She heard Rav’s footsteps on the stairs and sat up in bed, chasing the dark thoughts away for now. Though they were both recovering in their own separate ways, their time together had been sweet. It was just them, eating the food she had in her larder and the freezer, and the ripe fruit and vegetables from the garden. Faye hardly slept, racked with worry for Aisha; whenever she thought about her friend – even though she had gone willingly with Finn – she felt shadow overtake her. Rav found it hard to get through to her at those times. But, nonetheless, she and Rav were talking, sharing themselves with each other. And that, in itself, was a healing. She resolved to get Aisha back somehow.
Faye had told Rav everything that had happened with Finn, even though it was hard to talk about; she had betrayed Rav. She was the reason he had been taken, endangered. But you’re also the reason I’m alive now, he’d replied, holding her shaking hands when she confessed. How she had been seduced by Finn; how she was half-faerie, and how that had blinded her to the darkness of the faerie realm. But there was also something in the shadow part of her that loved faerie and always would. On the nights after Rav had fallen asleep and she sat up in bed, hugging her knees and watching the moon, she worried about Finn. It wasn’t over; he had more or less said so. But she wanted it to be. She wanted a normal life.
You can’t be anything other than who you truly are, Rav had sighed. And, now that I know all of it, I can make the choice to be with you or not. Problem is, I can’t help loving you. It’s not a choice. It just is.
He set a tray with two of Grandmother’s old china cups with faded roses painted on them, a teapot and a packet of biscuits on the white-painted wood table by the bed.
‘I checked the post.’ He handed Faye a sheaf of envelopes and papers. She made a face at a couple of handwritten notes from journalists with their business cards attached and screwed them up.
‘No thanks,’ she muttered. There were a couple of bills to pay, and one handwritten envelope without a stamp. ‘More press?’ She showed it to Rav who got back into bed next to her and poured the tea. He made a face and took a biscuit from the packet.
Faye opened the envelope and read what was inside, then made a yelping noise. Rav spilled his tea on the duvet and swore mildly.
‘What’s up?’ he asked, dabbing at the cotton where the tea had stained it.
‘It’s from the minister. He says they had the vote for the statue versus memorial. I completely forgot that was planned for the week after the concert.’ She stared at the letter in disbelief, and then at Rav. ‘Oh my God.’
‘What? Don’t be upset, Faye. It’s something we can sort out another time. Don’t worry about it for now.’ He put his cup down on the tray and put his arm around her.
‘They voted for Grainne. For the memorial,’ Faye whispered.
Rav stared at her in amazement.
‘Abercolme village voted for a memorial to dead witches over James the First? Are you serious?’ He grabbed the plain piece of notebook paper from Faye and read it for himself.
People saw what you did. Whatever you did, Miss Morgan, you were the one that helped the wounded at the castle. Without you, some may have died. The village recognises its debt to you.
‘Oh my God,’ he repeated, a grin spreading over his face. ‘I can’t believe it! This place of all places…’
Faye realised she was crying. The stress of the last months was still with her, always near the surface. It could break through at any time, and often did. She pulled her knees into her chest and hugged them, sobbing.
‘Oh, Faye. Don’t be sad. This is a good thing!’ Rav rubbed her back as she let the tears come; after a minute, she could talk again.
‘I am happy. I’m so happy, for Grainne and the rest. They’ll finally be remembered like they should be. But…’
‘But what?’ Rav’s warm hand made slow circles on her back.
‘I don’t feel like they should have a debt to me. I didn’t do a good thing. It was wrong of me to have a relationship with Finn. I think it made him stronger here, somehow, having me, and… Aisha… loving him, reinforcing his power. I think Grandmother and Moddie didn’t tell me about faerie because they were afraid. And now he’s gone and taken those people and I don’t know how to get them back.’
Faye got out of bed and went to stand at the window; she stared out at her garden, bathed in the rich gold sun of early August. She opened the window and leaned out to breathe in the air; the smell of the wild roses, the raspberry leaf and lavender scenting the soft air.
‘There’s a card from Annie, too.’ Faye felt her heart lift; she missed her best friend terribly. She let out a short laugh when she looked at the photo, which was a London Beefeater mooning the camera; the caption said: Having a ball in London!
‘Typical Annie.’ She showed Rav, who rolled his eyes affectionately.
Dear Faye, Annie had written in her rounded script.
Hope you’re okay. I tried calling a few times but I couldn’t get hold of you. I hope you got my emails and letters. I’d come up and check on you but the filming schedule down here is mad…
Faye hadn’t had it in her to reply much to any of Annie’s emails yet, except to say that she was all right, that she and Rav were taking it easy together, and that she’d catch Annie up with everything when she was up to it.
