by Anthea Sharp
Her smile was answer enough.
Aran leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers, another question. He felt her smile widen, and then she yanked him against her. Their bodies met with a shock of rightness that reverberated down to his feet.
His heart thumped so loudly he was sure it would knock right out of his chest. He’d hoped, then second-guessed, then buried that hope way down deep, knowing he’d never see Spark again.
But she hadn’t given up on him. Of course not. That girl was always right.
He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her with everything he was, and everything he hoped to be. Stronger. Kinder. Better.
She held him tightly, her mouth warm and intoxicating against his, as the sun burst, brilliant gold, over the horizon.
EPILOGUE
The girl huddled away from the cold bite of the wind, a crumbling brick wall at her back. She pulled the thin blanket about her, heart beating fast as a sparrow’s. Already she had learned two things: the mortal world was a dangerous place, and she had just enough magic to slip carefully through its currents, provided she remained alert and wary.
Why had Puck let her through into this place?
Darkness had changed to light, then back to dark, a double handful of times. She’d learned how to scavenge for food, how to avoid the yellow-eyed men who stank of cloying smoke, and how to move, silent as a shadow, in and out of the dwelling places of humans.
As soon as full night fell, with its dark covering, she would make her way to the shelter she had found. There, she studied the world she had come into, learning from the flickering vids how to act and speak as a mortal girl.
The time was coming, soon and soon, when she must fully enter the world of the humans and carry out the queen’s bidding.
But not yet. Not quite yet.
THE END
THANK YOU
Thank you for reading SPARK. If you enjoyed it, please consider helping other readers find this book:
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OTHER WORKS by ANTHEA SHARP
The complete Feyland books:
Prequel story ~ FEYLAND: THE FIRST ADVENTURE
Book 1 ~ FEYLAND: THE DARK REALM
Book 2 ~ FEYLAND: THE BRIGHT COURT
Book 3 ~ FEYLAND: THE TWILIGHT KINGDOM
Feyland short story ~ TRINKET
Coming Fall 2014 – ROYAL – FEYGUARD Book 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & THANKS
Thank you to the many people who made this book better: the invaluable feedback of my first readers Chassily, Peggy, Matt, Peggy, and my fine editor, Laurie Temple. Thanks also to Arran at Editing720 for quick, professional, and stellar proofreading, and X at Victory Editing’s Oops Detection service, for catching those last few errors.
And thanks in advance to Dom, who, despite my best efforts, always manages to find a couple typos and formatting issues in the print copy. (Look, you got your own paragraph.)
For an absolutely gorgeous cover, huge thanks to Ravven. And for the inspiration to move forward, ongoing gratitude to all the indie authors and publishers who share their journey so generously.
I also greatly appreciate the readers who have taken the time to contact me, leave reviews, and give me reasons to keep writing. This series wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you.
SPARK draws on a number of traditional resources, including my go-to books for Faerie lore: An encyclopedia of fairies: Hobgoblins, brownies, bogies, and other supernatural creatures by Katharine M. Briggs, and Faeries by Froud, Larkin, and Lee.
Readers will also find references to a variety of fairy tales and story archetypes, as well as the poem The Song of the Wandering Aengus by W.B. Yeats.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Growing up, Anthea Sharp spent most of her summers raiding the library shelves and reading, especially fantasy. She now makes her home in the Pacific Northwest, where she writes, plays the fiddle, hangs out in virtual worlds, and spends time with her small-but-good family. Contact her at [email protected] or visit her website – www.antheasharp.com
Anthea also writes historical romance under the pen name Anthea Lawson. Find out about her acclaimed Victorian romantic adventures at www.anthealawson.com