Exiled - Book 1 in the Immortal Essence Series

Book 1 of the Immortal Essence Series

EXILED

RASHELLE WORKMAN

World’s divided them. Chance brought them together. Only love with save them.

Copyright © 2011 RaShelle Workman

License Notes:

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard word of this author.

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written consent of the author, RaShelle Workman, P.O. Box Bountiful, UT 84088.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the creation of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

This edition is published by Polished Penn Press in coordination with Literary Underground.

Questions or comments for the author may be addressed via email: rashelleworkman@gmail.com

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Printed in U.S.A.

ISBN:0615537456

ISBN-13:9780615537450

ASIN: B005S5LSU8

Cover Design by: Steven Novak

Cover copyright 2011 RaShelle Workman

. . . Is love so light, sweet boy, and may it be That thou should think it heavy unto thee . . . Venus and Adonis by:William Shakespeare

1. End Of The Innocence

Venus escaped her party. It’d been hailed, ‘The Celebration of the Century.’ Had they asked her opinion, she would’ve called it, ‘The Motley, Molten Party of the Month.’

No one did.

Still, there’d been cake.

A decadent piece balanced on a plate in one hand as she hurried down the enormous, column-filled hall toward her bedroom. Her faint footsteps bounced and echoed around her, the only sound.

At the entrance, she waved a hand over the Carania family crest. The door shimmered and vanished. She paused and peered inside. Everything looked in order.

There’s nothing dead in there.

It was the unknown she didn’t like. Doors kept out help and could hide secrets. They allowed evil.

“When I’m queen, I’ll banish all doorways,” she whispered fiercely. Holding her breath (for she believed that by doing so, the bad stuff, whatever that might be, would disappear before she saw it), she rushed through, moving past her bed to her vanity, where she placed the cake on top, and fell onto her overstuffed green chair.

“Happy birthday to me.”

There’d been presents at her party, too. One in particular she’d been most excited about.

The Kelvieri’s Boots.

To receive her own pair meant she’d reached the age where age no longer mattered.

They were black as a starless night, soft as feathers, yet stronger than any metal ever discovered.

Thrantum. That’s what the Gods called the material. None of her people knew where the boots came from. The shaman would pray and they’d appear for the kelphi child. The word meant permanent, which fit perfectly. The boots would last as long as she would, after her transformation—forever.

Inside the clear wedged heels were symbols of her imperfections. The symbols were unique only to her and would be a guide as she crossed into immortality.

Of more significance, at least to Venus, the boots represented change. She could hardly wait. Venus was sick of looking like every other kelarian under the age of sixteen. White hair, silver eyes and metallic white skin. When she completed her metamorphosis into a kelvieri, her physical features would transform as well. No more same, same, same.

“Hey doof! You weren’t supposed to leave. What will the guests think of their perfect princess? So un-queenly of you.” Amberlee had entered Venus’s bedroom without permission. The brat!