FAUSTINE (Bonfire Chronicles Book One)

by Rose, Imogen

  “Waiting in the ballroom. Ready for your first waltz as the new queen?” he asked.

  I was. Waltzing was something I had mastered at Bonfire Academy.

  As Fitch led me onto the dance floor, Alfred’s voice boomed across the room. “Our new demon sovereign, Queen Faustine.”

  We walked to the middle of the dance floor amidst enthusiastic applause. As I got into position, facing Fitch, I felt a gentle brush of warm air against my cheek. Fitch smiled as Ryker appeared.

  “I’ll take it from here,” Ryker said, turning me around as the music started. I walked into his arms and turned my lips up to meet his.

  Tessa watched as Faustine and Ryker moved around the dance floor in perfect harmony with each other. All eyes were on them, but they seemed to be aware only of each other. Faustine’s ruby-encrusted crown belonged on her head; it didn’t move as she elegantly slid around in Ryker’s arms.

  “Madam.”

  “Yes?” she replied, turning to the waiter who held out a silver platter. On the platter was a beige parchment envelope with her name carefully printed on it in beautifully gilded, handwritten calligraphy. “Thank you,” she said, picking up the envelope and dismissing the waiter with a nod.

  It would be a pity to ruin the handsome envelope by opening it without a letter opener. But Tessa was too curious to wait. She turned it over and carefully lifted the flap where it had been sealed with red wax. The paper tore slightly as she carefully retrieved the perfectly folded paper inside.

  As she unfolded it, she suddenly felt uneasy. The uneasiness turned to terror when she read the note.

  Imogen Rose is the author of the bestselling YA series, the Portal Chronicles. She was born in a small town in Sweden and moved to London in her twenties. After obtaining a PhD in immunology from Imperial College, she moved with her family to New Jersey, where she’s been based for the past ten years.

  For as long as she can remember, Imogen has dreamt stories, stories that continued from night to night, from dream to dream. So, even as a child, going to bed was never an issue, just an anticipation of the story to come.

  Portal, Imogen’s first novel, would have remained in her imagination, to be shared only with her daughter, Lauren, had her eight-year-old not insisted that she write it down. In the course of a month, Imogen typed while Lauren waited eagerly by the printer for the pages to appear, and a novel took shape.

  The warm reception Portal received encouraged her to continue with the story and the Portal Chronicles. Book two (Equilibrium) and book three (Quantum) are now available. Book four, Momentum, will be available this summer. Faustine is the first book in Imogen’s new series, the Bonfire Chronicles.

  Imogen is a self-confessed Hermès addict who enjoys shopping, traveling, watching movies and playing with her dog, Tallulah.

  For more information, check out the following links:

  Website: http://www.ImogenRose.com/

  Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/PORTAL/243074017116