Towerwood: A Modern Rapunzel Retelling

By Kate Callaghan

Illness.
Captivity.
A fight for survival...

Seventeen-year-old Zel doesn't know what to do. Her mum is seriously ill, and the doctors have no answers. When Zel's best friend, Finn, finds an old Wiccan text with a miracul

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kate Callaghan
• Release date: Feb 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9781739753757

Kate Callaghan

Kate Callaghan released her debut YA dark fantasy trilogy, Crowned A Traitor: A Hellish Fairytale in 2020. While the Hellish Fairytale universe is being expanded, she is also writing adult romance and fantasy. She loves dark tales, villains and happily-ever-afters-something you will find in all of her books. Chatting with readers and getting to share many different stories is her favourite part of being an indie author. Currently she lives in Dublin. She loves dramas with subtitles (to silence the characters), coffee, and reading too many dark romances. If missing, please check your local coffee shop. You will find her with her computer and an iced beverage. Follow below if you want to know to learn more about future stories! Signed copies are also available on the author's website. Reader Group

Book preview

chapter one

Spring 2017

HOW’S MUM DOING this morning?

The beeping machines and the light blue hospital sheets were becoming all too familiar to Zel. She couldn’t wait for the day when she would see her mum in her own clothes again.

No change. They were hoping to try and take her out of the coma this week, but the doctors want to give her a bit longer. She has just passed the six-month mark in her pregnancy, so they think the more stable the pregnancy, the more likely she is to wake up, Nurse Julia said, looking up from the chart, pity in her eyes.

Maybe next week, Zel said brightly. She placed a hand on her mum’s swollen tummy—it was the only thing that seemed to change during the time she had been visiting—and whispered her goodbyes to her unborn siblings. Maybe next week… it was what she had said last week, and the week before.

For three months, every day before school Zel had stopped by the hospital to check on her mum and refresh the flowers on her bedside table. She would have given up her college scholarship if it meant ending the wait. She desperately wanted to hear her mum’s voice, soft and calming, like a lullaby, to see her hazel eyes that matched her own. But…

Maybe next week.

ZEL WALKED THROUGH the quiet school carpark, which was only five minutes away from the hospital. If she hadn’t had exams, she would have been able to see her mum at night as well, but she had to keep up with her studies if she wanted to keep her scholarship. When her mum did wake up, Zel didn’t want her to think that her illness had caused her daughter’s life to fall apart. No—Zel was determined to keep going. When she woke up, everything would slip back to exactly the way it had been before.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, distracting her from the dull grey morning.

FINN: LIBRARY! THINK I FOUND SOMETHING!

ZEL: WHICH STACK?

FINN: 404 - THEOLOGY AND MYTHOLOGY

Zel groaned. Ever since her mum had collapsed in the kitchen three months ago, her best friend Finn had been on a mission to find out why. The doctors had been unable to provide answers; they thought the pregnancy might have been too hard on her body. The only thing they could think to do was induce a coma. However, when the doctors had tried to bring her mum out of it, it didn’t work. For some reason, Finn was absolutely convinced she could help. Zel suspected her best friend was only trying to keep her hopeful.

The hallways of Grenville Preparatory School were mostly empty so early in the morning; only those who were into sports, which Zel was not, or those who wanted to cram in extra study hours, were lingering. The school was rather old and creepy at this hour, but considering that it had been built back in the 1800s when the town was founded, a bit of eeriness was to be expected.

The library door creaked, as it always did when anyone dared to enter the silent dungeon ruled over by the insufferable Ms Martin. A pin could drop, and she would command it to be quiet. To Zel’s relief, Ms Martin seemed far more interested in the book she was reading to notice her slipping past her desk. Thank God for swashbuckling men and damsels in distress.

401, 402, 403… She didn’t even reach the stack before Finn’s head popped out, making Zel jump. Her hair, which had been ice-white yesterday, was now a deep blue that was almost black. She wasn’t surprised; Finn changed her hair colour more frequently than Zel could keep track of. Her parents wouldn’t allow piercings or tattoos, so Finn had reasoned with them that hair would always grow back. She’d tried to convince Zel to add some coloured streaks to her light blonde locks, but she was afraid the dye would damage her hair. She was always the more cautious of the two, which was why she thought they made such good friends. They balanced each other out.

