Of Magic & Lies

Of Magic & LiesBook One: The Gatemaker SeriesMaggie Brown Copyright © 2023 MaggieBrownAll rights reservedThe characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.ISBN: 9798375124162Cover design by: GetCovers_DesignEditor: Open Eye Editing For anyone willing to dream... Contents Title PageCopyrightDedicationNote from the Author.Chapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter FourteenChapter FifteenChapter SixteenChapter SeventeenChapter EighteenChapter NineteenChapter TwentyChapter Twenty-OneChapter Twenty-TwoChapter Twenty-ThreeChapter Twenty-FourChapter Twenty-FiveChapter Twenty-SixThank YouAcknowledgementAfterwordAbout The AuthorBooks By This Author Note from the Author.Hello it's Maggie here, to warn you that this book deals with themes that could make some readers uncomfortable. If you do not like Spicy or violent scenes in your books then you should turn away now, otherwise you have been warned.This book is the first book in The Gatemaker Series and will be part of a larger universe of books. However each series can be read alone or together.I have chosen to write this book in British English so please remember that this may make some spellings look wrong or unusual. If you do feel that you have found a mistake in this book then please, please, please do not report it but message me with your concern.Thank you for delving into my world of The Gatemaker. I hope that you enjoy my book.Happy Reading. Chapter OneAlyssaStrange creatures fill the room, some look almost human if you can ignore the pointed ear-tips, animistic features or their otherworldly beauty. Others have leaves instead of hair, or bark-like skin and one has what looks like water swirling around her body as she twirls in a man’s arms. Then there’s the enchanting music that floats around the hall, it plays under the laughter and conversation that bubbles through the room. Everyone’s happy, enjoying the party. Except me, as I stare across the room over all their dancing heads from my small throne on the dais.Stifling another yawn and rolling my eyes at having to attend yet another damn event. Anger flashes through me when a dancing couple passes by, or another young suitor asks me to dance again. I’m rolling my eyes yet again when I see him. Mister tall, dark and handsome. I know he’s dangerous from the glint in his eyes and the shadows swirling around his lithe frame, but I can’t pull my eyes away from him.I’m entranced.He stops across from me! Standing on the edge glaring across the swirling mass of dancing couples, his dark fringe sweeps down, covering one of his twinkling blue eyes. The other remains locked on my face as I stare at him. Unable to move I watch as he pushes it back, revealing his handsome face and my heart stops beating for a second, as we gaze at each other.I know who he is and I should stay away from him!Everyone says he’s evil, just like his father. But I’m walking before I even know it, pushing through the dancers to get to him. I don’t react to any of the shocked gasps or startled shouts, all I want is him.He’s mine! My mind shouts at me, urging me to yell it at the party-goers as they get in my way. Suddenly there he is looking down at me as the whole room goes deathly silent. I’m lost in his gaze as his shadows play around us. Everyone else thinks he’s dangerous but I know the truth.Smiling, I reach up to brush my fingers across his cheek as he leans towards me, “Princess.” He mocks with his melodic voice, staring into my eyes as goosebumps erupt over my skin. My eyes fall closed when his lips brush my earlobe and he whispers, “found you!”I muffle my sob behind shaking hands, as I bolt upright in bed, with tears rolling down my cheeks. Leather and Lavender fills my nostrils when I take a deep breath. It was just a dream, I tell myself silently as I try to draw in a deep enough breath, to ease the tight band around my chest. "It's not real." I mutter aloud to my empty room. Forcing myself to believe the words as the crushing pain of losing someone very important rips through me.It's stifling this imagined agony of having had my heart broken. What the hell do I know about heartbreak? I'm the bloody weirdo that's never dated anyone or even been in love! Yet my mystery dream man—who doesn’t even exist—makes me feel this way every time I sleep. How can I feel this intensely for a figment of my own overactive imagination?Looking at the now familiar faded blue walls of my dorm I absently rub my chest, still feeling the connection to the man in my dreams. Every time I wake from one of my dreams I have the niggling feeling that they’re somehow real, as though I’ve lived each one.Yeah, crazy I know! There’s no such thing as demons, fairies or any supernatural creature for that matter. No Otherworld that holds secret balls and trains their princesses how to fight and dance. And certainly no Magic. My life's as boring as a nuns. It isn’t real! I tell myself again remembering what Rebecca my old therapist used to tell me."That world isn’t real, Alyssa. He isn’t real," she'd say twenty times a session, "it's all a construct you've created to try and explain the gaps in your past." So why does it feel as if I could reach out and touch that world I’ve created in my dreams, live in it even.Shaking my head at myself for being so stupid, I grab my phone from the night stand and glare at the time. Urggg, I have two hours until my shift at Society. Groaning again I