Tamisin took a step back. This was too much like the stranger danger they taught little kids about in school. “There’s no way I’m going with you,” she said. “I have an English final in the morning, and I need to get some sleep.”
The fairy warrior sighed and moved toward her. “I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this,” he said, and raised his hand toward her cheek.
Tamisin slipped out of reach, but before she could take another step, his hand was touching her shoulder, and an instant later, everything began to change. She started to run, but her entire body felt fizzy, as if bubbles were popping inside her. Tiny lights exploded around her; she could see them even after she shut her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, the trees, the house, and the birdbath all seemed to be growing until they towered above her. Soon the grass itself was higher than her head. She cried out when an enormous hand closed around her and squeezed just enough to pick her up. Then she fell into the gaping mouth of a brown sack and was engulfed in darkness and stale air. She landed on her side with a gasp as her breath was forced from her lungs.
“Oberon thinks it’s time you met your real father,” Mountain Ash’s voice boomed as the opening over her head shrank to a tiny circle, then disappeared altogether, cutting her off from light and any hope of fresh air.
Tamisin rolled over and tried to stand, staggering when the bag rose and the bottom curved under her feet. Small bits of dried leaves crunched beneath her, releasing the scent of mint. She could tell that she was rising by the way she suddenly felt heavier. There was a rushing sound in her ears, and Tamisin passed out.
Chapter 2
Jak was in his bedroom in the human world, sound asleep on his back, when something touched the tip of his nose. His cat-goblin reflexes woke him with a snort. At first he thought his grandmother might need him, but Gammi slept in the room next to his, and he could hear her snoring through the wall. Opening his eyes, he saw the twinkling lights of two tiny fairies hovering inches above his face. “What do you want?” he grumbled.
Fluttering their wings, the fairies rose in the air until Jak no longer had to look at them cross-eyed. He didn’t bother turning on a light; his cat-goblin blood allowed him to see in the dark nearly as well as he could in the daylight.
A moment later two full-sized female fairies were standing on either side of his bed. “We came to tell you what happened,” the fairy dressed in green said with a quaver in her voice.
The other fairy gnawed on a lock of her long pink hair the same shade as her flower-petal dress. Spitting the hair out of her mouth, she said, “We know how much you care about the princess. She was wrong to send you away.”
“What are you talking about?” Jak turned his head toward the alarm clock on his bedside table. It was 3:41 a.m. He groaned. “Is this your idea of a joke?” he asked. “I’m not discussing my life with you in the middle of the night or any other time. If you think I’m—”
“Quiet, goblin! We came to tell you something important!” snapped the pink-haired fairy.
The other fairy wrung her hands in distress. “Let me tell him, Pansy!”
“It was my idea, Algae,” Pansy hissed, “so I should be the one to—”
“Would one of you just tell me!” Jak snapped.
“The princess, Tamisin, has been kidnapped!” blurted Algae.
“What do you mean?” Jak’s first thought was that this was a fairy prank.
“Abducted, run off with, taken away, stolen—” Algae began.
“I got that part!” said Jak. Wide awake now, he saw the worried looks on their faces. Jak had met plenty of fairies, and none of them were this good at acting. They had to be telling the truth. He ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to gather his thoughts. “One at a time, tell me exactly what happened. You go first,” he told Algae.
“Once upon a time—” Algae began.
“Don’t start that far back!” cried Pansy. “We were with the other fairies who were keeping an eye on the princess,” she told Jak. “Ever since the princess came back to this world, some of us have been watching to make sure she’s all right. And she was, until tonight.”
Algae nodded. “We try to stay out of sight, but we can’t help going closer when she dances under a full moon. Tamisin gets annoyed when she sees us, so we leave as soon as we can.”
“We don’t go far,” said Pansy. “So we saw when he came.”
“When who came?” Jak demanded.
“Mountain Ash. He’s a colonel in Oberon’s army,” Pansy replied. “He showed up right after the princess danced. They were talking, and then all of a sudden he touched her and she shrank.”
