Page 1 of Faerie Fate
Chapter One
The cloak was made of steel wool and desperation.
Purple fabric plastered to my clammy skin and made every step uncomfortable, the hem dragging the ground. The hood was pulled up over my head to keep anyone who happened to be out at this ungodly hour from seeing my face.
Cloth rustled behind me, accompanied by a swallowed yelp when Bronwen Minuti stubbed her toe and hopped on one foot to my side.
“Will you be quiet?” Coral Ferenze hissed. “We’re trying to be inconspicuous.”
“I’m not the one talking,” Bronwen whispered back.
At it again. I glanced over at Mike in time to watch him roll his eyes.
My mother Livvy followed closely, with my old mentor and best friend Melia Haversham a step behind her.
“This is the place where the portal opens to the Fae Academy for Halflings,” Melia pointed out once we stopped.
Two days ago, we’d made it back to the kingdom of Eahsea to plan our next steps, after Kendrick Grimaldi overtook the fae academy in the mortal world.
For two days, he’d terrorized the students there. Made it his personal playground of pain and god knew what else.
For two days, I’d agonized over why the spell to unlock my witch powers hadn’t worked, despite Livvy’s insistence that the words and the magic ingredients needed had been passed to her by the goddessFaerieherself.
At least Melia was here with us now.
And trying to leave my cousin Coral out of it would be like wearing white after Labor Day.Thatlevel of betrayal. She refused to be discarded—her words—despite the danger.
A breeze stirred the inconspicuous limbs of oak trees shadowed by moonlight. Somewhere in the distance, an owl or some similar creature hooted out a dirge before taking off in a rustle of wings.
And to our backs slept the king’s city with its great white castle standing watch over its domain.
Nighttime in the fae kingdom felt different from normal darkness. As though the air itself tasted sweeter, filled the lungs better. I dragged in a breath all the way to the bottom of my lungs but it did nothing to counter my sense of dread.
Death was out there and breathed thickly down my neck. The silent depths of magic could turn against us in a blink. Cruel, vicious.
The crescent moon hung in the center of a black sky with diamond-like stars sparkling, and nothing but terror and probable death waited for us on the other side of the portal.
This was where we’d stepped into Faerie for the first time. My first glimpse of my mother’s world and now Livvy stood there, watching my reaction. I noted her interest and dragged a breath into my overly tight lungs.
This area connected directly to the mortal fae academy. A general consensus had decided it was the safest way to reach our old school.
A chill in the air rubbed my nerves raw.
I hid myself deeper in the cloak. In the distance, a howl split the silence of the night, and instead of freaking out, Livvy and I shared a secret smile. Noren was on patrol and the direwolf would never let anything happen to me. If anyone understood, it was my mom.
“I really don’t like leaving you this way.” Melia reached for me and grabbed me by the forearms to root me in place. “Tavi, are you sure you want to do this?”
I licked my lips. Swallowed. “No, I’m not, but it’s not like we have a choice,” I replied. “We have to break in.”
Melia nodded, her tawny skin ashen, before she reached into the pocket of her cloak and drew out a key. “I’ll use my key, then. And we’ll be here waiting for you.”
“I really think my talents would be better servedwithyou, Tavi, rather than being a lookout.” Coral studied her perfect nails. “Talk about a waste.”
Bronwen scoffed. “If I have to hear about it one more time, I’m going to throttle you.”
Coral’s eyes glowed amber. “You can try.”
We’d already been back and forth with this argument.
