Page 23 of The Pixies' Chosen

“Come along, despite what Havoc thinks, I do have real food ready for you to eat. Since you have had your treat, time to eat something a bit more substantial.”

Had her treat… if that is the result then I would be happy to find new ways to become her treat in the future. Despite the lascivious direction of my thoughts, my lips quirk in a faint smile recalling the soft look of bliss on her face as her mouth worked over my fingers. How did I not notice before how adorable she is?

CHAPTER 18

TRYST

“Are you not going to your studies after all?” I ask Ammayi as I watch her wander aimlessly along a shelf of her enormous bookcase. It occurs to me that we have been dwelling here for several days and she has not yet expressed interest even once in attending. The change of environment could be a good distraction—not just for her but for me as well. “We can fly there.” I flick my wings in a silent offer, but she merely smiles and shakes her head.

“No. I really don’t have any intention of going,” she dully confides without the slightest inflection of her old spirit in her voice. “I just told Mummi that I wanted to continue going to class so she didn’t insist harder that I stay. Really, those classes were her idea anyway, and it was enough to get what I wanted at the time, so I went along with it. Having classes to go to daily was the whole reason my family didn’t put up a fight when I insisted on getting this place.” She shakes her head, a wry chuckle falling from her lips as she turns a mischievous smile my way. “I lovemy family dearly, but I prefer not to be less than a few short strides away. Besides, it is not like I’m going to be able to open my textbook or take notes for that matter. Not at my current size.” She holds her arms out from her sides in emphasis and sighs.

I cannot say that I entirely understand her reason since leaving the colony was a compulsion for me rather than an escape, but I understand the need for freedom and peace. It is one of the reasons that Havoc and I built our nest so far from the colony’s center. As for her commentary on her size, it uncomfortably brings Havoc’s words to mind. She is struggling to adapt and find a way to live her life as a pixie’s mate. The incident with the candy aside, which seemed to very briefly rouse her humor, Ammayi has been in steady decline for days.

I did not wish to see it. I thought maybe if I indulged her enough that she would eventually tire of this place and all the things within it that she could no longer use and enjoy. I have just been waiting for a sign that she is willing to try a new way to live, but other than consenting to sleeping in the bed Havoc and I made, she spends her day either watching her television or moping around her apartment, expressing no desire to leave as if she cannot bear to be separated from the remnants of her life here. Every now and then I catch her staring longingly at a closed, ornate cupboard-like thing that sits in the corner of her living room, but she has never approached it nor asked me to open it for her. She just looks at it dejectedly before resuming her restless wandering.

I am starting to think it might have been better if she had stayed at her maternal nest after all. Then she would have possibly not clung so hard to her human things around her. Instead, there would have been more willingness to explore what her new world is like—and perhaps even entertained the idea of having me build her a proper pixie’s nest. But this… this is not ahealthy life for a pixie, so I can’t imagine that it is healthy for a human either.

Frustrated, I glance covertly over at Havoc and the male rolls onto his belly, his wings splaying wide in a relaxed position as he lazily returns my regard from the plush back of the couch. He is not as apathetic as he pretends. And he knows he cannot deceive me after that moment caught in a pixie’s dance. Instead, he meets my gaze unflinchingly and I almost hate it because there is a knowing look in his eyes. But at least he refrains from smirking smugly. He just looks back at me soberly before his eyes shift back to Ammayi’s pacing among her books. I sigh heavily and glance over to the television as someone on the screen screams horrifically.

The television is lit up with another one of Ammayi’s horrors, but for once she seems too restless to enjoy it, preferring instead to dangerously hop along the shelves while I hover anxiously nearby and run her hands along the spines of the books there as if they are old friends. Havoc looks as unconcerned as usual, but, as much as I hate to admit it, I am a little relieved that his eyes also now track her when he thinks no one is watching, studying her unusual behavior as she lingers around the books. I know I should not read too much into it so that I do not mistakenly convince myself that he wants Ammayi as his queen. I already deceived myself too much on this—and then blamed him entirely for it when he had never even hinted that he wished to mate her.

But he is not as ambivalent as he likes to pretend. I can feel that much. That he is watching her at all is significant, and even more so that he has not shared the bed with us for days while his irritable misery has only increased exponentially. He is being affected by her pheromones as much as I am, but he is the one suffering from it. I was right about at least one thing… he is afraid.

