Preface

Arialana Smith sat in the garden of her family's modest home. The bees and hummingbirds created a steady background rhythm as they flitted between the brightly blooming flowers for the songbird’s chorus. The soft sound of the small fountain made the performance almost magical. If she closed her eyes she could imagine the fairies decorating the fountain taking flight and dancing among the blossoms, coming to lighten her burden. The area beneath her brilliant violet eyes had darkened and her normally rosy cheeks had been robbed of all color.

She was considered a beautiful girl in her family's social circle with her long legs, slim waist and soft curves. Her auburn hair fell down her back in thick waves, shining copper in the light, while her eyes sparkled like the night sky. Arialana was expected to easily marry as well as any Gnach, the non-magical citizens of Draegany, could.

That was a dead possibility for her now. An unwed mother would be difficult to marry off, no matter how pretty or well-bred. It would no longer matter how large a dowry she came with or the fortune she would inherit. She was tainted. The Gnach had to struggle to keep their position in society. Arialana's family had been at the top for centuries, as close to the top as a non-magical family could get.

Gnach could only rank as high as upper-middle class. They could own property, be wealthy, rise in the ranks, but there was a lot they could not do. Things such as hold a title, certain jobs or raise magical children. Magic was genetic but sometimes the gene was recessive in a family and only appeared occasionally. The Smith family happened to be one of those family trees with the occasional magical branch.

That was Arialana's best hope for her future. If her child turned out to be magical, as so many others had in her family, then the child would be taken from her and raised by someone else. Then she could continue her life as if nothing had changed and marry her father's choice.