PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS STORY IS ON HOLD AND MAY NOT BE UPDATED UNTIL AT LEAST JAN 2022 In times past, a warrior would eat the heart of his enemies to gain their strength... These are the times past. The Queen of Hearts sits on the throne of Catrimar. Her signature phrase? Off with their head and out with their heart. With every heart she consumes, the Queen grows stronger and more skilled and no one dares challenge her for the throne. But when a magic mirror and a prediction from a seer show her the girl who will be her downfall, the Queen is determined to nip the rose in the bud. She sends her slave, a werewolf with a black past, to take the girl's heart, but their encounter unearths secrets that neither wants uncovered. Secrets that may put both of them in serious danger... This is the story of a sympathetic assassin, a haunted Queen, and maid with lilac eyes, sure to smash the stereotypes you think you know. A fairy tale mash up with elements from Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Beauty and the Beast and based on Native American and Aztec superstition (the heart eating bit). (Now rated mature for potentially triggering content related to suicide and self harm. Chapters containing such content are marked as such.)

Sherwood Institute for the Magically Afflicted. A refuge for those seeking remedy from curses, hexes and other fantastical ailments. In one night, Ariel Winters went from socialite wannabe to cursed freak. Her heart is turned to glass by a vengeful witch and she is shipped off to Sherwood Institute to find a cure. While receiving treatment, she meets a demonic mobster with anger issues, a timid girl who grows a fish tail when water touches her skin, a beast boy who is kinder than his brutish appearance... As time passes, these damaged people slowly wind their way around her fragile heart. Can Ariel learn to trust them enough to let them into her heart? Or will her new found friendships shatter it before a cure can be found? This will be book 1 in what is tentatively titled The Sherwood Chronicles. Copyright © Melissa Lucas 2013 All Rights Reserved. No part of this literary work may be reproduced or used without written consent from the author. The images in the cover do not belong to me and all rights go to their respective owners.