To Kill a Wizard: Rose's Story (The Protectors of Tarak Book 1) by Lisa Morrow Page A

women don’t seem afraid, so we shouldn’t be either.”
    “Still,” Sirena whispered. “I’m not going to let go of your cloak.”
    I crept over the valley, picking up speed as I went. I’m not sure how much time passed, with the snow falling, and the freezing air clawing beneath my cloak, but it seemed a lifetime before I finally reached the other side.
    No one was there when I stepped onto the earth, so I paused outside the open gate to take in the magnificence of the extraordinary place. More red roses surrounded the castle, looking impossibly beautiful as they peeked out of the snow. I was tempted to pick one, but something made me hesitate. Each one looked exactly the same, a single rose on a single stem, petals unfurled just enough to look full and healthy. There was no doubt they were magical, but what purpose could they possibly serve?
    “Why would they make the whole thing out of glass?” Sirena’s voice was filled with awe.
    I looked up, forgetting the roses as I stared at the castle once more. “It can’t be glass, or we could see inside.”
    More than that, the castle simply reflected back the images of the outside world as if to say don’t look at me, I don’t really exist.
    The building rose into the dark sky, light clinging to it, radiating all the way up the four identical towers to the top, but there was no sign of the light’s source. An uneasy feeling settled over me, were we being watched by people on the other side of the glass?
    But I couldn’t let Sirena sense my nervousness.
    I strode forward, and everyone followed. Their voices seemed to fade as I made my way beneath the grand entryway and into a large courtyard. Only this courtyard wasn’t open to the elements, instead plants, trees, and flowers grew beneath the protection of a stone roof nearly fifty feet high.
    “What is this place?” Sirena asked, breathlessly.
    Blair seemed to come from nowhere, stepping out from behind one of the many large trees. “It’s your new home.” She was wearing a different dress, the color and fluidity of liquid silver, and there were no signs of her injuries. “We must hurry. Too much time has already passed.”
    She led us down a cobblestone path and into room after room of splendors. Rugs, tapestries, and paintings of brilliant colors gave the castle a sense of hominess. Crystal, silver, and even gold had been crafted into extraordinary sculptors, standing in places of honor. But the rooms themselves appeared to be simple brick, with large windows staring out into the world beyond.
    “I thought the castle was made of glass.” Bethenny said, her words surprisingly reflecting my own thoughts.
    Blair glanced back at us. “Each Protector has her own unique abilities. One of our oldest Protectors has the ability to create a special glass. One that can only be shattered with a couple of specific magical weapons, and by a certain type of magic. We’ve used this glass many times in the past, to shatter the bridge to protect ourselves from enemies.”
    ”But is it strong enough?” Sirena asked hesitantly. “It looked so thin…”
    Blair’s voice held no reassurance. “It can only be broken in the ways I’ve described.”
    She turned back around, ending the conversation without another word.
    We were led into an elegant dining hall. The stone walls had been covered with rich wood, oiled until they shone. Arching beams of the same wood drew my eye to the marvelously high ceilings.
    Sirena knocked into me from behind, urging me to keep moving toward the largest of the dozen or so long, mahogany tables filling the space. The table was decorated with huge, colorful feathers of blue and green, tied to branches, and nestled in a bed of white flowers.
    Plates of food covered the rest of the table, only some of which I recognized. Plums stewed in rose water, meat pies, roasted pig, chicken, and a number of other piles of meat, as well as, ripened strawberries in white cream.
    And those were just the