“We couldn’t stop him!” Algae cried. “Before we knew what he was up to, he had stuffed the princess into a bag, then shrunk himself, and . . .”
“And a whole bunch of Oberon’s fairies showed up! They were all little like Mountain Ash, and they flew every which way so we couldn’t tell who was who. Coral Bell and Jasmine and Ivy and Forget-Me-Not went to tell Titania, but Algae and I thought you should know, too.”
“We saw how you and the princess used to look at each other,” said Algae. “It was so romantic! We all thought she was wrong for breaking up with you.”
“We didn’t exactly break up,” said Jak.
“Close enough!” Pansy told him. “So when the other fairies went to see Titania, Algae and I thought we should come see you. We wanted to know if you still feel the same way about the princess, because if you do, we think you should go help her.”
Jak climbed out of bed and was shoving things into his backpack when he turned to them long enough to say, “Of course I still feel the same. I’ll get her back, don’t worry. I’m glad you came to tell me, but I don’t understand why you did. Tamisin’s mother is queen of the fairies. She has power and abilities beyond anything I can do. Not to mention a lot more resources at her disposal.”
“That’s just it,” said Pansy. “When Titania hears that Mountain Ash took Tamisin, she’ll know that Oberon was behind it. Titania will be so angry! She’ll send her army to get her daughter back, and there’ll be a big fight. People always get hurt when fairies fight. But if someone the fairy king doesn’t know were to slip into his forest—”
“And sneak the princess out . . . ,” said Algae.
“And take her to Titania . . .”
“So she doesn’t send her army into Oberon’s forest . . .”
“No one would get hurt.”
“Pansy and I have cousins at Oberon’s court,” said Algae. “We especially don’t want them to get hurt, which is why we thought that if someone else were to get the princess out before Titania and her army showed up—”
“Everyone would be a lot better off,” Pansy finished.
“I see,” said Jak. “So you think Mountain Ash took Tamisin to Oberon’s forest?” He glanced at the fairies. They were both nodding and looking so earnest that he almost smiled. “And you think I’ll be able to sneak in?”
“We used to be one big court before Oberon split off, so everyone knows everyone else, which is why you’re so perfect,” said Pansy. “Oberon’s fairies won’t have any reason to suspect a nobody like you. You’ll have a better chance of getting in than any of us.”
“Gee, thanks,” said Jak. Shouldering his backpack, he turned to the fairies. “Anything else I should know?”
Pansy nodded. “The gates are acting weird and no one knows why. There’s only one near here that’s open right now, and it won’t be for long. We’d show you the way, but you’d slow us down. We have to go tell Titania that you’re going to help. Maybe then she won’t be so quick to send her army.”
“You have to hurry and get Tamisin to her mother,” Algae added. “Titania has never been known for having a lot of patience.”
“Especially when she’s mad,” said Pansy. “No one gets mad like the fairy queen.”
Chapter 3
Tamisin woke with a start and for a moment thought she was dreaming. It was so
dark, she couldn’t see anything. Turning her head to the side, she realized there was no pillow beneath her cheek. She was lying on something rigid, definitely not on her soft, comfortable bed. In a rush she remembered what had happened.
Reaching forward, Tamisin felt something grainy and rough almost an arm’s length away. It was the same behind her, but when she reached up, there was only empty air. With her hands braced against the surface on either side, she struggled to stand, wobbling as the surface below her feet lurched and bounced. When she fell forward after a particularly bad bounce, she finally gave up, deciding that it might be easier to explore on her hands and knees. Crawling, she worked her way to the point where her path narrowed and she couldn’t go any farther. She followed what felt like a wrinkle with her fingers until she jammed her thumb and broke two fingernails.
