The Kingdom of Eternal Sorrow (The Golden Mage Book 1) by C.G. Garcia

as Zenas has done to you with ours.”
    Well, that explains why I’m suddenly fluent in Lamian—sort of ,
she thought dazedly. That’s one mystery out of a thousand more cleared up,
but…what the heck are Senini? Priests? Exorcists?
    “The stranger’s name was Alphonse, if I remember correctly, and he said
he had come from a land named Paris. He also mentioned Earth as you have,
though the word he used was ‘ Terre .’ He was dressed in clothing similar
to our own in that period, but the fabrics were most peculiar, such as have
never been seen anywhere. My father told me that Lepha still possesses his
garments in their royal archives under spell-lock. They called him Lans-alamarsk —the
Phantom Stranger—because he claimed that he had been walking in his world when
he became disoriented and appeared in the village of Toril just like a
phantom.”
    “What became of him?” Allison asked eagerly. “Was he able to find a way
to get back home?”
    “I’m afraid not, milady,” King Diryan replied apologetically as
Allison’s sudden hope came crashing down. “He lived out his life in Lepha
according to my father.”
    Somewhere in the back of her mind, Allison had been holding on to the
desperate belief that everything would be all right and her current nightmare
would be just that—a nightmare, but the king’s words suddenly brought reality
crashing down on her.
    “You mean—I’m stuck here—permanently?” she asked in a small voice,
uncertain whether or not she wanted to hear the answer.
    Everyone fell silent for a moment, shifting uncomfortably under her
watchful, imploring eyes.
    It was Aidric that finally broke the heavy silence by answering,
“Allison, I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that it is so.”
    “But—but—can’t you help me?” she pleaded, grabbing his upper arm.
“You’re supposed to be a mage . Can’t you—cast a spell or something to
send me back?”
    She didn’t want to accept his words—she couldn’t. Accepting her fate
meant that she had to face it, and she was already on the verge of falling
apart. She wanted to believe there was still hope, still a way for her to get
back home to the new life she had struggled so hard to build for herself, but
when she saw the pity in Aidric’s eyes, she knew before he spoke that there was
no hope at all.
    “I’m sorry, milady, but I know of no spell that can help you. We can
only open portals between magical planes within our own world, not alternate
worlds. I wouldn’t know where to even begin. Until you appeared, I didn’t
believe it was possible for a portal to be built between worlds. That’s why I
strongly believe that it was Seni that brought you here, that the ancient
Prophecy of the Golden Mage has begun to unfold. It’s the only logical
explanation. I’m sorry, but you must remain here as Seni wills.”
    “No,” Allison whispered in a barely audible voice. Then louder, “No—NO!”
Suddenly she was sobbing brokenly into her hands. “Kat, my mom, my friends…I
won’t ever…”
    As she sobbed, she was vaguely aware of the sound of clothing
fluttering softly, of Aidric’s presence near her, and then of footsteps echoing
across the marble floor. Only when she heard a door click shut did she raise
her now pounding head from her hands and regard the room with tears still
leaking from her eyes.
    Allison froze when she found that Selwyn, King Diryan, and the silent
Zenas were no longer in the room, and only Aidric remained, on his feet again
and staring at her with the oddest expression. Her sniffles immediately stopped
when her gaze met his strange eyes—eyes that were guarded but at the same time,
swimming with secrets. They seemed the very eyes she saw every morning when she
looked into a mirror.
    Then without warning, he reached out a deliberate hand and gently
brushed a falling tear from her cheek.
    Startled, she shrank away from his touch and whispered, “ Don’t .”
    He pulled his hand away as if it had been