by E. Menozzi
I loved my family. The thought of living long after my parents and brothers were gone frightened me. Fiona hadn’t said that I needed to stop seeing them if I chose to become Sworn. But how would I explain to my family when I never seemed to age? Liam’s mother and Sorcha had lived for nearly a millennium, and they looked no older than my grandmother.
I paced around my room. I picked up clothes and tidied my dresser. I flipped through photos on my phone. Then, frustrated, I turned off the screen and tossed my phone onto the bed. I stalked over to the window and stared out at the moonlit garden below.
As many times as I went over it in my head, one thing remained constant. I didn’t want to give up the knowledge I’d gained. I didn’t want to leave Liam and his world behind. I wanted to know more. I wanted more time with him. I didn’t know what would happen with us, but I didn’t want to give him up any more than he wanted to give me up.
I’d come here with a plan for my future. I still wanted to work with my uncle and maybe go to graduate school. But nothing I could learn in a classroom would teach me about the Fae. I wanted to learn more about this world that I’d only just discovered. I wanted to learn how to protect myself, and I wanted to find a way to help.
I lay down on top of the bed, still fully clothed, and stared up at the ceiling. I couldn’t sleep, and I couldn’t stop thinking. So I crept up to the attic. I knew Liam wouldn’t be there, but it made me feel better to be closer to his things. I pushed his door open, pulled a blanket off his bed, and dragged it over to the window seat. Then I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and curled up next to the gargoyle on the bench. I leaned my head against the window frame and stared out across the fields and let my mind churn. At some point, I must have closed my eyes.
When I opened them again, a faint light glowed above the horizon. I glimpsed a flash out of the corner of my eye and turned to see Sorcha standing in the alcove with me. She stared down at the gargoyle and then reached a hand out to touch the statue.
“Fascinating,” she said.
“You should see the statue of the faerie,” I said.
She glanced at me as though noticing me for the first time.
“Fiona sent me,” she said. “It’s time.”
I stood and let the blanket fall onto the bench. I ran my fingers through my hair and looked down at my rumpled clothes.
“I should change,” I said.
Sorcha waved her hand, and when I looked again, I was wearing a long tunic and leggings, similar to what Sorcha wore. She held out her hand to me.
“Come,” she said.
I placed my hand in hers and braced myself for the empty, airless space. But traveling with Sorcha was different. This time it felt like we’d plunged into a tropical sea. When we surfaced, we were standing in a forest.
Sorcha released my hand and began walking along a dirt path. I followed her between the lush, ancient trees coated with lichen and moss. A break in the trees ahead revealed a clearing filled with Fae. Tiny winged faeries hovered and swarmed above the heads of stunningly beautiful males and females, all lean and lanky and dressed in belted tunics and tapered pants in earth tones. Clustered at their feet and atop boulders were squat creatures with long noses, large, pointy ears, and short wings folded tight to their bodies. Everywhere I looked, I found a new type of Fae to admire.
I tried not to stare and gape too much as Sorcha and I edged around the gathering crowd to join Liam and Arabella next to a glimmering pool at the foot of a rushing waterfall. They stood shoulder to shoulder staring out over the still waters toward the falls. I hoped this meant that they’d resolved their differences. It would make what I was about to do a lot easier.
I stepped beside Liam. He reached for my hand without looking over at me, and my fingers interlaced with his. Sorcha left us standing there and continued walking to a large boulder near the edge of the pool. She stopped at the foot of the boulder and turned to face the crowd. Then she held up her hands to silence those gathered behind us in the clearing.
A hush fell over the assembled Fae. The sound of the waterfall filled the air, broken only by the chirp of a bird or the wind in the treetops above. Two figures appeared near the base of the falls and walked arm in arm around the edge of the still pool. As they approached, I recognized Fiona on the arm of a much older Fae male with bushy white hair and a long white beard. He led her to the boulder, and stopped next to Sorcha.
