Everlight Academy Book 2

by Tiffany Shand

  “Which is why she chose to leave you among humans. She wanted to keep you — we all did, but back then it wasn’t possible.”

  “Why didn’t she come to get me after things changed?” I demanded.

  My entire life I’d wanted a mother — a real family to call my own. I wouldn’t have cared about living in a castle. All I had wanted was love. Instead, I had been shunned and abused at almost every place I went to.

  “The danger was still there. Being the heir to an exiled court was still a dangerous thing,” Elsa replied.

  “There is a prophecy, though.” Zinea gave her a pointed look. “About a fae born of more than one court who will bring about change for all the fae.”

  Elsa waved a hand. “That’s about the Thornwood boy. You saw the way he used his power earlier.” She shuddered.

  “Who is my father?”

  The sisters shared a look.

  “We are not sure,” Zinea answered. “Freya went away one summer and came back pregnant. She never told us about the circumstances of what happened. But you can be sure it is not Forrest Thornwood. Your mother had better sense than to associate with the likes of him.”

  I shook my head. “This is all so surreal.” It only made Freya’s loss so much worse. I hadn’t lost my mentor; I had lost my birth mum. Now I’d never get the chance to ask the questions I had wanted to.

  She would never give me the answers either.

  “We want you to know we are your family too.” Elsa squeezed my hand. “Freya may be gone, but you still have us.”

  Zinea took my hand. “We would like to be part of your life now. If you will have us?”

  “No pressure, though,” Elsa added. “We don’t want to barge into your life, but we would like to know you now. If you have us?”

  “What happens now?” I motioned to the room. “I mean to all of this? This should be yours, not mine.”

  “Nonsense, Freya was the eldest and you are her only heir. This is your birth right,” Elsa said.

  “I won’t force you out,” I told them. “This is your home.”

  “It’s yours too. You will always have a home and a family now.” Zinea smiled. “We know those fosters of yours didn’t treat you very well.”

  I smiled and squeezed their hands. “Are you joking? I have always wanted a family.” Then my smile faded. “But Freya won’t be here…” Tears filled my eyes again.

  “She’s still with you. She lives on in you.” Elsa pressed a hand to her chest. “And in here.”

  “You look so much like her,” Zinea remarked. “It’s uncanny.

  “You’re welcome to stay here this weekend if you’d like. It will give us a chance to get to know each other.”

  That sounded amazing. I hesitated. “Is Tristen welcomed here too?”

  I had never had a problem with Tristen being a Thornwood, would they?

  The sisters shared a glance.

  “No, if he’s your friend, then he is welcome here too.”

  After dinner, that night, I wandered around the castle.

  Tristen had said he would be back in the morning. He and my new aunts were getting along much better than I had expected.

  Despite the day’s shocking revelations, I couldn’t deny that a part of me was happy to have found my aunts. They seemed even nicer now when I’d gotten to know them a little better. It would still take time to sink in. Maybe forever.

  Heck, I wouldn’t have been surprised to wake up and find out this was all a bizarre dream. The castle looked even more beautiful as I wandered through its vast rooms. I could imagine Freya walking through here too. It took some courage before I finally managed to walk into Freya’s room.

  When I caught the scent of her jasmine perfume, my heart ached. It felt wrong to be in here, but my aunts had encouraged me to look inside. I didn’t open the wardrobe. Instead, I headed over to her desk. It looked as neat as the one back at the academy. I opened a drawer. Inside was a letter addressed to me.

  I froze. I had to be imagining it.

  Ripping it open, I unfolded the letter.

  Silvy,

  If you’re reading this, I am no longer with you. For that, I am truly sorry.

  I know you must have so many questions — I don’t know where to begin.

  First, I’m sorry. I never wanted to leave you that day in Eldry Woods. I had no choice. The world around me was falling apart after most of the Ever Realm was destroyed.

  That’s no excuse. I know, but the danger was very real.

  I left you with the humans because I thought you’d be much safer there. I made some terrible mistakes after I worked with… After we found an ancient artefact that we thought would save our realm.

  As my heir, you have my power. There’s so much I want to tell you, but it's too much for me to explain in this one letter. Just know this, before you were born…

  The letter ended and something had been smudged over it.

  Holy crackers, what was that?

  Something fell out from underneath the letter. A photo of Freya with a man covering his face so he wouldn’t be seen in the photo. Could that be my father?

  And if so, who the hell was he and who had killed my mother?

  Chapter 17

  A few more weeks passed and my investigation looking into Freya’s death had ground to a complete halt. My classes had passed by in a complete blur, but my sessions with Lucas had become less frequent at least.

  I paced up and down my room. Freya was my birth mum. The idea still seemed impossible for me to take in, even though I now had time to take it in. Why had she bothered to become my custodian when she could have just come out and admitted the truth?

  None of it made any sense. I pulled out Freya’s grimoire, which I had brought with me. There had to be something in here to give me the answers I needed. I had no idea what to look for. As I stared down at the first page, I was surprised to find a message there I had never seen before.

  “How can I see if I share the same blood as someone?” The pages moved on their own. It was a spell that said I needed someone’s blood to compare it to. “That won’t work,” I muttered. The page then flipped over.