And if I am honest with myself, I am afraid too. I cannot bask in being right when he is right as well. She is not thriving.

I can live with disguising her meat as something she will willingly eat, but the way she is growing despondent, her light dimming within our bond, concerns me. I flutter my wings anxiously and look back over at my mate.

“Are you hungry,afa?” I call hopefully. “I can make you?—”

“No,” she replies with another heavy sigh. Her head turns toward me, and she gives me a faint smile. “I’m not really interested in eating right now. Not unless you can do butter chicken or a plate of hot pakora.” When I look at her blankly, her smile turns sad. “I didn’t think so. I appreciate what you guys are doing, but it’s just not the same.”

“No,” I murmur in agreement, my wings slumping dejectedly. “It is not.”

I am at a loss. What am I to do if she refuses to eat? I have seen it before with pixies after a queen dies. Her entire hive mourns until one by one their lights flicker out. Am I doomed to watch my own mate slowly die before my eyes? The thought is a horrifying one. I brush my dark hair back from my face frantically as I consider what else I can do to cheer her up.

“Enough,” Havoc suddenly grumbles, startling me as he springs to his feet. “Out of the nest, female,” he barks.

Ammayi jumps, startled, and nearly falls off the shelf. Clinging to one of her larger books, she shoots him an annoyed glare that he ignores in typical Havoc-style. Naturally, I could have moved in time to catch her if I suspected that she would truly fall, but that does not stop me from also frowning at him. I am not at all surprised that he does not pay me any more attention than he does her as he rises into the air and zips over to the shelf with a rapid humming flutter of his wings.

“What do you mean by ‘out of the nest?’” she asks crossly. “I’m not really in the mood to go anywhere, Havoc, much less participate in whatever weird game you’re playing.”

Did he really think it was going to be that easy? I have been caring for Ammayi for days while he flits in and out of the nest whenever he likes. Clearly, he has not been around enough to know that even a very strong suggestion, much less an order, does not work well with her. She even brushes off my gentle coaxing half the time if she is not feeling inclined to listen. A reluctant smile tugs at my lips as I watch, curious to see how my stubborn nest brother hopes to solve this dilemma.

Havoc nods compliantly but then suddenly swoops in, snatching my queen off her feet as he abruptly takes flight. My mouth flies open in protest, but I am incapable of getting more than a strangled shout of his name from my lips before he zips through the nest and out our makeshift “doorway” with a burst of elation rushing from him and Ammayi’s shocked screech trailing after them.

Stunned, I stare vacantly at the empty room, unable to quite believe that Havoc did what he did. Did Havoc—the male who always avoids being responsible for the care of a female—just kidnap our queen? Unbidden, my lips twitch as I shoot up into the air. It seems that Ammayi is leaving the nest after all. Perhaps, if we are lucky, Havoc’s strange methods will do some good. Or at the very least be highly entertaining once she goes off on him. Either way, if this breaks her morose cycle, I will be excited to see what happens next.

“Havoc! Wait!” I shout as I fly out the door after him.

CHAPTER 19

AMMAYI

Ihang in Havoc’s grip, my elbow propped on his arm as I rest my chin on the heel of my hand, trying to not lose what’s left of my last meal as he flits chaotically through the air. Now I have firsthand knowledge of exactly why Tryst always carries me—unlike the other male’s sure and steady flight, this male flies like a lunatic!

At least we escaped the damn crows. I have no idea when my block became crow central, but it seemed that every time I glanced out the glass door, I would see an occasional crow that steadily began to multiply as the days passed. Thanks to his erratic flying and insane speed, we managed to cut through the flock and leave them in our dust. It is only unfortunate that our grand escape hasn’t curbed his speed at all. Especially now that we’ve left the crowded residential areas and main roadways behind.

What stretches ahead is the ever-thickening presence of trees lining the roads, brightening the city with their brilliantdisplays of autumn foliage, and the sober buildings lined up for efficiency are replaced by the brick pedestrian walkways and the seasonal gaiety that’s only found downtown. Artificial garlands of fall foliage wind up the light posts that are already gleaming as the afternoon sun begins to wane, the sunlight catching on ornaments cast in shades of oranges, reds, and yellows. A city horse startles when we streak right past its left eye and tosses its head, stomping its feet in agitation, the bells on its harness jingling. I wince as the driver acts quickly to calm the horse and elbow Havoc in the ribs.

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