Sorcha began speaking in a language I couldn’t understand. I guessed it was the language of the Fae, the same language she’d used when she’d spoken with Liam back in Edric’s dungeons. Fiona bowed her head, and the male produced a staff similar to the one Liam had tucked into Flida’s arms after she’d passed.
The old Fae handed the staff to Sorcha, who held it up for all those gathered to see. She said something, and they responded in unison. Then she tapped Fiona’s shoulders with the staff and presented it to her. Fiona accepted the offering and turned to face the gathering. The male reached up and placed an iron crown atop her head. The band was a simple design, made to look like a series of twisted and braided vines.
Fiona let Sorcha and the male help her step up onto the boulder. When she reached the top, she held the staff high and said something. I couldn’t understand her words, but I sensed the emotion behind them. Liam gripped my hand in reaction, then released it when she finished speaking so he could clap and cheer with the crowd.
As the cheering died down, Arabella stepped forward. She knelt at the base of the boulder and bowed to her queen. Fiona descended to stand before Arabella and receive the first Oath from her Sworn.
When Arabella finished speaking, Fiona bent and kissed her forehead. Then Arabella stood and took her place at Fiona’s side. The cheering resumed in response.
With the roar of the crowd in my ears, I stepped forward. Liam hissed, and his fingers brushed my arm as he reached for me, but I moved too fast for him to react. In a moment, I had taken Arabella’s place, kneeling at Fiona’s feet. The assembled Fae fell silent. I didn’t know the proper words, so I improvised.
“I swear my life and my loyalty to the Queen of the Fae.” My heart hammered as I waited for her response.
“This is your decision?”
“It is.”
“Then I accept you as Sworn to the Fae Court.” She bent and placed a kiss on my forehead. Then I stood and found a place next to Arabella.
The Fae in the clearing whispered and clapped but didn’t cheer.
Liam stared at me across the grass. While he hesitated, Sorcha came forward to swear her Oath. I still couldn’t understand a word being spoken, but it didn’t matter. I’d made my decision, and now I had to wait while Liam made his. While Sorcha knelt, Liam never took his eyes off mine. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking; I only wondered what he would decide.
Once Sorcha stood and stepped aside, Liam looked away, locking eyes with Fiona. He took a tentative step forward, paused, then closed the remaining distance. He glanced once more at me before kneeling at Fiona’s feet.
After Liam stood, Fiona addressed the gathering again. Then she turned and retraced her path around the pool toward the base of the waterfall. Arabella fell into step behind her queen. Liam, Sorcha, and I followed. The old Fae remained behind, and the Fae who had gathered to see the coronation began to disburse.
When we reached the base of the waterfall, Liam pulled me aside.
“Why did you do that?” he asked.
“Fiona gave me a choice,” I said. “She said she’d let me live, but I needed to either become Sworn and immortal, or return to the humans with no memory of the Fae.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I needed to make my own decision. Just like you needed to make yours.”
“You gave up your humanity to be one of us?”
“Well, not exactly one of you.”
“Why did you do it?”
“I
can’t turn my back on this world now that I know it exists. And I don’t want to give you up, either.”
Liam threw his arms around me and kissed my face. “You’re amazing,” he said. “You’re perfect.”
“You’re Sworn,” Arabella said.
Liam froze. I looked over his shoulder and found Arabella staring at me.
“So that’s the deal she made with you,” Arabella said. “Fiona always did have a soft spot for her cousin Liam.”
“Ari, she took the Oath. Let it go,” Liam said.
I slipped past Liam to face his cousin. If I was going to spend eternity with Arabella, I couldn’t let Liam fight my battles for me. “I understand why you did what you did,” I said. “But we’re on the same side now. We both want the same thing. Can’t we start over?”
“Start over?” She scowled. “We’ll see. Liam’s marked you and Fiona’s made you one of us, but you’re still human. It’s going to take more than that for me to trust you.”
“Fair enough,” I said. It was a start.
Arabella nodded and walked away. I turned to face Liam.
“About that marked thing,” I said.
He looked down at his feet and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “About that,” he said.
