Spring Song: Seasons Cycle, #1

By Cassia Hall

SPRING SONG is a Romantic Fantasy novella with Sweet, Slow-Burn Romance.

A lush and lyrical tale of myth and magick to delight all your senses!


Heinregard has come to the House of Silveria for their famous Spring Song festival, but when he hears the voice of Clayten, Aunt Viraya's best tenor, he's overthrown in more ways than one. Is this the real reason he's here, called from across the worlds? But can he risk letting down his guard for someone who could easily be his downfall?

Viraya is responsible for a big part of the Spring Song celebrations. This year, the Karenys are their guests, including a formidable Capitán who has the gall to set his cap at her. Can she tame the 'savage' Karenys, keep the children away from her precious blossoms, and ensure a good showing for Spring Song?

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Spring Song is a Romantic Fantasy novella that follows two couples (one M/F and one M/M) as they come together and fall in love at a Noble House that is preparing for Spring Song festivities.

If you enjoy sweet, slow-burn romance with your fantasy, or some fantasy with your romance, if you love lyrical story-telling, then you'll enjoy Spring Song.

The main characters from this novella have inspired poems, original music and songs (composed by the author and can be found on her Lake Traveler youtube channel).

Two of Spring Song's protagonists happen to be gay. Spring Song is the first novella in the Seasons Cycle, an LGBTQ+ friendly series, but can be read as a standalone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cassia Hall
• Release date: Aug 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781777863708

Book preview

Prologue: Arrival at the House of Silveria

Chapter Separator

Kye Lochlen had traveled from the Argentene to the land of Rogrovia many times before, but almost always on his own. This time, he was escorting three of his cousins.

The children, Jess and Tyler, had begged to come along, and Kye could still not believe that the powers-that-be in the Argentene had allowed it. Not to mention allowing Heinregard to accompany them. As the scion of one of the most powerful Noble Houses in the mother-world of the Argentene, Heinregard was practically Argentene royalty.

Either the powers-that-be had tremendous faith in Kye’s abilities as a traveler¹, or they did not understand the inherent risk of each passage². Either that, or someone was putting the impeccably-lineaged Heinregard at risk. On purpose.

Kye hefted Jess up, allowed her to wrap arms around his neck, while Heinregard took a groggy-looking Tyler by the hand. Bedraggled and wet, having hauled themselves out of Lake Silvershadow moments before, they started the short trek towards the House of Silveria³.

¹ Traveler: a special envoy or emissary from the mother-world of the Argentene

² Passage: a peculiar way of travel via certain lakes

³ House of Silveria: a Noble House, home of Argentene descendants in the land of Rogrovia

Chapter 1: New Arrivals

Chapter Separator

Spring was in the air but there was still a bit of a chill first thing in the morning. Clay did not mind the chill, nor the fact that it was his turn to do the early feeding at the stables. He loved being the first person there, just him and the horses. It was so peaceful, so… Clay was going to say ‘perfect’, but that wasn’t quite right. There was a sense of something missing that he’d been feeling for a while, like a yearning for something that should be there but wasn’t. 

He stood there, breathing in the scent of horses and spring flowers. The fragrance of lily-of-the-valley from the nearby woods wafted to him upon a breeze. That clean, sweet smell, delicate as the dainty bells, was for him the defining scent of spring. 

Come to me, he thought, not knowing what he was summoning or conjuring from the ether, not even mindful that he was laying a wish, only knowing that it was spring, and there was space within that season for something new, fresh and fragrant as spring blossoms, special as the beginning of another year. 

A feed bucket swinging from each hand, Clay was entering the barn when he stopped short. The tune he had been whistling, one he had learned for the upcoming Spring Song festivities, died upon his lips.

Two stalls at the far end of the barn were empty.

But how could that be? Clay had been the last stable-hand to leave the evening before. No-one else could have turned out the horses. It was barely dawn. The paddocks outside were empty. Clay’s hands shook. He lowered the buckets to the ground and walked up to the empty stalls.

