I Do Believe in Faeries (The Cotton Candy Quintet Book 3) by Erin Hayes Read Free Book Online

it’s that you can be guided.”
    “Like guiding me through Faerieland?”
    “Yeah.” He looked amused. “Like guiding you through Faerieland.”
     

Chapter 6
     
    I sensed the change in the air as soon as we stepped out into a meadow. The grassy field led up to a tranquil castle nestled among some rocks at the mouth of a babbling creek. The air here was lazy. Breathing it in made me want to lay down in the grass and sigh happily, curl up and fall asleep. The sun in this part of the faerie world was stronger than the rest of the island, like it was perpetually helping daffodils and daisies shake off winter.
    Although winter hadn’t been here in a long time.
    “Spring always was the nicest Court,” Robin muttered. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he nodded at the castle. “Everything’s always perfect.” He looked none too happy about that.
    “Spring is my favorite season,” I said offhandedly.
    “Of course it is.”
    “Well, it’s when winter is finally done. Everything’s blooming and pretty. The weather is perfect…”
    “…and the ruler here is crazy,” Robin finished for me. In fact, he looked miserable.
    “Who is it?” I asked.
    He scoffed, as if the name tasted bad on his tongue. “Queen Titania.”
    “That sounds familiar,” I said, although I couldn’t pick up where I’d gotten it from.
    Robin patted my shoulder. “When all this is done, do yourself a favor, Tinkerbell, and read A Midsummer Night’s Dream . Old Will got a lot of things wrong, but you’d at least have an inkling of what’s about to happen.”
    Who knew that high school reading could have been helpful in a situation like this?
    “Okay,” I said quietly.
    “Oh, and I forgot to say…” He looked down at me. “Don’t eat or drink anything here.”
    As if right on cue, my stomach rumbled unhappily. We’d been in Tir na nÓg for hours, it seemed, and I’d thrown up what I had for dinner. My stomach was empty and the very thought of food made my mouth water.
    “Here? As in Tir na nÓg? Why?”
    Robin groaned. “Because if a mortal like you ever wanted to leave Tir na nÓg, you can’t have any sort of sustenance here. It creates a bond and it won’t let you leave.”
    I gulped nervously through a dry throat. “Okay.”
    Robin looked back towards the castle. “Let’s get this over with. I’m sure her Highness is going to be so happy to see me.”
    So they had a history. Well this was going to be fun.
    “Why’d we come here first then?” I asked.
    “Because it was the most likely place,” Robin answered. “Titania loves her changelings.”
    “What’s a changeling?”
    “A child stolen by faeries. Sound familiar?” His eyes glittered as he said that.
    “Oh.”
    He grinned and started walking through the meadow, tiny faeries leaping out of the way of our feet. They floated like little tiny multicolored fireflies, and I watched them, transfixed. I blinked and the spell was broken, and I hurried to match Robin’s pace.
    He seemed amused.
    “You have no idea what you’ve gotten into, you realize that, right?”
    “I’m realizing that now,” I replied honestly. “How is it so different than the human world?” I was familiar with the foundations of magick in my world, but this was an entirely new ballgame for me.
    “Because this is where anything is possible. Always remember that, Tinkerbell. You could get into big trouble if you don’t pay attention.”
    We walked for a few minutes as I mulled over his words. The castle seemed to grow in size the closer we got to it, and I felt panicked at the possibility of the baby being there. Or, even worse, if the baby wasn’t there. I had to fill the silence, otherwise I would go crazy.
    I tried to make conversation. “Can I ask you something?”
    “You’re asking a lot of questions already, Tinkerbell, so shoot.” He sounded amused.
    “Why do you always call me ‘Tinkerbell’?”
    He looked at me, his green eyes raking over my face and I could