Marny (34 page)

Brenna smiled and tucked her silver strand of
hair behind her ear. “I figured you’d turn von Coburg down. Our
loss. I predict you’re going to do some interesting things in the
field.”

Marny nodded. She was hoping to—but didn’t
want to say anything where Intertech’s cameras and sensors could
hear. She stepped forward and waved down a grav-taxi.

“It’s been quite the experience,” she said.
“Thanks for everything.”

“My pleasure.” Brenna gave her a hug, then
stepped back, her expression serious. “I admire you a lot, Marny.
Keep being true to yourself.”

“I will.”

Even if that self meant encompassing a bunch
of new ways of being. She’d spent the summer figuring them out:
roommate, girlfriend, Feyguard. Not a corporate employee anymore
though, thank goodness.

“Take care of yourself, too,” she said to the
liaison.

Marny stepped into the taxi and told the
driver where to go, then waved at Brenna as they pulled away from
the curb. Her last time paying exorbitant city fares.

The Intertech skyscraper cast a long shadow
down the street, but after several blocks they emerged into bright
sunshine. In another minute, the grav-taxi dropped her off in front
of what had been Nyx’s club.

The warehouse door was open,
but Nyx had removed the lettering on the walls. Only the faint
shadow of the words
Club Mysteria
remained. Marny went inside, a pang going through
her. The club had become so familiar, like a second home. It was
hard to see it being dismantled.

No more dance floor and flashing lights, no
more twinkly lights twined in green gauze. No juice bar—although
that had been repurposed into a portable espresso cart that Emmie
and Sula were going to run at their school. No doubt they’d end up
making bank.

One thing remained, however, and it still
made Marny’s breath catch.

The enchanted forest.

The pale-trunked trees disappeared into
shadows above a carpet of green mosses studded with white flowers.
A small stream burbled along one side, silver-lit where shafts of
sunshine struck it. The leaves stirred and whispered in the
breeze.

On the bank of the stream a boy and a girl
sat, holding hands. She had white flowers in her dark hair, and
wore a gossamer gown. He was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, and
though he was smiling, Marny could see the sorrow in his
expression.

Yeah—she thought leaving Nyx was going to be
hard, but her heart went out to Roy and Brea. It was never easy to
say goodbye to the person you loved.

But they’d see each other again soon, when
Nyx came to Crestview. And hopefully, something a little more
permanent could be worked out for Brea. Nyx had even mentioned the
idea of giving Brea tiny, personal anchors so that she could move
around in the human world, while technically still being in the
Realm of Faerie. If that worked, it would be a brilliant
solution.

Nyx sat cross-legged on the warehouse floor,
facing a little away from the couple in the forest. He looked up
and smiled as Marny strode across the floor toward him.

“Hey,” he said, patting the floor beside him.
“Pull up a seat.”

She settled beside him, shoulder leaning
against his, and Roy glanced up, noting her presence. The sadness
in his eyes deepened as he leaned forward to give Brea a farewell
kiss.

“Don’t worry,” Nyx said, catching Marny’s
gaze. “I’ll be in Crestview soon.”

“I’m not worried. But I’ll be glad to see
you.”

There were a million details to work out. Nyx
wanted to rent an apartment, and though they hadn’t talked much
about it, she’d already started planning her next app. Then family,
and school, and—oh yeah—the little detail about being a Feyguard,
and things were looking fairly complicated for the near future.

That was okay, though. She’d never been
afraid of having an interesting life.

Slowly, Roy stood up and walked out of the
enchanted forest. He paused at the edge and lifted his hand in
farewell, and Brea blew him a kiss. It turned into a white moth
that flew to land in his reddish-brown hair.

“Ready?” Nyx called to him.

Roy’s shoulders fell in a sigh, and he walked
out from under the silver leaves. They rustled at his departure,
and the moth took flight, disappearing against the pale trees.
Further in, Brea stood, then dove into the stream. A bright splash,
a shimmering ripple, and she was gone.

“All clear,” Roy said, a catch in his
voice.

Nyx opened his hand, where a shimmering leaf
rested in his palm. He picked it up, held it between his fingers,
and snapped it in two.

A single, clear chime sounded, resonating
through the warehouse like it was the inside of a bell. Between one
heartbeat and the next the forest faded, until only mortal sunbeams
sifted through ordinary dust in the echoing space.

“Well,” Nyx said. “That’s the end of
that.”

“Not to sound all woo,” Marny said. “But
every end is another beginning. I thought you knew that, mister Zen
philosopher.”

That made Roy smile, just the faintest
bit.

“Hi, Marns,” he said. “I’ll take your bag to
my grav-car. Meet me out back when you’re ready to go.”

“Right.”

She wasn’t looking forward to the long drive
back to Crestview with him, especially the way he drove. On the
other hand, it beat taking the bus. And she figured they’d have
enough to talk about. Royal Lassiter had turned into a fairly
decent human being, after all.

As soon as Roy left, Nyx got to his feet and
drew her up beside him.

For a long moment they looked into one
another’s eyes. Hopes and dreams and unspoken promises flickered in
the air between them, but there was no need for words.

Softly, patiently, their lips met—and that
was all the magic Marny would ever need.

~ THE END ~

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Discover how it all started – FEYLAND: THE FIRST
ADVENTURE

As ever, it takes more than
an author to see a novel through to final publication. I am
immensely grateful to my wonderful editor, Laurie Temple, and my
amazing critique partner, Chassily Wakefield. Thanks to Ginger,
always, and to the fantastic Arran McNichol of Editing720 for his
quick and stellar copy editing.

Ravven has designed another
fabulous cover, despite the scarcity of big Samoan girls as models.
Thank you for always getting it right.

Special thanks to Colin,
for fight scene choreography and youthful woodland
adventures.

I also greatly appreciate the readers who
have taken the time to contact me, leave reviews, and give me
reasons to keep writing. This series wouldn’t be here without you!
Thank you.

MARNY draws on a number of
traditional resources, including my go-to books for Faerie
lore:
An encyclopedia of fairies:
Hobgoblins, brownies, bogies, and other supernatural
creatures
by Katharine M. Briggs,
and
Faeries
by
Froud, Larkin, and Lee.

Find all Anthea’s books at
antheasharp.com

~The FEYLAND Books~

Prequel novella ~ FEYLAND: THE FIRST ADVENTURE

Book 1 ~ FEYLAND: THE DARK REALM

Book 2 ~ FEYLAND: THE BRIGHT COURT

Book 3 ~ FEYLAND: THE TWILIGHT KINGDOM

Marny Novella – HOW TO BABYSIT A CHANGELING

Feyland short story ~ TRINKET

Faerie tale ~ BENEATH THE KNOWE

SPARK – FEYGUARD Book 1

ROYAL – FEYGUARD Book 2

MARNY – FEYGUARD Book 3

Novella – BREA’S TALE (2016 late summer)

TALES of FEYLAND & FAERIE – Coming late 2015

Anthea Sharp writes
USA Today
bestselling,
award-winning fantasy. Her Feyland books have sold over 200,000
copies worldwide, and garnered over a million reads on Wattpad. In
addition to novels, she writes and publishes a lot of short
stories, which are available at all major online
retailers.

Growing up, Anthea spent most of her summers
raiding the library shelves and reading, especially fantasy. She
now makes her home in the Pacific Northwest, where she writes,
plays the fiddle, hangs out in virtual worlds, and spends time with
her small-but-good family. Contact her at [email protected]
or visit her website –
www.antheasharp.com

In addition to fantasy, Anthea writes
Victorian-set historical romance under the pen name Anthea Lawson.
http://anthealawson.com/

***