Page 15 of How To Tame A Trickster Fae

“You know, this old place has stood here for generations,” he says. The floor of the porch shakes slightly as I rock forward, and my lip curls as I look around for any imminent signs of collapse.

All I see is a veritable family reunion of spiders in the corner. Charming.

“I would have never guessed,” I tell him drily.

My rudeness does nothing to dissuade him, but it does put me in a slightly better mood.

“It’s been here as long as I can remember,” he says.

“Well, considering you were likely birthed on this very porch, I fail to be impressed,”

He laughs again, a sound that makes him seem much younger.

I narrow my eyes at him, the sense of strange… wrongness growing slightly.

Then the dog lets out a truly incredible belch, and I’m forced to look away again. Foul beast.

“That means he likes you,” Hash says mildly.

“What, nearly regurgitating his dinner is a sign of approval?” I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it.

“Mmhmmm.”

This late in the day, the fireflies begin to dance around the edge of the Ever Forest, blinking in warm yellows through the thick wall of flowering brambles. There’s something… something about the edge of the forest here.

“They say something lives in those woods,” Hash tells me, following my attention.

“Well, yes, I’m sure it’s full of bugs and other nasty little devils.”

“You would be the authority on that, Purple,” Hash says, and I bark out a laugh in surprise.

“I would indeed.”

“I noticed a few of your tricks, too. Don’t think I didn’t. I’m old, but I’m not stupid.”

“According to whom?” I ask.

He just laughs. The dog rolls onto it’s back, and a fresh wave of that sick odor hits me.

A clump of dirt falls from the dogs stomach to the floor of the patio, and I grimace.

“That one you played on my cook was particularly nasty,” he tells me merrily.

A sense of wild glee flows through me, and I lean back far in the rocker, grinning widely. “You liked that one, did you?”

A bit of that unsettled prickliness dissolves, and I sigh in relief.

“Well, I didn’t love the first bite of the pie, I can tell you that. Swapping salt for sugar made an impression. But when the apples turned into bugs… well, that did make me laugh.”

“I wish I could have been there to see it,” I say wistfully. “But I’m glad you appreciated all my effort.”

“I know you Unseelie folk can’t help yourself.”

“The bugs were already here, you know,” I tell him. “Because you keep a hovel for a home.”

“And yet you’re staying here with me, Purple,” he says, a light in his old eyes. “What does that say about you?”

Some of my mirth disappears again, and I sigh heavily. “That my options are more limited than usual.”

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