The Castle of High Winds

Seventeen-year-old Emily has lived with strange visions and unexplainable sensations all her life, but she has learned to dismiss them as imagination. When her beloved grandfather dies, Emily and her family return to the sprawling ancestral Lavake Castle, a granite fortress filled with history and secrets.

At first, Emily struggles with grief and strained family dynamics, but soon she senses that something in the castle is alive. Shadows whisper her name, mirrors ripple with unfamiliar faces, and the bitter winds circling the towers seem to carry intent. When she sees her grandfather's ghost and feels him trying to reach her, Emily realizes her abilities are no longer a burden to hide-they are the key to unraveling the castle's mysteries.

Her cousin Jeremy, who shares a similar gift of clairvoyance, becomes her closest confidant. Unlike others who doubt Emily, Jeremy sees the danger as clearly as she does. Together they explore the castle's forbidden spaces-the dusty library, secret passageways, and the Hall of Portraits-where they uncover journals and family records that reveal a hidden truth. Their bloodline is bound to the Fae, sealed generations ago in a pact made by their great-great-grandfather Eddie Lavake. What was meant as protection twisted into betrayal, cursing the family with restless spirits and a legacy of supernatural debts.

The haunting escalates. Emily suffers terrifying visions of death and betrayal, while Jeremy warns her that the castle itself seems to hunger for them. Emily begins to piece together that her family's fortunes-and her grandfather's sudden death-are tied to the unfinished bargain. The ghost of her ancestor Audrey, radiant and formidable, appears to her with a warning: enemies still linger, seeking to exploit the family's gift and tear open the fragile boundary between the living and the Fae.

As tension builds toward the funeral and family gathering, Emily faces opposition not just from supernatural forces but from relatives who conceal secrets of their own. With Jeremy's help, she confronts the castle directly in its great hall, where the winds howl like voices demanding justice. Emily calls upon her clairvoyance to bridge the world of the living and the dead, recognizing that she is the heir to the family's gift-and its burdens.

In the climax, Emily accepts her role as keeper of the legacy. She faces her grandfather's spirit one final time, who passes on the truth of their lineage and entrusts her with protecting it. By acknowledging her connection to both the living and the Fae, Emily calms the storm within the castle, restoring balance-for now.

But victory comes with a cost. Emily realizes the haunting is only the beginning. The pact with the Fae remains unresolved, and darker forces lie beyond the castle's walls. With Jeremy at her side, she commits to uncovering the full truth of her heritage, setting the stage for the continuing saga.

Iva Lou DeSiata was born in Kansas but raised in the Oklahoma Panhandle. She was a farm kid with a vivid imagination and a drive to tell stories. Her father loved to write poems and had quite the talent for it, this is a trait she picked up from him. She has always loved fantasy stories and wanting to disappear into world where she felt safe.