Two of the best horses—Shade, a black stallion, and Shadow, a pretty dun cob— had vanished overnight from the stables. Clay stood there, frozen in shock, when Mara strode through the barn door. The merry tune upon her lips trailed off as she caught sight of the empty stalls. She turned at once to check the wall.

Clay found his voice. No tack is missing, Mara. I already checked.

Then where are they? Who let them out?

Who would dare? That was what Clay had been wondering.

The other stable-hands were trickling in, followed by the stable-lads. The little ones were yawning and sleep-tousled, but that soon changed as Mara started barking orders and sorted everyone into groups to go search for the missing horses.

Just as they were about to leave the barn, the Head Groom slunk in, early for once. Clay’s heart sank. Mara and the older stable-hands exchanged a glance. Clay followed their lead and herded the younger lads out of the way. Spotting the empty stalls, the Head Groom’s face went from bewilderment to shock to fury. His eyes searched and lit on Clay. 

You! Were you the last to leave?

Not only that. Clay was on first feed duty this fortnight. Everyone knew that. One of the young lads was standing too close. Clay elbowed him out of the way just as the Head Groom snatched up a whip and started slashing and swearing.

Pandemonium ensued— everyone scrambled for the barn doors, bumping into each other and knocking over the feed buckets.

Following Mara’s instructions, they all split up to search the surrounding paddocks, fields, and even the woods nearby. But by the time Clay returned, empty-handed, the two horses were still missing. The Head Groom’s neck veins and eyes were bulging as he shouted accusations and threats at all of them. His eyes found Clay again, even though Mara stood right in front of him, trying to hide him from view. 

But the Stable-Master arrived before anything could happen, and that’s when Shade and Shadow appeared in the distance, with two small figures clinging to their manes. 

Everyone watched open-mouthed as the horses slowed down from a canter to a trot and then a walk. Two children, no more than seven or eight at the most, and whom Clay had never seen before, were riding the horses bareback.

The Head-Groom was spluttering, furious, but the Stable-Master quietened him with a curt order. At a gesture from him, Clay and Mara ran forward to hold the horses, their breath frosting in the cool morning air. No-one said a word as the children slid off the mounts.

Clay looked closely at the little riders.

Who are they? Are they Silverian children?

But they did not look like Silverian children. Their hair was braided, true, as befitted nobility, but untidily so, and they were of different colouring, their hair and eyes darker than their Silverian counterparts. Though dressed alike, one was clearly a lass.

The Stable-Master cleared his throat to speak, whereupon the two children exchanged a glance and took off like a pair of wild hares.

It was only a couple of days later that Clay learned their decidedly un-Silverian names—Jess and Tyler. By that time, these two young cousins, sent all the way from the Argentene, had become the talk of the servants’ quarters. It was only their third day at the House of Silveria. 

* * *

It was only mid-morning and Viraya had already been accosted by a seemingly endless stream of gardeners, groundsmen, and topiary trimmers. Spring Song celebrations were due in less than a fortnight, and all those responsible for the gardens, not least Viraya herself, were beginning to fray around the edges. 

After allaying the worries of the Head Gardener, Viraya stood alone in the middle of a field of hyala blossoms, taking in the heady, rain-like, scent. At this time of year— mid-spring—the colour of hyala blossoms deepened from sky- to lake-blue, a shade that could trick the eye from a distance, making a field of flowers appear like a rippling pond. 

Of course, standing within the field was a different experience entirely, and since no-one else was around, Viraya kicked off her gardening boots and stood barefoot upon the earth. She closed her eyes and centred herself before drawing energy up through the soles of her feet all the way up her spine and through the crown of her head. 

Where she stood, the earth’s energy was strongly interlaced with that of the hyala blossoms, and Viraya gladly took what they offered—a gentleness as with most flowers, together with a calming essence that was peculiar to the hyalas. Indeed, she was quite enjoying herself when the private summons from her mother came. 

She was tempted to ignore it, but her mother, the Dowager Duchess, was more curt than usual, and Viraya knew the reason why. Exceedingly glad that she had partaken of the hyalas’ calming essence, Viraya snatched up her skirts and hastened back to Villa Lochana⁴.

