by Tanya Dawson
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 2: LILY
CHAPTER 3: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 4: HENRY
CHAPTER 5: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 6: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 7: LILY
CHAPTER 8: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 9: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 10: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 11: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 12: HENRY
CHAPTER 13: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 14: OLIVA
CHAPTER 15: HENRY
CHAPTER 16: LILY
CHAPTER 17: HENRY
CHAPTER 18: RUBY
CHAPTER 19: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 20: HENRY
CHAPTER 21: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 22: OLIVIA
ENCHANTMENT
The Fae Sister Chronicles
Tanya Dawson
I want to thank my family and friends who have encouraged and helped me over the years with my writing career. Your support has meant a great deal for me and pushed me to focus on my dream of becoming an Author.
To my husband Tyler, for giving up so much so that I can pursue being a fulltime Author. Your praise is the only reason this book is being published. I love you to the moon and back.
To Hampton Lamoureux for creating the most beautiful covers I could have ever dreamed of. I also want to thank Samantha Wiley and Rachel Pugh for editing this manuscript and proofreading it.
I want to dedicate this book to my beautiful and talented niece, Olivia. You can be anyone you choose to be. I can’t wait to see what you do with your life.
Enchantment Copyright © 2018 by Tanya Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Cover designed by Hampton Lamoureux
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Tanya Dawson
Visit my website at www.tanya-dawson.com
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing: March 2018
ISBN: 9781980352983
ASIN: B077L86FP9
BY TANYA DAWSON
The Fae Sister Chronicles
Enchantment (Book 1)
Bewitched (Book 2) On Preorder! April 28, 2018
Spellbound (Book 3)
Moonstruck (Book 4)
MAKE SURE TO SIGN-UP for my newsletter for updates on my books, blog posts and giveaways. Sign up here:
www.tanya-dawson.com
I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR from you on my Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/TanyaDawsonAuthor
CONTENTS
BY TANYA DAWSON
CHAPTER 1: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 2: LILY
CHAPTER 3: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 4: HENRY
CHAPTER 5: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 6: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 7: LILY
CHAPTER 8: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 9: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 10: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 11: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 12: HENRY
CHAPTER 13: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 14: OLIVA
CHAPTER 15: HENRY
CHAPTER 16: LILY
CHAPTER 17: HENRY
CHAPTER 18: RUBY
CHAPTER 19: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 20: HENRY
CHAPTER 21: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 22: OLIVIA
CHAPTER 1: OLIVIA
IF ANYTHING WERE TO happen to her...
The words left me breathless as I repeated them over and over, barely in a whisper. I held on to the once crisp white envelope, flipping it back and forth in my hands, staring out of the car window in a daze. I was automated, and at most times couldn’t put two thoughts together.
I closed my eyes to help steady myself as I could feel my heartbeat pounding violently in my chest. I wondered if they even knew about me. What little they did know, surely would not entice them to welcome me with open arms.
It had taken me two hours to pack everything I’d wanted to keep into an old steam truck that belonged to some relative I never really listened to my mother telling me about. I cursed myself for not listening to her more. Her soft ramblings as she went about the house getting ready for the day. The sweet songs she sang in Gaelic that held no meaning for me. I asked her once what the words meant, and in her flighty way, she dismissed me. On occasion she would tear up, then I would change the subject. Why didn’t I ask more questions?
The lawyers were quick to sell the house, with the funds held in trust for when I turn twenty in two years and four months, not that I was counting. The executors were relatives I never knew existed until I received this envelope from our neighbor, Patty. Ruby, Lily and Amelia Whitby. How peculiar, as I had never encountered another person that had the same last name as my mother and me.
My mind drifted back to that day. A knock on the door had never been so jarring. I had waited five days for mother to come home. Instead, our neighbor Patty had rang.
“She gave this to me shortly after you had both moved into the neighborhood. Said it was important and that she had no family to pass this on to you if anything were to happen to her.” Patty said as she handed me the envelope. Her wrinkly hand trembled, and I wondered why she never used hand cream. It was easier to question her dry skin instead of the whereabouts of my mother. No one looked for her, and her body was never found. All our belongings and house were now gone, and I was on my way to 4519 Wayfield Lane.
Patty was like a grandmother to me, checking in on me when my mother was working late and always gave me sound advice, which I couldn’t count on getting from my mother. Every evening a plate for supper was sitting on my table when I got home from school, as well as a brown-bagged lunch in the fridge. Nothing was ever said, and it was just accepted that that was the way it was.
I loved my mother, but she was more like a roommate. She bounced from job to job never taking much of anything seriously. I found myself scolding her like she was my child, but then we would laugh and whatever I was mad about could hold off for another day. She didn’t know any better I told myself.
