One week to go! In honor of the upcoming ebook release I’m now sharing Chapter 2 with you. In Chapter 1 (which you can read here) you met Kayla, the human girl who is desperate to find her father. Read below to meet the Seelie Princess!
2
MORE THAN CHANCE ENCOUNTER
It had been some time since Fay last
visited Chicago—or since she’d been to this world. Cool fall wind tugged at her
hair and clothes as she hurried across the Millennium Park and toward the
nearest subway station. No matter how long she stayed away, she would always
remember the L train and the sharp wind off Lake Michigan. They were old
friends greeting her and for a moment, as she stood at the crossroads, a
feeling of warmth spread through her.
The light at the crosswalk switched
to green and the flow of people carried her to the other side. She walked in a
daze and suddenly the city felt less like an old friend and more like a
recurring nightmare.
A car to her right honked. Fay
flinched, startled by the unusual noise. She’d forgotten how loud Chicago was,
and the air was stale and smelled of exhaust.
Another gust of wind swept across
Chicago, carrying along a drizzle of rain. Fay drew her jacket closer around
her. She’d put on a floaty black dress and a denim jacket, something she
thought humans would wear in the summer, but she’d misjudged the weather. It
was never easy to tell what season you were heading into when coming to this
realm. Luckily, Fay didn’t get cold as fast as humans did.
She reached the subway stop and
rifled in her jacket pocket for her ticket. Or at least what she would use as a
ticket. She pulled out a large leaf she’d plucked from a tree, cast a quick
Glamor, and pressed it against the scanner. With a peep, she was admitted.
She filed onto the platform with the
other commuters. No one was paying much attention to her, which was a nice
change for once. Back at the court, Fay was often the center of attention. And
if she bowed to the queen’s wishes, she’d be of even more interest.
Not if she could find the girl
first.
Fay took out the stone the queen had
given her. It was opaque, about the size of an egg, and it fit smoothly into
her hand. Deep pulses emanated from it in a slow, rhythmic pattern. She turned
south and the pulsing faded, but when she faced north, it gave off powerful
beats. She was on the right track then. The train rolled into the station and
Fay got on. As it rushed north, the beating of the stone grew more intense. At
one stop, the beating got so fast that Fay pushed through the crowd and out of
the train seconds before the door shut again.
Using the same technique as before,
she walked up to each crossroad, turned each direction, and followed the one
that the stone indicated. Even after all the time she’d spent at the court, she
didn’t fully grasp what made the stone work. It was a kind of magic she hadn’t
seen before. One that only the queen had access to.
On and on Fay went, houses and
unknown faces flashing past her, but even without looking, she knew where she
was heading. The area around Lincoln Park Zoo had always been one of her
favorites. Years ago, when she was little.
The stone was now beating fast and
hard; it was hot to the touch. Fay turned a corner and hurried down a one-way
street with brick houses. One last beat and the stone fell quiet.
She had found it.
Continue reading → SEELIE PRINCESS: Excerpt #2