Princess of the Fae: Royal Fae Series, #1

By Jamie Campbell

The Fae kept me hidden.

 

Everything was going great in my life… until my cat told me I was a changeling and people were coming to kill me. You read that right - my CAT, WTF?

Being whisked away to a private academy for the Fae is the only chance I have of hiding from those who wish to end my life.

 

Not only am I really a Fae, but there are so many other secrets that I never would have been able to comprehend. They say I'm a princess and my true parents are on the royal throne. I'm not even sure if I should believe them.

 

Luckily, I've got the help of four guys who are more than willing to look out for me. I feel strangely attracted to all of them, choosing one is going to be near impossible.

 

If I can survive here at the Royal Academy for the Fae, maybe I can make sense of everything. Maybe then I'll understand how my cat can freaking talk.

 

Princess of the Fae is the first story in an exciting new Reverse Harem series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jamie Campbell
• Release date: Nov 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201756512

Jamie Campbell

Jamie was born into a big, crazy family of 6 children. Being the youngest, she always got away with anything and would never shut up. Constantly letting her imagination run wild, her teachers were often frustrated when her 'What I did on the weekend' stories contained bunyips and princesses.Growing up, Jamie did the sensible things and obtained a Bachelor of Business degree from Southern Cross University and worked hard to gain her membership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.Yet nothing compared to writing. Quiting the rat race to spend quality time with her laptop named Lily, Jamie has written several novels and screenplays. Spanning a number of genres and mediums, Jamie writes whatever inspires her from ghost stories to teenage love stories to tantalising murder mysteries. Nothing is off limits.A self-confessed television addict, dog lover, Taylor Swift fan, and ghost hunter, Jamie loves nothing more than the thrill of sharing her stories.

Book preview

Princess of the Fae

JAMIE CAMPBELL

Chapter 1

Something outside makes a very loud noise and wakes me up. Like a hulking monster crashed through things it wasn’t supposed to and the world needed to hear about it.

I jump out of bed and reach for my baseball bat. Confession: I have never played a game of baseball or watched it being played in my entire life.

The heavy wood feels like insurance in my grip. Whatever made that noise can’t be good. I would be less afraid if I heard gunshots—they are considered normal around here.

I was having a really good dream too. There were four hot men and they were all into me. It wasn’t a good time to wake up in the middle of it. I hadn’t got to the really good part yet.

Soft taps sound on my bedroom door. They are nothing like the loud bangs I heard before—the ones that were loud enough to make me up. I’ve heard this noise hundreds of times, it’s only my cat scratching to come in.

I work up enough courage to open the door, just a little bit. I don’t have a lock on it so the piece of wood is only an illusion of safety. If anybody wanted to get in here, they easily could.

Mercury hurries into the room, her belly hitting the door and forcing it to open that little bit more to accommodate her girth. The fussy cat only eats the best food which isn’t always good for her weight.

She stares up at me once I close the door behind her. Somehow, it’s reassuring to have her here with me. We’ve been through a lot together over the last nineteen years. Her advanced age hasn’t slowed her down any. She still looks like a sprightly little gray and white kitten.

What’s going on out there? I ask her. We regularly have one-sided conversations like this. She usually just blankly stares back at me.

You need to run.

No, that didn’t happen. The cat did not just speak to me. She couldn’t have. She’s a freaking cat! Cats do not speak, not in any language.

We don’t have much time, Paige.

Maybe I’m still asleep. I’ve got to be still asleep. I’m hallucinating. Perhaps I imagined the noise too. This is all a dream.

A very realistic dream.

What part of that didn’t you understand?

Her lips are moving and she’s definitely talking. It’s going to take a lot of therapy to process this. I can already see the skeptical look on the psychologist’s face.

Mercury jumps up on my bookcase so we are almost eye to eye. Paige, I know it’s a lot to take in but we don’t have much time. You have to trust me. Bad people are coming for you.

A trillion questions stomp into my mind. Maybe the talking cat will be the least surprising thing of the night. How are you talking?

I’m your familiar.

That’s not a real thing.

She shakes her head and looks at the door. I don’t have time to explain everything to you. We have to go and it has to be now. Can you please just trust me?

Maybe I’m a complete fool, but I make a snap decision to listen to her. If it is just a dream, then there will be no harm done. If she’s real...then there could be some real danger around.

I’ve known Mercury my entire life. The cat means everything to me. I find myself nodding. Okay. Where are we going?

Follow me.

I’m in my pajamas.

There’s no time to change. Says the cat who has never worn a stitch of clothes in her lifetime. Meanwhile, my shorty pajamas don’t really cover too much skin.

No time at all?

Another loud bang sounds outside.

Paige! Hurry up! Mercury says.

Okay, okay.

