Fragile.
Sickly.
Seer.
Orma has always been different, able to see the shimmering bonds that connect people in ways no one else can. But her gift, a secret she’s been forced to hide, has made her an outsider in her own home. As whispers of her oddness grow louder, her world becomes smaller, confined by the walls of fear and misunderstanding.
When Orma feels the pull of a powerful bond—a connection she was too young to discover—her once-hidden ability threatens to unravel everything. Drawn to a mysterious stranger she shouldn’t know, her parents face a terrible choice. Surrender their daughter, or attempt the unthinkable.
Caught between family, love, and a gift she never wanted, once grown, Orma must face choices of her own. To hide, plagued with pains and a ceaseless ache for the one she lost. Or to be brave and find the one meant to be hers.
-x-
“I didn’t mean to,” she added mournfully, this time offered to her father. Who paused. Turned in his pacing so he might look at her properly. “We should have kept you closer,” he answered. Not an absolution, but a confession of error. Rare, from him.
“We were warned this might happen.” His eyes drifted toward her mother, and there had been an argument there, she could tell. “And there would be consequences for our neglect.”
Her mother’s head turned, and while she did not hiss out an answer, her hold on Orma’s hand tightened to the point of pain.
“Mama,” she murmured, and she turned, loosening her grip immediately.
“Sorry,” she answered, petting and soothing again. “We are not angry with you,” she promised, because she knew that mattered to Orma.
“No,” Father agreed. “Not with you.” But there was a tightness in his voice, the blame he pointed clearly meant for Mama. Which made Orma cry anew. Until he sighed and approached her, pulling her up and into his arms, blanket and all. “You’re going to have to be very brave,” he insisted. “Until we can get this sorted. Do you understand?”
No. Not at all.
“It hurts,” she confessed, because it did. “Is it supposed to?”
He took a sharp breath before shaking his head. “No, sweetling. It isn’t meant to hurt.”
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Sickly.
Seer.
Orma has always been different, able to see the shimmering bonds that connect people in ways no one else can. But her gift, a secret she’s been forced to hide, has made her an outsider in her own home. As whispers of her oddness grow louder, her world becomes smaller, confined by the walls of fear and misunderstanding.
When Orma feels the pull of a powerful bond—a connection she was too young to discover—her once-hidden ability threatens to unravel everything. Drawn to a mysterious stranger she shouldn’t know, her parents face a terrible choice. Surrender their daughter, or attempt the unthinkable.
Caught between family, love, and a gift she never wanted, once grown, Orma must face choices of her own. To hide, plagued with pains and a ceaseless ache for the one she lost. Or to be brave and find the one meant to be hers.
-x-
“I didn’t mean to,” she added mournfully, this time offered to her father. Who paused. Turned in his pacing so he might look at her properly. “We should have kept you closer,” he answered. Not an absolution, but a confession of error. Rare, from him.
“We were warned this might happen.” His eyes drifted toward her mother, and there had been an argument there, she could tell. “And there would be consequences for our neglect.”
Her mother’s head turned, and while she did not hiss out an answer, her hold on Orma’s hand tightened to the point of pain.
“Mama,” she murmured, and she turned, loosening her grip immediately.
“Sorry,” she answered, petting and soothing again. “We are not angry with you,” she promised, because she knew that mattered to Orma.
“No,” Father agreed. “Not with you.” But there was a tightness in his voice, the blame he pointed clearly meant for Mama. Which made Orma cry anew. Until he sighed and approached her, pulling her up and into his arms, blanket and all. “You’re going to have to be very brave,” he insisted. “Until we can get this sorted. Do you understand?”
No. Not at all.
“It hurts,” she confessed, because it did. “Is it supposed to?”
He took a sharp breath before shaking his head. “No, sweetling. It isn’t meant to hurt.”
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Used availability for Catherine Miller 3's Sunder