Page 16 of The Chosen Fae

Maeve's gold hair cascaded in perfectly coiffed ringlets that never seemed to frizz or tangle, as though each strand had been individually enchanted to remain flawless even in the most humid conditions. Rune wished her hair was like that!

“Yeah, I do have a sponsor. Don’t you?” Then Rune stalked off and grabbed a tray for her food, loading it with eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

She saw Stone at a table, eating an omelet, toast, and fried potatoes. He was watching her and smiled a little when she caught his eye.

Was he amused that Maeve had tripped her up? Or getting a kick out of Rune’s response to Maeve? She shouldn’t have cared, but he was the only other fae there that she really knew and truly liked.

Rune walked over to a table to eat alone.

Suddenly, the smallest fae of the group joined her with a tray of French toast. “Can I sit here? I’m Lolita. I heard what you did.”

“Yeah, sure.” Rune took a bite of her bacon. She was happy to do without the company, but she suspected Lolita, being as tiny as she was, wouldn’t have any friends among the other competitors. If they partnered up, they would want stronger fae than Lolita appeared to be.

“You’re Rune. Everyone knows your name. And Stone’s.”

“You didn’t reach the baby’s room.” Rune ate some of her eggs.

“Nope. Neither did seven of the other fae. So why did you bite Maeve and Fang? They sure are mad about it.”

Rune saw that the two of them were eating together across the room and glowering at Rune. It seemed her action had led them to decide on a partnership. “Yeah. You know what happens when you turn a human baby into a changeling, don’t you?”

“You win the challenge.”

“Right. But you are bonded with him or her for life; you’re responsible for the changeling in our world.”

“Aww, okay, sure. I never thought of that. But then why not let someone else win the challenge?” Lolita dug into her French toast.

“Because I don’t believe in stealing a baby from humans and taking them from their world to ours. That’s why. It wasn’t just about the challenge.”

“Well,” Lolita said, scooping up a forkful of French toast, “so your move got you a sponsor?”

“How do you know about that? Oh, you overheard me talking to Maeve.”

“Yeah, when she tripped you. I thought you would make her pay for it.”

“Doing the unexpected can sometimes get better results.”

“Fang and Maeve are plotting to get you back. Not just for messing up their plans to grab the baby, but for biting them.”

Rune shrugged. “So how do you know they’re plotting against me?”

“Most of the time, being small is a disadvantage, but for eavesdropping? No one even notices me.”

5

Before they retired to bed that night after a day of weapon practice and simulation training, Stone warned Rune, “Maeve and Fang want to eliminate you and asked for my help to do it.”

"Oh, really. I mean, I knew they would want to get even. Lolita even told me about it. But I'm surprised they would ask you to help them with me. I'll have to watch my back."

Stone nodded. "I talked to Lolita and she said that Fang is secretly trying to rally Caspian and Iris, two of the wolves in his pack, to his side, whispering promises of power if he takes over. But when Xena strides past, all three of them simultaneously lower their heads without a word being exchanged."

Rune laughed. "Do you think she knows what's going on?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not surprised. I heard Elon spends hours practicing his most intimidating howl alone in the forest, only to have it crack and falter the second Vesper, his pack member, throws his head back and releases a howl that shakes the treetops."

"I can see him doing that. Do watch your back. Night, Rune."