Myths and Mistletoe Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Myths and Mistletoe

  Tera Lynn Childs

  For you, dear reader,

  because you make these stories

  worth writing

  Contents

  Of Solstice Dreaming

  A Mythmas Carol

  Snow Falling on Serfopoula

  New Year, New Mermaid

  A Note from TLC

  More in These Series

  Also by TLC

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Of Solstice Dreaming

  a Darkly Fae story

  Chapter One

  December 20, 9:38 pm

  The Moraine palace was never more beautiful than during the Winter Solstice celebration. Rows of bright, welcoming candles glowed in every window sill and along the jagged parapet of the roof line. Swags of evergreen boughs hung over the window and doors, which had been thrown wide to let nature in and heat out. Sounds of music and merriment drifted out into the night.

  Winnie could imagine herself standing at one of those open windows, bathed in the glow of candlelight, eating a fresh winterberry cake and singing songs of Brighid, the goddess of fire, and Cernunnos, the god of the forest.

  She couldn’t wait to attend in real life.

  In the years since her Gran died and passed on the power to see the fae realm in her dreams, Winnie spent most of her waking hours longing for the magical world to be real. A few short months ago she learned it was. What she saw while she slept—people, places, events—was actually happening within the veil.

  That only made her long for it more.

  She longed for Winter Solstice most of all.

  Winnie had dreamed this celebration many times over the years. A three-night festival to celebrate the dead of winter and the promise of a bountiful spring to come. Always watching from a distance, never really there.

  The celebration would be different this year for many reasons. Partly because the Moraine had defeated and dispatched the traitor who had threatened to destroy them from within. Partly because their alliance with the Deachair promised to improve the defenses of both clans and give some ease to the mounting concern that war might break out in the realm at any moment.

  But mostly, for Winnie at least, this Solstice would be different because she would actually get to attend. In real life. In real time. At the side of her boyfriend, Prince Cathair.

  Winnie knew it was a selfish thought. She should be happier for the clan’s reasons than her own.

  “After tonight,” she promised herself. “I’ll put the clan first.”

  As a future princess, it would be her duty.

  Winnie shivered in anticipation as she walked the winding forest path that led to the palace door. Tonight was going to be truly magical.

  She could barely contain her excitement.

  A trio of young fae girls came running toward her on the path, winterberry cakes cupped in their small hands, giggling with pure joy. Winnie moved to step out of the way, but the girls seemed not to notice. As they approached, one reached for another’s cake, sending her twisting to the side. Sending her crashing into Winnie.

  Only there was no crash.

  The girl passed straight through, running and laughing as if Winnie wasn’t even there.

  Because she wasn’t.

  Winnie smiled with a heavy sigh.

  Sometimes the dreams were harder to discern from the reality. Before she learned the fae realm was real, that her dreams were real, Winnie had never confused the two. Now that she knew, it had become next to impossible for her to tell the difference. Especially since she had been spending more and more time within the veil.

  Such was the curse of an aislingeach. A curse that Winnie gladly carried if it meant being able to see into the fae realm in her dreams. If it meant being able to help Cathair and the Moraine on occasion. If it meant being able to see him and sometimes even interact with him when she was back in the human realm.

  Determined not to miss out on the celebration, even if she wasn’t there in reality yet, Winnie continued down the path. A dream Solstice was better than no Solstice at all.

  The moment she stepped inside the palace, her senses were overwhelmed. The interior glowed like a fire, lit up by candles on every available surface. The scent of fragrant evergreen filled the air with an aroma that reminded Winnie of Christmas with her grandmother.

  She had been gone for more than five years now, but the sense memory was still fresh.

  And the music. There was so much music that the very walls of the palace seemed to vibrate with the merry sounds.

  Following the music to its source, Winnie wove her way through the crowd, into the ballroom. From her position at the top of the staircase, she could see everything. The fae couples dancing, swirling and moving around the room in a pattern that seemed both chaotic and choreographed. The long table laden with treats and refreshment. The sea of glitter that floated just below the ceiling, with a little help from some fae magic.

  It took her breath away.

  Winnie scanned her gaze over the room, searching for the tall fae with black and silver hair. It didn’t take her long to find him. Cathair stood in the corner of the ballroom, looking very regal in his formal uniform. He was scanning the room much as Winnie had been. Checking on his brother, if she had to guess.

  At that moment, Prince Aedan danced by, his girlfriend Bree held close in his arms. Nothing but joy and happiness in his expression. No trace of the darkness that haunted him—that haunted them all.

  They had all been touched by Ultan’s evil.

  Even from this distance, even through the tenuous connection of the dream, Winnie felt the tension leave Cathair’s body.

