Page 11 of A Kiss from the Fae (Mistress of Magic #2)

Faye stayed where she was and kept her hands at her sides.

‘I did not call you,’ she replied as coolly as she could, although her heart was racing. ‘You’re not welcome here.’

‘I am the High King of Falias, faerie kingdom of earth. When you call on the elements for power in your circle, you call me,’ he replied. ‘I am welcome anywhere on Earth. This is my realm.’

‘I have nothing to say to you, Lyr of Falias. And you weren’t called – we called on Morgana Le Fae, who had a message for me,’ Faye snapped.

She was aware that the circle had returned to life and were staring at her; she glanced briefly at Gabriel who, like the rest of them, looked as though he’d been awakened from sleep.

‘I am family, Faye. And I have much I would tell you.’ His hand remained outstretched. She stared at it in shock. Finally, after all these years, he was here. She wanted to slap his hand away and scream why now ?

Instead, she left her hands by her sides and stared defiantly into his eyes.

‘No. Where were you when I needed a father? My entire childhood, I heard nothing from you. I’m a woman now.

I’m grown. I don’t want or need you.’ Faye held her arms out in front of her and then crossed them over her chest, which Moddie had taught her was the stance of banishing.

‘I banish you, Lyr of Falias, back to your realm.’

‘You cannot banish me,’ he said simply.

The rest of the circle was dead quiet, watching in disbelief.

Could they see Lyr or, to them, did it look as though she was a madwoman shouting into thin air?

Gabriel’s face was composed, but Ruby’s expression was somewhere between terror and disbelief.

Lyr took a step forward towards Faye, and Gabriel took an instinctive step backwards.

So, they could see him: Lyr could choose to be seen if he wanted to.

The realm of faerie wouldn’t let her go, and she hated it. And she was embarrassed, too; this was potentially a group of new friends – people she could have shared magic with. And now that was probably ruined.

‘You’re not welcome here,’ she repeated.

‘And how dare you interrupt this ritual? These people didn’t ask you here.

I didn’t ask you here. Be gone!’ Faye shouted as loudly as she could and removed the banishing sigil from her pocket; she had it on her at all times except when she was asleep, and that was only because she slept naked – if she’d suddenly started wearing pyjamas or something with a pocket, Rav would have thought it was odd.

She held it up in front of Lyr’s face, but he smiled, took it from her fingers and placed it gently back in her pocket.

‘You do not need protection from me. I have told you, I am your father,’ he repeated. ‘Don’t you want to know why I am here, daughter?’ He stepped forward to take her hand. ‘Aren’t you at all curious about me after all this time?’

‘No. Leave me alone.’

Lyr regarded her dispassionately.

‘I’m not your child, and I’m not part of the faerie realm any more,’ she cried. ‘Please, just leave me in peace!’

‘As you wish, daughter.’ Lyr stepped away from her. ‘But know that Falias is your home as much as this world is, and that it awaits you. As I do.’

He nodded to the circle and walked away into the trees, his golden light dimming until blackness replaced it, and Faye felt she was blind.