Page 16 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

“It activated.” Byx’s voice was full of awe. “I can’t believe it.” Head snapping up, Byx dropped my hand and asked, “Are you sure it was the pixie?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Did you see anyone else in the store?”

Chewing on her bottom lip, Byx gently shook her head. “No. Nobody else was there. It’s just…a pixie?” Wrinkling her nose, Byx reminded me of that gap-toothed child she’d once been. “I mean, I don’t have anything against pixies. They’re okay. It’s just…it’s hard to imagine. You with a…” Byx rolled her hand in the air, and then her skin took on a decidedly green shade. “Then again, it’s kind of disturbing imagining you with anyone.” Byx looked like she barely contained the vomit creeping up her throat.

“Thanks, kid.”

“You know what I mean, Van. You’re like one of those weird uncles everyone talks about. You know the kind—the relative you’re really embarrassed by and yet love all the same. Besides, you’re old, and it’s gross thinking about old folks doing the nasty.”

I choked on another drink of water. Coughing, I finally settled enough to say, “I beg your pardon. I am not old. Hell, by warlock standards, I’m not even middle-aged.”

“Semantics.” Byx waved me off. “You were an adult when I was a child. Therefore, you’re old. You’ve even got gray hair.”

“I…” I didn’t know what to say. Byx’s logic seemed perfect in her eyes, and I had no idea how to argue the point. Nor did I really feel like it. All warlocks grayed early in life. Mine was only at my temples, leaving the rest of my shaggy hair ebony.

Blowing out a raspberry, Byx settled back into her chair. “Guess Mamma was right. You were a damn idiot when you met your one and only. Bet you pissed your pixie off good and proper.”

I bristled and protested, “I did not.” The words rang hollow as I thought back to how Parsnip had left the store.

“Yeah? Well, then, where is he?” Byx dramatically looked around the room. “’Cause I sure don’t see or sense him anywhere around. There’s not even a cloud of pixie dust lingering. That means he took off pretty quick. What did you do, Van?” It was more than obvious Byx had already chosen a side, and it wasn’t mine.

Gritting my teeth, I thought back on what Parsnip had asked me to do. “You don’t know what he wanted, what he—” I cut myself off, remembering the magical pact I’d made. I couldn’t tell Byx that what Parsnip had nearly begged me to create would shorten his life span. Even before I knew he was my one and only, the thought of doing that made my stomach fill with acid. All life was precious. Wasting it on something as frivolous as a glamour charm was beyond ridiculous.

Byx’s accusatory glare softened. “It was really that bad?” she asked.

Deciding to risk a little honesty, I answered, “It wouldn’t have hurt anyone but him.”

“Oh.” Byx’s tone was little more than a whisper. “I’m sorry, Van.” A world of understanding lay within those few words.

“I know, Byx. I know.”

What I didn’t know was what I was going to do with Parsnip.

ChapterSeven

Parsnip

My heart wouldn’t stop pounding. I’d driven around the Southeast for the past two days and couldn’t find a warlock that could do what I needed. I’d found a couple more than willing to take my money, but none that could create a charm half as good as Lance’s. They’d talked a good game, but when it got down to the particulars, they’d fallen woefully short.

I’d either ignored Divia’s messages or given short and barely satisfactory answers. I’d simply said I needed some private time to sort some shit out. For now, that worked. It wouldn’t be much longer, and besides, I was out of leads.

Throwing the keys to my rental car and house on the bed, I paced. My feet hovered a few feet off the floor, and the room quickly filled with aqua pixie dust. In less than two weeks, that aqua color would be a thing of the past, and my dust would look like little more than silvery ash. It would remind others of a burned-out building, not a fabulous social pixie.

I needed to think. I needed to settle my mind and concentrate. There were other warlocks to be found. They just weren’t in the Southeast. I needed to think of some excuse, something that Divia would accept, some reason I needed to travel somewhere else in the country. Most likely the Northeast or West Coast. And if I couldn’t find what I needed in America, then I’d travel to Europe or wherever the hell else I needed to go.

Taking a deep breath, I forced my body and wings to settle. My toes hit the soft rug and dug in. My nail polish was hanging in there and looked lovely. It wasn’t so odd. Pixies were known to add a little glitter polish to their fingernails and toenails. Even if someone figured out they were painted, they wouldn’t be too bothered as long as the color matched my hair and wings.

My ringing phone pulled me from my negative thoughts. When I stared at the screen, my brother’s name popped up. Parsley and I weren’t twins, but our parents had opted for similar names. It had been more than a little confusing while growing up.

My heart eased, the squeeze in my chest lessening as I hit the accept button. “Hey, Parse,” I answered.

“Hey, Nip.” They were the nicknames we’d given each other by the time we’d barely been able to speak. “You still in Virginia?”

“Unfortunately,” I grumbled. I didn’t need to ask where my brother was. Although unbonded, Parsley was a home-and-hearth pixie. He didn’t feel the need to wander and was content within a home nestled next to our parents’ house. Both our parents were social pixies. No one knew how Parsley ended up with home-and-hearth inclinations. I think our mom was disappointed, but not me. I loved Parsley. There was never any competition between the two of us. There was never a need. We gravitated toward different things, appreciated each other’s strengths, and shored up each other’s weaknesses. Parsley was my biggest fan. Not a drop of jealousy to be found.

“You don’t like it there?” Parsley naively asked.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…” I hesitated, not because Parsley didn’t know about my disability, but because I knew he’d worry. “There are just some things going on that are making it a little tougher than usual. That’s all.”

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