When life gives you lemons... well, you know the rest. But what do you do when life throws you into a completely fictional universe, with no warning and no explanation?

Damn good question.

I was just a normal person. Family, a few close friends, a job—run-of-the-mill stuff, you know? I was definitely not prepared for war, famine, or darkspawn. Or, you know, the charming, impossibly handsome King with eyes that could melt steel...

Maker preserve me. I'm never going to survive this.

Chapter 1: Falling Through the Veil

I'm not sure how it happened.

One minute, I'm walking up the path to the winery—flip-flops slapping against the stone with that comforting, rhythmic smack—the next, the universe decides to do me a solid by dropping me into what might as well be the set of a really bad fantasy movie.

I can still hear my friends in the distance, laughing, the clink of glasses, their chatter blending into the background of the late afternoon sun. I had arrived late, as usual, which meant I was the one getting the side-eye about my poor time management. But hey, I was trying to be responsible—one day I'll learn to keep a schedule.

Anyway, I'm halfway up the path, almost to the door of the winery when—bam—I get hit with the worst vertigo I've ever felt in my life. Not like the "whoa, I stood up too fast" kind. No, I'm talking full-on, everything's-spinning, like I'm-in-a-snow-globe and someone's juggling it. I freeze, blinking rapidly, trying to shake it off. But then the ground starts shaking too.

Earthquake? Not common where I live, but it's happened before. Still, it's never been this intense. This feels like the earth itself is having a meltdown, and the rumbling makes my stomach flip. I'm trying to figure out if I should stay where I am or make a run for the door... but before I can even start planning my escape, the universe decides for me.

I see it—a massive crack splits the path right in front of me. Like a damn action movie. Only this is my life, so naturally, I fall straight into it. No graceful roll to my feet. Just a plop into the abyss.

The world goes black.

I gasp, trying to make sense of what's happening, but nothing feels real anymore. My body feels weightless, like I'm suspended in some strange limbo. Panic twists in my chest, but before I can even scream, the ground rushes up to meet me.

Then I hit the earth—hard. My legs buckle, and I stumble to the ground, gasping for breath. My heart's racing, my head spinning. The air smells off. Wet moss... iron... and something else—rotting. Like a dead animal that's just hanging around for some reason. I squint. Are those trees... normal?

No, they definitely look like they belong in the "spooky forest" section of any fantasy novel. Twisted branches, dark foliage—the images so familiar, it's like déjà vu, except this time I'm not reading about it. I'm living it. Where am I?

I twist around, trying to get my bearings. Big trees. Gnarled trees. Trees that belong in the "beware of the creepy monsters" part of the forest. The sky? You'd think it'd be dark, but no. It's like someone poured bleach on the moon, and now it's hanging in the sky, casting everything in a sickly glow.

If I wasn't so freaked out, I'd probably joke about how the moon looks like it's been hit with a terrible Instagram filter. But no. Focus. I try to make sense of it, but my thoughts are tangled. Was I dreaming? Dead? Or...

Then I hear them.

Footsteps.

Something in me freezes. My gut twists, and the hairs on the back of my neck go up like a live wire. The sound is faint at first, but then it gets closer. Twigs snap, leaves rustle, and the unmistakable echo of low, guttural growls cuts through the air.

Darkspawn.

I know it the second I see them. I've never seen them in real life, but I've seen enough of them in Dragon Age to recognize the horrible hunched figures with sharp teeth and glowing yellow eyes. They're not real... so why the hell do they look so real?

I want to run. I want to scream, but my legs are frozen, and the air feels thick in my lungs. I'm in a forest. A fantasy forest. In a dress that looks like an Instagram influencer's nightmare.

A Darkspawn hisses as it raises its jagged blade, the cruel arc of metal too big for something so wrong. My breath catches. I close my eyes, bracing for the strike.

Great. This is how I die. Killed by monsters in a bad dress.

But then—

A flash of movement.

A blur of steel.

The sound of galloping hooves. The rush of wind. I feel the air shift, hear metal clash against metal, and the nearest Darkspawn howls in pain.

Before I can even register what happened, a voice—deep, commanding—shouts out.

"Back!"

It's a force of nature, like the words themselves demand obedience. The Darkspawn scatter, retreating into the trees with shrill, panicked shrieks, leaving me alone in the clearing, gasping for air.

I can barely keep my eyes open. My head is spinning. Was this a dream? Some kind of weird hallucination? The world is a dizzying blur, and I'm pretty sure I'm about to pass out.

I barely notice the next shift—something moving toward me. Armored boots crunching softly against the forest floor.

I look up, half-blind with dizziness, and there, standing in front of me, like some knight out of a fairytale, is a man. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Gleaming armor that catches the moonlight like a thousand tiny stars. His face is bold, with sharp features and bright blue eyes that seem to pierce right through me.

And, of course, he's ridiculously gorgeous. Like, ridiculously gorgeous. I mean, this guy could be the front cover model for any fantasy romance novel. If I weren't seconds away from dying, I'd probably be gawking at him. But right now? All I can think is, Why does he look like he just walked out of my favorite game?

I can't make out his words—just the rough edges of a deep, melodic voice.

"Are you… alright, my lady?"

My heart skips. My lady?

I blink at him, trying to process the ridiculousness of the situation. What is even happening? Who is this? What is happening? I've seen this man before—sort of. Wasn't he just…

"I'm Cailan Theirin," he says, his voice full of command and something softer I can't quite place. "King of Ferelden. And you, my lady... have been delivered to us by the Maker himself."

Cailan, the King of Ferelden. The brother of Warden Alistair Theirin—my favorite video game companion ever.

Now that he says it, I can see the resemblance in an unsettling way. In a "I have to blink a few times to see it clearly" kind of way, as my brain struggles to combine the very real, warm-blooded human in front of me with the fictional video game image I already have locked in my head. I stare at him, my thoughts a mess of this can't be real.

He says something about being "delivered" to them, but the words don't make sense. And yet, the certainty in his voice is so strong, so unquestionable. The way his eyes fixate on me with a strange mix of reverence and awe...

I try to speak, to ask him how he found me, why I'm here. But my mind is too foggy to form anything coherent. I can't even stay standing.

As I tip forward, my legs betraying me, I feel him catch me. His arms are warm, strong, and suddenly, I'm cradled against him. For a moment, I almost feel safe.

But that can't be real. It's too crazy. Too impossible.

And then everything goes black.