Marisa MacCallum has always believed the man of her dreams was out there somewhere. The problem is, he's living in another dimension. After the death of her father, eighteen-year-old Marisa only wants to find solace when she sets out on her daily ride through the woods of Gold Hill. But when a mysterious lightning storm strikes the forest, she is hurled into the alternate dimension of Carnelia where she is soon discovered by the arrogant yet attractive nobleman, Darian Fiore. Stranded in an ancient world teeming with monsters, maniacs and medieval knights, Marisa has no choice but to accompany Darian on a dangerous mission to negotiate peace with his cousin and archenemy, Savino da Rocha. Along the way, she starts to see his softer side and unwittingly falls in love. But after she discovers that Darian is locked into an arranged marriage, her heart shatters. When Savino falls for her charms and demands her hand in exchange for peace, Marisa is faced with an impossible choice: marry the enemy of the man she loves or betray them both and become the catalyst for a bloody war. "Paranormal, romantic and bold...the plot has a magical flow and the characters are simply amazing...a must read for this year!" --Young Adult & Teen Reader "Cheryl Koevoet has created a story of fantastic yet plausible characters and situations." --IndieReader.com "This story has all the things a true legacy needs - heroes, heroines, romance, power hungry rulers, deadly fights and sinister intrigue!" --Amazon "Take the fun and fantasy of Harry Potter, combine it with the romantic elements from Twilight, and this is what you'll get!" --Barnes & Noble "The world created seems so real that it almost feels like reading history, but far, far more exciting!" --iBook Review A native of Portland, Oregon, Cheryl Koevoet has lived abroad for more than twenty years. Her daily experiences of living and working in an old-world culture provide the inspiration for writing fantastical stories that enthrall, enlighten and entertain. She currently lives in The Netherlands with her husband, four children, two cats, and the laziest greyhound on the planet. The Carnelian Legacy is her debut novel. The Carnelian Legacy Book One of The Carnelian Legacy Series By Cheryl Koevoet Abbott Press Copyright © 2015 Cheryl L. Koevoet All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4582-1844-5 CHAPTER 1 Jacksonville It was the last place in the world she wanted to be. Marisa MacCallum wiped away the tears that blurred her vision and stared at the mahogany casket. Maybe he was waiting for them at home. Maybe she would wake up to find that it had all been a dream. But it wasn't a dream. It was a horrible nightmare. Nearly a week had passed, and she couldn't believe her father was gone—his bright blue eyes and infectious grin still lingered in her thoughts. The smooth, baritone voice that had carried the slightest hint of a Scottish accent to his dying day still echoed through her mind. She thought about that Saturday morning last fall when they'd cleaned out the garage, spending hours going through boxes of records, books, clothes and other stuff while remembering old times and laughing. Just as she was closing up a box of old clothes to give to the Goodwill, her father let it slip that his cancer had returned much worse than before. Although he had fought the cancer years before and had seemingly won, the horrible disease returned with even greater aggression, shattering her dreams faster than they could say chemotherapy. Stunned by his startling revelation, her entire world collapsed in an instant as her life took a dramatic turn into unfamiliar territory. Weekends that should have been spent enjoying football games, the homecoming dance and trips to the coast were crammed instead with hospital visits, trips to the grocery store and picking up prescriptions at the pharmacy. Sure, his doctors had been surprised at how fast the cancer had spread, but none of them had predicted he wouldn't last another six weeks. Cancer was something that affected other families—not theirs. How could a man with such physical, mental and emotional strength succumb to his disease? It was almost as if he had just given up in the end. And now that he was gone, Marisa realized that she'd been so busy managing the MacCallum household that senior year at South Medford High seemed little more than a blip on the radar. Not even her dreams of attending the pre-med program at UC Irvine could survive the storm of her father's illness. "Amen," Pastor Holman said finally, breaking the silence. Fighting back tears as the bagpiper's final note of "Amazing Grace" melted away into peaceful silence, Marisa shifted her gaze to the bouquet of fresh daisies at the next grave. The marble headstone was weathered and pitted from years of coastal winds and rain, but now at least her mother was no longer alone. Staring up at the tall sequoias on the far side of the cemetery, she fought to k