Page 27 of The Pixies' Chosen

“Do you really think it is going to be that easy?” Doubt is heavy in Ammayi’s voice, making my heart constrict, but her sister laughs.

“Of course not, but it is a start. We all have to just learn as we go… right?”

“That it does,” Ammayi agrees as she exchanges a fond look with Havoc, and I resist the urge to laugh at the embarrassed smile that tugs at his lips. “Although, at times, we can definitely stumble along the way.”

Inika hums in agreement as her male pays for the tickets. “Stumbling is fine. We all fall sometimes, but when we have what we want even a little clearly in sight, it makes it all worthwhile.”

“Some of us just need a bit more of a push to see it than others,” I murmur for my family’s ears alone.

Havoc gives me a wry smile in response, but he does not object. Instead, his arms wrap around Ammayi’s waist, hugging her close as Inika steps inside the building, cleaving close to hermate’s side with a startled shriek as we are suddenly plunged into darkness.

Our shimmer brightens a little in natural response to the darkness, but Havoc and I keep it dampened as much as possible so as not to disturb the atmosphere. It seems doubly worth our effort when our queen drags Havoc with her as she leans into me until we are practically collapsed together in a heap. Her gasp of laughter in response to an eerie sound rises from the dark around us, however, makes me grin with unfettered excitement that only grows in proportion to the underlying instinct that rises the further we plunge into this haunted amusement.

My wings flick and stiffen with delighted shock and climbing thrill as costumed humans emerge unexpectedly with terrible sounds and chilling effects. They prowl through the darkness as if they are denizens of the Dark Forest come to haunt us, their smiles leering and their hands reaching for us. Ammayi shrieks with startled laughter as they rise over us, her shout joining Inika’s as her sister ducks into her mate’s embrace, nearly dislodging us entirely from her hat in the process. Thankfully, pixies have quick reflexes and cling quite tenaciously to almost anything, so we are able to avoid disaster as Havoc and I effortlessly anchor Ammayi in place as she howls with merriment.

“Oh, sorry!” Inika whispers as she attempts to smother her laughter. “I didn’t mean to nearly send you flying.”

“No, no,” Ammayi assures her as she practically bounces against my hive-brother in her enthusiasm. “This is great!”

Havoc chuckles at her delight though he keeps his body pressed tightly against hers so that there is not a chance of her being dislodged at his side. Ammayi does not object to being held so tightly at his side, or that she must suffer the same from me. Instead, she relaxes into us, randomly ducking her head into his side or mine when some horror bursts toward us. Withmy free hand, I entwine my fingers with Havoc’s, connecting us even more firmly together with Ammayi firmly between us as we continue along the dark path through the building perched on Inika’s hat.

Every step forward brings a new horror and yet seems to bring us even closer together. It occurs to me as Inika and Dishan wind through the haunted amusement that there will be many moments like this to be cherished in the future. While we have been busy showing our queen her new world, there are nearly just as many new adventures that we have been introduced to, and new things to explore. Truth be told, with Ammayi and Havoc by my side I cannot hardly wait to begin if there are to be more days just like this with my family gathered close to me in the midst of a new thrill discovered.

CHAPTER 22

AMMAYI

There comes a time when the bliss of a new romance is interrupted and given that I’ve been currently enjoying Tryst’s and Havoc’s attentiveness as they’ve introduced me to new ways to explore my world under the guise of Halloween fun, it is of no surprise that the day comes when Inika makes another appearance, this time to summon me home to attend a family puja and meal. Because apparently being absent for more than just a few days is something unfathomable for Mummi.

I’m a little nervous at first, wary of the possibility that Havoc will start acting like a lovesick fool around my sister again and pop the little bubble of happiness that had begun to form around my heart. I’m prepared for it too, because he declines carrying me as his arms are full with a basket that he’s been secretive about over the last few days. I can only think it’s possibly something to impress Inika.

So much for progress. All it took was a few happy days for everything to slide back into a pile of dogshit.

What a waste of effort too. What does he think he’ll be able to accomplish when Inika will clearly be there with Dishan? Not only will she be blind to whatever torch he is carrying for her, she will barely show more than polite interest in whatever he gives her. She will accept it be polite whereas I would have accepted it wholeheartedly and adored it for no other reason than it came from him. I glare at the basket hatefully as Tryst carries me through the air, his warm chest like a cozy heated bottle nestled right next to me, chasing the slight chill in the air away. He’s practically bouncing along the air currents with his amusement, and it’s all I can do to keep from elbowing him in the chest so that he will quit being so damn cheerful.

