by Lucy Tempest
“We were taken by surprise this time,” I insisted. “But now we know what to expect, we just need to anticipate the distortions and ride them, till we find out which portal leads into Faerie.”
Leander shook his head vehemently. “We can’t anticipate random changes to reality. And that’s when we’re only on the edge of Faerie. Things will only get stranger and more dangerous as we go on.”
“Then we deal with what shows up.”
He pointed at Robin, whose knees were buckling under clearly worsening pain. “I can’t deal with this happening again, or worse.”
I couldn’t deny that this was scary. Structures that warped and tried to eat us made passing through this place again the last thing I wanted to do. But we needed to. We must get to the one place that could solve all our problems.
Knowing there was no use arguing with him, I sidestepped him. The ground had stabilized, and we must take advantage of that. If I ran, they’d follow, and this time we had to jump through one of the portals before the town swatted us around again or tried to devour us.
Clancy and Jessamine blocked my way until Leander came after me.
“They want all humans out of here,” he said as he crowded me back towards the first house we’d passed. “Which means if you try to defy them, they might take out an eye this time or even snap you in half. But since it’s only you three they have a problem with, they might let us pass.”
I still shook my head. “We haven’t figured it out yet, but there must be a way around this.”
“There isn’t.”
“No! I can’t leave you. I’m the one who can negotiate with the fairy queen on your behalf. I promised to help and I will do it at any cost.”
“Not at the cost of your life.” He sounded adamant, yet looked more anxious by the second, as he curled one large hand around my shoulder and ran the other through my hair. “I will never let you put yourself in danger again.”
Frustration burned through me, rose in my throat. “I must save you.”
“You have already done more than I could have imagined, Bonnie, and I want you to not be burdened by me anymore.” His turquoise eyes shone with what looked like unshed tears in a face I suddenly found so appealing, so dear. “Now I want you to go back to your father.”
There were too many things I wanted to blurt out. That he wasn’t a burden, that I needed to save him, that I wouldn’t abandon him. I wanted to ask what he was talking about, to point out that he’d finally called me by my name, and why now.
But I only said, “What are you looking at?”
He was staring at something behind me, through the door shaped like a gaping mouth. I looked over my shoulder to see what it was, and saw a swirling portal inside.
Before I could react, Leander pressed a kiss to my forehead and pushed me into it. “Goodbye.”
There’d been nothing I could have done to fight against the pull of the portal.
I’d fallen back into the whirlpool of sound and sights, unable to even scream as I’d watched Leander shrinking into nothingness.
Emotions had rushed through me faster than I could register, fiercer than I could bear. But unlike the first time I’d gone through a portal, when I’d evidently been so overwhelmed, my mind had failed to record the experience, I’d remained aware of every second, every nerve, every flicker of sensation, in what had felt like an eternal plummet.
But even eternity ended.
My endless spiral abruptly stopped with a heart-bruising thud. Then I lay unmoving on green grass, gazing into the empty heart of the vortex that had just spat me out.
Just like in the library, the portal winked shut with a flash, and I was left staring up at the afternoon sky of an entirely different land, only two things left inside me—paralysis and disorientation
After a minute or a day, breathing shallow and heart stumbling, I rose on shaking legs—and found myself staring down a road I knew well.
The road leading to my house.
Leander hadn’t just pushed me out of Nexia, he’d sent me home to Aubenaire.
Time again warped, no longer working as I remembered. I had no idea how long I remained gaping down that road.
Eventually, the maelstrom of emotions at finding myself back here dissipated, leaving nothing but drowning sadness.
Leander had waived my promise, had disregarded my insistence that we’d find a way around the threats of Nexia. He’d cut me out of the quest, pushing me away at the first instance of danger. He’d done it to spare me.
And I hated him for it.
He’d torn us apart, unraveling our plans for heroic rescues, family reunions, and broken curses. Without giving me a choice, he’d sent me home. The place I’d always wanted to leave. Leaving me with no clue of what he’d do without me.
If merely crossing Nexia, a part of the Folkshore still, had seemed that impossible, what would await them if they reached the Summer Court? I could only hope the surreal turmoil the place had put us through, had been on my and Robin’s and Will’s account, that once the humans had left, Nexia would let Leander and the others move on to Faerie unharmed.
But now I was by myself, and stuck here away from him, without Dad—without Adelaide…
“Welcome back, Bonnibel.”
My sluggish heart couldn’t bring itself to stir as I looked up, found Miss Etheline, the owner of the Poison Apple tavern where Adelaide had worked approaching me. I couldn’t even bring myself to say hello.
Her seafoam eyes regarded me with some strange expression as I trudged nearer. As if she was waiting for something, or as if she knew something I didn’t. But she always seemed like she was lost in thought about things no one else knew anything about.
That absentminded lady with no discernible accent, who’d moved here a few years back, but whom everyone treated as if she’d always been there, had always inflamed my curiosity. But as Adelaide’s employer, I hadn’t been allowed to snoop around or ask intrusive questions while I hung around during her shifts, reading in booths, waiting for her to clock off to walk us home.
