woman in a gown that looked like it was made of raindrops on cobwebs appeared before her, eyes glittering.
The Queen of Silence.
Of course she hadn’t known it at the time, but there was no mistaking the strength of the magic she held.
“You miss him?” the woman asked quietly.
The air felt thick with the words Jessica couldn’t say.
At last she nodded.
“Let’s make a bargain,” the woman offered with a half-smile. “I can give you happiness again.”
“I can’t be with him again,” Jessica said, choking on the words.
“That isn’t what I offered,” the woman said. “I offered you happiness, which is more than that princeling can give you.”
You were not supposed to make bargains with the folk. That was the point of all the fairy tales and legends she’d collected for her book. No human ever came out on top of such a bargain.
“Can you make me forget?” Jessica heard herself asking, the lure of relief from her pain too great.
“What do you want to forget?”
“Everything,” Jessica said flatly. “Please.”
“You will come and live in fae as my guest for one day,” the woman said. “And in exchange, I will take away your memories and give you the happiness you seek.”
“Just one day?” Jessica asked, feeling better about the bargain.
“Of course you’re welcome to stay as long as you like, but yes,” the woman replied. “One day.”
“Yes,” Jessica said, before she could change her mind.
Suddenly, she was flying.
She’d vaguely sensed that they were traveling across a bridge, the glittering woman holding her in her arms like a baby.
By the time they had reached the other side, Jessica had forgotten everything.
The sky had shone bright and clear, the emerald grass of Faerie was damp with morning dew, and somewhere in the distance, a horse whickered.
The scent of tea roses filled the air
19
Jessica
Jessica trembled and looked around, desperate to bring herself back to the present, to reassure herself that in spite of her own stupidity, she really was here, back in her own realm.
She began walking aimlessly as she tried to sort through her thoughts.
As terrible as her memories were, they were hers.
How could she have been so foolish?
The Queen of Silence had truly bested her. First of all, having forgotten everything, she had no way to remind the queen that their bargain was over. She had not remembered that the bargain had happened at all, or that she had another life.
And even if she had, Jessica had not aged a day in that place, even though twenty-five years had passed in the mortal realm.
She had been there for only one day.
But she had never expected that day to repeat itself nearly ten thousand times.
“Excuse me,” someone said.
She stepped to the side and two women with baby strollers walked past her to the café.
That could have been me.
But it was a silly thought. She had been young and unready. And her daughter was grown up now, and astonishingly accomplished, it seemed.
Things had gone perfectly for Miranda, and Jessica couldn’t have been more proud to know she had played a part in the other woman’s life, even if it was anonymously.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been walking, or exactly where she’d gone, but she’d ended up right back at the café where Cullen had left her. She decided to take it as a sign and get that cup of coffee after all. It would be good to sit and sip and decide what to do with her life, now that her memories were intact again.
She rounded the corner and looked in the glassy storefront of the café.
At first, she thought she was seeing things because she had Miranda on her mind. Surely, that was the reason she was looking in on a beautiful young woman with titian hair and a dimple on her left cheek, smiling and laughing with her friends.
“It’s not her,” Jessica whispered to herself, closing her eyes. “It can’t be her.”
But when she opened them again, she saw that it was unmistakably Miranda. Sunlight from the window glinted on the copper locket around her neck, and Jessica felt tears prickle her eyelids.
She froze for a moment, not wanting to intrude, but desperate to drink in the sound of her daughter’s voice, if only for a moment.
I’ll just get my coffee and go again, she told herself. I won’t spy, or foist myself on her and her friends.
Besides, it wasn’t like Miranda would believe her anyway. Thanks to the silent queen’s magic, they looked practically the same age.
She headed inside before she