Chapter 1
For Gemma, the worst part about being swept from her own home was not the sharp smack of the broom across her backside or the fact that it was her mother doing the sweeping and the smacking.
It was the dust that clogged the air in the wake of both. Dust that filled her nose and coated her lips, dust that choked her. When she landed on the worn path in front of her home and her palms struck the earth, that dust billowed once again. Gemma let out a cry.
And from her mouth fell three tiny toads.
Her mother screamed, her anger renewed. “Worthless! Worthless girl! One simple request, and you can’t even accomplish that. How difficult is it to give an old crone a sip of water?”
Old crone? Or had it been a fine lady who had crossed her path? Not that it mattered. She’d seen through
