The Courting of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats, #1)

by Mary E. Pearson

She was a short, curvy witch, with pale freckled cheeks, a quick smile, and her sandy brown locks were piled haphazardly on her head. Tiny birds no larger than a walnut flew in and out of it like it was a nest.

“Both of my sisters are terrified of them, but they’ve always fascinated me. Spiders are loners and artists, and they work so diligently weaving their webs. Did you know their silk is five times stronger than steel? Can you imagine a sword made from it?” She glanced sideways at him, her brows arched. “Just saying. Something you might want to look into. And the shrouds they create for their victims—there’s something elegant and respectful about it. Killing isn’t a thoughtless act for them; it’s a well-conceived process.”

When she spoke, she didn’t hold back. She loved laundromats, and she sold their magic to him like she was a seasoned vendor at a fair, waxing poetic.

“That’s what you like about them, that they offer fresh starts?” “Yes,” she answered. “There’s a lot of value there for just a few quarters. Hard to beat. And on a cold rainy day, nothing smells better, except for maybe a coffee shop.” “Those smell good too?” “The best ones do. Like I told you, you’ve been visiting the wrong places.”

Certainty that her father was alive budded in her like spring. She would find him. Was it the fae magic in her veins telling her this secret? Or was it just common, everyday hope? Maybe hope was mortal magic. She would take either kind.

Love was a strange word. Bristol didn’t quite trust it. It was used every day to place value on the simplest, most trivial things, from pizza toppings to overpriced party dresses to well-worn sneakers.

Before he took his position, Tyghan walked over to August, who was nibbling on the low branch of a hawthorn tree. August startled, sensing Tyghan’s approach even if he couldn’t see him. “You useless bag of dog bones,” Tyghan whispered close to his silky muzzle. “You betray me for an apple?” August replied with a guilty snort. “You will take her straight back to the palace, no matter what she tells you. Do you understand?”