I’d always had far-fetched theories about who she was, and how she’d come to be here, all worthy of a mystery novel. Now even if she stopped me and volunteered her life story, I wouldn’t care.
I had nothing left to care about.
“Are you well, Bonnibel?”
I nodded, shook my head, cringing at hearing my name, what might signify I was a changeling. I might not be, since Nexia had seemed to consider me a human to be cast out. But there was other evidence that I might be. And now I’d never know.
Now I was exiled here, in the one place I’d always wanted to leave, without everyone I loved.
“I trust this is a passing visit? You’ll leave again, hmm?”
Before I could say anything to those strange assumptions, Miss Etheline gave me a faraway smile and passed me.
I turned to watch her walk away, realizing with another blow to my heart that she was suddenly the closest person I had in the world.
Memories of my father and Adelaide, then of every moment I’d spent in Leander’s castle assailed me. I already missed that place, missed my meals with them—missed Leander—and it might have only been a few minutes since I…
A realization hit me, almost making me keel over.
I still had the rose with me!
Hands shaking, I opened my bag, reassuring myself the jar was still intact.
It was, but I found one petal starting to wilt. At least hours of the month we’d set for our quest had passed.
I couldn’t bear the idea of more time going by with us apart. And that he didn’t have the rose with him so he could keep track of it.
But since he’d sent me home with it, it seemed he no longer thought it mattered, since he had no control over how long it would take to reach the Spring Queen. And if he did, he’d either convince her to spare him, or at least his people, or he would fail.
And without me, he would fail.
I had to
go back, be with him. And there was one place that could take me where he was going. The one place I’d always wanted to go, the edge of the human world, the nexus into Faerie. The Hornswoods.
The thought solidified into a decision in a heartbeat.
Then actually wishing I was a changeling, so whatever lurked in the woods would let me pass, I started walking towards them.
With every step, the story of Amadeus and Gratia came back to me, vivid with parallels. Between what Gratia had done for her husband, and what I was trying to do for Leander.
Just like Gratia had stood up to the goddess, had done all she could for Amadeus’s freedom, I would do so with the Spring Queen for Leander’s life. It didn’t matter that he’d pushed me away to protect me. It was my life and he had no right deciding if and for whom I would risk it. From now on I was making my own decisions.
And it also didn’t matter that he’d set me free of my promise to him. It was my promise and the only way I would be free of it was when I fulfilled it.
As he liked to tell me, I was discovering I was stubborn and single-minded. I was ready for any dangers so I could reach Faerie, reunite with Leander—and give him a piece of my mind. I would go through any tests to rescue him, and my father and best friend.
Heart thundering with an amalgam of dread and excitement, I silently made another pledge. To myself this time.
From now on, I would never again be a burden to others, a source of worry for them. I would never stay in the shadows, safe and protected and held back from life. I would do anything to pull my weight, and do all I could for those I loved, no matter the obstacles or the cost.
I’d read enough about heroes. It was time I became one myself.
Note from the Author
I hope you've enjoyed BEAST OF ROSEMEAD, the first installment in the Rosemead Duology as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Reviews and word of mouth are the life-blood of Indie Authors, so if you enjoyed the book, please help me spread the word! Even a line on Amazon, Goodreads and Bookbub would be vital to my success and to the book’s sales, and would be hugely appreciated.
If you haven’t yet, please read where it all began in the #1 Amazon Bestsellers, THIEF OF CAHRAMAN and PRINCE OF CAHRAMAN and QUEEN OF CAHRAMAN
The second and final part of Bonnie’s story, BEAUTY OF ROSEMEAD, comes in September 2019!
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I also love to hear from my readers, so please contact me at [email protected]
Thank you for reading!
Lucy
Pronunciation Guide
— People
Bonnibel: Bonna-bell
Etheline: Eth-ell-leen
Fairuza: Fay-roo-zah
Jessamine: Jess-ah-meen
Leander: Lee-ann-durr
Ornella: Ore-nell-ah
Ossian: Oh-sheen
Seamus: Shay-muss
— Places:
Ericura: Air-ree-cue-ruh
Almaskham: Ul-maz-kham
Arbore: Are-bore
Cahraman: Quh-rah-maahn
Campania: Kaam-pahn-yuh
Nexia: Neck-see-yah
About the Author
With one foot in reality and the other one lodged firmly in fantasy, Lucy Tempest has been spinning tales since she learned how to speak. Now, as an author, people can experience the worlds she creates for themselves.
Lucy lives in Southern California with her family and two spoiled cats, who would make terrible familiars.
Her young adult fantasy series FAIRYTALES OF FOLKSHORE is a collection of interconnected fairytale retellings, each with a unique twist on a beloved, timeless tale.
Visit her and sign up to her VIP mailing list at https://www.lucytempest.com/newsletter
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Also by Lucy Tempest
Thief of Cahraman
Prince of Cahraman
Queen of Cahraman
