Rosewood Dreams


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rosewood Dreams
 The Silverstone Saga Book 1
 by
 Abby Farnsworth
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
 
 World Castle Publishing, LLC
 Pensacola, Florida
 Copyright © Abby Farnsworth 2023
 Smashwords Edition
 Paperback ISBN: 9781960076281
 eBook ISBN: 9781960076298
 First Edition World Castle Publishing, LLC, February 14, 2023
 http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com
 Smashwords Licensing Notes
 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
 Cover: Karen Fuller
 Editor: Maxine Bringenberg
 
 
 Acknowledgments 
 As always, a huge thank you to Karen Fuller, Maxine Bringenberg, and World Castle Publishing. I am beyond thankful for you! Also, thank you to J&M Books and Play, and The Watering Can Art Studio. You guys are great! Thank you to my family and friends for supporting me, as well as Eric Little for hosting so many radio interviews. I appreciate all of you!
 Thank you to all of my readers. To those who have left great ratings and reviews, thank you. It is very much appreciated. You have no idea how glad I am that you enjoy my books. You give me extra smiles.
 To my EverGreen Trilogy readers, thank you for coming back. I’m really glad you decided to join me on another journey! I hope you find this one just as thrilling as the last.
 To my The Shades of Us Trilogy readers, thank you for deciding to read another one of my books. It’s so exciting to share another story with you! I hope you enjoy my new cast of characters. 
 
 
 Dedication
 To Nicole
 All I can say is a simple, “Thank you.”
 
 
 “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers -
 That perches in the soul -
 And sings the tune without the words -
 And never stops - at all -” 
 “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson
 
 
 Prologue - Cassandra
 The fire was swarming around me like a herd of monsters ready to devour their prey. Flames jumped up to catch my dress and skin within their hot grasp. Every cell in my body was burning with the sensation of overwhelming heat. Even my red hair couldn’t seem to escape the inevitable scorch of this terrible nightmare. 
 We were burning, literally burning. Constantine was lying beside me with his hands in my hair. He had always loved my red mane. His fingers were tangled in my ruby locks as if the curls were the only thing he could grasp. We knew we were dying. The smoke had already rendered us unable to move. These last few glances were our only attempt at a goodbye. We had these stolen moments to relish in the memory of each other’s arms. The fire was growing close enough to completely overtake us. But we had these glimpses, the gentle ones where our eyes met in acknowledgment. We knew it was all coming to a close. Our lives were over. Our marriage had been complicated, but I loved him more than I loved myself. My feelings for him were uncontrollable, and I couldn’t have predicted their evolution. It hadn’t been a choice. It had just evolved into a love that consumed my heart. 
 Clovis’s hand was touching mine. I could feel his fingers brushing against my own heated skin. We were breathing in sync, so much so that it seemed like our bodies were molding into one. My stomach tightened at his touch. It was fitting and a slightly disturbingly romantic way for me to die. I was lying between two brothers I loved. One was my husband, and the other, my former lover. Energy was pulsing between us as we lay on the floor of our burning home. 
 My throat continued to tighten as the smoke surrounded us. Constantine’s breath was coming out in choked sobs. I was too weak to do any magic. I wanted to save them, to help both of them escape, but I couldn’t even muster the strength to move my hands. My lungs were filled with toxic air. We were finished. There was no way we would make it out of this fire alive. We would die just as we had lived, by each others’ sides. 
 I wanted to kiss Constantine one last time and lay my head against his chest as I drifted off into the world of darkness. My fingers yearned for one more touch of Clovis’s hand. Just one last time, I wanted to feel their energy again. Just the simple flow of magic between our fingertips would have been enough, but I didn’t have much to give. All I had were the teardrops dripping from my eyes. They tumbled down my cheeks to land upon the wooden floor, mingling with the flames. 
 Outside, I could hear their cheers. The townspeople had discovered us. At first, they had called us heretics and pushed us from society. We hadn’t retaliated—there wasn’t any reason to. My coven had been content to live separately from the humans. Witches and warlocks were hated among the townspeople. They saw us as evil, not worthy of respect or value. We had left them and lived in the wilderness, a peaceful little life we had created for ourselves. I certainly didn’t mind the freedom. We could practice our magic without the fear of judgment or violence. 
 But apparently, our separation hadn’t been enough for them. They wanted to watch us burn. I had heard of the witch trials. They had spread throughout America only twenty years earlier. I had never expected it to happen to us, though. No one ever predicted a tragedy occurring