Please enjoy the first chapter of my novella sequel to Fairyproof -- Council Courtship. The full Novella is available at Amazon, smashwords, B&N and many other e-markets.
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Summary
When Tristan Ipsly becomes eligible to fill a vacated Council seat, he thinks his chances are non-existent. Especially since he is the sole member to a house the fell to the revolution and his contender Edwin Vettore is an elder from a house that adheres to Canon teachings.
If fairykind has a chance at survival, it will come on Tristan’s wings of change. Or so Quinn Vettore believes. But voicing her support for Tristan will anger her grandfather, and he’s the one man who can stand in the way of a courtship between Quinn and Tristan.
Will Edwin successfully keep both Quinn and the position out Tristan’s grasp, or will the Council yield to change?
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Chapter One
Most would find serenity in the quiet of the lab, but not Tristan Ipsly. He still battled the consequences of his house’s actions, even though the moon had risen and set for several seasons since Eero’s attempted revolution and downfall.
Tristan might have been judged innocent, but wasn’t too different from the rest of his clan. He too believed that if fairykind had even a chance to survive, change needed to sweep through Council Hall.
Just not at the hands of evil.
A knock on the door called Tristan back from his idle thoughts. When he opened it, his breath hitched. Council member Gyan stood on the other side, no doubt to deliver bad news.
According to the Canon, when a Council seat was vacated by death, it was filled by the next eldest member of the eldest house. In this case, two houses could be traced back to the same season of the sameiana. Because the answer was not clear cut, the remaining Council members were charged with deciding who would fill the seat: Tristan or Edwin Vettore.
Not that Tristan thought he had even a chance. He might have been found innocent of his relative’s sins and allowed to stay on the realm, but he was still an outcast.
And a young fairy.
Edwin was the elder of a well-respected blemish-free house.
Even though he was sure Gyan brought bad news, Tristan stood straighter and then bent at the waist, giving the elder the respect he deserved. “What can I do for you?”
Gyan’s face was stoic as he approached the long table and the fancy otherworld equipment Tristan had been working with. “So…this is the contribution to the Repopulation Project from my nephew.”
“Yes.” Daniel had brought the equipment to the realm a full season ago. It couldn’t be the reason Gyan chose today to visit.
“Is it helpful?”
Tristan leaned back against the stool he’d been sitting on. Comparing the blood of those with no connection to the fairyworld with those who had both fairy and human lineage, only gave Tristan and his colleagues half the answers. “Yes. It would be more so if we could convince additional fairies to let us run the same tests on them that we are running on the parshas in the otherworld. Without base comparisons, we’re still dealing with hypotheses.”
Gyan shook his head as he walked around the end of the table, eyeing the machine. “What can this show you that you can’t feel with your healing power?”