“How does she know? Does she know what it means?”
“I asked Fiona about it while you were recovering.”
“And?”
“She thinks it might have something to do with that night in the attic…”
“Oh.” I could feel myself blushing.
“Yeah.” He glanced at me shyly.
“So does that mean that, as far as the Fae are concerned, I belong to you?”
“Not exactly. More like we belong to each other.” He inched closer to me. “I think I could reverse it, if it bothers you.”
“No,” I said. “I think I’m okay with that.” I reached for his hand. “As long as it’s mutual.”
He swept me up in his arms and took my breath away with his kiss.
To find out what's next for Eve and Liam, don't miss the epilogue novella, Eve the Immortal.
Then find out what happens next in the war between the Fae and the Underworld in book two, Dawn of the Fae, available now!
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Acknowledgements
This book wouldn’t be what it is without the wonderful people who’ve helped me along the way.
The first draft of this novel was originally written during NaNoWriMo 2015. So, I want to thank the fine folks who organize and run National Novel Writing Month. I may never have taken the chance to write this without the encouragement of the NaNoWriMo community, including the writers in the Marin Region and my Night of Writing Dangerously table buddies: Team 50/50 Wombat Pajamas.
Another huge thank you goes out to my UC Berkeley Extension professors, especially Mary Ann Koory for her Developing the Novel and her Mystery Fiction classes and her ongoing support of and interest in my writing career.
In addition to excellent teachers, I’ve been lucky enough to work with some great developmental editors at various stages in my writing process. Thank you, Naomi Hughes and Michelle Hazen, for your feedback and guidance.
Thank you to my amazing copy editor: Michelle Hope from The Artful Editor. Never have I felt so embarrassed and appreciative at the same time. Any mistakes that remain are entirely my fault.
Thank you to my fantastic cover designer: Elizabeth Mackey. Your covers are magical, and I’m thrilled I get to work with you.
Lorna, Rowena, Anne, Kit, and Gail were some of the first people to read early drafts of this novel and provide me with feedback. I will forever be grateful for their critiques and encouragement, and all the tasty snacks we shared together while talking about our writing.
Thank you to my amazing beta readers: Kaitlin, Linden, Sharon, Kellie, Elizabeth, and Kilby. Knowing that you were eagerly awaiting the next section kept me on track and editing. Your questions and your super-reader abilities to spot plot holes and inconsistencies are invaluable.
Thank you to the Romance Writers of America (RWA) chapters whose contest judges provided critical feedback on first pages, especially: San Francisco’s Heart to Heart Contest, and Kiss of Death’s Daphne du Maurier Award.
Thank you to my SFA RWA chapter buddies. I wouldn’t have had the courage and determination to publish this without your encouragement. Thank you for supporting me and pointing me toward resources I needed to figure out how to publish and market this series.
Thank you to friends and family who have always supported my writing: Merrilee and Uncle Tom, Aunt Lisa and Jeff, Aunt Lorraine, Cornett & Co., the Chaffins, the Olmettis, the Speeds, the Surbaughs, Scott and Lauren, Craig and Nancy, Megan H., Jen W., and Laura O.
Thank you to my mother-in-law and father-in-law who may still remember the four mile hike on Thanksgiving weekend when I mostly ignored everyone and started talking to myself while I worked through some sticky plot points in the first draft of this book.
Huge thanks to my mom, who is definitely my first and biggest fan, and to my husband, Greg, who never fails to push me, encourage me, and take care of dinner when I’m drafting or editing.
And, most importantly, thank YOU, dear reader! This book is incomplete without you, and I am forever grateful that you chose to spend time with me and the characters in this world.
About the Author
Elizabeth Menozzi is an award-winning writer of science fiction and fantasy with romance. A former Midwestern girl, she currently resides on Orcas Island with her husband. In her spare time she is a competitive swimmer, reluctant runner, and devourer of books.
You can follow her on Twitter (@emenozzi) and Instagram (emmenozzi), or contact her via her website at http://www.elizabethmenozzi.com/.
