by Annie Bellet
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It was nearly five o’clock, and the daylight fading, when they reached the park. Linda was pulling the gate closed over the entrance to the carousel. Queenie and her kids broke into a run.
“Linda!” Queenie yelled.
The woman looked up and waved, halting her locking up.
“Please,” Queenie said, catching her breath and putting Tabby down, “we need to ride the carousel.” Queenie pulled a handful of bills out of her purse, not caring how much was there. It wouldn’t matter soon.
Linda looked at her, then down at the kids. “I’ve closed up the walls.”
“We don’t need it to run, just let us sit on it for a little while. Please, Linda.”
“Please, Linda?” Tabby and Angel repeated, though both had worried looks and kept glancing up at Queenie.
“Okay, okay. Keep your money, Queenie. Just a few minutes though.”
Tabby went right to her yellow horse, but Queenie kept a tight hold on Angel’s hand.
“You have to ride next to us, Angel. Just this time, okay?”
“What are you doing, mom?” Angel said.
“Hush, baby, you’ll see.” She prayed she was right. This had to work.
She hugged Tabby close and Wudget crawled out of her pocket to rest on the little girl’s shoulder. Queenie reached out and took Angel’s hand. His little palm was warm in her cold fingers and she felt his heartbeat through his thin wrist.
She closed her eyes. The air was stuffy in here with the big wooden shutters drawn down. There was only dim light behind her lids.
She reached for warmth, for sunlight and safety and a place were her children would never know walls and how the world closed in around you day after day, taking all the good choices and leaving everything cold and dark and hard. Queenie reached for the Veldt.
The world faded and warm wind replaced the still, chilled air. She heard her children gasp, but didn’t open her eyes until she felt the sunlight on her face, hot and bright, remaking the world behind her lids into reds and golds.
The Veldt spread out around them, just as it had before. High above an eagle soared, pitching a keening cry into the air that made Angel shriek with glee. Queenie looked at her son. He rode a striped pony, the calm beast pressed close to the big gold horse she and Tabby sat on. Her horse now had a purple bridle and Queenie reached forward with one hand to catch the smooth leather reins between her fingers.
“Mommy.”
She looked up at Tabby’s soft exclamation.
In the distance sat a rider, tall and proud on a big golden horse like the one beneath her. He raised one sun-darkened arm to them in greeting.
One by one, Angel, Tabby, and Queenie lifted their own arms in a wave that stretched across the golden distance.
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Like Fantasy? Want to read more by this author? Check out the novel “A Heart in Sun and Shadow”
In an ancient Wales that never was…
The twin brothers Emyr and Idrys are cursed to live as hounds; Emyr by night, and Idrys by day. The twins believe they will be trapped this way forever until they meet the fierce and curious Áine, a changeling woman born with fey blood and gifts struggling to fit into a suspicious human world.
Áine unravels the fate of Emyr and his twin as all three of them fall in love. To free her lovers from the curse, she embarks on a journey to the realm of the fey where she confronts her own unique gifts and heritage. Ultimately, she must decide where her heart truly lies and what she’s willing to risk to get what she desires most.
The first book in the Chwedl Duology is now available in trade paperback and all ebook formats.
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Also by Annie Bellet:
The Gryphonpike Chronicles:
Witch Hunt
Twice Drowned Dragon
A Stone’s Throw
Dead of Knight
The Barrows (Omnibus Vol.1)
Chwedl Duology:
A Heart in Sun and Shadow
The Raven King
Pyrrh Considerable Crimes Division Series:
Avarice
Wrath
Hunger
Envy
Lust
Inertia
Vainglory
Short Story Collections:
The Spacer’s Blade and Other Stories
Gifts in Sand and Water
River Daughter and Other Stories
Deep Black Beyond
Till Human Voices Wake Us
Dusk and Shiver
By Spell and Sword
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About the Author:
Annie Bellet lives and writes in the Pacific NW. She is a Clarion graduate and her stories have appeared in magazines such as AlienSkin, Digital Science Fiction, and Daily Science Fiction as well as multiple collections and anthologies. Follow her on her blog at “A Little Imagination” (https://overactive.wordpress.com/)
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