Between (The Chronicles of Between, #1)

by L.L. Starling

Headmistress Dean’s eyes widened for a moment, and then she laughed. “Oh, heavens, no—there’s no need to spike the tea! I had Esther put a potion in your cookies.”

“Between is like a child—it will have what it wants, the consequences be damned. And right now, it wants you.”

Essentially Underhill. The world of fae in many stories, it is its own entity. A kingdom that is alive. Also referred to as fairyland, fairy hills, and sometimes Tír na nÓg.

“Right,” she said reluctantly. “Marriage. Please, don’t take offense⁠—” “People always say that just before they are about to be particularly offensive.”

“Then again, you should be grateful that you were not deposited into one of our infamous swamps.”

Bog of eternal stench?

just cloth and nothing more,

“Just a crystal, nothing more”

“My almost-husband is a bird.” Lyla opened one eye and looked at Sasha blearily. “Everyone’s got faults,” she mumbled and rolled onto her side, her back to Sasha.

“Who is it that you smile for?” he whispered to the book. “Surely—surely it cannot be me?” As Sasha watched, the Shadow King’s fingertips hesitantly alighted on the page, his touch gentle, reverent. The gesture was so wistful, his expression so yearning, that her heart twisted hard in her chest.

The King glanced down at his book and then back at her. “Greetings,” he answered warily. He looked so, so flummoxed by her appearance that Sasha could not help but smile. Oddly enough, her smile only increased his bewilderment, which made her positively beam. “Sorry to have interrupted you,” she said, still smiling like mad.

“Swamp him.”

He wanted your amulet.”

In the center of the city was a hunched little castle made of black stone, its twisted towers reaching crookedly toward the sky. Far beyond the castle was a vast plain crowned by a hill, all covered in glittery sand.

The labyrinth

“I can be reasonable,”

“Or a chicken?” another child requested. “Maybe a baby chicken?” The King looked down at the children, puzzled. “What is this obsession with livestock and headwear?”

Lorn smiled as the owner of the voice—a wiry-framed, old dwarf in a white robe—charged into the room. “Well, you would be the expert on that. And good morning to you, too, Gahil.”

“Bah. What’s so good about it?”

Hoggle?

The figure started and pulled back the ridiculous hat, revealing a man who was clearly in the early stages of an impressive hangover. His complexion was sallow and greasy; his left eye was glassy and red-rimmed, and the magenta eyepatch covering his right eye was slightly askew. Even his mustache appeared hungover, the meager hairs sticking up in multiple directions.

“And what of Prince Ashlyn, whose chambers are about to be sullied by poultry?” Lorn shrugged. “Well, I can only do so much. Is everything going well?”

He had opened the Portal and turned his kingdom upside down to accommodate the delightful whims of the Dreamer—literally, in this case.

I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you

The book is silver.”

And suddenly, Lorn understood—he was not here to save her. Sasha Evangeline Pierce had chosen to Challenge Between by crossing the Wasteland, and the rules of such a Challenge were clear—no one was permitted to interfere. That was why the Portal would not take him to her. Lorn was not to play the role of rescuer; his role was merely to act as a witness to her triumph … or to her failure.

A flash of gold flew out from the shadows and hurtled toward his left hand. Instinctively, Lorn caught it. He took one look at the sleek object,

a small bottle, its contents glowing cerulean-blue in the dim light—flew straight into his right hand.

Fix-It

Lorn’s eyes narrowed. “She is blonde.” Ash inclined his head with a grin. “I had noticed that.” “The woman required to lift your curse must be red-headed. Which means you could only dally with Lyla and no more.” Ash opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again with a sigh. “A pox on my curse,” he said instead and took a long sip of ale.

She’s actually definitely a redhead, mentioned in the first chapter.

small book bound in red leather.

Lol not the actual book the labyrinth