Molly Read Online Free

unwell. Not that she looked it. Truth be told, Molly was quite envious of her unnatural beauty. But there was something not quite right about her. And the others hovered around her surreptitiously, as if they expected a catastrophe at any moment. The woman didn’t appear exactly graceless to Molly, but in comparison to the agility of their company, she might possibly understand their concern.
    The woman sat across the fire from Molly, and, as usual, Cheerful settled in beside Molly, angled between her and the others. As a general rule, Molly tried to avoid looking directly at the woman. But, every now and again, she caught sight of her face and recognized some of her own emotion there. A fierce determination. A confidence that belied her size. Only this woman carried more. Behind her eyes was chaos and fury.
    The redhead noticed Molly’s attention had fallen on the woman and intervened. She stepped before the fire, circling the flame as she spoke. She told of fairies, great tales of wondrous places, and Molly was mesmerized.
    Every eye was on the redhead, and she clearly relished the attention. Her gaze fell in succession to each in her audience as she moved, a clink of metal, a wisp of material accenting every passage. The fire licked at the air behind her, as if dancing to the melody of her words, as if even the flames were entranced by her story.
    Molly was enchanted, the yarn a dull thrum as her gaze fixed on the slither of the blaze. Sudden raucous laughter broke her trance, and she blinked, her eyes dry. Coming back to herself, she glanced around again at the elves.
    Cheerful was watching her. He smiled, and this time Molly could believe it was genuine.
    “She has a way with words,” he said.
    “Yes,” Molly sighed. Her eyes roamed the camp again, in wonder at the world she had stepped into. A world right out of her books. A world to which she had only dreamed of belonging. Her gaze fell unintentionally on the dark-haired woman, and she considered what her role could be in all of this. She clearly mattered to the group. Could there be some reason other than her own purpose for being involved?
    “And where’s your pup, Sunshine?”
    Molly smiled absently at him before starting to turn back to her contemplation of the woman. She jumped when he reached for her.
    He leaned in as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, whispering conspiratorially. “Don’t see much blonde around here.”
    For the first time in years, Molly blushed.
    And then the fire exploded. For a moment, Molly thought the dark-haired woman was burning, that the explosion had thrown flames onto her. But, as everyone in the camp stared at the woman, waiting, Molly realized it was nothing of the sort.
    Molly’s mouth opened for a moment, closed, opened as she struggled for words. The woman. Flames had burst from her hands. She was unharmed by them. The woman had magic.
    She was no mere woman, Molly realized, staring after the dark beauty as she and her male companion walked from the camp. When they were nearly out of sight, Molly turned to Cheerful, who was still watching the couple. She couldn’t quite make out the emotion on his face, but he seemed to snap out of it, suddenly turning to Molly. She knew the questions were clear in her expression, and she saw the same signs of displeasure appear on Cheerful’s face that her father had worn in all the years since she’d turned eight. It made her smile.
    Something in his eyes gave her the courage to ask her questions. “She isn’t human.”
    He stiffened slightly, answer enough for Molly.
    “You protect her,” she continued.
    Without warning, the largest of the elves was standing in front of them, the abrupt halt of his boot throwing small chunks of dirt onto Molly’s blanket and skirt. She looked up uneasily to find he was staring not at her, but at Cheerful. He stood slowly, casually, and Molly found herself staring up at them, Cheerful’s substantial frame suddenly dwarfed by this