Call of Kythshire (Keepers of the Wellsprings Book 1) by Missy Sheldrake Page B

even know what. Did you know that? The ribbons are nice, though. I wonder how long I’d have stayed in there before you really believed in me. Maybe it’s better he put that spell on me, isn’t it? I mean it could have taken weeks! You’re a little thick, aren’t you?”
    “Hey!” Rian warns, and she creeps around to hide behind my other shoulder.
    “Well, really. Really, I’ve heard all sorts of things about your kind but I honestly didn’t believe half of it. And now that I’m here I realize it’s mostly true. Especially the part about Mages. I didn’t realize there’d be one so close by. I kind of wish I hadn’t agreed to come after all.” She wrinkles her nose at Rian.
    “Well, since no one’s invited you, maybe you should just go!” He rubs his nose and the roots of his tugged hair simultaneously, scowling.
    “Well I can’t do that, can I? I just now got back here. I’d have to wait for sunrise to go again. That’d be a waste anyway. Nothing to report. Unless you count utter disregard for my privacy! But they’d already expect that from your kind.” I look between them, trying to focus. There is a fairy in my room. A real one. They exist. I am not crazy, Rian sees her, too. We’re having a conversation with an actual fairy. I think of the dream, and the diamond.
    “How long did you say you’ve been here?” I ask her.
    “Well, I got here yesterday. So I guess it’s really just a day. But still.” I stoop to collect the pitcher that Rian dropped. The diamond clinks around inside, and I scoop it out to show her.
    “Is this from you?” I ask.
    “Hmph!” She crosses her arms and turns her shoulder toward me, “I’m not telling you anything with him in here.”
    “Rian’s my best friend,” I say. “I’m going to tell him everything you tell me, anyway.” She immediately presses her lips together and shakes her head firmly. I sigh and look at Rian, who all at once seems bemused and insulted. On top of that, his eyes are framed with deep circles. He’s exhausted.
    “Ah, I guess I’ll go to bed, then...” his voice trails off as he backs away to the door, his palms open and up. I’m grateful that he decides to use the stairs rather than slip through the wall again, for the fairy’s sake.
    “So, Azi, what do you want to know?” She grins and bats her eyes sweetly, completely amiable once she’s sure Rian is gone.
    “I...” I sit with my back resting against the bed. This is all so strange. “How do you know my name?” I ask. She comes to hover at my knee, her pretty wings almost invisible as they flutter to keep her aloft.
    “Well, your mother told me.” She answers casually, her eyes fading from blue to lavender. She glances up at the hatch, which I’ve left open, and she flies up to slide it closed. It’s a struggle for her at first and I start to get up to help her, but she manages it on her own and eventually clicks the latch over the bar.
    “My mother? When? Do you know where she is?”
    “Ah, ah, ah,” she raises a hand to stop me as she drifts back down, “That’s not how we play.” she points at me. “You ask a question,” she points to herself, “and then I ask a question. Then, you. Then, me. Then, you. Then, me. You, me, you, me, you, me. Got it?” She nods sagely and folds her arms. I bite my lip. This is a game to her, but not to me. She’s spoken to my mother. She might know where she is. Still, I doubt she’ll tell me anything unless I play by her rules.
    “Fine,” I say, “Your turn.”
    “Why are you friends with that stinky Mage?” she wrinkles her nose and rolls her eyes in the direction of Rian’s room.
    “He isn’t stinky. I think he smells wonderful. Like old books and incense.” I smile, and she blinks at me.
    “Old books are dead trees. And incense is burnt plants. And you didn’t answer the question.” She scowls. I sigh.
    “Rian is my friend because we grew up side by side. We’ve been together through everything for as