I perch on the stool that the girl, Dara, moves near the fire for me, and accept with gratitude the plate of bread and butter she delivers. Around me, the kitchen staff fall back into the rhythm of their work, and after a time, as I finish my first roll and begin on my second, the conversation starts up again.

I lean against the warm stones behind me, resting my head as I watch the servants preparing the midday meal. Dara catches my eye and flashes me a smile before returning to her chopping. Cook brandishes a large wooden spoon at another girl who, apparently, should know better what size pieces to chop an onion into.

When I turn to set my plate down, I find another one has been placed there, a single slice of honey cake set upon it. A special treat, one that no doubt the queen might have had set aside for herself. I look up again, but everyone is busy, leaving me to wonder at their kindness.

I pick up the plate with a sense of hope. There are consequences to silence and consequences to speaking. I do not regret speaking up to defend the serving girl, or stopping Valka before she could finish walking the path from prank to murder, though every action has its consequences.

But, as I sit with my honey cake in the warmth of the hall kitchen, I know that my mother was wrong. I may have fallen, fallen from my family and, no doubt, from the court’s favor—but I am far from alone.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed meeting Alyrra, and will check out her novel-length story in Thorn, a retelling of the Grimm’s “The Goose Girl,” that picks up three years after this tale ends.

To find out about new releases, giveaways, and connect with me, sign up for my monthly Author Newsletter. You’ll also get access to Dragon Slayer Number 9, an exclusive short story just for newsletter subscribers.

A princess with two futures. A destiny all her own.

Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future.

When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.

But Alyrra soon finds that Kestrin is not what she expected. The more Alyrra learns of this new kingdom, the pain and suffering its people endure, as well as the danger facing Kestrin from the sorceress herself, the more she knows she can’t remain the goose girl forever.