Hidden World

*What was buried is awakening…* Do not question the Paladins.\ Do not cross into the Wilds.\ Do not seek the Magic. Tara has spent her life following those rules. On an island where obedience is survival, she’s learned to swallow her doubts, hide her powers, and pretend Eden is the paradise everyone claims it to be. But a secret always has a pulse. And Eden’s secrets are starting to beat louder. When Tara is chosen to train as one of the isle’s revered Paladins, she believes she can make a difference. But the moment she steps inside the Paladin stronghold, her whole world turns upside-down. Tor, the man she confessed her love to, is haunted by secrets he refuses to share. Rune, another trainee, starts to awaken feelings in her that are both thrilling and terrifying. And there are whispers of rebellion and forbidden passageways that lead to dangerous secrets. So when Tara discovers something she wasn’t meant to find, it shatters the foundation of everything she believes. Now she’s trapped between loyalty and truth, two men with different agendas, and an island she swore to protect. Darkness is rising. Magic is awakening. But her people are dying. Tara must become the Paladin she was destined to be or lose everything she loves.

This is a test.

Elena grew up in a household where denial was the primary coping mechanism. Her father was an alcoholic who everyone pretended was fine. Her mother maintained a fiction of normalcy with exhausting precision. Elena learned early that reality is what you agree not to see. She was recruited by The Threshold at 26, identified during a psychological screening for a government contractor position. The screener noticed something unusual: Elena could describe inconsistencies in witness testimonies with uncanny accuracy. She could see when stories didn't fit. The Threshold recognized this as latent Doubter potential and offered her a choice: join them, or forget they existed. She chose to see. Twelve years later, she's one of their most effective field coordinators. She's contained seventeen breaches, managed over two hundred witness modifications, and written three protocols still in active use. She's also slowly disappearing. Each year, the world feels less real. Colors seem slightly desaturated. Conversations feel scripted. She tells herself it's just the job. She doesn't believe herself. Her marriage ended four years ago. David couldn't understand why she was always distant, always watching, never fully present. She couldn't explain that she'd forgotten how to stop analyzing reality long enough to live in it. She got custody of Maya and relocated to the Pacific Northwest—officially for remote monitoring duty, unofficially to escape.

In modern-day New York, a secret coven of witches operates in the shadows. When detective Maya Rodriguez discovers their existence, she's drawn into a world of magic, mystery, and forbidden love that could cost her everything.