Page 1 of How To Tame A Trickster Fae

CHAPTER ONE

WREN

My hands curl around the bone china, the thin cup doing almost nothing to protect the skin of my fingers from the heat of the near-boiling tea. A rose petal bobs at the surface, a lavender bud following in its wake from where they’ve escaped the copper tea strainer.

I close my eyes, inhaling the aroma deeply, trying to ground myself in this moment, with this tea I’ve been saving for just this occasion.

The letter sits atop a lace napkin on the table beside me, all of which shakes nervously with the rhythm of my leg jangling against the floor. Closed with a red wax seal embossed with a diamond sigil that makes my heart beat all the faster.

The mark of the Enchanter’s Lapidary and Metalsmithing Guild.

“Only the premiere organization for jewelry enchanters,” I tell Fenn. He’s curled up on the hearth, the embers of this morning’s fire still burning softly in the grate.

Fenn ignores me, as he usually does, his fluffy red tail flicking slightly in annoyance at the fact I’ve had the audacity to disturb his nap.

Having a nocturnal familiar can be incredibly trying.

“Maybe I should go next door and open the letter with Piper there,” I muse.

It’s not talking to yourself if your familiar is around. That’s an unwritten rule of witchery, I’m sure of it.

This time, though, Fenn raises his fluffy red head and blinks slowly at me.

“You think that would be a good idea?” A shoulder to cry on or a friend to celebrate with—either way, Piper will know the perfect thing to say.

If it’s another rejection, I can get a cupcake.

If the guild has finally come to their senses and decided to extend me an offer of membership, I can also get a cupcake.

Either way, there is a frosted confection in my future, and that heartens me. A little, at least.

Mostly, though, I’m a bundle of nerves and excitement and trepidation.

“Do you want to come with me?” I ask Fenn.

He lets out a whiny yip in response, then bundles closer into himself.

“It’s an early morning for me, too,” I say, amused at my little fox familiar’s annoyance at me.

We keep late hours, in general, working the shop below our snug apartment in the late mornings for the few customers that come through my doors. In-person clientele are rare, brought in by the little word of mouth that gets out of Wild Oak Woods into the larger world, though we do a bustling mail-order business that keeps the lights on and food on the table.

Fenn and I have spent many lazy afternoons together, leafing through spell books in the sun-soaked window seats and slowly going through the massive inventory left to me by the former owner of Witchwork’s Jewelry. Evenings and late nights are best for spellwork and crafting enchanted rings, the highest in demand, and he’s there with me too, watching and lending energy where he can, my little magic fox battery and companion.

“It’s a good life we have,” I tell Fenn, and it is—I know I’m lucky. I know it.

But it’s a lonely life, despite the network of witches in town, my new friends. I love my work, but without the recognition from the damned guild…

I sigh, tracing my finger over the wax seal.

Fenn yips again, not even bothering to move his tail.

“I’ll bring you back something,” I tell him. My teacup rattles on its saucer as I set it down, gone cold while I brooded.

Fenn whines, my vocal little familiar voicing his strong fox opinions.

“Two somethings,” I amend. He rewards me by fluffing his tail and curling up into an even tighter ball.

I raise an eyebrow and huff a laugh, stuffing the letter in the pouch on the belt around my favorite green linen dress.

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