The House Of Gaian

won’t impress the Fae if you’re knocked out of the saddle on the way to this gathering because you weren’t paying attention to the low-hanging branch in front of your face.”
    What an embarrassing picture that made.
    As she brushed her heels against Mistrunner’s sides to give him the signal to move forward toward the buildings up ahead, she said in her best long-suffering, big-sister tone of voice, “Mother, grant me the patience needed to deal with a younger sister.”
    “The Great Mother doesn’t care about such things.”
    “She would if she had a younger sister,” Selena replied sourly.
    “Maybe the moon is Her younger sister,” Rhyann said, a mischievous light in her eyes. “Maybe that’s why they play this constant game of catch-me-if-you-can.”
    “It’s possible. The younger sister is always playing with the tides while the elder moves sedately through the seasons.”
    “Sedately? Phuuu .”
    “Brat.”
    “Mouse breath.”
    Selena’s mouth fell open. “Mouse breath?”
    “Remember the time Mother found you in the barn with half a mouse?” Rhyann said primly.
    “I was still getting used to changing into a puppy!” And had been learning, usually the hard way, to curb the instincts of a shadow hound that had hunted down its prey.
     
    “And Mother wouldn’t let you change back until she was sure the mouse bits had gone through you—
    one way or another.”
    She remembered the scolding that had followed the discovery—and the flat-handed whack on the head she’d received when she’d snarled at her mother for taking the rest of the mouse away.
    “I only did it once,” Selena muttered.
    “Which is one time more than I ever did it,” Rhyann said. Then she raised her hand in greeting to the man who stepped out of the cottage, followed by two women. “Blessings of the day to you.”
    Faced with three strangers, Selena gave up the idea of leaning over and giving Rhyann’s braid a hard yank and worked to compose her expression into something more suitably adult. “Blessings of the day to you.”
    The man stepped forward, nerves and temper plain on his face. “And what would the Fair Folk be wanting with the likes of us?”
    “Chad,” the younger of the two women said, placing a restraining hand on the man’s arm. She studied Rhyann for a moment, then Selena. “What can we offer you, Ladies?”
    “Your hospitality for the night, if you’re willing,” Selena said coolly. They’d been met with wariness and suspicion at almost every Old Place they’d been to since leaving home—because of her. Because she looked Fae, and the Fae, for reasons none of the witches in those Old Places understood, were keeping watch in a way that made the witches and the Small Folk uneasy.
    “But... wouldn’t you be more comfortable in Tir Alainn?” the woman asked.
    “I don’t know,” Selena said. “I’ve never been there. I am Fae because that was my mother’s legacy to me. But I am first, and always, a Daughter of the House of Gaian.”
    That startled them.
    The older woman, the crone of the family judging by her looks, said hesitantly, “You’re a witch and Fae?
    ”
    “Yes.”
    A look passed between the two women, while the man watched them anxiously.
    “Would you be a Lady of the Moon?” the crone asked.
    “I am,” Selena replied.
    “You’re gathering with the others to see who will become the Huntress?”
    “Yes.”
    The crone smiled. “Come in and be welcome, Ladies. Oh, yes, you are welcome.”
    As Selena and Rhyann dismounted, the man, who introduced himself as Chad, said, “If you’re easy about it, I can take your horses to the barn and give them a light feed.”
    “Is there somewhere they could graze for now?” Rhyann asked.

    “Aye, there’s a pasture by the barn. We’ve been keeping the animals close since—” He stopped, his lips pressing together in a tight line.
    Since the Fae started arriving , Selena finished. There was anger here, and she was going to find out why. It was becoming clear that the Fae were distrusted and disliked, even feared, and nothing short of desperation was going to make the humans and witches welcome their presence.
    “We’ll go with you to the barn,” Selena said. “It will help these two settle in better.”
    Chad turned his head, and called, “Parker. Come help with the horses.”
    A boy appeared in the doorway. He hesitated for a moment before joining his father. His eyes were wide, his face filled with awed