I take the bat with me as I follow the cat out of my room and down the corridor. What about my roommates? I whisper. I don’t want anyone else waking up to hear me talking to the cat.

They’ll be fine. It’s you they want. That sounds ominous. I’m sure this is a dream now. It can’t be a very creative one, otherwise, I would take my friends with me and we would go on an adventure.

We creep through the house as I try to keep up with Mercury. She’s setting a cruelling pace as we hurry through to the backyard. I never knew she could move this fast.

The property backs onto a forest—a feature that drew me to the house to begin with. I insisted it be our home while we attend college and my two best friends readily agreed.

The cat leads me into the dark woods. I wish I’d thought to put shoes on. There are sharp sticks and obstacles everywhere in the darkness.

It’s difficult to see her amongst all the shadows. She is lithe on her feet while I seem to clunk everywhere barefoot.

Do you know where we’re going? I ask in a whisper. There are still noises in the distance that send a chill down my spine.

Yes. Be quiet.

Being chastised by a cat while stalking around a forest in the dark in the middle of the night. This definitely has to be one of the weirdest dreams I’ve ever had. I preferred my previous dream with all the hot guys in it.

A loud cracking sound rips through the quiet night air. I instinctively duck down and hope it wasn’t made by the people pursuing us.

Stay still, Mercury whispers.

I freeze in place. My senses run out of control as I listen to all the noises in the woods and beyond. I can smell moss and leaves. My mouth is so dry I could drink a gallon of water.

Footsteps.

Rustling bushes.

They’re getting closer.

I catch Mercury’s eye in the moonlight. Her face is very expressive for a cat. I’ve always thought so. I guess now I know why—she’s magical, I guess?

She nods forward. She might be able to be stealthy but I don’t have the reflexes of a cat. It feels like every step I take echoes around the forest for everyone to hear.

I grip my baseball bat. I’m not going to be afraid of using it if they catch up with us. I will smack anyone over the head with it if they get too close.

Confession: I’ve never hit anything with this bat before. And that includes an actual baseball. It’s really just for threats and for me to feel a little more secure in my home without my six-foot-tall dad around.

Something shoots over my head and slams into the tree right beside me. Just another few inches lower and I wouldn’t have a head right now.

What the hell was that?

Smoke billows from the bark of the tree. It was some kind of flame or electrical pulse? I have no idea but it leaves a big hole in the middle of the poor tree.

Hurry! Mercury whisper-yells at me.

I glance back long enough to see three figures racing through the woods behind us. I can only see their silhouettes but they are massive. My bat will be nothing against them.

I hope Mercury knows where she’s going. If I scream in here, nobody will be able to hear. We’re on our own out here. Ripe for the picking without any witnesses.

My feet rustle every single damn leaf there is on the ground. They are slippery too, making sure that I have to work to stay upright—while running. And awkwardly carrying a wooden bat.

This isn’t going to end well.

Another fireball shoots past me and almost hits Mercury. She jumps about four feet in the air and all the hair on her tail fluffs up.

We find the energy to hurry up.

They’re getting closer. I can hear their footsteps as they keep up with the loud thumping of my heart. I don’t know who they are or why they are so interested in me. All I know is that they cannot catch me under any circumstances.

We do a complete ninety-degree turn and head in a new direction. I skid around the corner and regain my balance. We’ve bought a few extra seconds as our pursuers have to scramble to make the turn.

I really hope this damn cat knows where we’re going. I never thought I would be putting my life into my faithful cat’s paws.

Mercury leads me into a clearing with a massive tree right in the middle of it. Nothing grows around it, making it stand out in the moonlight.

Here we are. Turn the handle and step through. Don’t close the door until I’m in too, the cat instructs. She’s just as bossy as I imagined her to be. "And hurry."

I don’t see a handle.

Find one. She’s losing her patience with me.

I squint as I look at the tree trunk. It looks like an old, knotted oak tree. Why would it have a doorh—

Never mind, I found it.

My hand grasps around the smooth wooden knob and I turn it. It easily gives way when I push inside. I expected the interior to be tiny and very much look like the inside of a tree trunk, but it doesn’t. We’re at the beginning of a very long tunnel that is lit with fire lanterns on the walls.

Mercury jumps in behind me and I close the door. I hope this dream doesn’t suddenly turn into a nightmare. None of this feels right.

I take in a deep breath as I try to regain control over my lungs. I needed to train for a run like that. I’m surprised I lasted this far.

Come on! Mercury snaps.

Okay, okay. I run to catch up with her. I’ve never seen her so active. Normally she is sound asleep on the windowsill of my room. Only treats would move her. And even then, only as far as the kitchen.

Do you think they’ll find the door? I ask. I can’t stop picturing the three shadow figures that were chasing us. Surely a door couldn’t stop them.

Yes, probably. That’s why we need to hurry.

I fasten