Outcast (Book Two of the Forever Faire Series): A Fae Fantasy Romance Novel Read Free Page B

brothers, so he stayed. There had been mortal females—too many, for he had always been reckless—but none of them had once touched his heart.
    Yet somehow this slender thread of a lass had, the moment he’d looked into her ghost-gray eyes.
    Jannon watched her sleep, and made himself remember Tristan, and the sly look he sometimes glimpsed in the boy’s bright eyes. Yet until the day they had taken him away in chains, he had been the best of brothers. Jannon might have saved him, if he’d known Tristan had been struggling against the dark path. The same could be said of Bryn, and her sad inability to honestly win the heart of any man.
    And now Tara. Was she to walk Tristan’s path? Had she enchanted him, like Bryn? Or was she worse than either of them?
    Finally Jannon rose, got dressed, and lifted Tara into his arms. She murmured something but remained asleep as he carried her out of his rooms and through the lodge. Kayla opened the door at his soft knock, looking as if she had searched the grounds, which she likely had. When she began to speak Jannon shook his head and carried Tara over to her bed, where he put her down and covered her with an old, soft quilt.
    Kayla followed him out into the hall, and closed the door.
    “Has she been with you all this time?” she demanded.
    “She has.” He saw the fury blaze in her eyes, and added, “I found her in the men’s quarters. I let her sleep there, and that is all. She needs rest, and care, and kindness now.”
    Kayla strode away from him, turned around and came back.
    “Look, I appreciate you being nice to my sister, especially when everyone else around here is treating her like a disease. But Tara really is just a teenager. You need to leave her alone.”
    “I do.” Jannon glanced at the door. “Yet I fear I cannot.” He looked down at the little mortal’s irate face. “Keep her close, Rowe. Keep her away from me.”

Chapter 4
    I N THE MORNING , Kayla wanted to shake Tara awake so she could demand answers about her behavior. But the bruise-dark crescents under her sister’s eyes made her leave the room instead. Jannon was right. She did need rest. Nor was Kayla in the mood to hang with the crew at their communal breakfast. None of them had any idea of exactly who was running the faire. On her way out she stopped long enough to grab some apples from the dining room before she headed to the barn.
    The head of almost every horse under the roof appeared over the stall doors as Kayla came in and latched the door.
    “Yes, I know I’m late,” she told them as she hung up her jacket and tucked the extra apples in the pockets before she took a bite of one. Once she swallowed, she said, “My sister is driving me crazy. The guy I just fell for turns out to be a complete jerk. Then there’s the magical asshole biker gang.” She shook the bitten apple at the horses. “Don’t even get me started on them.”
    She didn’t see Titan’s big, noble head at his stall, and went over to peer inside. The enormous white stallion stood with his nose in a corner and his hindquarters facing her, his long golden tail drooping.
    “So it’s talk to the butt day? I don’t think so.”
    Kayla took down a coil of rope and unlatched the door. Standing just inside, she slapped the bundle of rope against her leg. Titan swung his head around to glare at her.
    “I can make the kissy sound if you want,” she told him, measuring out a two-foot length between her hands. “Or we can go straight to an ass tap. Your choice, pal.”
    The big stallion made a rude sound, but grudgingly turned to face her, his big eyes meeting hers.
    She knew exactly what he was thinking. “Yeah, yeah. I’m being a whiny bitch, and Ryan’s still your guy. Peace offering.” She held out the rest of her apple, which Titan delicately retrieved from her hand. “If only a nice snack would solve all my problems.”
    “Hey, Rowe,” a woman called out. “You in here?”
    Kayla stepped out of the stall and