Ianthe slid a cup and scone to her side of the small
table and slathered butter onto the bread while Dubheasa eyed her carefully.
“Well then,” Dubheasa said, thankfully moving on to a
new topic, “when did we last see each other, dear? Do you remember?”
“Um.” Ianthe paused to take a bite of her scone. “Two
summers ago, I think.”
“And has much changed since then?” Dubheasa asked,
stirring cream into her tea.
“Besides growing a bit taller, nothing at all.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you’re still here.”
“Why wouldn’t I be here?”
Dubheasa sipped her tea and waited for Ianthe to come to
some sort of conclusion, but Ianthe stared back, lost as ever.
“Well, the Scréch Sídhe, of course,” Dubheasa finally
said.
Ianthe couldn’t help but subtly roll her eyes, feeling a
sliver of annoyance in her gut.
“Oh, right. Of course,” she said flatly. “How could I
forget.”
“You still don’t believe in the Sídhe, do you?” Dubheasa
asked, though she already knew the answer.
“No, I must admit. I don’t.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, why is that?”
“You told me the Scréch Sídhe would come for me after my
mother disappeared, but it’s been eleven years. Do you really believe a magical
faerie would need this much time to find a person?”
Dubheasa continued to sip her tea with squinted eyes
before offering another question.
“Then how do you
think your mother turned to stone?”
“Oh, this again?” Ianthe said, reminding herself a bit
of her dad. “My mother didn’t turn to stone.”
“I’ve seen her, Ianthe. I know she stands in the river.”
“I’ve told you,” Ianthe said, dropping her hands to the
table and rattling the teacups. “My father had that statue made in remembrance of her. It’s not actually
her.”
“And yet, he never visits her to remember her.”
“N—no, you’ve got it wrong, Dubheasa. My mother
disappeared.”
“And disappearing into thin air is a more acceptable
explanation for you?” Dubheasa asked, studying Ianthe’s face.
“Certainly more acceptable than ‘cursed by a faerie’,” she said in a failed whisper.
About the author:@therealemilymcpherson #booktok #youngadultbooks #fantasybooks #femaleprotagonist #irishmythology #motheroftheriver ♬ Fallen down - Slowed - 「Incørrect」
this sounds like a wonderful book
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