Abandonment is one word to describe Evelyn Ward's childhood.
Known as an orphan freak and paranoid schizophrenic, she was dragged through years of therapy after admitting to hearing whispering voices and seeing creatures and living shadows.
...
He didn't balk at my harsh tone, meeting my stark gaze with unflinching eyes, stood and offered his hand. Uncurling from my place on the couch, I set my feet on the ground, and ignoring his proffered hand, pushed myself up and crossed my arms over my chest.
His hand remained between us as he sighed. "Evelyn, I realize that I made a mistake and that it hurt you. But if you want to see your mother, you're going to have to take my hand, otherwise, it's a long walk, and I do mean long."
After a moment's hesitation, I clasped my hand in his. His living room melted away, replaced with the open countryside. The stone paved road we stood on wound up a steep hill, leading to a set of large, wrought iron gates guarding a mansion. Ivy blanketed the tall, stone walls, shaded under the cover of ancient oak trees. Moonlight shimmered overhead, illuminating everything in its soft silver glow.
While it wasn't truly a castle, the estate held an air of majesty and enchantment that alluded to a fabled palace. Its beauty seeped into me, filling me with a peaceful calm. I wished I could've spent my whole life in this place.
Remembering that I would've been here months ago had he not hidden it from me, I leveled a glowering stare at Zev, yanking my hand from his grip.
He nodded, chewing on his bottom lip and started forward. The gate opened ahead without anyone having touched it, and again swung shut on its own after we passed through. A large set of intricately designed wooden doors met us at the end of the stone pathway. Wondering if we had to knock, I stole a glance Zev who stood still with his hands clasped behind his back waiting patiently.
Mere seconds later the doors groaned as they swung open, revealing a brightly lit, grand foyer, and the tall, blond-haired faerie who had opened them. Standing at the same height as Zev with smokey gray wings tucked against his shoulder blades, he inclined his head in greeting. "Zev."
Zev reciprocated the greeting. "Elelas. It's been awhile, how have you been?"
"I've been well." His topaz eyes flicked over to me, scanning my face. Recognition dawned on his face. "I assume this is her?"
Zev opened his mouth but I cut him off before he had a chance to answer. "Yes, I'm her. Now please, someone take me to my mother, instead of standing here talking about me as if I'm not here." My tone snapped sharper than I had intended but I didn't stand down. All my life I had wished to meet a mother I could only imagine and impatience wore me thin.
Zev's cheeks heated and he snapped his mouth shut while Elelas bowed his head, gesturing for me to follow as he turned to walk across the marble floor. "Of course, right this way Princess."
Glancing behind me as the doors boomed shut, I wondered where Zev had gone. You don't care, I berated myself. But I did, and despite my anger, something deep inside my mangled heart wished he was by my side.
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So Evelyn is finally going to meet her mother... How do you think it will go? Have you ever had a similar experience to Evelyn's (minus the demons and faeries... I should hope)? Let me know in the comments!
And a special shout out to Ronaldo7Siete! Thanks so much for all of your helpful feedback and for being a steady supporter of my writing!
And I want to thank all of my readers! Starlight's Heir has already reached 1k reads and over 100 votes! Thank you guys all for your support!
