![]() In the glow of the lantern the kitchen was comforting and ordinary. She put her hand on the doorknob and looked behind her. In the pantry, she lit the covered lantern before going to the back door. She did not wait for Ana’s reaction but went down the stairs quickly, her heart racing with fear and exhilaration. “Do whatever you like,” Ash said dismissively. I’ll wake up your father and tell him you’re going out.”Īnger rose inside her-she would not let this girl stop her-and she glared at Ana. She turned her back on her stepsister and began to walk toward the stairs, but stopped when Ana said, “I’ll tell. “I can go wherever I want,” Ash said curtly. She observed, “You are dressed to go outside. “Go back to bed.”Īna’s eyes narrowed and she stepped out into the corridor, pulling her door shut behind her. “It’s none of your business,” Ash whispered. Ana was peering out at her curiously, holding a lit candle stub beneath her face. She heard Ana’s voice whispering, “Where are you going?” Ash froze, turning to look at her stepsister. She pulled on her woolen cloak and tiptoed halfway down the upstairs corridor before her stepsister’s door cracked open. So on the night of the next full moon, Ash rose from her bed at midnight, trembling with excitement. But fairies were never seen in common daylight, and they preferred the light of the full moon for their hunts and celebrations. ![]() ![]() Fairies were drawn to in-between times like Midsummer’s Eve, when the full weight of summer begins to tip toward the shorter days of autumn or Souls Night, when the spirits of the newly departed walk the land. There were some common threads among the fairy tales she had read. What lay beyond those trees? Would she ever dare to do what Thom had done? If the stories were true, as Maire Solanya had seemed to imply, then there might be a way to see her mother again. At night when she sat beside her mother’s grave, wondering if this would be the night that someone-something-came to take her away, as Maire Solanya had warned, she watched the darkness gathering in the nearby trees with equal parts dread and anticipation. The Tales of Wonder and Grace only sparked more questions in Ash. ![]()
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