Excerpt & Giveaway: The Witches of the Glass Castle: Uprising by Gabriella Lepore
/Witches of the Glass Castle: Uprising Synopsis
Still reeling after discovering she’s a witch, Mia learns that sixteen years ago she was born with The Arx—a force-field so coveted that dark witches would stop at nothing to steal it. With her brother Dino at her side, she flees to the Glass Castle in hopes of reversing the sinister fate foreseen by their aunt. Despite Dino’s warnings, Mia seeks comfort from Colt, the alluring Hunter charged with protecting her. But just as Dino begins to trust Colt, the siblings are blindsided by an unnerving suspicion: can a Hunter ever be trusted?
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Gabriella Lepore Bio
Gabriella Lepore lives on the coast of Wales in the United Kingdom. She began writing at an early age and grew up with a passion for all things supernatural—especially witches! She currently has five Young Adult books in print: How I Found You, Evanescent, Phoenix Holt, and The Witches of the Glass Castle books 1 & 2.
You can reach Gabriella via: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website
Excerpt 1
The dwindling sunlight cast purple shadows over the stone courtyard, like fractures in a murky river. Mia walked on, trailing her fingers along the castle’s rough outer walls.
A sudden swell of cold evening breeze flushed her cheeks and flowed through her long brown hair. The breeze drew her focus to the hedges that separated the courtyard from the grounds.
Mia shivered.
Colt was out there. She knew he was.
After a quick backwards glance to the castle, she tentatively forged on, crossing beneath the hedge archway and emerging for the first time into the unlit gardens. Tall hedges looped around flower beds, and weathered benches lined the walkway.
Mia stepped onto the grass and paced across the lawn. She knew exactly where she was going. Resolved in her quest, she moved in and out of the hedges, carefully avoiding the barren winter flower beds. Once she’d manoeuvred her way through the maze of hedges, an open stretch of dull December grass rolled down into an embankment. From the ridge, she was able to see to the forest below—the forest that was off limits to her and all other Arcana. Even on a clear evening like this, there was a dense layer of mist clinging to the front trees, hiding them almost entirely from sight.
Mia stood motionless for a while, allowing the breeze to coil around her arms and legs before it moved up to her throat, where it settled like a collar. The scent of pine drifted out from the forest, igniting her memories of summer. Her memories of Colt.
She squinted as she scanned for movement amongst the long shadows. There was something there, she was sure of it.
Boldly, she began down the embankment, closing in on the curtain of mist that eclipsed the forest. When she reached the hazy boundary, her stride didn’t falter. She allowed the mist to swallow her, to lick at her skin and seep into her lungs. She was caught now, drawn in deeper by the mist’s enchantment—whether she wanted to venture farther or not.
Her feet hit the forest floor in robotic thuds, crunching through the fallen bronzed leaves as she passed through the web of trees.
I’m not afraid, she reminded herself. Her heart began to beat faster. The mist’s enchantment was unnerving; her legs weren’t her own anymore. She had willingly relinquished her control the moment she’d crossed the forest border. So much for just having one reckless act per lifetime, she thought ruefully.