Seelie Princess (The Crown of Tír na nÓg Book 1), Page 3

  Kayla cried out. “What are you doing?”

  The streetlights barely reached into the alley and Ava disappeared in the shadows, taking Kayla along with her. She spun Kayla around, pushing her up against the wall. Kayla’s foot hit something on the ground and she gasped. Ava was so close now that Kayla could smell her mossy, flowery scent, like a forest after a fresh burst of rain.

  Ava lifted a hand and caressed Kayla’s cheek with her fingertips, slightly trembling. Kayla shivered too, and as Ava came closer, Kayla let her eyes travel across the face in front of her, soaking it all up.

  What was it about this girl?

  And then Kayla noticed it. Poking out between the strands of Ava’s pale blond hair were the tips of sharply pointed ears.

  Kayla shoved Ava away.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Heart racing, Kayla searched Ava’s face, her pointed ears, her bright eyes, and the shape of her jaw and cheekbones. Her skin was perfectly white and showed no apparent trace of age. Was this another dream?

  It couldn’t be, because Kayla saw Ava’s chest rise and fall with heavy breaths, and her blond hair blowing in the wind. Ava was as real as any person Kayla had ever met.

  “What are you?”

  “I think you already know the answer,” Ava said. She spoke with a haughty tone of voice now, no longer flirtatious. “After all, you carry a faerie acorn with you.”

  Kayla clasped one hand on her borrowed bag. She could feel the rough outline of the acorn through it. “How do you know about that?”

  “I saw it earlier. At your house.”

  “Are you stalking me?” Kayla’s loud voice rang through the alley. She pressed her back flat against the wall, the coolness of the bricks seeping through her thin dress. “What do you know about the acorn?”

  “Only that you have it,” Ava said. She stood still as a statue, her arms stiff at her side and her face nearly motionless. “Who gave it to you?”

  “Probably one of your people if it’s a faerie acorn,” Kayla said. Something snapped into place then, and her grip on the bag tightened. “And you’ll help me find that person.”

  Ava raised an eyebrow. “Why would I do that?”

  Kayla pushed off the wall and glared up at Ava, who was just a few inches taller. Seconds ago, Kayla had been about to kiss her; now all she could think about was her father. If Ava was a faerie—if the stories were really true—then there was a chance to find him after all.

  But Kayla never had time to answer.

  Something shattered in the alley’s depth, like a mirror breaking into a million pieces. Another loud thump shook the ground. Kayla and Ava spun toward the source of the sound, but there was nothing but darkness.

  A disembodied growl echoed off the walls. Kayla ducked with a yelp as bags of garbage came flying her way. Her vision was obscured by all the objects hurtling through the air, broken china, rotten fruits, plastic wrappers. She tried to stand and was shoved aside. Something moist that reeked of rotten eggs cushioned her downfall.

  She staggered back onto her feet, trying to find her bearings. When the dust settled, it revealed Ava, spinning and twisting, with something short and pointed clutched in her hand.

  A gigantic boar charged at Ava.

  Kayla’s first instinct was to cry out. Even without having seen a boar before, she knew this one was different. It had gold-bristled fur and long golden tusks, and it had to have been at least twice the size. It growled as it dashed forward.

  Ava spun her weapon, stabbing at the beast, but it only grunted and continued to shake its head, its tusks missing her by an inch. Ava leaped to the side, hair flying, and chanced another attack.

  Kayla forced her eyes away from Ava. The ground was scattered with all kind of debris, and in a huge pile of refuse Kayla found an old rusted pipe. She seized it and plunged forward.

  “No!” Ava called, but it was already too late.

  With a tight grip on her makeshift weapon, Kayla jumped up onto the boar’s back. She struggled to hold on while she battered the beast’s head with the broken piece of pipe.

  The boar stopped going after Ava and tossed its head from right to left in confusion, howling at Kayla’s every hit. But as soon as it realized where the attacks were coming from, it bucked.

  Kayla clung to its fur.

  “You need to get off it! Now!” Ava cried. She came back into sight, thrusting her dagger into the boar’s left leg. It howled, its body convulsing.

