Changeling by Arista Holmes

Author:Arista Holmes [Arista Holmes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jackmanii Press
Published: 2023-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

Those ten days passed in a blur for Lizzy.

She didn't need to face Mia in classes any longer, and the red-haired vampire appeared to go out of her way to avoid Lizzy and Booker at mealtimes, both of which took a weight off Lizzy's mind.

The first few days of their adjusted schedule were hectic. Cara was either sleeping, or studying her notes in preparation for her early exams.

Meanwhile, Lizzy and Booker struggled to adjust to the amount of time spent running, hitting punching bags, and learning how to break out of grips and holds.

Andric hadn't been joking when he'd warned them their bodies would ache, and it was rare Booker went more than an hour without complaining.

The pair of them often ended Andric's lessons laid out on their backs on the grass, staring up at the sky, Booker panting in exaggerated protest and Lizzy giggling breathlessly at his dramatic suffering.

More often than not, Andric indulged them.

Lizzy suspected it was because twenty minutes later the bell would ring for the next lesson and, more often than not, that meant Andric got to torture them for another ninety minutes.

Between Cara's exams and Andric's exhaustive training, ten days slipped past Lizzy almost before she noticed, and when she woke up on the Saturday of her eighteenth birthday, it was as shocking as it was painful.

She lay in a strange bed, in a strange realm, and stared at a ceiling made of stone instead of thatch, swallowing hard.

Eighteen for fey meant adulthood. Signalling the transition from a child relying on their parents, to the life of an adult fey, expected to live alone, and survive alone. A fey who could be held accountable for their own actions.

It would have been her mum's responsibility to make sure there was a home, fully stocked and furnished, ready for Lizzy to move into at the end of the day. Her last week would have been filled, much as Cara's had been, with exams at the Arbaon Academy. Those scores would tell her which career paths she could pursue.

But none of it felt real anymore. Arbaon was an entire world away, and the only thing different about today, over yesterday, was the promised escape from Speculo School.

"Lizzy?" Cara said, standing from her bed. Lizzy glanced at her roommate, her friend, and tried to summon a smile. Based on Cara's grimace, she failed.

"You thinking about... your mum?" she asked hesitantly, and Lizzy sighed, shrugging.

"Sort of," she admitted, and a heartbeat later, Cara was sitting on the edge of Lizzy's bed.

"Want to talk about it?" Cara offered, and Lizzy was able to summon a genuine smile for the vampire.

"It's my birthday today," she said simply, "I'm eighteen."

"What? Really? Why didn't you say anything?!" Cara asked, and the excitement in her voice startled Lizzy. She blinked up at Cara and shook her head.

"Uh... because... well, I didn't realise at first. The calendars are all different here. And then, well it's not that important—"

"But this is perfect! We're heading to Hockley, so I can get you a present, and we'll have to find a cake store," Cara babbled, and Lizzy frowned.

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