Midnight Flame

by Mary Wine

She was left as an offering, but Alanna isn't about to give up! The Beast...Demon...Damned Soul...there were a lot of explanations for the Master of Groutmore Tower. When he rode through his lands, it was on a midnight black steed, wearing a coal black cloak. Even those who served in the Tower rarely saw its Master, or the secret places beyond the doors of his chamber where it was forbidden to enter. Alanna was born in England, but with her mother's fiery hair. Being scorned by her stepmother is something she learns to shoulder until the day her father dies, and she finds herself under the rule of the woman. But her stepmother discovers a use for Alanna when the surrounding villagers demand a bride for the Beast of the Tower to keep him from their daughters. Alanna had never hoped for any great match. However, being bound and left on the steps of Groutmore Tower as an offering was far worse than even a poor match. It might just be her death, if she were the sort to give up. Which she most certainly wasn't. And as for the Master of the Tower with his glowering and insistence that she was an unwelcome burden, well, he would be learning firsthand how much she did not bend to the will of others.