Read Online The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kiki Hamilton
Ads: Link
heart of the stone burns with a fire?” Rieker’s gaze didn’t waver. “It’s an eternal flame that binds the parties to an agreement that was reached and preserved there. If the flame extinguishes, then the agreement is void.”
“How can a fire burn inside a ring?” But Tiki knew what he was talking about. She could still see the strange flames flickering in the depths of the bloodred stone.
Rieker’s answer fell heavy on her ears.
“Magic.” He leaned close, his breath warm on her cheek, and whispered, “Faerie magic.”
Tiki’s breath caught in her throat as a million thoughts crashed through her head at once. Her mother had believed in faeries. They’re around us, Tara Kathleen, she had whispered to her when she was a child. Watch closely and you’ll see their shadows move.
A cold hand clutched at her heart. Could Rieker be speaking the truth? Other memories flickered to the surface. Times when she’d seen strange faces one second that were gone the next.
“We’ll both be safer if you just give it to me. If you do have the ring, they’ll find you.” Rieker’s voice held a warning.
Tiki pressed her lips into a tight line. She would not give him the ring. That ring was her answer to saving Clara. To starting a new life for all of them.
“What if I don’t have the ring?”
Rieker scowled at her. “For your sake, and the sake of those orphans you care for, you’re going to listen to what I have to tell you.” He tightened his fingers around her wrist until she winced. Seeing her pained expression, he let her go and his voice softened. “Tiki, come with me. I’ll buy you a cup of tea inside the station. You need to listen.”
Tiki followed without resisting, her nerves in a jumble at the idea that he might be speaking the truth.
Rieker led her inside Charing Cross and steered her to a tea shop that had small tables outside the storefront. He sat her down, then went inside to purchase a drink. Tiki pulled her coat tighter and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She caught a few questioning glances from the other patrons, as though someone dressed in threadbare clothes didn’t have the right to sit there. She was relieved when Rieker returned with tea and biscuits, dragging his own chair close to hers.
“I didn’t believe it either, Tiki,” he said, “at first.” He shifted on his seat, his gaze never leaving her face. “What did you see when Marcus touched you?”
She froze, remembering the frightening shadows, the sense of another place, of darkness swallowing her.
“What did you feel ?” Rieker’s voice was a whisper.
Wings. She had felt a wing, springing from his back like that of an archangel, but without feathers. A wing as hard as stained glass, yet as fragile as a dragonfly’s wing, reflecting the light in a thousand different directions. Even now she could remember how it fluttered, making the air vibrate around her, seeming to suck the breath from her chest. Her mother’s voice echoed in her head. Did you see that flash of light, Tiki? It was a faerie crossing over. Their wings reflect the light.
Tiki lifted wide eyes to him. “He was a faerie?”
Rieker nodded. “Faeries exist, though their numbers are getting fewer and fewer. Their world is dying, which is why the ring is so important.”
“ Faeries are after the ring?” she whispered.
“The ring holds a truce between the British and faerie courts. As long as the flame burns inside the ring, then there will be peace between our worlds. Without the truce, it’s war.”
Rieker’s eyes were locked on her, and Tiki found it hard to look away.
“But why do they want to fight us?”
“Because we’re taking over their world. The fey fill a different space, in between where you and I can see,” Rieker said. “But we share the same world. When our cities grow bigger, there is less space for them. Our mechanical inventions are replacing their magic.” He gestured toward a steam engine waiting to pull out
“How can a fire burn inside a ring?” But Tiki knew what he was talking about. She could still see the strange flames flickering in the depths of the bloodred stone.
Rieker’s answer fell heavy on her ears.
“Magic.” He leaned close, his breath warm on her cheek, and whispered, “Faerie magic.”
Tiki’s breath caught in her throat as a million thoughts crashed through her head at once. Her mother had believed in faeries. They’re around us, Tara Kathleen, she had whispered to her when she was a child. Watch closely and you’ll see their shadows move.
A cold hand clutched at her heart. Could Rieker be speaking the truth? Other memories flickered to the surface. Times when she’d seen strange faces one second that were gone the next.
“We’ll both be safer if you just give it to me. If you do have the ring, they’ll find you.” Rieker’s voice held a warning.
Tiki pressed her lips into a tight line. She would not give him the ring. That ring was her answer to saving Clara. To starting a new life for all of them.
“What if I don’t have the ring?”
Rieker scowled at her. “For your sake, and the sake of those orphans you care for, you’re going to listen to what I have to tell you.” He tightened his fingers around her wrist until she winced. Seeing her pained expression, he let her go and his voice softened. “Tiki, come with me. I’ll buy you a cup of tea inside the station. You need to listen.”
Tiki followed without resisting, her nerves in a jumble at the idea that he might be speaking the truth.
Rieker led her inside Charing Cross and steered her to a tea shop that had small tables outside the storefront. He sat her down, then went inside to purchase a drink. Tiki pulled her coat tighter and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She caught a few questioning glances from the other patrons, as though someone dressed in threadbare clothes didn’t have the right to sit there. She was relieved when Rieker returned with tea and biscuits, dragging his own chair close to hers.
“I didn’t believe it either, Tiki,” he said, “at first.” He shifted on his seat, his gaze never leaving her face. “What did you see when Marcus touched you?”
She froze, remembering the frightening shadows, the sense of another place, of darkness swallowing her.
“What did you feel ?” Rieker’s voice was a whisper.
Wings. She had felt a wing, springing from his back like that of an archangel, but without feathers. A wing as hard as stained glass, yet as fragile as a dragonfly’s wing, reflecting the light in a thousand different directions. Even now she could remember how it fluttered, making the air vibrate around her, seeming to suck the breath from her chest. Her mother’s voice echoed in her head. Did you see that flash of light, Tiki? It was a faerie crossing over. Their wings reflect the light.
Tiki lifted wide eyes to him. “He was a faerie?”
Rieker nodded. “Faeries exist, though their numbers are getting fewer and fewer. Their world is dying, which is why the ring is so important.”
“ Faeries are after the ring?” she whispered.
“The ring holds a truce between the British and faerie courts. As long as the flame burns inside the ring, then there will be peace between our worlds. Without the truce, it’s war.”
Rieker’s eyes were locked on her, and Tiki found it hard to look away.
“But why do they want to fight us?”
“Because we’re taking over their world. The fey fill a different space, in between where you and I can see,” Rieker said. “But we share the same world. When our cities grow bigger, there is less space for them. Our mechanical inventions are replacing their magic.” He gestured toward a steam engine waiting to pull out
Similar Books
