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    Into the Garden: A Dividing Eden Novella
    Into the Garden: A Dividing Eden Novella
    Into the Garden: A Dividing Eden Novella
    Ebook89 pages1 hour

    Into the Garden: A Dividing Eden Novella

    By Joelle Charbonneau

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    About this ebook

    Step back into the world of bestselling author Joelle Charbonneau’s Dividing Eden, with a short story set decades before Carys and Andreus are destined to fight for Eden’s throne.

    Lady Betrice has been cloistered for two years, desperate to learn the art of Seeing and be allowed to remain with the seers of the Village of Night forever. Now that her parents have passed, there is nothing waiting for her at home but her lecherous uncle and his sinister plans. So when a stoic young guard, assigned by her uncle to deliver her back home without incident, reveals a secret about his own dark past, Betrice seizes the opportunity to harness their combined power into a plan to leave Eden forever.

    But for once, Betrice’s uncle is not the only man lying in wait on the road home—King Adham and his son Prince Ulron are her uncle’s guests, and when Betrice’s escape plot backfires, she may just find herself in a position she never could have foreseen.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperTeen
    Release dateOct 10, 2017
    ISBN9780062455888
    Into the Garden: A Dividing Eden Novella
    Author

    Joelle Charbonneau

    Joelle Charbonneau has performed in opera and musical-theater productions across Chicagoland. She is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Testing trilogy and the bestselling Dividing Eden series, as well as two adult mystery series and several other books for young adult readers. Her YA books have appeared on the Indie Next List, YALSA’s Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, and state reading lists across the country. Joelle lives in the Chicago area with her husband and son. www.joellecharbonneau.com

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      Book preview

      Into the Garden - Joelle Charbonneau

      CONTENTS

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Back Ad

      About the Author

      Books by Joelle Charbonneau

      Copyright

      About the Publisher

      1

      Lady Betrice, Seer Zachar called. Come in, please.

      Betrice hesitated outside the door to the head seer’s dwelling.

      Lady. Betrice’s heart clenched. She hadn’t been referred to as Lady Betrice since her first steps into the Village of Night.

      Almost two years ago she was escorted through the winding paths that snaked throughout the village and the enormous hillside to this very building, which had looked to her like little more than a wooden shack. It was not the kind of place anyone of importance lived in—or so she was taught. Yet, the Seer charged with supervising the training of every potential oracle who stepped through the boundaries of the village lived exactly here. In the small, square cabin no bigger than any others scattered around the base of the hill.

      Everything about this place had turned out to be different from Betrice’s home in Grace City where the buildings were made of stone and her uncle’s windmills made water run and lights glow for all who resided in town. Everyone in her uncle’s part of the kingdom in the district to the north focused on gold and influence. In this part of Eden, they were focused on the stars.

      Here no one schemed over money and power. They knew their fortunes were already written.

      And here no one forced her against the wall of her room with a hand over her mouth, daring her to scream. Here, she was blissfully alone.

      Seer Zachar. She took a halting step from the dwindling light of the day into the sparse space. A scroll of a star chart was unfurled on the wooden table nearest the hearth. A fire crackled despite the early summer warmth. Considering what tomorrow was, she could only think of two possible reasons for her to be standing here. One of them left her too cold for any fire to warm.

      She bowed her head for the customary show of respect, then forced herself to look directly into his dark eyes as she would have never dared do with her High Lord uncle. To the seers, everyone in the Village of Night were equals because all, no matter talent or age or influence, were seekers of truth. More than anything she wanted to be equal and have the control of her own life that equality would bring.

      You wished to speak with me?

      A runner from Derio arrived today. He sighed. He brought a missive from High Lord Xavier.

      Her legs trembled under the flowing white she wore. Her uncle hadn’t forgotten the approach of her sixteenth birthday—and that tomorrow she would be considered a true woman. Her time in the Village of Night was up. He was calling her home as he had sworn to do. And when he saw her again . . .

      I request the Artis root test, she blurted out. I believe my place is here.

      This was the home she wanted. She could be a seer if they just gave her more time. The recurring nightmare that had brought her here had to mean something more than sleepless nights.

      High Lord Xavier said he was sending an escort and that you should expect them tomorrow. You are to return to Derio when they arrive. Seer Zachar held out the scroll that was clenched in his brown, wrinkled hand.

      She backed away from it like it was a snake preparing to strike. But, if I take the test and pass . . .

      You will not pass, Seer Zachar said gently, but she felt the slap as surely as if he had struck her. Lady Betrice, we both know you do not have the talent to be seer.

      But my dreams—

      Are not signs of second sight or skill with the elements. He turned and shuffled toward the fire. They are just terrible dreams, albeit more vivid than most. I believe they are echoes of a vision you were born with. Perhaps the talent runs in your bloodline. That may be why you were given this one repeating vision that haunts your sleep. But you have worked with our guides and sat under the stars for almost two years. Your mind has not opened.

      But please, I have to try. She rushed forward, her hands clasped in front of her. Some students of the stars take years before they unlock their talent. I just need more time.

      Her mentor didn’t understand. She had to stay. She needed to stay. She would rather take the Artis Root test and fail than to once again be under her uncle’s control.

      Her hands shook. Her heart beat faster and faster as Seer Zachar fiddled with the small scroll—her uncle’s seal embossed on it in red and gold wax. Please, she begged.

      My dear, if I thought time was the key to unlocking your ability to calling the winds and read our reflection in the lights above, I would keep you here as long as necessary. My authority is such that the High Lord could not compel you to leave my tutelage and protection. But I cannot willfully deceive the High Lord. And he is calling you home.

      Grace City was not her home. It would never be her home.

      Betrice clenched the scroll tight. She tried to breathe deep to find the calm seers taught her. But the churning inside grew stronger. Her throat tightened, making it impossible to speak. She was powerless in all things—as she always was. She had no talent. No power. She was nothing.

      Seer Zachar placed a gentle hand on her arm and waited until she lifted her eyes to meet his once again. "When you first arrived, Seeress Neri said you would not stay. She was right as she so often is.

      Betrice, if you were to remain here, your future would be no more than an echo—a sound whose source had long disappeared. You are not meant to be one who quietly listens to sounds of the past. You are meant to leave the Village of Night and find your true voice.

      What voice?

      She had none.

      She was a High Lord’s ward. At his disposal. His thing to use and throw away.

      She shuddered. If her dreams hadn’t scared him so badly, he wouldn’t have let her go in the first place. And he had warned her what to expect when she returned.

      Please, she whispered. Tears fell. She tasted the salt in them and sobbed as she placed her hand over his and squeezed with desperation. "Let me take the test. Let the Gods decide my

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