Viraya hurried along the walkways that criss-crossed the grounds of the villa. Her mother’s voice was still ringing in her ears, so she damped down the connection between them to the lowest possible level without completely shutting her mother out as she trotted towards the Dowager Duchess’s study, her skirts hitched a little higher than was deemed proper. 

Viraya’s mother stood rapping her knuckles on her onyx desk. She waited till the doors were closed before turning to face Viraya.

I’ve had a string of people come complaining. How long have they been here? Three days!

Ah, so Viraya was right. It had to do with the newly-arrived children—Jess and Tyler. Together with their elder cousins, Kye and Heinregard, they had made the journey all the way from the mother-world of the Argentene, arriving at the House of Silveria three days ago. Three days in which they had managed to wreak havoc, and in which she had privately dubbed them ‘wildlings’. Of course, it was not a term she would ever use out loud.

Well, she said, in the calmest tone she could muster, they must have slept well that first night. Waking before anyone else and getting into the stables before the stable-hands, now that’s early. They only got as far as the main House gates. You were busy, so I gave orders for them to be placed in a classroom with children their own age.

Surely that was an understandable mistake. Kye was taking his day and night of rest following their journey; Heinregard was still groggy from the effects of his first trip here, so Viraya did not have the heart to entrust to him his lively younger cousins. Who knew the youngsters could have turned the stables and then an entire classroom upside down within a matter of hours?

Viraya’s mother looked across at her, brow furrowed.

"First was the Stable Master. He had every right to be concerned. They took two of the best horses. Not the ponies, oh no. ‘How did they even manage to saddle them?’ I asked. ‘They didn’t’, he said. ‘They rode bareback.’"

Well, Viraya said, to be fair, Jess did point out that if they had meant to go far, they would have got someone to saddle the horses for them. Proving they were merely…trying them out.

Her mother sat down, slumping a little in her chair.

They could have been thrown, and it would have been my fault. She shook her head. At least no-one got hurt.

Exactly, which is why I thought there was no point bursting into your meeting and disturbing you. They were so contrite. You would not believe how prettily they apologized, trembling lips and all. Those little faces. And in accented Grovian that melts your heart.

Tyler’s grasp of Grovian—the standard Rogrovian tongue—was basic, but much better than Jess’s, though of course they both spoke with an accent that Viraya found delightful.

The second person to come complaining was Lana.

Her mother glared at her and Viraya averted her eyes. Lana’s poise and even temperament was why she was entrusted with the seven- and eight-year olds all by herself. Overly strict, by Viraya’s estimate.

I have never known Lana to be disturbed, let alone disheveled. Have you?

Viraya pursed her lips and shook her head. The wildlings were the straws that broke Lana’s back. According to rumour, Lana’s robes were muddied and quite a few strands of her hair had escaped her braids, which was a huge disgrace.

Her mother huffed. "It was not so much the chattering and the carrying on between the two of them—that Lana could understand, this being their first visit and their Grovian not fluent. She was prepared to overlook quite a bit. But the pranks on the other children, the jokes in High Argentene, some of which she could not even repeat to me…"

Viraya sighed. She did not condone any of that, of course not, but surely some latitude should be allowed for these two?

"Well, thankfully, most of the children do not understand High Argentene well enough. From what I gather, Lana banished both Jess and Tyler to the backyard…"

…where some of the children’s pets are kept. The Dowager Duchess rubbed her temples. "‘Liberated’ them, they did. Mark the word they used."

I mark it. Viraya dared a glance at her mother. Those lizards and frogs do not belong in a backyard, Mother.

Do they belong in the walkways and corridors? Jumping onto passing visitors and guests?

Viraya placed one hand over her heart. Did they?

"I heard screams from the servants. Our guests, the

Reviews for Spring Song

[Andy SFF · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very interesting world. I recommend to readers who enjoy romance with their fantasy. It's not straight up romance. It's fantasy with slow-burn romance between two couples.