Page 31 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

“Hey, that was a little too close and could have left a dent.” I pointed toward the spot on my head the crystal barely missed.

“Pleeease,” Byx mocked. “As if that would have done much damage.”

“Brat,” I scolded, no heat behind it.

Truth was, I lived for moments like these, when Byx and I gave each other shit. Georgiana had been the same way. She called me out on my shit, but she was the first one to have my back when I needed it. There was absolutely no way to overstate how freeing that knowledge was, how reassuring. As a young, loudmouth warlock with more ability than brains, Georgiana had pulled my ass out of the fire more than I cared to remember.

It was my turn to return the favor.

“How’s the magic collection going?” It was a subject Byx didn’t like to talk about, but one I wouldn’t let go. “Were you able to siphon off a little more into storage today?”

As predicted, Byx’s face twisted into something sour. “Some,” she finally said. “I can try a little more tomorrow.”

“That’s all I can ask.”

Neither of us knew how much magic Byx could push into the charmed trap Mattie and I’d cobbled together. It was all theoretical at this point. We’d never tried to run it the other way, back into Byx. Gaia willing, there’d never be a need to test it.

Cocking her head, Byx’s hair fell to one side. Her sides were pulled back by hair clips with kittens on them. Movement caught my attention, and my eyes widened, jaw slack. There’d been an underlying hum throughout our conversation. It was a sound I’d peripherally heard and paid little attention to. But now…

“Is that purring?”

Byx’s cheeks flushed. “So what? I like the sound. It’s soothing,” she answered defensively.

I blinked, trying to figure out what the kittens were doing. Finally, it dawned on me. “Are they kneading?”

“It’s cute,” Byx defended.

“Not saying it’s not.” And damn, it was fucking cute. It looked like the kittens were kneading Byx’s hair, their purrs softly rumbling with happiness.

I had no idea what to say beyond, “You could probably sell those.” I pointed toward the clips. “A lot of species like cats, and you’re right. The purring is soothing. How much magic does it take?”

Byx shrugged. “Not much.” Sucking on her bottom lip, she started kicking her feet back and forth again. “I just can’t figure out yet how to make it last without me nearby.”

“Ah…got it.” That was the thing with brownies. They were walking magic. The world lit up around them, but away from them…that was a different story. That’s where witches and warlocks came into play. “Maybe we can figure something out together.”

Byx lit up. “You mean it?”

“Sure. Especially if it doesn’t take much magic on your part. I can figure out the threads and weave them into something that lasts. I don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem.”

Byx’s smile, those impossibly white teeth combined with sheer joy, lit me up from the inside. I’d never know if Georgiana knew the gift she had left me. I suspected she did. Byx’s mamma knew all too well.

“Cool.” Byx slid off her stool. “I’m gonna head off to bed. You gonna stay down here and keep working on that?” Byx pointed toward Parsnip’s charm.

With a glance at the clock, I noted it was slipping toward 11:00 p.m. I figured I was a fourth to a third finished. Parsnip’s worried face swam before me, but it wasn’t the worry that made me tell Byx I was staying up. It was fear. One was far worse than the other, and I wanted to alleviate that fear ASAP.

“I’ll stay up a little longer,” I lied. I’d stay up for as long as my magical weaving held out. I figured I’d last at least three more hours, four if I were lucky—or unlucky, depending on your point of view.

Byx knew me well and waved me off. “Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you turn the lights off this time. We can barely afford rent, let alone you running up the utility bill for no reason.”

“Off to bed with you. Shoo, shoo.” I made a motion with my hand that Byx didn’t like, and she stuck her tongue out at me before she raced up the stairs.

I waited until I heard the snick of Byx’s bedroom door before I said, “Georgiana, that’s one hell of a daughter you’ve got.” The sickeningly soft smile straining my cheeks was moronic, but I didn’t care. No one was there beyond Gaia and Georgiana’s ghost to see it.

Gingerly grabbing Parsnip’s charm, I stared at the woven threads, picking up where I’d left off. Each thread was a little different, each one seamlessly entwining with its partner. I used the dead charm Parsnip gave me as a guide to get the colors right. There were some mistakes here and there and a few areas where the original charm didn’t blend seamlessly. Those areas were easy for a warlock of my ability to ferret out.

Each finished strand built on the one before. Each one honed to pixie magic. Each one holding the tiniest bit of my life force. Each one a gift to my one and only.

ChapterThirteen

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