Maythorn's Wish (The Fey Quartet Book 1) (11 page)

Tam looked at the pallor of the man’s face, heard his rattling breath. “Mayhap.”
But most likely not
.

He glanced at her. By all the gods, she was lovely—lustrous brown eyes, elegant cheekbones, delicious mouth—but it was the sharp intelligence in her gaze that he liked the most. The stubbornness of her jaw.

No ordinary woman, this. Strong-minded. Stout-hearted. Determined.

If I hadn’t come along, they’d be raping you by now
. For a brief second, bile rose in his throat. Tam turned away, swallowed hard, and crossed to her sack, lying abandoned in the dirt.

It was half empty. Clothes, he guessed. Maybe a blanket. Maybe some food. Tam strapped it on Marigold’s back.

“It seems unfair to make your poor donkey carry my belongings.”

“Marigold doesn’t mind, do you, girl?” Tam patted the donkey’s rump, and turned to pick up his stave. “What’s your name?”

“Hazel. Of Dapple Bend.”

I think I could fall in love with you, Hazel
. Tam placed one hand over his heart and bowed with a flourish. “Tam. Of Dapple Meadow.” He almost wanted to tell her his full name—Wistan Dappleward—and watch her manner change when she realized who his father was.

No. If she is to fall in love, let it be with me, not my name.

He took Marigold’s rope from her. “To Mottlethorpe, then.”

Like to read the rest?

Hazel’s Promise
is available
online
.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A NUMBER OF
people helped to make this book what it is. Foremost among them is my sterling developmental editor, Laura Cifelli Stibich, who made this story immeasurably better.

I also owe many thanks to my hardworking copyeditor, Maria Fairchild, who taught me that I still have a few things to learn about grammar, and to my proofreader, the eagle-eyed Martin O’Hearn.

The cover and the series logo are both the work of the talented Kim Killion, of The Killion Group. Thank you, Kim!

And last—but definitely not least—my thanks go to my parents, without whose support this book would not have been published.

EMILY LARKIN GREW
up in a house full of books—her mother was a librarian and her father a novelist—so perhaps it’s not surprising that she became a writer.

Emily has studied a number of subjects, including geology and geophysics, canine behavior, and ancient Greek. Her varied career includes stints as a field assistant in Antarctica and a waitress on the Isle of Skye, as well as five vintages in New Zealand’s wine industry.

She loves to travel and has lived in Sweden, backpacked in Europe and North America, and traveled overland in the Middle East, China, and North Africa. She enjoys climbing hills, yoga workouts, watching reruns of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
and
Firefly,
and reading.

Emily writes historical romances as Emily Larkin and fantasy novels as Emily Gee. Her websites are
www.emilylarkin.com
and
www.emilygee.com
.

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OTHER WORKS by EMILY LARKIN

THE BALEFUL GODMOTHER SERIES

THE FEY QUARTET (SERIES PREQUEL)

ORIGINAL SERIES

Unmasking Miss Appleby

Resisting Miss Merryweather