  This spell called for a drop of my blood and it would reveal my lineage. It reminded me of the spell Tristen and I had cast together when we were at the library in Colchester. Why had I never seen this before? I had gone through this book dozens of times looking for answers about my unknown past. Maybe Freya had done something to the book so it would only reveal information to me when it felt like I needed it. That sounded like something she would do.

  I got out a blank piece of paper, put my finger, and let a few drops fall onto it. The blood pooled across the page as I focused on what I wanted to know: the name of my birth mother. The name Freya Goodwin appeared.

  I snorted. What did that prove? I wanted to see something more solid than that. Something tangible.

  Maybe I would find something in the healing ward tomorrow and could do a more accurate test. And then I could get something with Freya’s DNA and get a test done. But I couldn’t be sure if it would work with fae DNA since there were differences between the fae and human DNA.

  Wait, was I half-human? Was I still a faeling as I had always believed?

  Freya’s letter had made no mention of my father. Tristen had always said I had the powers of a full fae, but I couldn’t be sure. Only Freya could give me these answers. Had she hidden me among the humans because she’d been ashamed of having a faeling baby? Was I half-human, as I had always believed? Perhaps I was fae born after all and both my parents were fae.

  I got up, headed back to my room. To my surprise, Mel wasn’t there. She had been disappearing a lot the past few days and acting weird. Alec had suggested she might be seeing someone when I had mentioned it to him and asked him if she had been to see him. He had said no. I rummaged through the back of my wardrobe until I found the silk baby blanket I had been wrapped in as a new-b
orn. It had been the only thing that had comforted me over the years. I ran my fingers over it. It still felt soft, and I clutched it to my chest. A tear dripped down my cheek and onto the blanket. The blanket shimmered with light. And on it appeared a crest of a Griffin: Freya’s family crest.

  What the heck? Why had that never appeared before? I had spent lots of times crying over the blanket when I was a child.

  Sighing, I turned back to the grimoire. I needed answers. I needed to talk to Freya. Only she could tell me what I needed to know.

  “How can I summon a spirit?” I asked the book and got up to make sure the door was locked. I didn’t want to risk anyone coming in.

  The pages flicked to another section. This one was titled how to summon a spirit.

  I read through it, then set some candles down on the floor. I pricked my finger again and let the blood drip onto the candle as I chanted the spell. The flames arced around the circle.

  I waited and stared at the book. It said nothing about what might happen.

  A cool breeze whipped through the room, then a dark figure appeared.

  It was a woman with dark hair and dark eyes. Not Freya.

  “Lily?” I gasped and recognised my old social workers. “Is that you?” I glanced at my still bleeding finger. “Wait, are we blood-related?”

  Lily snorted. “Hey, kid, and no we’re not.”

  “Then why are you here?” I frowned. “Wait, I heard you’d been killed a few months ago.”

  “I…was. Now I’m a banshee.” Lily rolled her eyes. “Long story.”

  “You’re not here to warn me about my death, are you?” I drew back. I didn’t know much about banshees other than the fact they screeched and warned of impending death.

  Lily giggled. “No, kid. Banshees don’t just warn of death. We help to escort souls to the other side.”

  “I want to talk to Freya — my birth mum.”

  “That’s why I’ve come. You can’t see her, I’m sorry.”

  “Why not?” I demanded. “This book says I can summon the spirit of anyone. I need to see her.” I couldn’t believe Lily had come all the way here to tell me I couldn’t see Freya. That made no sense.

  Lily hesitated, then I noticed something. Her colours were gone. Although, my aura reading ability had been pretty off recently. Everyone had an aura. Hers had vanished. Was it because she was dead? Or was it something to do with me?

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Then make it simple. I’ve lost her twice and I need to know things only she can tell me.”

  “I’m sorry, kid. I only came here to give you a heads up.” Lily’s form flickered.

  “Wait!” I reached out to grab her and was surprised when my hand connected with solid flesh.

  Lily’s aura flashed back into existence. It swirled like a mist, but at least it was there. Good, maybe my power was coming back now that I was no longer repressing my emotions.

  Come on, show me what you’re feeling. Everyone’s aura gave away their emotions.

  Lily’s aura remained the same. I didn’t know if it was because she was a banshee or because she had died. Either way, it irritated me. I needed to know what she was hiding.

  “Whoa, how did you do that?” Lily asked.

  “I’ve no idea. Please, just tell me what you know. Why can’t I see Freya?” I demanded. “Forget the stupid rules. I need answers.”

  Lily bit her lip. “Silvy, I can’t just break the rules for you like I did when you were a foster kid.” She glanced around. “I see you have moved up in the world.”

  “I need to talk to her and if she is a spirit, there’s no reason why I can’t do that.” The grimoire had said the spell could be used to summon any spirit. Even if it was someone from the past. Damn it, I needed some way to make her give me answers. As I kept hold of her arm, energy jolted through me and my eyes snapped shut for a moment. I saw Lily standing on a street as she got struck by a bolt of lightning through a portal that had just formed. I flinched, but I didn’t let go of her arm. “Whoa, someone killed you, didn’t they? A warlock from the look of it.”

