Destiny: A Story of the Fey Read Free Page B

Solanda’s head. Her touch was gentle again, as it had always been before.
    “She said she was the Black King’s granddaughter, and she yelled at Mommy for dressing me the way she did. And Mom yelled back. The lady said yelling at her was like yelling at all the Fey all at once.”
    Only one Fey woman could make that claim. Jewel. No wonder Esmerelda’s mother was upset.
    “And then Mommy told Daddy and he said that the Fey might hurt us. Because I ran.” A tear coursed down Esmerelda’s cheek.
    And those fools were blaming the child for being a child. Solanda pushed against the girl’s hand, and Esmerelda sniffled.
    “I didn’t mean to run. I just can’t stay still sometimes.”
    Solanda understood that. She could never stay still. It was a curse of being a Shifter. It was the reason Fey wisdom said that Shifters were the most heartless of the Fey. Most Shifters did not have children, and most rarely stayed anywhere long enough to form a real relationship.
    Esmerelda sighed. “I wish I was like you. I do what I want. Or like that Fey lady. She was nice to me. She didn’t like Mommy though.”
    Neither did Solanda.
    “She said children shouldn’t be dressed like me. She said I ran into her because my clothing didn’t let me run properly.”
    Probably true, Solanda thought.
    “And that made Mommy really mad.”
    Esmerelda let her hand slide off Solanda’s neck. She bunched her hands into fists and rested her chin on them, looking fierce and strong. Solanda felt her whiskers twitch in amusement. One day, Esmerelda’s parents would no longer be able to control this child. If she was this strong, articulate, and intelligent at five, she would be impossible to control at fifteen.
    Especially with all of the Fey influence around her.
    “I wish I had magic,” the little girl said. “Just a little bit. Then I could run and no one would know. I’d make myself invisible and no one would see me.”
    Solanda looked out the window, knowing her expression was too sympathetic for a cat. There was a ring of oaks at the edge of the lawn. They were blowing in the breeze. Maybe there would be another storm. Maybe this storm would finally cool the place off, although she doubted it. Nye’s hot season was the worst she had encountered in any country she had ever been in.
    “Esmerelda!” her mother’s voice echoed from the hallway. “Why is your door closed?”
    Esmerelda gasped and pulled down the window so quickly she almost caught Solanda’s tail in it. Then she leaped onto the bed, stretching out. Solanda jumped beside her and curled up at her feet just as Esmerelda’s mother opened the door.
    The woman’s face was flushed. She looked like a tomato about to burst. She was so tightly corseted that her body looked flat, and Solanda wondered how the woman could even breathe. She wore an evening dress of white satin that accented the redness of her face. The sides were lined with sweat.
    “What are you doing?” she asked. Then she frowned. “How did that mangy cat get in here?”
    Solanda growled softly in the back of her throat. She was not mangy. And the woman had never called her that before.
    “I told you that you were supposed to be in here by yourself to think about what you did today. Things could have been much worse. Fortunately, she was in good mood. You know what those people can do? Why it’s said they can cut the skin off a person with the flick of —”
    Solanda yowled, and the woman stepped back, a hand over her heart. Esmerelda sat up, worry on her small face.
    “Are you okay, Goldie?”
    Solanda licked her right paw as if she had twisted it. She was not going to let that woman tell this little girl about Fey atrocities — even if they were true.
    “Come on, Goldie,” Esmerelda’s mother said. “There’s some beef for you in the kitchen.”
    Usually that would have gotten Solanda off the bed. But she could sneak down after everyone was asleep and take what she needed. Right now, she wanted