Tamisin sat back, shaking her hand until the pain of her minor injuries faded. The pain made her angry, and the more she thought about being kidnapped, the angrier she became. When thunder boomed close by and she felt the crackle of electricity in the air, she smiled in satisfaction. Let her kidnapper know that he wasn’t going to be able to whisk her away so easily. Whoever had taken her didn’t know anything about her. She would call lightning down so that he flew off like a frightened sparrow. In fact, she would do it now, except she didn’t know where she was. It felt as if she might be flying. What if her kidnapper was carrying her? If lightning blasted him, they might both die.
The thunder grew fainter as Tamisin sat back and rested her head on her arms. If only she hadn’t danced that night! Then Mountain Ash wouldn’t have found her and she’d be home in bed while her parents and brothers slept just down the hall. As it was, now they were going to wake up in the morning and find her gone. They would be desperate, not knowing what had happened to her. Considering that the last time she had disappeared, Jak had helped her escape from goblins who wanted to kidnap her, her adoptive family’s imaginations were sure to run wild.
Tamisin had no idea how long she sat there, but after what seemed like forever, it felt as if the air pressure was changing. A moment later, she began to slide backward, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Throwing her arms to the side, she tried to stop herself, but it was useless. Her stomach flip-flopped as she slipped, and what had been the floor suddenly became a wall. There was a loud rasping sound overhead, and the darkness gave way to a pinprick of light that widened enough to reveal a smiling face looking down at her. Tamisin was trying to skitter out of the way when a huge hand blocked the light. Then a finger that looked as big as a tree trunk reached into the bag and poked her. The touch felt as if someone had whacked her with a board. She shot backward and hit the side of the bag.
At first when she began to grow, it was so gradual that she hardly knew what was happening. Then her head poked out of the top of the bag, and she had a moment of panic as the bag grew tight around her. It was getting hard to breathe when she grabbed hold of the sides with both hands and shoved them down until she could squirm out of it like a too-tight dress.
A sea of fairy faces stared down at her. Only one was smiling; the rest were watching her with the same kind of interest that she might have given an unusual insect. It was like a bad dream where everyone knew what was going on except her.
Tamisin was still growing the last few inches when she turned to the smiling face. It belonged to the handsomest man she had ever seen. His black, curly hair brushed the collar of a loose, dark green shirt embroidered with golden leaves. Long, black lashes framed eyes the same green shade as the leaves of an apple tree in the spring.
Tamisin shook her head and looked away. The man’s eyes were hypnotic. When she looked at him again, she focused on his nose. It was a very well-shaped nose, but it didn’t make her think of apple trees or spring.
“I thought you might prefer to return to your normal size gradually rather than all at once,” said the man in a velvety rich voice. “Some people find a sudden transition too disturbing.”
Even his voice is hypnotic, Tamisin thought, and found herself leaning toward him to catch his every word.
“I’m Oberon,” he said, purring. “I’m your father.”
“Oh,” she said, too surprised to even try to think of something intelligent to say.
Oberon smiled and Tamisin forced herself to look away. She noticed for the first time that she was in a forest glade alive with movement as tiny fairies came and went. Humansized fairies dressed in clothes made from flowers and leaves stood facing Oberon. The fairy king was sitting on a seat made of living branches not unlike Titania’s throne—Titania, the mother who had given birth to her, then sent her away. The mother whom she didn’t really know. Could the fairy queen have lied when she said that Tamisin’s father was human? For a moment, joy that her father might really be alive overshadowed her disappointment that her mother might not have told her the truth.
“You must forgive me for taking so long to contact you,” Oberon said, “but I’ve only just learned that I had a daughter. It seems that your mother has been keeping the knowledge to herself. Titania had no right to keep your existence a secret.”
Tamisin swallowed hard. This man could make the smallest inflection in his voice sound like a threat, even though she knew he had no reason to threaten her. She glanced at the fairies around him. They were all looking at Oberon as if they, too, had felt his mood change and had frozen, unable to move until they knew what he would say or do next.