His rich laughter surrounds me as if privy to my thoughts, and his breath brushes my hair as he affectionately nuzzles me, his antennae brushing through the strands. “So fierce, Ammayi. Relax. It is not what you think,” he assures me.

Easy for him to say. He’s not the one about to get his heart ripped out. Nevertheless, I sigh and settle back into his embrace and try not to dwell on it too much. About the only thing that mollifies me is noting that Havoc has not once tried to zip out ahead of us in a rush to get there. Instead, he flies slightly behind Tryst with the faintest of smiles on his face as he gently cradles his package.

I’m trying not to be resentful of that basket when my parent’s front yard opens up before us in its usual spectacular display of autumn hues. Tryst descends the moment we breach the property line and Havoc follows suit, their bodies whipping in an arc as we drop at a heart-stopping speed through the air, heading directly for the window Inika said would be left open. Somehow, I survive our entry, though my heart is pounding. For a long moment, as we stand on the windowsill, I am treated tothe warm, concerned gaze of both males as their hands run over me, assuring themselves that I had in fact entered with them in one piece despite the look of horror that must be perpetually stamped on my face.

And to think that I thought Tryst was the saner between the two of them when it came to flying. I want to laugh at that, but I still can’t breathe properly so I settle for slapping their hands away even though I privately delight in their grins.

“Looks like someone is well loved,” Inika teases as she heads from the kitchen, her arms laden with a dish carrying aromas that make my mouth water.

I watch it go by hungrily. It’s not going to the dining table, of course—not yet anyway. Food offerings are an important part of our family’s puja so that we might share a meal with god and share in the joys and blessings of it. I am not ungrateful to my sister’s observation, however, and I grin up at her cheerfully as Mummi comes over with a small bowl into which she gently deposits me. I want to remind her that I have two mates on hand who transport me very well… but then I also remember their crazy flight through the yard and decide to just enjoy the gentle swaying rhythm of the bowl worn from time and carrying the lasting scent of the incense it so often holds.

I lean my cheek against it and watch my beautiful males dart around me as they fly on either side of the bowl, carefully avoiding the plate Mummi holds her in her right hand. Havoc is still carrying his basket gingerly, but, as always, he’s up for whatever game there is to be played and appears to be trying to outdo Tryst in his complicated weaving through the air.

And best of all, he hasn’t even once glanced Inika’s way. I stifle the urge to triumphantly stick my tongue out of her—mostly because she wouldn’t have a clue as to why I am doing it, if she even noticed with how absorbed she is in Dishan’s company. But it sends a warmth through my chest, and Trystwinks at me as he passes, his laughter dancing through me as if I can hear it in my head, as if to say that he told me so.

The moment we enter the family worship room, however, something settles peacefully, quietly within me, and even Havoc and Tryst drop respectfully on the small table that Mummi set up for the offerings by the mandir—the family’s home temple. The sweet scent of incense already fills the room, and I breathe it in, allowing the hundreds of times I had offered incense in prayer and enjoyed that singular connection over a lifetime to drift through me. There is a bittersweetness to it because so much of the quiet, contemplative moments I’ve had seem so far away from me now.

Still, I climb from the bowl and smooth the silk kurti Tryst had finished just that morning for me. Its color is raw and undyed as of yet, but Havoc promised that he would show me the plants that make the best dyes—according to him many of which are currently in season. Mummi catches sight of me and smiles approvingly, and I give her a cheeky thumbs up, not even trying to shout since there is no doubt that she wouldn’t hear me as far away as she is. Inika and Dishan take their places, and, as he has for as long as I can remember, Papa begins to lead the puja.

His voice is steady and warm as he recites the prayers. The bell sings sweetly with the presentation of offerings, and I try not to be silly and just break out into tears that I can’t go up and do something as simple as scatter the flowers offered like other members of my family. What keeps me from crying like a child right then and there is the fact that I don’t wish to spoil puja for the rest of the family.

The mandir towers over me, each of the murti contained within it at least twice my size, yet from the table they feel as if they are untouchable and an unfathomable distance away. That old sense of defeat crawls through me, but I push it back. Yes, it sucks to be so small when everything else I loved is harder toappreciate in the same way. It just means finding new ways. I’m not entirely sure how at the moment, but I cling to that thought, and to my mates as their hands slip into mine, allowing it to give me strength. I don’t have to master everything in this moment, but I will find a way to reclaim this part of my life too.

---