Faery Born (Book One in the War Faery Trilogy) by Donna Joy Usher Read Free Book Online

permission for your daughter to court my son.’
    I tried to hide my panic. It was fine to ogle a man like Aethan from afar, but I was sure my mouth would disconnect from my brain if I tried to have a conversation with him. Let alone court him. That word put a whole new level of pressure on the situation.
    ‘We will leave you to your daily preparations.’ She looked up and down at our bathrobes. ‘Come Aethan.’ She made the same sideways movement with her hands we had seen him do, took a step forward, and disappeared. Her voice echoed back to us, ‘We will be in touch.’
    ‘Umm, goodbye,’ I said to Aethan.
    I felt my heartbeat accelerate as his stare pierced me. He took a few steps forward till we were close enough to touch. ‘Remember,’ he commanded, touching me on the end of my nose with a finger. ‘It will make things much easier.’ Then he turned and disappeared.
    ‘Holy moley,’ I said when I had regained control of my voice box.
    ‘So,’ Mum said, ‘what would you like for breakfast?’
    ‘What do I want for breakfast?’ I turned to stare at her.
    ‘Aren’t you hungry?’
    ‘Well yes. But what I would like for breakfast is a big plate of the truth, served up with a side dish of apology.’
    ‘So you’re not going to just forget about this?’ The look I gave her must have spoken volumes because she said, ‘I guess not. Well come on, you may as well have a shower while I make some pancakes, and then I’ll tell you the whole sordid story.’
    She was obviously sucking up to me. Pancakes were my absolute favourite.
    ‘Good enough for me,’ I said, looking around for Scruffy. ‘Mum’s cooking pancakes,’ I informed him as he snuffled around a bush. He let out an enthusiastic bark and followed me inside and up the stairs to my room where I stripped off my nightie and jumped in the shower.
    I was pissed at Mum and not quite sure what to make of the whole situation. But two days ago I had feared I was to be left powerless, a total reject in the witch society, and today I found myself with both witch and faery powers, and a cousin to the Fae Queen. When I compared the two situations I found that, for once, I was on the side with the greener grass.
     
    ***
     
    Grandma Bella had emerged from her rooms when I finally arrived in the kitchen. She was sipping a coffee with a dreamy look on her face and pink feathered slippers on her feet. Cyril was lying on the table, coiled up in a patch of sun.
    ‘Pancakes?’ she asked, nodding her head at Mum spooning batter into the frying pan. ‘What’s the special occasion?’
    ‘It’s not every day that a girl finds out she’s half-Fae.’
    Grandma Bella’s face went pale.
    ‘I guess it explains my dark hair though,’ I said. Most witches had red hair, and if it wasn’t exactly red, it was a variant of it.
    Grams started coughing on her sip of tea.
    ‘And how tall I am.’ I leant over and whacked her on the back a couple of times.
    ‘We’re talking about you?’ she said when she could breathe again.
    I watched Mum flip a couple of pancakes onto a plate. I could feel saliva pooling. ‘Who did you think I was talking about?’
    ‘Oh nobody dear, I’m a bit fuzzy this morning. Drank a bit too much Fizzy Lizard last night.’
    ‘Ughhhh. That’s disgusting.’
    ‘It’s not really made from lizards.’
    Mum approached the table with a platter piled high with pancakes. I jumped up and grabbed the cutlery and the maple syrup.
    ‘Where’s Scruffy’s?’ I asked, counting the pancakes. He was sitting patiently in the kitchen watching Mum with his big, brown eyes.
    ‘He had his while you were in the shower.’
    ‘But he was lying in the bathroom while I was in the shower,’ I said.
    ‘No, he was down here scoffing pancakes.’
    I looked at Scruffy with narrowed eyes and then shrugged my shoulders. I had more important questions to ask this morning than why my familiar seemed to be in two places at once. But I wasn’t quite sure which