  Every cell in her body wanted to cross the room, to be at Cathair’s side and wrap her arms around his waist. Even if she wasn’t there in reality, she could embrace him in spirit.

  The blare of an alarm clock tugged at her consciousness. Time to go.

  She gave Cathair one last fleeting look before allowing herself to wake up. That night, after years of dreaming, she would get to experience the celebration for real. The thought almost made it bearable to leave the dream.

  Chapter Two

  December 21, 3:37 pm

  Winnie raced up to her room full of excited energy. Most afternoons, at least those after a day at school, she could barely drag herself up the stairs.

  Today was different. Today had been the last day of school before winter break. Which meant tonight she would get to attend the Winter Solstice celebration. Finally!

  She bounded upstairs, taking them two steps at a time.

  Hurrying to get ready, Winnie took a quick shower—the fae realm had many magical qualities, but indoor plumbing wasn’t one of them.

  She did her best at styling her hair and applying her makeup. She could have left it all natural, knowing that Queen Eimear would have the palace beauty staff ready and waiting. But every minute spent being fussed over meant one less minute enjoying
the celebration

  Finally, she changed into the beautiful green dress that Cathair had commissioned for her from a Morainian seamstress. It made her feel like she was already a princess.

  On her way out of the room, she checked herself in the mirror. She didn’t have the ethereal beauty of the fae, but she looked ready to experience her first Winter Solstice.

  Winnie found her aunt in the kitchen, baking. That wasn’t surprising. She almost always found Aunt Maureen in the kitchen, baking. Especially that time of year. As a professional pastry chef, the winter holidays were her second-busiest season, after the summer wedding rush.

  “Happy Solstice,” Winnie said as she entered the kitchen.

  Her aunt looked up from a big red mixing bowl. Winnie bit back a smile at the smudge of molasses on her aunt’s cheek.

  “Happy Solstice,” Maureen replied with a smile. “You look beautiful. What’s on the schedule?”

  Winnie crossed to the stove and poured herself a mug of hot cider from the pot that was almost always simmering on the stove in the cold and rainy winter months.

  “The Feast of Brighid is tonight.”She inhaled the intoxicating scent of cinnamon and spice. “It’s a huge, multi-course dinner followed by a formal ball that lasts all night.”

  Setting her mug down on the counter, Winnie spun so that the skirt of her dress swirled around her like a cloud.

  Maureen went back to her mixing. “Are you staying the night?”

  “The festivities run into the wee hours.” Winnie stopped spinning. “It just makes sense.”

  Aunt Mo didn’t love it when Winnie stayed in the veil. But Winnie didn’t love it that Maureen had kept the truth of their family’s magic a secret all those years. In some moments, she was angry at Gran, too, for keeping the secret and at her mom for dying before she could tell Winnie the truth. None of that anger made anything better.

  Besides, Maureen was the only family she had left. Winnie didn’t like upsetting her.

  Meeting Cathair had done a lot to soften her aunt’s stance on spending time in the veil. That and Winnie’s promise to, even though she and Cathair planned to get engaged, still start college next year.

  Future princess or not, Winnie knew that her education was too important to abandon.

  “Do you need the car?” Winnie asked. “I can’t bike in this dress.”

  “I have a delivery first thing in the morning,” Maureen said, dusting her hands on the sky blue apron dotted with snowflakes that hung around her neck. “I’ll drive you to the forest.”

  “Please and thank you.”

  Maureen nodded absently as she placed a damp towel over the mixing bowl.

  Winnie finished the rest of her cider in a big, heart-warming gulp.

  By the time they were on their way, Winnie could barely contain her excitement. Her mind replayed all of the Winter Solstice feasts she’d dreamed before.

  “You would be amazed by some of the baked goods the palace kitchen produces.” Winnie closed her eyes and pictured the dessert table from last year. “Cakes that touch the ceiling. Sugar bubbles that literally float on air. Truffles that make your skin sparkle.”

  Maureen laughed. “Some days I wouldn’t mind having a bit of fae magic in my pantry.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Winnie spun to face her. “Cathair can perform the unshielding spell again. You would love it.”

  Aunt Maureen’s one and only visit to the veil had been eventful, to say the least. Which possibly explained some of her reluctant feelings about the fae realm. Winnie had been trying unsuccessfully to get her to go back ever since.

  “I wish I could, sweetie.” She steered the car into the trailhead parking lot closest to the veil. “But those fruitcakes aren’t going to bake themselves.”

  Winnie was disappointed but not surprised.

  “You know how to reach me if you change your mind?”

  Maureen shuddered. “I’m terrified of those ravens.”

  “They’re harmless,” Winnie insisted, although she was always a little wary around them herself. “If you need me for anything, they’re the only way to communicate with the palace from the human realm.”

