A Circle of Crows by Brynn Chapman

conquests.” Her voice and words were beyond bitter.
    "What is this place called?"
    "It is called Briar Woods. And you are in the keep of Queen Ivana. The castle's title is Sheol."
    "Sheol ... that reminds me of something, but I can't remember what. What does that mean?"
    "It actually means the common grave of mankind. The king renamed the castle at the end of his life in his despondency over the fate of his people. He was on his deathbed when he gave the decree. It used to be named Zion."
    As they passed down the hallway, Morgana spied a map hanging on the wall. To her distress, she was unable to identify any of the landmasses. Her fear continued to grow that she would never see her family again. Her mother's voice was in her head now, and Morgana remembered what her mother had whispered to her in the nights after her father had been killed.
    It's me and you, Poppet. I'll always be with you. Be strong and remember the words I say to you and pull them out when you need them, just like a notebook in your heart. Follow your own heart, Morgana. Trust your instincts. Morgana began to play it over and over in her head like a mantra.
    Marisol led her to the kitchens where they filled two large trays and placed them in the dumbwaiter. Then they unloaded the trays onto carts and began to descend again.
    "Stop here, Morgana.” Mari led her into a small room and opened a closet. “Change into this. Many people are suspicious of Outlanders. They will be more kind if you are dressed as one of us."
    "Outlander?"
    "Anyone not from the local shire who comes by way of the portals."
    Morgana slipped into a simple gown that was still more elaborate than anything she owned in her closet at home. She felt like she was back in her school's production of Nicolas Nickleby ; or when her aunts needed her help over Christmas vacation and they had provided her with her own renaissance style dress.
    "Morgana, I have the feeling you and I will be able to help one another."
    "How?"
    "We both want the same thing—to have the children safe and out of here."
    "Okay, I'll do whatever you ask.” A glimmer of hope glowed in Morgana's chest; she was almost afraid to acknowledge it.
    "Just be strong for the little ones. I can see you are already, as you have not succumbed to the melancholy of your plight."
    Good thing I liked Shakespeare in English Lit.
    "I will also see that the children get the water they need for bathing."
    They entered the dungeon, and Marisol began to turn right.
    "Where are you going?"
    "Twenty more down this hall,” she said grimly.
    The question Morgana had been afraid to ask spilled out of her mouth, “Marisol,what year is it?"
    "It is 1879."

Chapter 13
    The sun rose and shone on the inn. It would have been a perfect fall day if not for the previous day's events. Raena was the first to rise and sat staring at the coffee maker, willing it to fill the pitcher more quickly. Rachael came silently in and laid her head upon the table, too despondent to speak. Rae walked over to the window and saw Bella shuffling across the courtyard between the cottage and the inn. Bella, too, looked as if she were having to face Morgana's funeral, instead of a day without her. Rae understood this, because Morgana's presence was everywhere at the inn. Rae could not look at one room or place where a memory of Morgana did not exist. As she looked out the window, she could see Morgana and Chloe jumping into the piles of leaves when she was four years old, her beautiful dark hair hanging down to the small of her back in braids.
    Bella came into the kitchen and sat at the table with her sister, then laid her head beside Rachael's while taking Rachael's hand. The front door of the inn tinkled its greeting and Sam entered the kitchen with donuts and rolls from the Daily Grind Café in town. He looked around the scene in the kitchen with Rachael and Bella's heads laid upon the table. Raena was facing the window, her head bowed and tears falling silently into