“To get Sonny back,” she finished the thought. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Come with me,” he said. “I have something to show you.”
He took her by the hand and led her out onto the stage, which lay dark and waiting for the curtain to lift. Kelley could hear the murmur of the audience in the house beyond. Bob led her to the center of the deck, where the two curtain halves met, and held one open a tiny crack for her to peer through.
Kelley gasped. Sitting in the center of the front row were Tyffanwy and Aunt Emma. And sitting on Emma’s other side, holding her hand, was a smiling Sonny Flannery.
“It’s just for the show,” Puck whispered at her side. “He won’t be able to stay to see you afterward, but he asked me to give you this.”
It was an envelope, made of pale parchment with gilt edges. ~
Sonny had circled three words in gold ink:
Kelley hugged the piece of paper to her chest and turned gratefully to Bob. “How did you do it?”
“’Twasn’t me-the Winter King gifted Sonny with enough of his own power to cross over.”
“And how did
Bob ducked his head in mock modesty. “A little wheeling, a little dealing…”
“What did you have to give up in return?” she asked warily.
“Oh, I didn’t really give up anything.” He waved away her concerns.
“Nothing?”
“Nothing much.” His eyes glinted. “In fact, I’ve found myself a bit of steady employment. After closing night, it’s back to the Unseelie Court for me. Auberon’s been lacking a decent henchman, it seems, ever since I left.”
“
“You know what they say, Princess: Keep your friends close-enemies closer.”
Bob winked and left her standing on the dim stage.
Kelley turned back and put her eye to the gap in the curtain, drinking in every line of Sonny’s face, smiling with delight at the way he and Emma talked and laughed and couldn’t seem to look away from each other even for a moment. She watched them until she heard the musicians start up the overture. Kelley blinked away happy tears.
Everything was going to be all right. She had her mother’s power. But, more importantly, she had brains and guts, and now she knew enough about the Fair Folk to try to beat them at their own game. Tomorrow Kelley would start seriously planning how to get Sonny back for good. But not tonight.
Tonight was opening night.
Magic time.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe a debt of heartfelt gratitude and affection to a lot of people. To Jessica Regel and Laura Arnold-my agent and my editor, two of the most awesome women I have ever met: They conspired brilliantly to get me to write this book in the first place and then went far above the call of duty to make sure they took care of me while I did! Thank you to Jean Naggar and the staff of JVNLA for welcoming me into the fold, and to the wonderful crew at HarperCollins: Editorial Director Barbara Lalicki for her keen insight and support; Maggie Herold, my terrific copyeditor, for making me look much smarter than I am; and Sasha Illingworth, my stellar designer, for making the whole thing look so damn good! Thanks to editor Lynne Missen and everyone at HarperCollins Canada for the warm welcome. Thank you, Mark and Danielle, for your friendship, your New York hospitality, and all the long walks through the Park-especially the ones at night! Thank you, Adrienne, for all the support. Thank you, Cec-monster, for keeping me going for all these many years. Huge love and gratitude to my family-especially my mom-for somehow understanding that I would wind up here, even if it was in spite of myself. And most of all…to John-for so many reasons, not the least of which is, without you, I never would have even made it past “what if?”
About the Author
LESLEY LIVINGSTON is a writer and actress living in Toronto. She has a master’s degree in English from the University of Toronto, where she specialized in Arthurian literature and Shakespeare. She is a principal performer and founding member of the Tempest Theatre Group. wondrous strange is her first novel.
You can visit Lesley online at www.lesleylivingston.com.
