifts, major and minor, vary in strength from one person to another.

  Major Gifts

  Agility: Allows the gifted to maneuver with extraordinary skill and balance.

  Bearer: Endows the gifted with the ability to transport people and things from one place to another. Unique to the bearer is a magickal jewel that makes transportation possible, the wander-jewel.

  Discernment: Endows the gifted with the ability to detect the presence and proximity of those with malevolent intent.

  Farsight: Allows telepathy with one likewise gifted in farsight, vision through sightstones, and reading memories.

  Judging: Allows the gifted to detect spoken falsehood and restricts the gifted to speaking truth.

  Language: Imbues the gifted with the ability to decipher and comprehend writings and speech in other languages.

  Shaman: Imbues the gifted with the ability to manipulate the elements.

  Strength: Imbues the gifted with extraordinary strength.

  Weapons: Endows the gifted with the ability to wield weapons with exacting precision.

  Wisdom: Imbues the gifted with an extraordinary ability to learn, understand, and reason.

  Minor Gifts

  Gresses: Allows the gifted to find hidden doorways and portals, and to open and close locks, doors, and portals.

  Horses: Allows the gifted to understand and communicate with horses in addition to extraordinary riding skills.

  Animals: Allows the gifted to speak to and understand animals.

  Weather: Allows the gifted to predict the weather; requires a time of training with the weather guild.

  Water Source: Allows the gifted to reliably locate a source of water, whether it be a spring, river, or underground stream.

  Direction: Allows the gifted to sense orientation, memorize maps, and follow direction without error.

  About the Author

  Tamie Dearen lives with her very romantic husband of thirty-three years. She has two beautiful daughters, two amazing son-in-loves, and one awesome grandson. She plays piano, flute, harmonica, keyboards, and guitar and loves composing and art. And she hates housework. She has been a dentist in private practice for thirty years. Tamie stays busy playing keyboards on her church’s praise team and teaching graduate students each week. In her spare time, she writes books. Contact Tamie on her website (TamieDearen.com) for news of the latest releases and monthly prize drawings.

  Books by Tamie Dearen

  The Best Girls Series

  Sweet Romance

  The Best is Yet to Come (Free Prequel)

  Her Best Match

  Best Dating Rules

  Best Laid Plans

  Best Foot Forward

  Christian Romance

  Noelle’s Golden Christmas

  The Alora Series

  YA/Fantasy

  Alora: The Wander-Jewel

  Alora: The Portal

  Sign up for News on New Releases and Special Sales

  Read A Rose in Bloom

  Free Serial Romance on Tamie Dearen’s blog

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  Follow on Twitter: @TamieDearen

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  ~ Prologue ~

  ~ 1 ~

  ~ 2 ~

  ~ 3 ~

  ~ 4 ~

  ~ 5 ~

  ~ 6 ~

  ~ 7 ~

  ~ 8 ~

  ~ 9 ~

  ~ 10 ~

  ~ 11 ~

  ~ 12 ~

  ~ 13 ~

  ~ 14 ~

  ~ 15 ~

  ~ 16 ~

  ~ 17 ~

  ~ 18 ~

  ~ 19 ~

  ~ 20 ~

  ~ 21 ~

  ~ 22 ~

  ~ Epilogue ~

  ~ Glossary ~

  About the Author

  Table of Contents