I’m not sure when our roles changed. Perhaps when I was five, and I came home to an empty house. I made myself supper and tucked myself in and waited for her to come back. A week later she pranced in late at night making enough noise to wake the neighborhood. I crept down the stairs to see her with a new boyfriend and watched as they drank and danced in the kitchen without even coming to see if I was ok.
“NO.” I screamed in my head. A practice my therapist made me do when I was going down that dark hole. I switched my thoughts to meeting this new family. I looked out the window as the driver drove up a windy road. The homes in this neighborhood were all high end. Newly built with no expense spared. Nothing like how I had grown up. I wondered about the Whitby family that was related to me. How much of a disappointment will I be to them?
I held my hands close to my stomach to try to control the shaking. These days I had no control and nowhere else to turn but to the address in this envelope. I hadn’t bothered to call and had no idea what I would say when I knocked on the door.
The house numbers started to get close to the address on the envelope. My stomach managed every possible flip-flop combination possible. The driver turned into a gated driveway. This hom
e was different from the rest. It was made of stone and looked more like a castle.
“Are you sure this is it?” I asked, knowing it was.
“Yes, Kid. I know my numbers,” He huffed back at me with a thick Boston accent. “Everyone around here knows this address.”
“And why is that?”
He turned back to look at me with a sigh. Like I should know where I was going and who these people were.
“The Whitby family is one of the oldest in New York. Everyone knows them.” He said as he rolled down his window to talk into the intercom.
The oldest family in New York. News to this Mainer.
“But I gotta tell ya, lots of mysteries in that house. The stories I could tell you.” He swung his head back as if to let me in on these rumors but the voice on the intercom stopped him.
“Whitby Residence. State your business.” A man’s voice came over the intercom.
“I got a kid here.” He looked back at me, “What’s your name again?”
“Olivia.” I reluctantly said. “Olivia Whitby,” I said a little louder, and his head swung back around surprised. I tried to hide my smirk, but perhaps not very well.
The gate opened, and we began our drive up the long driveway that was lined with old trees and forest behind them. The main door was deep green and rounded with an old, black metal door handle and hinges. The closer we got to the house, the more massive it became.
I felt a pinch on my finger, right under the ring that was my mother’s. It was a beautiful ruby ring that belonged to my grandmother who had passed away before I was born. For some reason, the red was more resilient now. It sparkled more than ever. My thoughts quickly turned to the house. Any ideas I had formed before this moment had left me, and my brain was mush.
The driver pulled up along the cobble-stone walkway, and I could see someone standing there waiting for me.
“Good luck kid.” My driver said as he popped the trunk open from inside. I turned back to my door to find it had been opened by the person waiting for me.
She was beautiful. Her long bright red hair was silky smooth, and her blue eyes seemed to pierce my soul with just one glance. Her skin was pale against her emerald green sweater. Her face warmed to a smile as our eyes met again and I no longer felt scared.
“You must be Olivia?” She extended her hand to shake, and as our hands touched, I felt a warming sensation in my stomach of ease. Her hand lingered on mine, and she held it up to look at my mother’s ring. “Ruby.”
“Yes, it was my mother’s, and it was her mother’s before.”
“My name,” she paused and smiled. “It’s Ruby. Good to have you back into the family along with that ring.” She looked back at the driver and motioned for him to bring in my belongings. Her arm slipped across my shoulders, and she pulled me towards the house. She smelled like Christmas trees.
“I’m pleased to see that you made it to us.” She took a deep breath as we walked towards the house.
“I hope I’m not intruding. I should have called.”
“This is your home, as well, Olivia.” We stood there a moment and took in the structure; it was like it had a life of its own. “Your mother grew up here.”
I looked towards the massive house and had a hard time seeing my mother living here, based on some of the places we lived in over the years.
“I kinda have nowhere to go.” I looked towards the ground. It was like she was a Disney princess, and this was her castle, and I was a 5-year-old visiting, hoping she would notice me.
“Do you know how we are related?” She put her hands on my shoulders and turned me toward her. Her face was perfect, her features prominent. No one would pass by her on the street without gawking at her.
“Long distance somehow?” She was the total opposite of me. My mother seldom spoke about her family and never answered any questions about them. I once had to do a family tree and ended up making the names up, as an hour after I asked mother for help she had locked herself in the bathroom with a bottle of tequila.
“We’re sisters,” she smiled and her hand rubbed my arm as the look of confusion came over my face, “half-sisters.”
I froze, feeling betrayed by my mother. How could I have a sister and not know it? Clearly Ruby knew about me somehow, mother must have been in contact with her at some point in my miserable seventeen and a half year life.
