There are two identical Earths: the fae live in one, humans in the other. Within each realm there are portals of passage, to be traversed only on magical occasions.
In the fae kingdom, souls of fairies who die end up in vessels in the Vault of Souls under the castle. The vessels of the royals also hold the powers they are blessed with on the day they receive their wings--the 16th birthday. If a vessels is opened prior to a death, the magic of the power is stolen and absorbed by the thief.
Two days before Jewel's 16th birthday, the sacred key on its golden chain is stolen from the king's neck. Jewel's birthday celebration is thrown into chaos. After getting her wings and her special power (communication with trees), Jewel attends a party to open gifts. The gift from her uncle is a pair of Pulchra avum, bird-like creatures known to be fierce warriors, named Miranda and Beecher. These intelligent creatures are Jewel's constant companions; they hide in her clothes to protect her.
After the party, Jewel meets her best friend Ember in their secret hiding place in an ancient oak tree. Unbeknownst to either girl, it is a portal and Jewel, Beecher and Miranda disappear into the world of humans. Everything looks the same, yet different. The human world's tree whispers to her, gives her the ability to speak the human language and tells her that the key thief is also in the human world. She also learns that only she can pass through this tree because of her special powers.
Jewel meets Samantha, who takes her in and brings her to school where Ethan becomes her first love. Jewel feels responsible for finding the key, so this fact, and love for Ethan keep her from returning to her worried family and Ember. After a series of unusual events that include kidnapping, outrageous driving, danger to Beecher and Miranda, and, a father who beats his son, Jewel arrives back at the portal.
Will the portal be closed forever or will Jewel go back to save Ethan?
Sharon Loeff of Scottsdale, AZ, is an industrial designer and retail consultant. She formed Shopworks, Inc. in 1992 to advise national and international retailers and shopping center developers. In 2009, she returned to her creative side as an artist, illustrator and author. Sharon and her husband Thomas have two daughters, Hannah and Gabrielle, several dogs and a roadrunner named Seymour.
Mary L. Holden has some favorite words: Letter, word, sentence, paragraph, reading, writing. These nouns and gerund forms of verbs represent her life's work, play and passion. Mary's goal as an editor is to uphold a writer's voice on the page and get them to see their manuscript in its best light. Mary offers developmental editing, line and content editing, ghostwriting and proofreading. As a self-employed freelance editor and writer, she's on the editorial staff of the MiniBuk company, and is a co-founder and partner of new72media in Oregon as well as Drafting Your Future in Arizona. She believes in supporting her community through volunteer work and is a member of Local First Arizona. Every year, Mary takes on certain editing projects pro bono. Several of her clients have learned English as their second language, and it has been her honor to assist them as they've developed and published their written work.