  Kayla was flung off the boar and landed hard on her back, the impact knocking the air out of her lungs. The beast’s heavy panting grew louder, and Kayla, unable to pull onto her feet, crawled backward, away from the noise. She saw Ava sprinting to catch up with the boar, but she wasn’t fast enough.

  The tip of the boar’s tusk cut through the sleeve of Kayla’s left arm. She wailed with pain, rolling to the side. The ground underneath her vibrated as the boar’s tooth connected with the concrete.

  “Get away from her, filthy beast.”

  Ava whirled around with the weapon in her hand and the boar groaned. Drops of blood seeped from the gash at its side. As the boar retreated, it knocked over one of the containers and spilled rotten garbage.

  Once the beast had disappeared down the far end of the alley, Kayla sat up, her head heavy and her arm throbbing.

  “Hurry. It might come back,” Ava said, sinking to her knees at Kayla’s side. She sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. “It hurt you.”

  Kayla stared at Ava. Her dress was ripped, revealing most of her right thigh, and dirt and blood covered her face. Ava leaned in closer and pushed aside the torn fabric of Kayla’s cardigan. Underneath it, the flesh was cut in a straight line, and Kayla’s stomach turned to jelly at the sight of it.

  “We need to take care of this,” Ava said. “There could have been poison on the boar’s tusk, and if that’s the case, you have to come with me right away.”

  “What? No!” Kayla said. She gaped at her wound, then at Ava. “I’m not going anywhere with you, maybe to a hospital, but I don’t even know who you are.” She gestured down the alley with a nudge of her head. “Or what that was.”

  Ava frowned. “There’s no time for this now.” In one swift motion, Ava retrieved something out of her jacket pocket and clasped her hand over Kayla’s mouth. Kayla struggled against Ava’s grip, but to no avail. A strange and wonderful smell wound its way up Kayla’s nose, like all the flowers of the world combined.

  The edges of Ava’s face blurred, as if she was paint on a canvas that was smudged by the strokes of a brush. Only her emerald eyes remained clear in focus.

  Then Kayla’s whole being was overwhelmed by a dazed sensation.

  4

  THIRTEEN YEARS AGO…

  “Come sit with me, sweetie. I’ll tell you another story.”

  Kayla skipped across the room to her father. “About the faeries, Daddy?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said with a laugh. He lifted her up onto his lap, hugged her to his chest, and kissed the top of her head. Then, gently rocking back and forth, he began to talk.

  “Once, there was a little boy who lived in a village in Scotland,” he said. “His house stood near a moor which no one was allowed to cross or even come close to. They said it was haunted by ghosts. Others thought it belonged to the faeries. And some people did not believe in such nonsense at all.

  “But not this little boy. One night, he snuck out onto the moor and there he saw the most beautiful creature. It was a woman with skin as pale as the moonlight and hair like pure gold. She floated across the moor and sang a tune so fair and sweet that it could break your heart.

  “Then she spied the boy. ‘Oh, what a lovely tiny human you are,’ she said. ‘Have you ever danced with a faerie?’

  “The boy was so struck by her beauty he could not speak. He held out his hand, and she took it. Together they danced across the moor, all throughout the night. His feet didn’t feel sore even once.

  “When dawn bro
ke, the faerie woman leaned down to the boy. ‘I have to return to my lands now,’ she said. ‘Will you be waiting here for me?’

  “The boy nodded eagerly. The faerie woman breathed a kiss on his cheek and vanished.

  “From that night onward, the boy went to the moor every night of his childhood and every night of his youth, but the faerie woman never returned. The night before his thirtieth birthday, he went to the moor again. ‘One last time,’ he told himself.

  “And there she was! His beloved faerie! Once more they danced throughout the night. When the sun rose, he said, ‘I wish you would stay.’

  “‘It is what I desire,’ she said. ‘But it pains me. If I were to stay with you, I would have to watch you grow old and die. I, however, would remain forever young. I could not be without you anymore.’

  “‘Then take me with you!’ the man said. ‘Can’t I live in your world?’

