The Seven Year King (The Faerie Ring #3)
Read The Seven Year King (The Faerie Ring #3) Online
Authors: Kiki Hamilton
The SEVEN YEAR KING
Copyright 2013 © Karen Hamilton
All Rights Reserved.
Cover design by Kiki Hamilton
Map by Virginia Allyn
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.
Fair Wind Books
First Edition: May 2013
ISBN-10: 148124745X
ISBN: 978-1481247450
eBook ISBN: 978-1-63001-205-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012923779
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
North Charleston, SC
For those of us who dare to dream remaining optimistic, against all odds moving forward, against all obstacles because we believe.
Always believe!
Contents
Also by Kiki Hamilton
YA Historical Fantasy
THE FAERIE RING
Book One of The Faerie Ring Series
THE TORN WING
Book Two of The Faerie Ring Series
YA Contemporary
THE LAST DANCE
Key to Pronunciation and Meaning of Irish Words
(With thanks to
irishgaelictranslator.com
and Irish Language Forum)
An fáinne sí
(un FAWN-yeh shee)
The faerie ring
Na síochána, aontaímid
(nuh SHEE-uh-khaw-nuh, EEN-tee-mij)
For the sake of peace, we agree
Grá do dhuine básmhar
(Graw duh GGWIN-yeh BAWSS-wur)
Love for a mortal person
Óinseach
(OWN-shukh)
Fool/idiot (for a female)
Nimh Álainn
(niv AW-lin)
Beautiful Poison
Tánaiste
(Tawn-ISH-tah)
Second in command
Cloch na Teamhrach
(klukh nuh TYARR-uh)
Stone of Tara
Corn na bhFuíoll
(KOR-un nuh WEE-ull)
Cup of Plenty
Samhain
(Sow WEEN)
Festival marking the beginning of Winter, usually celebrated on October 31st
Dear Reader,
The story told within
THE FAERIE RING series
is a combination of fact and fiction. Known as ‘historical fantasy’, I like to think of the books as a
‘what if….’
kind of story.
Much of book one, THE FAERIE RING, is grounded in reality: Queen Victoria and Princes Leopold and Arthur were real historical figures. In fact, the story was set in the year 1871 because that was the year Prince Leopold was eighteen years old.
Many of the places referenced in the series: Charing Cross Station, King’s Cross Station, The World’s End Pub, St. James Park, the Birdkeeper’s Cottage, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, and the Great Ormond Street Hospital, are real and can be visited today—should you be lucky enough to find yourself in London.
Both book two, THE TORN WING, and book three, THE SEVEN YEAR KING, take you to other parts of England, including Glastonbury Tor and The Wychwood Forest, which are both real and have legends that associate them with faeries, and in the case of the Wychwood, tales of hobgoblins, witches and other creatures abound.
The British Isles are rich with faerie lore and there are many artifacts that exist today that are said to be associated with the fey. Introduced in THE TORN WING, the Hill of Tara exists in Ireland, the London Stone is displayed on Cannon Street in London and in THE SEVEN YEAR KING you’ll learn of the Luck of Edenhall – real and on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington.
The Author’s Note at the end of the book contains additional information you might find interesting, regarding some of the people, places and things mentioned in THE SEVEN YEAR KING, though to avoid any spoilers, perhaps best read
after
you finish the book.
Now—on with Tiki’s story…
The Palace of Mirors, the Otherworld
F
irelight flickered from wall-mounted torches in the small chamber off the Great Hall as the Winter King and his court of UnSeelie advisors—Bearach, Sullivan, Cruinn and Scáthach—gathered in a circle. Dark shadows filled the corners of the room, a reflection of the perpetual night outside the palace while the UnSeelie fey reigned in the Otherworld.
Within the center of the circle lay the prisoner—the Seelie spy. He’d been beaten and tied, his wrists and ankles roped together behind his back. The glamour of the black-haired and scarred Sean ó’Broin was gone and the young man’s natural features were revealed, but his eyes and cheekbones were so swollen and bruised that his face was almost unrecognizable. Dried blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth and dirt caked his hair, making the strands appear to be dark brown, rather than his natural blond color.