I think I found something to help your mum, Finn hissed, pulling Zel between the stacks. Books towered over their heads; from the volumes on the floor, Finn had been here a while.

What could you have found in theology and myths? I think we should let the doctors handle it, Zel huffed, turning to leave. Finn pulled her back, and Zel stumbled over a book. Ms Martin will kill you if she sees you put books on the floor! Zel glanced nervously across the room, but Ms Martin remained in her seat.

"She’s reading her romances—nothing could distract her from The Gardener’s Wife. Once she’s distracted, we could scream and she wouldn’t even flinch," Finn said, lifting her eyebrows suggestively.

Zel gave in. Are you going to tell me what you’ve found, or will you keep me in suspense?

Finn beamed and bent down to the books on the worn, carpeted floor.

I put it in this pile, she said, shuffling through the stack of books.

Zel reached down and picked up an old medical journal covered in dust. Some of these seemed just as old as the school. She put the journal on the shelf and picked up another, wiping its cover with her sleeve, then instantly regretted it as dust smeared her white top.

She forgot about her top as soon as she saw the title on the crimson leather journal. Wicca, she read aloud, instinctively keeping her words to a whisper.

That’s the book! Finn said, rising from her knees.

Wicca? Zel laughed. I’m not using witchcraft on my mum! I think you should spend more time studying and less time searching for answers. She tossed Finn the book. Her friend caught it with a huff, looked at her coldly, and tried to shove the leather-bound book back into her hands.

It’s not witchcraft, it’s holistic healing! she argued. There are chapters with herbs and potions that might help. Look.

Zel reluctantly peered over her shoulder, being the taller of the two, while Finn flipped to a chapter on herbal remedies.

‘Rampion, known for its powerful healing abilities’, she quoted, running her finger along the words.

"If ‘rampion’ is all powerful, why isn’t it used in modern medicine?" Zel demanded, a little too loudly. Ms Martin shuffled in her seat but didn’t turn around.

Finn started ranting about the greed of pharmaceutical companies, and Zel quickly got lost in the details of who was covering things up and how it made people money. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Finn, with her endless knowledge of just about anything, was only a year older than her at eighteen. They were only in the same classes because Zel had skipped a year, thanks to her eidetic memory. She only had to see something once to remember it. Her parents had hoped to send her to a school outside Grenville so she would have the best education possible, but money was tight and Zel didn’t want to trade her home—and Finn—for a boarding school in a big city. Plus, she had never been studious. Unless it was a subject about animals, and then she was just as obsessive as Finn.

Finn, on the other hand, couldn’t get enough information. She watched every documentary ever filmed, and always had her face planted firmly in a thick book. Zel tried to keep up, but she’d never loved reading; she often found herself daydreaming instead. Maybe it was because she never had to work at learning—it took the joy, the challenge out of it. Her memory should have been given to someone like Finn. Half of what she knew about the world, outside of what their mundane textbooks taught, was second-hand knowledge from Finn.

Are you listening to me? Finn grumbled.

No, Zel confessed. Sorry, it was a long morning. She pulled at the ends of her blonde hair hanging by her waist, thinking of the fight she’d had with her dad before she’d left to see her mum in the hospital.

They’ve decided not to try and wake her this week? Finn asked. There was no pity in her gaze, only concern.

No, and Dad doesn’t want them to even try until the babies are further along. Zel knew her mum would want the same, but she still wished her mum had decided to put her own life first. The doctors had warned her of the risks before she got pregnant, but she hadn’t wanted to listen.

Finn sighed and started to close the book. A small illustration on the page she’d been reading from caught Zel’s eye. She thought she recognised the faintly purple flower with dark green leaves labelled Rampion.

Hang on, I think I’ve seen this before. Judge Gothel’s home sprang to mind, along with the high wall that separated Zel’s garden from his. She could just catch a glimpse of his garden from her bedroom window. Has the answer been next door this whole time?

Rampion? You’ve seen it before? Finn examined the drawing. The only place in town we’d find something this rare would be in Gothel’s garden. He imports his flowers from all over.

Zel nodded. I think that’s why it’s familiar. She studied the words beneath it. Extraordinary healing capabilities. For the greatest benefit, petals must be ground