  “Instead of answering, the faerie woman smiled and took him by the hand. They vanished through the moor and into the lands of the faeries.

  “The family of the man found him a few months later, wandering the moor. He was calling out the name of a woman nobody knew and asked about his children, but everyone assured him that he had none. He insisted that he had spent at least ten years with the faeries.

  “But no one believed him. And so he kept going out onto the moor every night until his death, searching for his faerie wife and children.”

  Kayla gazed up at her father with big eyes. “He didn’t find them?”

  “No,” he said. “It’s an honor to dwell with the faeries, you know. One that has to be paid for.”

  Goosebumps broke out on Kayla’s arms. She snuggled up closer to her father. “Did you ever see a faerie, Daddy?”

  “That’s a story for another night.” Her father smiled, but Kayla thought he somehow looked sad. “It’s time for bed now, sweetie.”

  He lifted her up, carried her over to her bed, and tucked her in.

  “But Daddy,” Kayla said, “you would never dance with the faeries, because they could take you too… and I don’t want you to leave me.”

  He sat on the edge of her bed. “I would never want to leave you. But…” He took her small hand into his big one. “If we should ever be separated, don’t worry about me. I will always find a way back to you. I promise. Now, sleep tight, sweetie. I love you.” Her father leaned in for another kiss on her head.

  “I love you too, Daddy.”

  5

  A PLAN UNFOLDING

  Fay stepped out into the corridor and shut the door behind her. For a second, she stood still, taking deep breaths. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other. If only there was time for a break… She wanted to get rid of her torn dress and wash the boar’s blood off her face. It had to wait.

  Fay glanced down the corridor. The first time she’d been in the Citadel, it was like stepping into a fairytale. Long hallways with golden floors, grand staircases, clear ceiling-to-floor windows, and colorful flower arrangements everywhere. It was immaculate. She wondered if one day it would stop feeling so surreal.

  With a sigh, Fay released the doorknob. She strode briskly down the corridor, ignoring the twinge in her left leg. A leather scabbard holding her dagger was strapped to her thigh, which was numb after all the hours of wearing it. It was as uncomfortable as the tight denim jacket, but Fay would never part with her dagger. She’d never leave her room without it.

  She drew up to a massive two-winged door, flanked by two knights in shiny golden armor. They both bowed their heads, then swung the door open for her to enter. The vast room was fitted with the same golden tiles, melded together to form a singular smooth surface, and flowers of all colors bloomed on the walls. At the opposite end of the entrance was a large window, spanning the entire height and width of the room. It offered a view of the land below. The rolling hills of the Seelie Court were dotted with tiny houses and traversed by a winding river, sparkling silver in the morning sun.

  Fay eyed the empty throne on the podium.

  “Princess Fay, she is waiting for you in the council room,” a low voice said. It was a voice that Fay would recognize even in her sleep.

  “Chancellor Pwyll,” Fay said with a nod toward the man to her left. He wore the same armor as the knights out front, a breastplate formed from overlapping golden leaves, and a sword attached to his belt. His silver hair was braided away from his face.

  Pwyll gestured to the door beside him and Fay followed him into the council room. As in the throne room, an entire wall was composed of clear glass. The other walls displayed decorative weapons with shiny blades. The gemstones embedded in their hilts caught the sunlight, throwing dancing spots on the round wooden table.

  Seated in a high-backed chair at the far end of the room was Queen Ophira. Her white dress, embroidered with green and gold curlicues, flowed around her like a cloud. She wore her golden hair loose, the curls only held back by the crown resting on her head.

  Fay’s gaze hovered on the stone embedded in the crown before lowering to meet Ophira’s cool blue-green eyes. They were widened in shock.

  “Are you hurt?” she asked.

  “No, I am fine,” Fay said. Pwyll remained standing by the door as Fay sat opposite the queen. No matter how many times Fay faced the queen like this, it always caused a prickle up and down her spine. “But we were attacked. By a boar.”

  Ophira closed her eyes for a moment, taking a measured breath, and asked, “You found the girl, then?”

