A Fairy Tale by Shanna Swendson

changeling, then fairies must have been systematically swapping out most children born in small towns for decades. Don’t fairies ever feel like oddballs?”
    He gave a rueful smile. “Not often, and feeling odd makes one even odder.”
    She must have hit a hot button she could exploit. Resisting the urge to grin in triumph, she said, “Does that mean you’re probably a changeling, yourself, that maybe you’re a human who was kidnapped by fairies long ago?”
    “Of course not. I have magical powers that a human would lack.”
    “Oh, right. That would be a dead giveaway. But if you aren’t a changeling, then maybe neither am I.”
    “But you are. You are Maeve’s daughter. Her enemies took you and left you with humans, and she has been trying to get you back ever since.”
    Emily felt queasy again for a second, then she shook her head. “Maybe that’s what she told you, but why hasn’t she said anything to me? When she tried to take me before, I’d have been overjoyed if that beautiful woman I met in the woods had told me I was her daughter. I’d have gone with her in a heartbeat, and not even my sister could have dragged me away. But she didn’t say anything then, and she hasn’t said anything now.”
    He studied her, making her feel like an insect under a magnifying glass. “It would not be easy to tell a long-lost daughter her true heritage,” he said after a long silence. “Even Maeve might fear that you would react just as you have and reject her.”
    “You know what would have kept me from reacting this way? Actually talking to me instead of kidnapping me and playing games. But even assuming I am a changeling, what happened to the real Emily?”
    “She would have been returned as soon as you entered the Realm. No one will know the difference.”
    “She won’t remember living in fairyland all this time? She’d be the right age, have all my memories, be just like me, only fully human?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t think so. She wouldn’t get past Sophie. Sophie would know.” As soon as she said that, hope warmed her. “Sophie would know!” she repeated, more vehemently. It made her feel better to think that, but was it anything more than blind faith in a seemingly omnipotent older sister?
    “Who is Sophie?” he asked.
    “You haven’t heard of Sophie? Wow, you are out of the loop. She’s my sister, and she knows a lot about fairies. She got me away from Maeve before. I’m sure she’d recognize a changeling.” Blind faith or not, once she had that one argument, others flooded her brain. “Besides, if I’m Maeve’s daughter, why did they keep getting the wrong girl? I met those other girls who look kind of like me. Shouldn’t your people have been able to recognize one of their own instead of grabbing the wrong humans?”
    He stared at her for a long moment, looking like he was giving serious thought to what she said. Then, abruptly, he stood, crossed the space between them, and placed his hands on either side of her face. His cold touch took her breath away, and being that close to his unearthly eyes added to the breathlessness. “Your aura has been masked,” he said with a confused frown. “This must be why they sought in vain for you for so long.”
    “What does that mean in human English?”
    “We do not see as you humans do.” He gestured at his own body, which shifted to look entirely human, the way he had in the diner. “Looking at the physical form is pointless.” He changed back to his fairy glamour. “We recognize each other through our auras, no matter what glamour we wear. Humans have weaker auras, but they are still distinctive enough that we can recognize individuals. We are so accustomed to looking at the aura instead of the physical form that with your aura masked, you are practically invisible to our kind.”
    “Oh,” she breathed. That explained why Maeve’s people hadn’t spotted her in the ballroom. “But does this have anything to do