Attention, fellow readers!
I’m thrilled to present the debut chapter of my story, The Queen of Xeirin, now available as a serialized adventure on Kindle Vella.
In the near-distant future, humanity dreams of finding life among the stars. However, our protagonist, Misa, is about to discover that not everyone on Earth is as human as they seem—and neither is she. Haunted by cryptic visions and alien emotions, Misa must confront the truth of her identity and destiny.
As the remnants of the Xeir, a near-extinct alien race of shapeshifters hunted by the darkest elements of humanity, recognize her as their destined leader, Misa will do anything to prove it isn’t true.
This riveting tale merges science fiction, fantasy, and suspense, promising an unforgettable experience.
Join me as we explore a world where humanity’s search for extraterrestrial life plunges us into a thrilling and unpredictable reality.
Happy reading!
Episode One: The Door
A wave of vertigo washed over her. Distant screaming echoed through her mind like a dream only half-remembered and even less understood. The world around her spun in lazy circles as she suddenly became aware of herself sprawled across thickly piled carpeting.
She closed her eyes to the nauseating blur of colors and streaking shapes. Concentrating on the feel of the soft fibers of the carpet beneath her. She dug her fingers into the dense pile to ground herself and bring herself fully back into her body. It felt like she’d drifted a thousand miles away.
The raised design of the brocade carpet beneath her fingers told Misa that she was in the lower study towards the back of their family home in Boston. It was the only room in the house still with the original silk brocade carpeting from its construction in 1852. The whirling impression left by the spinning room on the back of her eyelids had settled into a gentle side-to-side wobble while she acquainted herself with the luxurious feel of the antique carpet. Enough that she felt she could brave opening her eyes.
It was an instant regret. Sharp pain stabbed through her eyes and ricocheted around her skull like a pinball, setting off flashes of light behind her eyes that almost blinded her to the subtle outline of the door set into the wall before her.
And behind the door, there was screaming.
No, the screaming was in her head; it was a dream; it wasn’t real, but the door was and shouldn’t be.
Still, on the ground, she cast emerald eyes around the room, lifting heavy arms to fight through the disordered mass of tangled crimson hair that must have come loose from its clip when she’d fallen. If she’d fallen, she couldn’t remember falling; in fact, she couldn’t remember coming into the lower study.
She sat up, brushing numb fingers through tangled hair, removing bits and pieces of the delicate Tiffany clip she’d used to pin her hair with that morning. It had been a gift from her father, and she felt its loss as keenly as she felt the small gash it had left on the back of her head. Her hair there was matted, but the blood was fresh. She hadn’t been unconscious for long. No doubt there’d be a knot forming there soon. The injury was likely responsible for the wretched little gnome playing pinball in her skull.
She remembered selecting the Tiffany clip from her vanity drawer that morning to accentuate and draw together the navy-blue silk blouse and creamy wide-leg crepe trousers she’d pulled from her closet. It was the last thing she could remember before waking up here. Judging by the dimly glowing window behind the solid oak desk adjacent to her, she knew it must be late evening.
She’d lost the whole day? Could she have hit her head so hard on the carpet?
It didn’t make any sense, and she knew she needed to find help; she needed to find her father. On shaky legs, she made a clumsy attempt to stand.
She was missing a shoe. The realization came to her belatedly as she went crashing painfully to her knees. She made sure to kick the useless matte cream pump to the side before once again attempting to rise on shaky legs.
A sudden bout of nausea brought her forward. Made her weak so that she braced her pale hands against the ice of the door to forestall the tangling of her slim legs in the loose fabric of her pants. The door seemed impossibly large now. Filling her vision and looming all around her.
It was impossible that the door should be there. This had been Misa’s home for fourteen years, and in all that time, there had never been a door there. She was certain that the last time she’d been in the lower study, the bookcase on this side of the room had extended from wall to wall.
When had that been? She shook her head as gently as she dared. How had she gotten here? Where had she been before?
She flushed with heat as pins and needles pricked along her skin agonizingly, and again came the faint, haunting scream. Only now, she was sure the screaming was coming from behind the door. There was no latch, no handle, no hinges. If the door hadn’t been polished black steel set into the cherry oak wood of the wall, it might not have been there at all.
There was panic building inside of her. The screaming behind the door mirrored the screaming that had started again in the back of her mind. Her body felt heavy and strange; a numbing buzz shivered up her spine, spreading outward from her head to her stocking-clad feet. She slid to her knees, losing control of her body. Feeling as though she were being transported outside of herself, she saw the door before her recede.
Desperately, she fought to return; she must open the door. She needed to be on the other side. The screaming built to a crescendo, and she was drowning in it. The door was miles away and distorted now like she’d been submerged in a pool of turbulent water.
They were hurting her! They were tearing her apart! Oh God, please, I don’t want to die!
The words tore through her mind in a voice she did not know. Misa’s heart felt like it was bursting in her chest as terror surged through her from that place in the back of her mind where the screaming had begun. No longer able to hold herself upright, she found herself leaning against the door, her body practically draped against the cold metal, and then, with a hiss of decompression, her only warning, the door was sliding open.
Step into Misa’s world and get ready for the next thrilling episode of The Queen of Xeirin on Kindle Vella! Uncover more about Misa’s identity and the fate of the Xeir as the mystery deepens. Don’t miss out!
Read the next episode on Kindle Vella and embark on this extraordinary journey!
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J.M. 
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