Horse Stone (Book 1 of Ilyrian Series)

Chapter 1

I closed my eyes and listened to the instrumental piece of music that was playing on my phone. My fingers danced across my leg, as if I was playing it music on the piano. My whole body was relaxed, even though I had been in a car for about eleven hours with my eleven sisters.

I nodded my head along with the music, remembering every cord that was being either strummed or picked. I ignored everything, just enjoying the serenity and peace that this music gave me, even it would just be for a little while.

"Hadley," someone said, taking one my earbuds out of my ear.

I opened my eyes and turned towards my right to see that my blue-eyed and blond-haired, twin, sister was looking at me, a smirk playing on her lips. "What is it, Izzy?" I groaned, turning off my music and taking out my other one. "Don't you see that I'm relaxing?"

Izzy pushed my bangs behind my ear and rolled her eyes, probably more annoyed with my black bangs than I was. "I was going to tell you that we are about to pass the barn that you will be at, but I guess you didn't want to know." She moved my bangs back into my face, smiling innocently.

I shook my head at her before pushing my bangs back behind my ear. "Why are you my twin?" I asked, causing her to grin. I huffed when she didn't say a word but looked out the window to take the sights of Kentucky.

"Wow," I said in awe, looking to see that there were vast amounts of land with horses and trees dotting it. "I've never seen so many trees before."

"Don't forget about the amount of land," my father commented. "We will, actually, be having a house with multiple rooms instead of the four-bedroom apartment."

"Will I get to have my own room, Papa?" my five-year-old sister, Nina, asked from behind me.

Dad looked through the rearview mirror and looked at her. Fondness appeared in his eyes while he smiled at the youngest of the twelve girls. "You will have to share a room with Maggie and Kim," he said. "However, you three girls will be having your own bathroom."

"But that will be more annoying," Nina groaned, laying back in her chair.

"Hey, at least you didn't have to share a bathroom with Cat," I commented while Izzy nodded. I turned away from looking out the window to look at my oldest sister. I smiled when she sent me a glare before turning back towards the window.

I leaned closer to the window when we passed an open field where a male, with blonde hair and pale skin, was riding a light gray horse across the field. I could see that there was a bridle on the horse, but there was no saddle on him.

The male was doing some sort cross country course because sometimes the horse would be jumping over something set up. However, I was too far away to see what was happening and too new to the area to know who the person was.

"Talk about a knight in shining armor and on a white horse," Izzy commented, pulling me away from my thoughts on jumping the course. "If I had known that there would have been hot boys, then I would've gotten into horses."

"Light gray," I replied, correcting her on the color of the horse. "If you look closer, then you will see that there will be a black muzzle instead of pink. 'Sides, the horse is a Lipizzaner, which is normally gray."

"Says the girl who loves animals," Izzy grumbled. "I should get into horses," she said, again.

I shook my head. "No, music is your talent," I said. I didn't want to share my love for horses with my other siblings. It had been my mother's thing, and it was now mine.

"Says the one that plays the piano," Cat butted in. "Your passion is playing the piano as well."

"Like makeup is yours," Izzy and I said in unison. We both smirked and did our secret handshake.

"And reading," Nina piped up. "I love it when she reads to me."

"But books are my thing," my eighteen-year-old sister, Gwenevere, piped up.

"And that is why you are in all honors classes this year, Gwen," I said, smiling at her.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "And, so are you," she replied. "Us Peters are very smart."

"And short!" my ten-year-old sister, Lacey, said.

"Now, Lacey," my dad said, amusement filling in his voice. "Only a few people in our family are short. Sadly, you and Felicity are two of them."

The rest of us chuckled until we saw a big house on a hill. It was a grayish color and looked kind of fancy. All of my sisters, including myself, stared at the house in awe, wondering if this was where we were going to live for the rest of our lives.

"We sure aren't in New York anymore," I said, causing a couple of nodding and 'un huh's' to go around.