“There is much to learn, and in time, we will be close. Like we should be.” She smiled at me understanding this was all new to me.
“I don’t have any family,” was about all I could manage to say as she pushed me forward into the house. I was used to being alone, and that made me grow-up faster.
“Oh yes, you do. You have me, Amelia and Lily. And more family. We can talk about that later.”
We entered the foyer, which was more significant than any house I had ever been in. The floor was stone, and the furnishings looked ancient. The walls were lined with dark wood paneling and I felt like I was in a museum and I shouldn’t touch anything.
“I prepared a room for you, but you may choose any that are empty,” she said and guided me into a room off to the side of the foyer. She had iced tea and cookies out on a small table as if she knew that company was coming. “I know all these changes are hard to process. We’re here to help you with this transition. I know it must be tough for you. I’ve never been very good with change.”
“Do we have the same mother or father?” It stumbled out of my mouth awkwardly, and I felt invasive asking, but I had to know more.
“Mother. Different fathers.” She smiled as she poured my iced tea. She was someone I instantly looked up to. There was something familiar about the way she moved. Her smile, similar to my own.
“Do you know what happened to my... our mother?” I cleared my throat, feeling like she would have every answer to any question I could possibly ask.
“She is missing.” Her eyes avoided mine as she took a sip of her tea and looked toward the garden. For a moment there was silence, then she turned back to me and smiled again. At least she didn’t think she was dead.
“Did you know about me?” I sat back feeling like I was in another world, trying to fit in. I wanted her to like me so bad.
“Yes. We kept our distance and had hoped once you learned of us, that you might come here.” She sat back elegantly watching me in a way I have never been looked at before, “and now you have.”
“Did you talk to our mother much?” I watched her smile disappear, and the air in the room seemed stifling. I immediately regretted my question.
“No.” She sat forward and took my hands in hers. I noticed on her finger was the same ring as my mother’s – our mother. It, too, shone brightly. “I hope you will give it a chance here, Olivia. It’s a big change for you. In time, you will learn more about your family.”
That was my cue that I had gone too far too soon. I couldn’t help it. I wanted to know everything all at once. I’ve always felt that I didn’t belong living the life I had.
“We have the same ring.”
“All the Whitby women do.” She smiled again sitting back in her chair.
“Why?” That seemed odd to me, but then again, I was never sentimental.
“Did your mother ever tell you about the rings?” Her behavior changed, for the first time, she was fishing for information.
“Maybe, but I don’t remember.” When she drank, she told me lots of things, most not believable.
“They are very special. You should wear it all the time.” She ran her finger over the ruby on my ring. “Did you know that all the rings were cut from the same ruby?”
“I didn’t.” I looked at the ring more closely. I felt a sense of pride in it now, and I was happy to be just a little bit like Ruby.
“It’s important to wear it.” She leaned in like she was about to tell me a juicy secret but the front door swung open abruptly and heavy footsteps made their way to us with urgency.
A brunette stormed into the room wit
h fury in her eyes and a male followed after her. They stopped dead in their tracks and stared at me with intense disgust. I immediately felt uncomfortable in her presence as she forcefully asked, “What the hell is she doing here?”
CHAPTER 2: LILY
THIS WAS ALL THAT WE needed, a know-it-all teenager hanging around when we were having issues within The Stacks that required our full attention. Ruby and Olivia stood there looking at me like I was some wild animal. Ruby nudged her head at me with a look of disapproval, and I could hear her voice in my head, “Leave it alone, Lily.”
We had always known there was another sister, as Grandmother kept tabs on our mother and always made sure they had a roof over their heads. I personally never wanted any updates and didn’t see Olivia as a sister, as I had already disowned our mother.
Olivia sunk down in her chair and my gut ached as I noticed how much she looked like our mother. Her long dark red hair, pale skin, and brown eyes. She looked uncomfortable under my intense gaze, and I welcomed it.
“Olivia, this is your sister Lily and our first cousin Wil.” Ruby’s smile seemed to crack her face as she gave Wil and me a stare down.
“Hello.” Olivia nodded towards us noticeably uncomfortable.
“I didn’t mean it the way that came out.” I stammered as I looked to Ruby for her approval. I didn’t really care that there was an awkward silence.
“Hi.” Wil shoved his hands into his pockets and looked almost as distressed as Olivia appeared.
“I have an Aunt or Uncle?” Olivia suddenly said, interested.
“Aunt Melinda.” Ruby offered.
I looked towards Wil, and his eyes avoided mine. So I looked at Ruby but she had leaned back against her chair and was watching Olivia. The muscles along her jawline flexed as she was deep in thought.
“She is your mom’s older sister. They were very close. I’m sorry to hear about what happened.” Wil said sympathetically.