A Fairy Tale by Shanna Swendson Page A

with whether or not I’m a changeling?”
    “It means I can’t tell what you are. Someone hid you from us.”
    “Someone?”
    “The magic is not fae.”
    Sophie, maybe? Emily wondered. Sophie had sworn to keep her out of the fairies’ hands, but magic? She had a way of getting what she wanted, but it wasn’t magic. It was just a formidable intelligence and keen insight combined with an iron will and the occasional spooky moment. If not Sophie, who else? “How did you find me?”
    “It was purely an accident. I usually do not go far beyond the park when I venture out of the Realm—it is draining to be away from the trees and among all that iron. But I was restless and walked too far, and then I saw the signs and decided to see the show because I had read the book. It must have been fated.”
    There was a light rap on the door in a musical rhythm. Eamon gestured for Emily to stay back as he went to open it. She ignored his gesture and followed him, but kept herself hidden behind a bookcase. He conducted a brief, murmured conversation, bent to take something, and shut the door.
    She emerged from her hiding place as he turned, frowning curiously at the plastic shopping bag he held. “What’s that?” she asked.
    “It was brought here for you.”
    “For me? Who’s it from?” Then she noticed the pink ribbon tied around it. Not caring how rude she was being, she grabbed the bag out of his hands. Her fingers trembled as she tugged the ribbon free and opened the bag to find a bottle of water, some energy bars, and a packet of roasted peanuts, along with a folded piece of paper. When she unfolded the paper and saw “Miss Sophie Drake” embossed at the top, she couldn’t hold back a sob of joy.
    “Em, hold on. I’m coming for you,” the note read, written in her sister’s elegant hand, but more sloppily than normal, like it was written in haste. The paper was water-spotted and the ink blotched in places, but it was the most beautiful thing Emily had ever seen. She clutched the note to her chest for a moment, breathing deeply until she got herself under control. Then she looked up to find Eamon leaning over her shoulder, uncomfortably close.
    She handed him the note. “You know what it means? It means Sophie knows I’m gone. I’m not a changeling .”
    He read the note, then handed it back to her, his face troubled. “But then why would Maeve say so?”
    “Seriously?” How could a guy that old be that naive? “She played you.”
    Instead of answering, he paced the aisles of the library, his eyes narrowed in deep concentration. While he paced, Emily tore open an energy bar and devoured it. Normally, she thought those things tasted like sawdust, but it was amazing how good any food tasted when she was starving. She felt much clearer once she had food in her stomach. She never should have even considered the idea that she might be a changeling or Maeve’s long-lost daughter. But that brought her back to square one: What did Maeve want with her?
    Or was she the one Maeve wanted? How many times had she mentioned Sophie? Maybe this was more about Sophie than about her, which shouldn’t have surprised her. Everything was eventually about Sophie. She just couldn’t figure out where Sophie might fit into this, or how she fit in if it was really about Sophie. The fairies might not have been able to tell the other human women apart, but Maeve knew Emily wasn’t Sophie.
    Still mulling this over, Emily took a few sips of water and opened the packet of peanuts. She’d just put the first one in her mouth when Eamon returned.
    “I should not have been so easily duped,” he said stiffly. “I owe no allegiance to her, and I should not have done her bidding. I have wronged you.”
    “You could take me back home. That would make it up to me.”
    While he pondered her suggestion, she popped a peanut into her mouth. When he spoke, it wasn’t to offer to take her home. “May I have one?” he asked.
    “You eat human