When Oberon sat back in his seat and smiled, there was a sound like the rustling of leaves as everyone around him relaxed. “But then my queen likes to keep her secrets. It’s one of the many things that I find so charming about her. I want you to live here with me now, something your mother was intent on denying me, I’m sure. It’s time you and I got to know each other. You will enjoy living here, as does everyone in my court,” he said, and glanced at the fairies closest to him.
They nodded, smiling brightly.
“Wait a minute,” said Tamisin. “What makes you think you’re my father? Titania told me that my father was a human named Bottom.” She would have added that Titania had also told her that Oberon had tricked her into being with Bottom, but she didn’t think it was the time to mention it.
The fairies around her gasped. Tamisin doubted that any of them ever questioned Oberon. It made her nervous, too, but she wasn’t about to take the word of a stranger over that of the woman she knew was her mother. At least she didn’t doubt that relationship. Tamisin looked so much like Titania that anyone could see the fairy queen’s claim was true.
Oberon seemed surprised, but instead of being angry, he gave her a half smile and said, “I heard rumors and had my fairies investigate. Your mother told her lies so that I wouldn’t send for you. She probably feared that you would turn from her once you knew that I was your father. Come, fairies,” he said, gesturing to all the fairies in the glade. “Make my child welcome! See that she has everything she needs. She will live with us now and be a treasured member of our court.”
“But I don’t want to stay here,” Tamisin blurted out. “I have a life back home, and a family, and friends. We had plans—”
“Enough!” Oberon roared, and all the fairies in the glade shrank back. His eyes seemed darker now, more like the green of a fir tree in winter, and his voice was just as cold. “You care more about inconsequential people than you do about the injustice done to me!” the fairy king said in a frightening voice. “How dare you be so ungrateful! I have brought you here to right a wrong that Titania has wrought on us both, and yet you defy me!”
Tamisin didn’t like that he was making her feel like a little girl. “I thought you brought me here because you wanted to meet your daughter. If I were meeting my daughter for the first time, I wouldn’t start by yelling at her.”
Oberon’s eyes darkened even more, as did the air in the glade itself. Tamisin wondered if he was about to use some awful magic on her, and even considered apologizing, but suddenly she reali
zed that she didn’t care how he felt. She wasn’t going to apologize to anyone! He was in the wrong, not her. She was a fairy, too, and could do things she couldn’t have even imagined a year ago. If he thought for one minute that he could treat her that way, he had a lot to learn about being a father! Not that she believed he was her father. Although no one could deny that she looked like the fairy queen, Tamisin didn’t see herself in Oberon at all. And she had to be half human. She hadn’t even had wings until recently, and hers folded away and were bigger and stronger than those of any full-blooded fairies she’d seen. She couldn’t make herself small, either, which seemed to be something that every other fairy could do.
It was so quiet that the entire forest seemed to be holding its breath. The silence continued to grow until suddenly the fairy king chuckled and a breeze wafted through the glade as if even the trees had exhaled. “I like you, child,” said Oberon. “You have your mother’s fire. I can see why she would want to keep you to herself. So be it. If you truly wish to return to your human home, my fairies will take you back in the morning. In the meantime, they will see that you have the rest and refreshment that you need.”
When Oberon looked away and began to talk to the human-sized fairies beside him, Tamisin realized that she was dismissed. She glanced around, wondering where she should go; the sea of faces looking back at her seemed unfriendly, and some even returned her gaze with open dislike.
And then a young man came forward and bowed. Although most fairies appeared ageless, this boy seemed to be about as old as Tamisin. Like everyone there, he had perfect features. Long lashes framed his dark blue eyes, and high cheekbones shaped his narrow face, but he didn’t seem as fragile as the rest of the fairies. His body was sturdier, his skin was the same shade of blue as the sky, and his hair was the deep blue of the sea.
“I’d be happy to show you around,” he said. “My name is Dasras. We’re excited that you’re here.”
Tamisin thought he might be excited, but wondered if that was really true of the others. They seemed more concerned with what Oberon was doing now. The few fairies that glanced at her looked curious but nothing more.