Chapter 23

The farce soon reached Gabriel's ears. He eagerly dialed an international number, itching to share the news with someone. At a manor somewhere in Eryndor, a beautiful woman, bathed in the morning sunlight, smiled as she watered the roses in the garden with a hose. The sunlight refracted off the water, creating a rainbow that lifted her spirits. Not far from her, a phone on the table rang with a cheerful chime. She handed the hose to a maid standing nearby, then took a handkerchief from another maid to dry her hands. Only then did she walk over to pick up her phone. The moment she answered, Gabriel's excited voice came through the line. "Shannon, I have great news!" Shannon lay lazily in the nearby rocking chair and smiled. "What's the good news this time, Gab?" Since being brought to Eryndor a year ago for treatment by her parents, Shannon had settled there and had no intention of returning to Astrivale. The memories of the past were too painful for her to relive. But she did