  Fay reached into her jacket and retrieved two objects which she placed on the table. The sunlight glinted off the opaque stone. In contrast to its brilliant colors, the acorn looked dull and out of place.

  “Yes. Her name is Kayla Whittemore,” Fay said. “She was carrying this faerie acorn when I found her, but she claims she does not know who sent it.” For a second, Fay was back in that alley, closer to Kayla than she had planned, her deep blue eyes narrowing on Fay as she hissed, ‘What are you?’

  Fay cleared her throat. “I do not think she was lying. But… she could see me, without my Glamor.”

  Ophira leaned back in her chair. “I thought she might have that ability. Anything else you learned about her?”

  “No,” Fay said. “But I know what she is looking for. It is in the acorn.”

  Ophira held out a hand and Pwyll took the acorn to give it to the queen. Fay watched as Ophira opened the acorn, pried out the piece of parchment, and scanned the writing. When her hands touched her parted lips, her thoughts were written plain on her face. Fay knew the shock the little mark on the parchment caused; she’d experienced it herself.

  “This was not sent by one of our people,” Ophira said.

  “Could that mark be that of…?” Pwyll said, and Fay knew who he was thinking of. Although no one had seen them in years, they had been the topic of almost every council meeting for the past five seasons. And every time, it had put a frown on Ophira’s face.

  “I am certain they sent it,” Ophira said. “And they sent that boar too. If they are interested in the girl, then she is the one.”

  Fay straightened in her chair. “But she’s human.”

  A shadow crossed Ophira’s face, darkening her eyes to a stormy blue. “She is the one, Fay. Where is the girl now?”

  “In one of the guest rooms. The boar injured her, but Siân and Deirdre are taking care of her.”

  “Then we shall talk to her as soon as she has recovered.”

  “Yes, your Highness.” Fay bowed her head and rose to her feet.

  “And one more thing,” Ophira said. “The girl must not know why we brought her here nor can she know who sent that message. Under no circumstances will you tell her the truth.”

  Fay hesitated to answer. “What about her father?”

  “If we proceed with care, we might find them both,” Ophira said. “But we cannot risk the girl getting in the way of our plan.” Her gaze drifted to the window, the sun turning her golden hair into a halo. The distra
cted expression she wore was one she showed few people. Usually, she was composed, always closed off and rigid. But in moments like these, her concerns and worries washed to the surface and Fay caught a glimpse of the real Ophira. The one who feared for her people.

  “I will do as you ask,” Fay said.

  Fay hurried straight to her room. Once she stripped out of that sticky jacket and polyester dress and slipped into her loose woolen clothes, she would feel like a different person again. Maybe after that she would—

  Fay stopped in her tracks, a cry lodged in her throat. She closed the door to her room softly behind her and then turned to the two people sitting on her bed. “And how did you two get in here?”

  Despite the harsh tone, Fay felt all the tension seeping from her body as her eyes met Nooa’s. His were gray, like the mist that hung between the mountains on a rainy day. His charcoal hair was disheveled, as always, but he wore it with an air of confidence.

  Nooa launched to his feet and pulled Fay in for a quick hug. “We missed you too.” He grinned down at her, but his smile died instantly. “What happened to you?”

  “Yes, where have you been?” Maeve asked with a glance at Fay’s outfit. She was propped against the pillows on Fay’s bed, braiding her dark green hair. The morning sunlight gave her skin a greenish-golden glow.

  Fay shrugged out of her jacket, her skin finally able to breathe again. “Out of town.” She tossed the jacket into a corner. “Didn’t I tell you last time that the queen doesn’t like you two sneaking in here?”

  “You don’t have to tell her, do you?” Maeve said. She finished her braid and sat up on the bed, her amber eyes fixing on Fay. “You went to the mortal world. And don’t deny it, those clothes scream human.”

  “They do,” Nooa said. He’d settled in a chair, his lanky legs crossed, and was scanning Fay’s room. “You certainly live like a princess.”

  “I’m not a princess.” Fay unstrapped the dagger from her thigh and slammed it onto her golden nightstand.