Page 65 of Perfectly Perfect Pixie

My face scrunched. “I’m not uncomfortable. Maybe just a little concerned. That’s all. I didn’t mean to get into your business.”

I didn’t want Bree to feel like I was butting in. There was a fine line between concern and being a busybody. The intent behind the questioning was everything. Maybe Bree and I didn’t know each other well enough for her to understand I didn’t mean anything bad.

Bree didn’t answer. She just kept looking ahead. Deciding that maybe she’d just had a bad evening, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through it. I had a couple of missed texts from Phil. Nothing truly important. The first was to tell me that Ruthie had done well on a recent test at school. There were a lot of excited and happy emoji around that one. I texted back a quick thumbs-up and a widely smiling face. The next was about the winter solstice. It was still a few weeks away, but Phil said he wanted to talk to me. It would be his first solstice with his new family and bonded home.

A grin lit my face. Phil’s happiness made me happy.

The Jeep slowed, coming to a stop. From my calculation, we were about a half-mile from my orchard. The land called to me, close but still too far away. Leaning forward, I placed my hand on the back of Bree’s seat and asked, “Did something happen to the Jeep?” Cars broke down. Lucroy’s vehicle was newer, but that didn’t mean something hadn’t gone wrong.

Head tilted down, one of Bree’s hands was on the steering wheel, and her other was tucked on top of her lap.

“Bree?”

She was really starting to worry me. Something wasn’t right. Did she feel bad? I didn’t think vampires got sick, but maybe she’d gotten a hold of a bad batch of blood. Lucroy told me Sedrick had vetted it all, but perhaps he’d missed something.

“I’m sorry about this, Peaches. Really, I am. You seem like an okay pixie.”

My body tensed. Bree sounded so cold, nothing like her normal self.

“I . . . I tried talking to Mr. Moony last night, but . . . he told me not to worry, to trust him, and I do, but . . .” Bree inhaled. Many vamps did that, even though they didn’t need oxygen. “You don’t understand what Mr. Moony did for me, and I can’t sit back and watch him die.” Shoulders straightening, Bree was more confident, or perhaps, determined, when she stated, “I won’t.”

Bree finally raised her head, and our eyes met in the rearview mirror. I was used to seeing vampire eyes. Unlike what a lot of species thought, vampire eyes weren’t soulless. They were deep wells of endless pain. Bree’s eyes looked like black holes of agony.

“Bree?”

Fear spiked deep in my belly. That niggle in the back of my brain, the one that reached back to the beginning of time, the one that screamed danger, sounded loud and clear. I moved back, but I was too late. Quickly turning, Bree blew an amethyst powder into my face. I sneezed, furiously rubbing at my face and nose. My eyes watered, and I scrambled for the latch on the door. Finding it, I pushed the door open and fell onto the ground. The Jeep was pulled off to the side, near the ditch. I tumbled, rolling down into the cold dirt, dormant grasses, and weeds.

I grappled, fisting the weeds and trying to pull myself forward. My limbs were heavy, and darkness pushed at the edges of my vision. My stomach rolled, nausea threatening. My wings dropped, covering the surrounding vegetation. I couldn’t even get them to twitch.

A figure cut across the headlights of the Jeep. I couldn’t raise my head, couldn’t get my eyelids to twitter open.

“I really am sorry.” The voice sounded nothing like the Bree I knew. She was sad, regret lacing every word. “Something had to be done. I know what I’ve done. Mr. Moony will probably order my death. If he exiles me, I’ll walk into the sun, but I won’t go with regret. I owe him nothing less.” Bree crouched near me, her tone soft and apologetic. “Being a bound pixie isn’t always great, especially when you can’t make it back. I’m afraid time isn’t on your side. By the time someone finds you . . . Well, by then, it’ll be too late.” Bree’s fingers sifted through my hair. A heavy weight settled across my body, the blanket she settled over me providing a modicum of warmth. “I won’t ask your forgiveness,” Bree said before she stood and walked away, disappearing into the night.

The sound of the Jeep leaving barely filtered into my ears. Darkness called, pulling me under and into its deep embrace. My last conscious thought was of Lucroy, his body below mine, cradling me and holding me like I was the most precious jewel in the known world. I’d miss his touch, the feel of his lips against my skin, the way his obsidian eyes tracked me as I moved across the room.

I’m sorry, Lucroy.

ChapterTwenty-Six

LUCROY

Iwoke to the ringing of my phone. Disoriented, I scrabbled around the nightstand, finally finding it too late. The call went to voicemail. I looked at the time. It was a quarter to noon. The sun would be at its highest point soon. Nothing should have woken me. Just like the previous two days, it seemed my sleep patterns had changed, or perhaps, weren’t as rigid.

No one would call me at this hour knowing I wouldn’t respond. It was absurd. I began to place my phone back on the nightstand, but it rang again. Cursing, I hit the accept button. A litany of poorly chosen words was on the tip of my tongue. High-pitched squeals and clicking noises made me yank my phone away, holding it out to the side and away from my sensitive ears.

“What the hell?” Sitting up, I wanted to reach across the phone and murder whoever was pulling this dangerous prank. One did not disrupt a vampire’s sleep, especially with this nonsense.

The squeals and pitches became more frantic. I couldn’t exactly understand them, but their distressed quality sobered me. My mind was still sluggish. I may have woken, but I wasn’t fully awake. There was something familiar about the sounds, something . . .Sprites. Recognition clicked. The sound I heard was sprites.

I pulled the phone away and looked at the caller ID, something I should have done earlier but hadn’t had the mental awareness to do. “Peaches?” It made sense. I didn’t know anyone else that had sprites nearby.

Placing the phone back against my ear, I said, “Peaches, is that—”

The clicks increased, and the high-pitch tone skyrocketed, but it still wasn’t anything I could make out. I didn’t have a translator like Peaches did.

I had no idea what was happening and demanded, “Put Peaches on the phone.” There was a pause, but the squeals only increased. I couldn’t understand the words, but I knew the tone. Panic. Pure and simple. Panic was what was on the other end of the line.

I jumped out of bed. I needed to get to Peaches. I needed to get my car and . . . I cursed, nearly crushing my phone with anger.Noon.It was almost noon. I couldn’t leave. At this hour, the sun would roast me. I’d be a pile of ashes within seconds.

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