Page 63 of Drama Queen

I’ve never believed in fate before, but if I did, I could see how we all might fit together. Somehow, she seems to fit well with each of us despite our differences. I never would have thought that possible, yet here she is, proving me wrong.

“How much farther?” Aldric asks as we continue to follow her. We haven’t been walking long; we only left the city limits a few minutes ago, but I can see his annoyance as if it’s a tangible thing following him around.

“Just inside the woods,” Emory calls back with a smile, unfazed by Aldric’s grumpy mood. She’d been nothing but smiles since we showed up this morning and agreed to go with her.

I chuckle when his lips pull down in a frown as she all but skips down the path. We’d packed light, unsure what we would need other than a few changes of clothes. Emory assured us that anything we might need would be provided and that our tech wouldn’t work in the fae realm. Despite that, I know we all brought our phones and anything else we might want. She hadn’t stopped us, but I almost wished she had. This bag might not be big, but it feels as if it’s getting heavier with every step I take.

“Do you want me to take it?” Emory asks, popping up beside me out of nowhere and startling me. I trip over my feet at her sudden appearance, but manage to right myself before I face plant.

“Smooth,” I hear Carver say under his breath, but I ignore him.

“No, I-I’m fine,” I stammer out, annoyed that even after weeks of talking to her and supposedly being her mate, I can’t manage a simple sentence without tripping over my words.

“Okay, well, the good news is we're almost there,” she says, turning and once again leading the way toward the entrance to the forest.

“And the bad news?” Aldric asks, unable to help himself.

“The walk from the veil to the Unseelie Court is easily triple this.”

“Of fucking course it is,” Carver grumbles, and I hear Emory’s chuckle even though she’s once again a few feet ahead of us.

It doesn’t make sense. She’s half our damn size, but she doesn’t seem even the slightest bit winded. I know I’m notexactly athletic, but Aldric and Carver work out regularly, and even they seem a little winded.

Maybe it has something to do with her not being human?

It’s a strange thought, especially seeing her right now. She looks just like she has since I met her, and while she’s beautiful, she doesn’t seem all that abnormal. But I remember what she looked like yesterday. How bright her eyes were, the way her ears stuck out through her hair, and the point of her teeth that was much more than just the typical canine.

It should have been frightening, but it wasn’t. In fact, it only made her more beautiful, if not a tad bit frightening, to think others like her could be hidden in plain sight with everyone else.

True to her words, once inside the trees, we only have to walk for a few minutes. Stopping in front of one of the larger trees, Emory disappears behind it. Aldric and Carver seem hesitant still, but after a second, they’re moving again, and I follow. It had been touch and go for a few last night when we discussed going or staying.

In the end, I’d told them I was going with or without them. I’m not sure if they would have decided to go otherwise; they didn’t seem like they could make up their minds. But they're here now, and that’s all that matters.

Circling around the tree, we find Emory standing at the base, looking at a little red door.

”I told you she was nuts,” Carver growls, crossing his arms and glaring at Aldric.

Emory’s face falls, and I elbow him in the ribs.

“What the fuck, man?” Carver grumbles, turning to me with wide eyes. I’m not usually one for violence or stepping in and saying something, but he deserved it, and judging by the way he rolls his eyes, he knows it.

“Ready?” Emory asks, looking around at each of us. When her gaze meets mine, she smiles and mouths a thank you, and I feel the tips of my ears as they heat from her attention.

“Lead the way,” Aldric says, and that’s all the encouragement Emory needs.

We all watch as she drops her magic, a glamour–I believe she called it–until she once again stands before us in her true form. It’s just as amazing as the first time, and I watch in fascination as she once again talks to the little flying Pixie.

When it opens its mouth, a high-pitched ringing sounds in my ears, but Emory seems to understand it. At first, I’d thought it was just me, but the guys said they couldn’t make out what it said either.

“You can’t come. If my stepmother finds you…” Emory trails off, but she doesn’t need to say more. The look in her eyes tells me it would be bad, and judging by how quiet the Pixie is now, she knows it, too.

I watch as the tiny creature flies up, booping her on the nose before flying off, disappearing into the trees before I turn back to Emory. Her eyes are full of sadness, glued to the place where the pixie disappeared.

She didn’t want to leave her, it’s clear on her face, but she didn’t want her to get hurt either.

With a deep breath, Emory turns back to us and reaches her hand out…

To me?

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