Free Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman Page A

with it. She wept at the thought of what Tom must think of her, how he must hate her now for being such a coward and fleeing instead of sticking it out like him. But then he was a son and the eldest child; it was different for him. He wasn’t seen as a piece of property but as the heir apparent.
    She shoved the rest of the letters onto the floor and let herself curl into a ball. She imagined calling Josh, asking him to come over and telling him everything and somehow coming up with a new solution, but that was a stupid fantasy. Even if he did believe her tale of secret families with Fae patrons living just outside of everyday reality, she would only endanger him. She wanted to be held, to smell his aftershave and talk about Xbox games and music and do all the stuff that any other student at the same university could do. A week from now she’d be back in Aquae Sulis in her family’s grip once more and she would never see Josh again.
    She needed a big cup of tea. She wiped her face and blew her nose on the way back to the kitchen. She needed to think, not cry like some helpless woman. Did Ripley fall apart when they were trapped on an alien-infested base with no rescue for days and limited supplies? “No, she did not,” she said out loud.
    Dealing with her family wasn’t as bad as facing aliens with acid for blood, but they were still an unavoidable horror. And failure to impress Lord Poppy would lead to a worse fate than having to face her father again.
    As the kettle boiled for the next round of tea, she leaned against the worktop and turned her mind to what she could possibly wish for. The Fae lords and ladies were fickle and fundamentally inhuman. How the Patroons managed to keep them happy she had no idea. She’d spent as little time as possible thinking about politics and the struggles of the Great Families when she was growing up in their world, and for the first time in her life she regretted it. The problem wasn’t a lack of ideas; like all Fae-touched children she’d diligently spent days of her early years dreaming up clever wish combinations just in case. She’d never prepared any to impress a Fae, however.
    She made the tea, stirred in the milk. There was no one to ask for help, no books to consult, no website designed for fellow escapees of the bizarre Fae-touched life. If only she knew what would–
    “That’s it!” she said with a laugh. “It’s so obvious!” She took a sip of tea and then a deep breath. “I wish–”
    With a tiny pop and a shower of poppy petals, the faerie appeared, just above the pedal bin, making Cathy squeak in surprise and drop her mug. It smashed on the lino, the brown liquid landing in the shape of a faerie’s silhouette.
    “That’s not funny,” she said to the tiny creature. “How did you get into my flat?” As far as Cathy knew, the Fae and their minions could only get into Mundanus from the Nether, and her flat had no reflection there.
    The faerie ignored her question. “You were about to make your first wish,” it said in its melodic voice. “I want to know what it is.”
    “Because you’re the one who grants it on Lord Poppy’s behalf?”
    “I want to watch you make your first mistake.” She glanced around the kitchen, wrinkling her tiny nose. “Mundanus smells horrid. Why would anyone ever want to live here? There must be something very wrong with you.”
    “Do you want me to make this wish or not?”
    The faerie clapped its hands. “Yes, I do!”
    “I wish I knew how to impress Lord Poppy,” Cathy said boldly, pleased with her choice.
    A pulse of magic swept out from the faerie as she cast the wish into the world. It looked like a ripple of sparkling water rushing out from her, making Cathy’s skin tingle as it passed through her. She held her breath for the answer.
    “See you soon,” the faerie chirruped.
    “What?” Cathy gasped. “My wish first! Tell me how to impress him!”
    “Oh, that.” The faerie shrugged. “The wish is cast. My