Page 13 of If the Shoe Fits (Rainbow Tales #2)

That night, as Xander slept before the banked kitchen fire, a spark jumped out and hit his leg.

Sparks shouldn't come from banked fires.

That was rather the point of banking them.

And yet, this one arched perfectly onto Xander as if drawn there.

In his dream, Xander was stung by a bee.

He kicked his leg to dislodge it and hit the side of the fireplace in the real world.

That would have been the end of it, but his kick dislodged a stone, which fell upon Xander's foot.

As his shoes were made of thin, cheap leather, the stone was enough to wake Xander.

“Ow!” he cried and sat up. Rubbing at his foot through the shoe, he scowled at the stone, then up at the fireplace. “Where did you come from?”

When Xander found the hole, he picked up the stone and leaned forward to replace it. But there was something already in the hole.

“What's this?” He set down the stone and removed the rolled-up parchment. Sitting back, he unrolled the parchment and was shocked to find a familiar handwriting. “Mother?”

Not only was the missive written by Xander's mother, but it was also addressed to him.

He read it aloud: “Xander, my beloved son. My heart is torn in two as I write this. I must return home. They need me. And I cannot take you with me. I know your father will take good care of you, but I will miss you every moment. Know that I will always be with you in spirit. We are not lost to each other, Xander.”

Xander had to pause to swipe at his eyes and clear his throat.

Then he read on, “If a day should come that you need me, the spell I have cast on this parchment will lead you to it.

I don't know what your father has told you. I hope he has raised you to know who you are. If not, you must believe me when I say that there is magic in the world, and you are a part of it. You are a child of the forest. A son of a Shining One. You may know us as fairies.” Xander's hand started to tremble, and he looked up from the letter.

“Fairies? What? Perhaps she went mad before she died. Or maybe. . . could it be true?”

He stared at the letter, his heart racing too fast to continue.

Memories were rushing through his head—his mother singing haunting tunes, the way her eyes gleamed sometimes, and once, he'd seen glittering dust rise around her.

He'd thought these were childhood fantasies.

After all, his mother had died when he was young, and fairies were supposed to be immortal.

But this letter said she had returned home. Did that mean she was still alive?

Xander lifted the letter. “Everyone said I made a terrible mistake when I fell in love with your father.

I didn't believe them, especially after you were born. You two are the most precious people in my life. But now I wonder if I was wrong. The pain of leaving you both feels like death. But a mother cannot be separated from her son forever. Not when my love is strengthened by magic. I am just a call away. If ever you should need me, speak the words at the bottom of this letter. They will summon me unto you. You are part human, but you are also part Fey, and that part of you will reach through the barrier between our realms, I am sure of it. I love you, Xander. Your Mother.”

Xander stared down at the strange words at the bottom of the page.

He wasn't sure how to pronounce them, much less use them to summon his possibly living mother.

A fairy? Her? Him? But his mother's delicate script was impossible to mistake, and the letter had found him when he needed her the most. Was magic real?

Climbing to his feet, Xander brushed himself off.

There were ashes on his clothes. The smudges they left behind embarrassed him.

He hadn't seen his mother since he was six years old.

Would she even recognize him? And what would she think of his appearance?

If the letter were true, she was one of the forest folk—a race thought to be myth.

They existed only in stories. Tales of the fairies.

But Xander knew that many people believed in them.

Some even swore to having experiences with the Fey.

Had his father been lucky enough to wed one?

Squaring his shoulders, he read the strange words, stumbling over them. Then he waited. A minute passed. Another.

“What were you expecting?” Xander huffed to himself. “She's dead. This is probably the ravings of a dying woman.”

That's when the kitchen filled with light, so much light that Xander covered his eyes with an arm.

Squinting through the glare, he saw a glittering form before him, coming through the kitchen doorway.

The door shut, and the light faded, revealing a woman in a gown of layered silk.

The pile of curls atop her head was even paler than Xander's hair, and her eyes were the color of a sunrise.

“Mother?” Xander swayed on his feet.

The woman rushed forward to steady him, her grip strong for such delicate hands. “Xander?” One of those hands went to his face. “My son! My letter revealed itself to you.”

“You're alive? ”

“Yes. I suppose your father told you otherwise?”

“He said you died. Of influenza.”

“Pish posh! Shining Ones can't die. My father summoned me home. There was nothing I could do. Even now, I don't have much time. So, tell me. What's happened? If my letter came to you, you must have need of me.”

“Father married a terrible woman with two sons,” Xander rushed into it even as he took his mother's hands and drank her in.

She was alive! And a fairy! “Then he died, Mother.

I was only ten. His wife has turned me into a servant.

She abuses me. She's taken my inheritance, and I have nowhere to go. I must stay here and endure the torment.”

“Oh, my son!” His mother hugged him. “I'm so sorry for what you've endured.

All this time, and I've thought you were well. I thought your father . . . oh, Luc, how could you leave our boy all alone?” She glanced up, then stepped back, and lifted her chin.

“I am here now. It will be all right, Xander. Your inheritance is right here, my love.” She put her hand on his chest. “Given to you by me, your fairy mother. With it, you can regain all that was lost and more.”

“Father?”

“Not that.” Pain crossed her face. “We cannot bring back the dead. But you can make this woman pay for her crimes. You can reclaim the life your father intended for you.”

“How?”

She sighed. “I don't have the time to teach you.” She looked over her shoulder toward the kitchen door. “Your grandfather needs me. But someday we will be together again. I promise you.”

“Someday,” he whispered, his heart falling. “Very well. I will wait for that day, Mother. And I will content myself with knowing that you live.”

“Oh, my sweet boy!” She hugged him again, then leaned back to look at him. “I'm not abandoning you. You summoned me for help, and I will not fail you. Help will come to you soon. Do not despair. I am with you.”

“Don't go.”

Xander's mother settled on the dirty floor in her fine gown and settled him on her lap. Stroking his hair and face, she sang to him as she used to. She sang until Xander fell into a deep sleep.