Anyway, it’s fun. Coven of Love is kind of cheesy but I do get to wear great outfits. Plus things are going well with Suze. Will fill you in more when I see you – come down and see me when you’re feeling up to it, maybe. There’s room for you here if you want. Thinking of you and love you always, sweetheart. Annie xxx
Faye smiled and handed the card to Rav, then stared back out at the garden. Roses would always mean faerie to her now; the crystal castle of magic where they were underfoot, the petals she had taken and used, wrapped in a piece of kelpie’s scale. It had been the smell of rose in the air when she had first made love to Rav at the beach, almost upon the faerie road. But the wild white and yellow roses that had grown in this garden all her life were a different smell, and they reminded her of Grandmother and Moddie, and playing at witches with Annie in the summers long before Faye knew anything of love.
If she drew power from the realm of faerie, then she also drew it from this house, this garden, and her ancestors, the Morgans. She had absorbed the powers of all of them that had come before, and, over time, she would unwrap every piece of knowledge, and know what they had known; feel what they had felt and seen and heard.
‘You’ll put this right. I know you will.’ Rav stood behind her. His arms circled her waist, and she turned around to kiss him. There was electricity between them like there always had been, and there was kindness and warmth, too. For the first time in her life Faye felt known. And she knew that, in part, that was because she had begun to know herself for the first time, and accept the shadow as the continuing legacy of the light.
To be continued…
Did you love Faye’s magical story? In Queen of Sea and Stars, Faye thinks she's through with the dark and dangerous world of Faerie... until Finn returns to make good on her promises to him. Don’t miss the next part of Faye’s story!
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Queen of Sea and Stars
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As a child, Faye Morgan was always an outsider, shunned for the ancient and powerful magic that runs through her veins.
Ever since she was a little girl, growing up in the village of Abercolme on the wild coast of Scotland, Faye Morgan’s life has been steeped in the old ways – witchcraft, herbal lore and a blood connection to the dangerous and unpredictable world of Faerie.
But magic is both a gift and a burden, and Faye has more than paid the price of living between two worlds. Neither accepted by the villagers, nor welcome in the Faerie Kingdom of Murias after rebuffing the fickle and attractive Faerie warrior king, Finn Beatha, Faye runs from Abercolme, hoping to leave that life behind.
However, even in the twisted, cobbled str
eets of London, Faye finds her blood bond with Faerie won’t be broken. A Faerie War of the Elements is brewing and, though she doesn’t yet know it, Faye is fated to play a terrible part. If she is to survive, she must learn to embrace her own dark power and face Finn Beatha once more… but in doing so Faye will discover secrets in her own past that never should have been disturbed.
A gripping, magical, action-packed novel, perfect for fans of K.F. Breene’s Natural Witch, Shannon Mayer and Laini Taylor.
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Books by Anna McKerrow
Daughter of Light and Shadows
Queen of Sea and Stars
A Letter from Anna
Thank you so much for reading Daughter of Light and Shadows. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I liked writing it. If you’d like to keep up-to-date with all of my latest releases, you can sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
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I came up with the idea for this book when I was visiting family in Scotland. My uncle, husband and son had gone to find the beach in the lovely village we had gone to for the day, and my aunt wanted to show me a shop on the high street which she said she knew I’d love. Sure enough, I did, and I started thinking about a story that centred around a homely but magical shop that had always belonged to a family of witches.
At the same time, I was reading a lot about Scottish faerie lore and was fascinated with the real-life accounts of men and women that claimed to have spent time ‘away with the faeries’ – and the Seelie Court, a grand place where the Scottish faeries feasted and danced and liked to ride out on grand horses. I started wondering how intoxicating it must be to spend time in such a place – and what would compel a man or woman not to want to leave…
If you have time, I’d love it if you were able to write a review of Daughter of Light and Shadows. Feedback is really useful and also makes a huge difference in helping new readers discover one of my books for the first time.
Alternatively, if you’d like to contact me personally, you can reach me via my website, Facebook page, Twitter or Instagram. I love hearing from readers, and always reply.
Again, thank you so much for deciding to spend some time reading Daughter of Light and Shadows. I’m looking forward to sharing my next book with you very soon.
With all best wishes,
Anna
www.annamckerrow.com
Published by Bookouture
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Copyright © Anna McKerrow 2018
Anna McKerrow has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
ISBN: 978-1-78681-464-7
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Daughter of Light and Shadows Page 27
