Frewin Jones - Faerie Path Series 03 The Seventh Daughter

Book Three of the Faerie Path

Frewin Jones

Pubished: October 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Digital Edition
ISBN-13: 9780061973901
ISBN-10: 0061973904

Faeries tread the faerie path

Immortal souls in timeless amber sealed

Mortals dwell in flux of Mortal World

Through life and death, their destiny revealed

One soul is torn between the worlds

A road to take, a doom to dare

A flashing blade, a warrior-maidens choice

Shall lead to hearts desire or hearts despair

What Happened Before

On the eve of Anita Palmers sixteenth birthday, her boyfriend, EvanThomas, took her for a speedboat ride on the River Thames. Her birthdaysurprise turned to terror when they saw a ghostly shape on the riverand Evan, swerving to avoid it, sent the boat crashing into a bridge.

Anita woke up in hospital. Her injuries were superficial, but Evan,although otherwise physically unhurt, remained unconscious.

At the hospital Anitas parents brought her a curious parcel: abirthday present sent with no card and no name. It was an oldleather-bound book with blank pages that mysteriously became filledwith words when Anita started looking.

The book told how Princess Tania, seventh daughter of King Oberon andQueen Titania of the Realm of Faerie, disappeared from the Royal Palaceon the eve of her wedding to Lord Gabriel Drake. While reading thisstory, Anita learned that Evan had vanished from the hospital; laterthat same morning, believing herself to be experiencing a vivid dreaminspired by the story in the book, she followed a young man inElizabethan clothes, who took her into Faerie.

The young man introduced himself as Gabriel Drake and explained thatEvan was in fact his servant Edric Chanticleer, sent into the MortalWorld to find and retrieve Anita. Gabriel believed she was his lostbride, Princess Tania: theseventh daughter of Oberon and Titania, withthe power to walk between Faerie and the Mortal World. For five hundredyears, ever since the disappearance of Princess Tania and thesubsequent loss of her mother, Queen Titania, the Eternal Realm ofFaerie had been plunged into a sad and gloomy twilight.

When Gabriel took Anita to meet Oberon, the king was so overjoyed thathis lost daughter had returned, light and life came back into Faerieonce more. Soon after, Anita met Princess Tanias six sisters. As shelearned more about this strange worldandremembered things she couldnot possibly have knownher certainty that this was all a dream beganto waver. At last she was forced to confront the fact that she wastruly Oberons lost daughter.

Full of pain and anger at Edrics betrayal, Tania grew closer to LordGabriel. It was only when Edric told her the true purpose behindGabriels dramatic rescue of Tania from the Mortal World that she wassaved from falling under Gabriels spell. Gabriel Drake had planned tomarry Tania and use her power to enter the Mortal World and bring backa terrible poison called Isenmort, known to mortals as metal, asubstance so deadly in Faerie that a single touch meant instant death.The Faerie Palace was torn apart with treacheryeven Tanias own sisterPrincess Rathina tried to force her to marry Gabriel.

In the end Gabriels plans were thwarted and the evil lord was banishedby Oberon. Peace returned to the Realm of Faerie but Tania wasconvinced that her mother, Queen Titania, was still alive, trapped inthe Mortal World. She and Edric returned to mortal London to seek herout.

Returning to her old life was not easyTania had been missing forseveral days and it hurt that she could not tell the truth to hermortal parents. She was also haunted by the dread that Gabriel Drakewould be able to harm her from afar.

Clues led Tania and Edric to the Pleiades Legal Center, where theydiscovered that Queen Titania worked under the name Lilith Mariner.Their hopes of a swift reunion with the Lost Queen were dashed whenthey learned that she was away on business.

Things took a sinister turn when Tania found that she could no longerwalk between the worlds. Soon after, three of Tanias faeriesistersZara, Sancha, and Cordeliaappeared in the Mortal World withterrible news: Princess Rathina had released the Sorcerer King ofLyonesse from the palace dungeons, Oberon had been imprisoned, andLyonesses evil Gray Knights had been set free. The princesses hopedthat, with Tania and Queen Titanias help, they would be able to returnto Faerie and defeat the Sorcerer King.

A band of Gray Knights broke into the Mortal Worldwith Gabriel Drakeas their captain. Despite several perilous encounters with the GrayKnights, Tania, Edric, and the princesses managed to find the LostQueen and together outran their murderous pursuers and found their wayback into Faerie.

Part One:

The Palace

I

Tania stared through the arched stone window at the vast blue skies ofFaerie. She could hardly believe that her sisters; her mother, Titania;and her beloved Edric were alive, and that they had all managed to getback into the Immortal Realm. They were safe for the moment in theupper room of Bonwn Tyrthe brown tower that stood in the parklandsbetween the deep, dense vastness of Esgarth Forest and the expanse ofthe Royal Palace.

Her joy at their miraculous escape did not last longshe saw immediately that something was badly wrong in Faerie.

Zara stood at her side. Some great evil has befallen the land, she said. High summer should lie over Faerie.

It is not yet the Solstice Day, and yet the trees are withering as if in the grip of a premature autumn.

Tania had been in Faerie only a few days ago, and then the slenderaspen trees surrounding the tower had been in full leaf and the grasshad grown thick and lush on the hill that sloped down to the palace.But now the aspens were dying and the ground was brown and yellow, thegrasses shriveled as if from a whole season of drought. Farther away,the leaves of the forest were shrouded in dark, autumnal colors.

What did this? Tania asked in dismay.

It is the influence of the Sorcerer King, said Queen Titania, comingup behind her. Sickness and death follow wherever he treads. Let ushope that the whole Realm is not so badly affected. The Queens eyesglinted.

But while the Royal House of Faerie survives, Faerie will never be completely ruined.

Tania leaned from the window, peering through the bleak branches. Herheart quickened. There are some Gray Knights down there! she hissedin alarm. Two of them. In the trees.

Edric caught hold of her arm and drew her back. Dont let them see you, he said.

Why should we not? declared Cordelia. It is time to take the battleto the Sorcerer King. Let us destroy the evil creatures and be donewith it.

Im not sure its such a good idea to pick a fight right now, Taniasaid. They dont know were in Faerie. We should try and keep it thatway for as long as possible.

Tania is right, said the Queen. Well make our way to the palacewithout being seen. If the Sorcerer Kings forces are alerted to ourpresence, it will make our search for Oberon all the more difficult.She looked at her daughters. But we should take a few moments toassess our injuries. She frowned. Cordelia, your arm is bleeding.

We have no time for licking our wounds! Cordelia exclaimed.

Yet it would avail us nothing were you to faint from blood loss, saidSancha. She stooped and tore a strip off the hem of her skirt.Reluctantly, Cordelia allowed her sister to bind the cut on her leftarm.

And now let us be gone from here, said Zara. But there is only oneway out of the tower. How are we to pass the guards unseen?

By giving them some other quarry to chase, said Cordelia. Come, Iwill show you how we may escape. She walked to the winding stonestairway that led down to the ground floor and up to the flat roof. Shestared upward for a moment, then looked uneasily back at them. We mustprepare ourselves for the worst, she said.