  I had no idea how or why I had just seen that. Maybe it was Lily’s magic. Or maybe it was a sign of my emerging powers. Since I had let all of that repressed grief out, I felt much freer.

  Lily’s eyes widened. “How do you know that? What warlock? Tell me what you saw.”

  I shook my head. “Why should I? You won’t tell me why I can’t see my birth mum.” I still didn’t let go of her arm in case she disappeared on me.

  Lily sighed. “You always were a sneaky kid, Silvy. I’m sorry, I can’t tell you anything.”

  “Then you don’t want to know anything about the warlock?” I arched an eyebrow at her. “Like maybe his name… Or where he is?”

  “How could you know that?” Lily frowned.

  “I have magic now — I think you’ve always suspected it. The only difference now is I’m starting to learn how to use it.”

  Lily shook her head again. “I can’t break the rules for you, as I used to when I was your social worker. You have no idea how much trouble I would get into. I wouldn’t just lose my job. My soul would be at stake.”

  I pulled back and crossed my arms. “I can’t give up on trying to find my mother. You know me well enough to know that.” I had asked her many times over the past couple of years to look for information about my birth mother. She had done her best but had never been able to find anything. Because there had been nothing to find. I had always known she was a witch, but using magic hadn’t been able to help either.

  Plus, I knew Lily just as well as she thought she knew me. If someone had killed her, she would want revenge on that person. It wouldn’t matter if it seemed to be an accident from what I had seen.

  Lily bit her lip and hesitated. “I don’t know where her spirit is, Silvy. I swear I don’t. None of the banshees escorted her soul on to the other side.”

  My mouth fell open at that. “Then what happened to her? That makes no sense. All souls are supposed to pass on when they die, aren’t they?”

  “Sometimes yes. But other spirits choose to stay earthbound. Especially if they have unfinished business.”

  “Then how do I find her?”

  Lily shook her head. “I have no idea. That’s not part of my job description. Now tell me what you know about that warlock.”

  “He opened a portal, which is what killed you. The portal opened up right in the spot where you were. His name is Jared, and he was in a house performing a ritual not far from where you were struck down. I swear that’s all I know.”

  Lily grinned. “That’s good enough.” Lily sighed. “I have to go. Don’t try summoning her spirit again. It won’t work.” Lily vanished in a whoosh of smoke.

  I slumped back onto my bed and scoured through the grimoire. Trying a couple of other spells had no effect either.

  Why wouldn’t it work? Did Freya not want to come and see me? Or was it something else? Maybe she couldn’t come to see me. Reading through the book further didn’t help either.

  “Mel?” I called and hoped she would appear again.

  Mel knew a lot about the fae and might know about spirits too.

  Mel blurred into the room. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  “I need your help with something. Where have you been?” I frowned at her.

  Her aura flared to life, and I was relieved to have my ability back. It had been weird not being able to read people for several weeks. I guessed I hadn’t realised how much I relied on my ability without even knowing it. Her colours faded to yellow and dark grey. A sure sign of deceit and anxiety.

  “I’ve been on patrol. What do you need help with?” Mel put her hands on her hips.

  I frowned. “You’re hiding something from me. I can feel it and see it. So why don’t you tell me what’s wrong with you?”

  Mel shook her head and the dark grey in her aura turned even darker. “I’m not hi
ding anything. And if I am, then it’s not important.” She folded her arms across her chest. “So tell me what you need help with. Or I’m going back on patrol.”

  “What are you patrolling for? I doubt anything is going to attack us here on academy grounds.”

  “Nothing. I’m training. I have to practice or I’ll never qualify to become a tracker.”

  I decided she could keep her secrets. For now, at least. I told her how I tried to summon Freya’s spirit and ended up with Lily.

  “Wow, you saw a banshee? Most people would freak out over that.” Mel sat down on her bed. “Banshees are like the fae version of the Grim Reaper. I think they have a reaper who is in charge of the banshees too. How did your social worker end up being one?”

  I shrugged. “She didn’t say. But do you know why I am not able to summon Freya’s spirit?” I considered asking my aunts, but I didn’t know them well enough to know how they would react. For all I knew, they would freak out at the idea of trying to summon Freya’s spirit.

  Mel shook her head. “Not much. Guardians usually only deal with evil spirits. Zoe might know more.”

  I scowled. “Zoe doesn’t want me looking into Freya’s death.”

  “Why not?” Mel frowned.

  “She said to let her and Nick handle it.”

  Mel leaned back on her bed. “From what I know, the only reason why a spirit would not answer a summon is if they couldn’t come or if they didn’t want to come.”

  Did Freya not want to give me answers? Just because she had left me that letter didn’t mean I had closure. I had too many questions left unanswered.

  “Do you think something could be stopping her?”

  Mel shrugged. “I have no idea. But I’m sure Zoe has books on it. We should have a look around at her house.”

  Chapter 18

  I hadn’t believed Mel when she had said we should sneak into Nick and Zoe’s house. I already knew they had a place on the academy grounds, but I’d never been there. Mel had told me she had been there many times since she had Guardian training with them outside of classes.