  “I’ll use them if I need them.”

  Winnie leaned across the car and gave her aunt a big hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “You want me to pick you up?”

  “No, that’s okay. Cathair will arrange transportation.”

  “Here, take my sweater.” Maureen reached into the back seat. “You’ll freeze half to death.”

  Winnie loved her aunt, but just then she was too eager to get to the palace to wait any longer. She thanked her aunt for the sweater before jumping out of the car and heading into the forest.

  Over the last few months, since the night Cathair first showed her the veil was real, she had walked this path dozens of times. She knew it better than the route from her house to her school. It was carved into her memory.

  Tonight, the forest felt different. Full of energy. It was almost as if the very air around her was charged with electricity.

  No, not electricity. Magic.

  The magic of Winter Solstice. It was all around her. In the way the birds sang brighter, the way the trees rustled sharper, the way the air smelled fresher.

  The entire forest was primed to celebrate the darkest day of the year.

  Winnie could relate.

  She hurried along the path, eager to cross into the veil as quickly as possible because Cathair would sense when she did. Their connection was that strong. It would only be a matter of moments before Cathair appeared at her side.

  As she entered the ever-darker depths of the forest, a heavy feeling settled into her stomach. She had long since gotten over her fear of the woods. This was different. Not fear, but unease.

  “Must be the hot cider,” she guessed. “Shouldn’t have downed it so quickly.”

  But as she drew closer and closer to the veil itself, the feeling grew. Soon, her entire body shook with it. Something was wrong, and that worried her.

  When she reached the small clearing where the path passed into the veil, Winnie fought the overwhelming urge to purge her cider onto the forest floor.

  Whatever was happening, she wouldn’t let it stop her.

  She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Gradually, the sensation faded to dull nausea. She could deal with that.

  Eyes open, she took a step forward and prepared to pass through the veil.

  She crashed into what felt like a solid wall. Winnie blinked several times, trying to clear her vision. She placed her hands before her and tried again.

  Again, she ran into a solid surface that wasn’t there. Or one that wasn’t visible anyway.

  It could only be the veil.

  Winnie’s hands reached out and felt the pulsating energy of it, a dark magic designed to keep curious humans out of the fae realm.

  The veil wasn’t an actual barrier. It drove humans away with fear. It shouldn’t have been able to keep her out physically. If she was able to overcome her fear, entry should have been easy.

  The fear hadn’t bothered her much since the first time she approached the veil on her own. With the spell of acceptance that Cathair had cast on her, she wasn’t supposed to be affected by the dark magic at all.

  Judging from the nerves bubbling in her stomach, the spell must have worn off.

  But still, it should not have been a physical barrier.

  Maybe the realm had instituted stronger security for some reason. Winnie hadn’t dreamed of any new threats. Since Ultan’s defeat, tensions in the veil had been relatively low. Liam and Tearloch, the heads of the Palace Watch and Royal Guard were the nervous kind, though. They might have increased protections for the holidays, just in case.

  Maybe she needed someone to escort her in.

  “Hello?” Winnie called out into the seemingly empty forest. “Regan? Liam? Anyone?”

  The Morainian guard patrolled this area of the fo
rest. One of them should have been within earshot. They stood watch, ever at the ready to protect their clan from intruders.

  And yet, there was nothing. No one. No guards. No fae. Nothing.

  Winnie wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed, upset, or worried. She settled on a combination of all three.

  Not knowing what else to do, she sat down on a fallen tree and waited for someone to come by.

  Chapter Three

  December 21, 5:53 pm

  Winnie pulled her coat tighter around her waist and fought against the escalating shivers. The forest was damp and cold. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could wait out here. It was a long walk back home, but freezing to death just outside the veil wasn’t exactly her idea of a fun Solstice celebration.

  A rustling sound caught her attention. Prepared for it to be another deer or raccoon or random forest beast, she glanced in the direction of the noise.

  Moments later, her best friend stepped into view.

  Winnie jumped to her feet. “Mel!”

  Mel’s eyes widened.

  “Win, what are you doing out here?” she asked. “I thought you were going in right after school.”

  “I was,” Winnie said. “I am.” She walked over to the veil and pressed her hand into the still-solid defense. “I can’t.”

  Mel scowled. “Why not?”

  “I have no idea. I’ve tried everything.”

  “Did you call for a guard?”

  “No one came.”

  Mel’s scowl deepened. “Tearloch would have come.”

  Winnie gave her a helpless gesture. They all would have come if they’d heard her. Which Winnie had reasoned could only mean that they couldn’t. The fae within the veil couldn’t hear her at all.

  She didn’t pursue those thoughts any further because she didn’t want to think about the reasons they might not be able to hear her. Some of them were innocuous, but others would be worrisome.