Seeking the Fae (Daughter of Light #1) - Leia Stone Page 0,40

if I didn’t find these crystals that—oh, by the way—now nearly burned my hand off!

“I wonder why Mara wanted us to come here?” Elle pondered. “And I wonder what the Fae elders went into the blue door to see. Are they going to Earth? Or is—?”

Tears streamed down my cheeks and Elle’s questions dried up in her throat. “Oh, Lily.”

She rushed forward and pulled me into a tight hug. The walls I’d built to keep me going over the past few days crumbled then and I broke down into sobs. Legitimate pain ebbed from the center of my chest and throughout my limbs, making me feel weak.

“Come on…” Elle coaxed me into the back room of the tiny apartment. The double doors were open and the curtains spread to show a beautiful view of Central Park. My sobs turned to sniffles as I kicked off my boots and Elle pulled the comforter down. Sitting on the bedside table was a picture of me and my mom. I was three and had just learned to fly. My mom was beaming ear to ear as I stood on her shoulders, fluttering about. My tears returned full force and Elle squeezed my hand, easing me into the bed and covering me with the blanket.

“No twenty-year-old should have to bury their mother,” I moaned to Elle as I hugged the pillow to my chest. She nodded, looking at the bedside picture.

“I know. You’re lucky you have me or you’d be totally screwed.”

I grinned; she always knew how to make me laugh. Reaching up, I clasped her hand. “You’re not wrong.”

Feeling the weight of the comforter over me and the aches in my joints dissipating, I felt the pull of sleep summon me.

I couldn’t help but think of Liam. “He saved us,” I mumbled as my eyes grew heavy. Did he get away from his father? Was he dead?

Elle nodded, and my eyes drifted closed. “He did. But I’m not sure that means we can trust him.”

It was the last thing I heard before I drifted off to sleep.

I awoke to the smell of fresh pancakes. My mouth watered as I sat up and looked at the alarm clock.

Ten A.M.

I’d slept twelve hours. The curtains were drawn, and Elle had laid my boots by the door, which made me smile. Even though we were the same age, she always mothered me. Peeling the covers back, I slipped into the bathroom and took a quick ten-minute shower. My mom had the bathroom stocked full of disposable toothbrushes, shampoo bottles, tampons, everything you could need. This must be her main bolt hole besides Mara’s house and our home in Faerie.

Going to the closet, I felt a pang in my chest as I saw rows and rows of my mother’s clothes. Leaning forward, I inhaled sharply, smelling my mother’s unique scent. My throat tightened with emotion as the jasmine and vanilla hit my nose and overwhelmed my senses. My mom and I were the same size—a fact she bragged about in public often. Her hips were a tad bigger than mine, but nothing I couldn’t fix with a belt. Pulling out some low-slung jeans and an NYPD V-neck, I laced my boots and made my way out into the living room.

On the couch were blankets and a pillow where Elle must have slept, although now she was in the kitchen flipping pancakes.

“Where’d you get fresh eggs and stuff?” I called out.

“From me.” Mara’s voice made me jump a little, and I spun to find her leaning against the open front door of the apartment. Only it wasn’t a front door, it was a blue door that now led into her house. I would never be able to wrap my mind around these endless doors and how they could be configured to different places and realms.

She smiled. “Instacart is my friend.”

I grinned; the thought of a hundreds-years-old Fae ordering normie food from an iPhone app was hilarious. I wasn’t allowed a phone or any other electronics, other than the laptop and DVDs my mom brought me. Electronics malfunctioned around us anyway. Mara likely had to get a new phone every six months.

“My mom liked the place.” I observed her touch in everything. The paintings on the walls were all of flowers, her favorite, and the coffee maker was teal, which was her favorite color.

Mara nodded. “She did. New York is a special place for seekers. You’ll see.” She winked.

Elle handed me a plate of pancakes. “For Mara,” she told