The Reading of the Heart
The most useful of all of
Rana’s powers is the ‘reading of the heart’. If she can safely place her hand
over a person’s heart, she can discover what they truly feel, rather than what
they tell her. This is how she knew her father had killed her mother to prevent
King Schnell from taking her as his wife. This is how she knew which ministers
wished her dead, even when they assured her they would support her. This is how
she determined which men in her police were members of the black mafia. And
most wonderfully, this is how she discovered that Prince Seren truly loved her.
BLURB
Rana is only sixteen when she becomes queen. Her first challenge is
to quell an internal coup while a massive army storms the gates of her castle.
Her enemies believe her to be a child, but she has powers they’ve never
suspected. She also has great dreams for her people, and she will do whatever is
necessary to make them happen, even marrying a prince she does not want.
EXCERPT
Rana had not realized how frustrating and difficult finding truly
good workers was until she tried to do it without using her ability to read the
heart.
She thought the first candidate interviewed for Public Works quite
excellent until they walked him to the door and she placed her hand over his
heart.
He only wanted the position to make himself rich as his
predecessor.
Once he left, Seren closed the door and smiled. “I believe we have
found a very good minister.”
She sighed heavily.
“You don’t agree?”
She shook her head.
“What did I miss?” he asked. She could hear the disappointment in
his voice. He was already losing faith in himself.
She led him to the table and sat down beside him. “Seren, I have to
tell you something.”
Time slowed.
“You cannot tell him you’re a fairy,” Ditter warned.
“I have to tell him something.”
“He hates witches, as well.”
She sighed. “Will you just trust me?”
Ditter stared at her a long moment and then returned time to its
normal speed.
“Go ahead,” Seren stated, looking as if he stood before a firing
squad.
“God has given me a gift. It’s why I knew which ministers to
remove, which to keep, and which to hire as replacements.”
“What is it?”
“If I place my hand upon a heart, I can tell what the person feels.
The candidate who just left did everything right, said just what we wanted to
hear, but when I touched his heart, I discovered he wanted the job to make
himself rich like the one before him.”
Seren’s eyes narrowed. Then he grabbed her hand and placed it upon
his heart. “What am I feeling right now?”
“Doubt…You don’t believe I have a gift…You think I’ve changed my
mind and want to break the engagement and return to Stronghold…shock that maybe
I do have a gift…”
She then pulled her hand away from him and stood up from a shock of
her own. “You still love me!”
He remained seated so they were nearly the same height. “With all
my heart. And I am now convinced you do have a gift. My only concern is what
will you do with your newfound knowledge? Before you run in fear, I should
remind you that I still need a new minister.”
She continued to stare at him, trying to make sense of this new
information.
His hands shook and he met her gaze. “I wish I had your gift,
because I need to know what you are thinking right now.”
Rana threw her arms about his neck. “I love you. I love the man
you’ve been this week.”
His arms tentatively, then determinedly wrapped around her small
body. “Really?”
“Really, really, really!”
“Then let’s find our ministers so we can get onto more romantic
issues.”
RANA: TEENAGE QUEEN
About the Author
Liza O’Connor lives in Denville, NJ
with her dog Jess. They hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet
or snow. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ,
hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive
with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, sky
dive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid
gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts.
Yet through her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing
novels.
OTHER BOOKS BY LIZA O’CONNOR
SCIENCE
FICTION
Sci-Fi Soap Opera with humor, romance,
and science
Sci-Fi/Romance
The SkyRyders Series
Sci-Fi Romance
Scavenger Vanishes-coming 2017
FANTASY
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