Page 35 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

Johnny clearly had a soft spot for the zombie, and from what little interaction I’d had with Wendall, I couldn’t say I blamed him.

“Thanks,” Johnny offered when Wendall placed the bottle in front of him.

“No problem. Yell if you need anything else.” Wendall sped off, headed for the area behind the bar, hidden from the general public.

Filling the bottom half of a tumbler with burnt rum, Johnny slid the drink in my direction.

Picking it up, I gave him a liquid salute before downing half in one go, swallowing appreciatively.

“Good, isn’t it,” Johnny said, not a question but a statement of fact.

“Excellent. Just the right combination of smooth and spicy.”

Johnny grinned before cocking his head to the left, something or someone clearly catching his attention. “Be right back,” he said before darting in that direction. Watching where he went, I followed Johnny’s trail to the human who’d originally served me last time. Searching my memory, I thought her name was Lizbeth. She had fuchsia-colored hair tonight. The strands changed in intensity depending on which way she twisted her head and how the lights caught them. Lizbeth had a different-colored studded collar wrapped around her neck.

Less than two minutes later, Johnny was back in front of me. “So, I know we’ve got outstanding burnt rum, but I doubt that’s why you’re back. Anything I can help you with?”

A loud whine pierced my ear, and I flinched.

“You okay?” Johnny leaned over the counter, genuinely concerned.

“Fine,” I answered, magically tweaking the background-canceling charm I’d activated. Looked like the thing still needed some fine-tuning. “Just a little disappointed about a charm I’m trying out.”

Johnny’s eyebrows shot up. “That why you’re here?”

I shook my head. “Not exactly, although it’s a good opportunity I couldn’t waste.” Tapping my blackened fingertips on the counter, I said, “I’m looking for an aqua-colored pixie named Parsnip.” I remembered the odd reaction I’d gotten last time when I’d asked about a pixie and decided to be a little more specific.

Staring past me, Johnny nodded toward a booth in the corner of the bar. “You meanthataqua-colored pixie?”

Following his line of sight, I had to focus, my vision swimming past undulating bodies littering the dance floor to a spot far away—one that was a little more secluded. I caught glimpses here and there. Not just one pixie, but three.

Downing the remainder of my drink, I leaned against the bar. “That’s a lot of pixies outside a pixie-run bar.”

Johnny chuckled. “What can I say? We’re blessed.” When I raised an eyebrow, he added, “You should have seen them earlier.” Johnny gave me a wry grin. “Phil and Peaches have a thing for my cousin’s honeysuckle mead. Phil’s mate cut him off before he could get as drunk as the last time, but we still got a spectacular dance show. You missed it by about forty-five minutes. That whole corner was lit up with pink and gold dust.”

I’d been to a couple of pixie bars in my day. “I’m sorry I missed that. No aqua dust in there?”

Johnny’s grin slipped a little. “Parsnip seems a little more reserved. Odd, considering he’s a social pixie. They’re usually the first to start spinning and showing off.” With a shrug, Johnny easily dismissed Parsnip’s unusual behavior. “But everybody’s different, and I think this might be a work thing for him, so maybe he’s trying to be more professional.”

Another part in the crowd revealed Parsnip’s siren producer, Divia. Lucroy Moony was lounging across the way, and another larger, broader male was near the pink pixie. I pegged him as some sort of were but couldn’t tell from this distance.

I didn’t see a lot of security around Lucroy and Peaches, but that didn’t surprise me. If security were doing their job, they shouldn’t be obvious. Besides, I doubted the king of the Southeast vampire nest required a lot of extra help in the power category.

“You think I can interrupt? I need to speak with Parsnip.” I didn’t want to give away that I had something in particular for my pixie. Typically, there weren’t a lot of reasons other species interacted with warlocks. We provided a service, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume Parsnip had contracted mine. I didn’t think anyone in their right mind would guess what kind of charm I had hiding in my pocket.

“Let me check.” Johnny hopped off his riser and headed for the corner. Expertly dodging inebriated dancers, Johnny quickly made his way to where my one and only was. He’d refilled my glass before he’d taken off, and I took another swig, relishing the smooth, spicy burn.

Johnny didn’t bother heading back, vigorously waving me over instead. I didn’t waste time. Burnt rum in hand, I tried following Johnny’s path. I wasn’t nearly as smooth and had to offer more than one apology when someone ran into me or vice versa, but eventually, I made it to the corner booth.

By the time I got there, the pink pixie and the large were—wolf I easily noted now that I was closer—stood. My eyes widened when I realized how tall the pink pixie was.

The golden pixie I figured was Lucroy’s mate, Peaches, stood on the seat, flying over the table and wrapping his arms around the larger, pink pixie.

“’Night, Phil. Thanks for coming out tonight.”

Phil squeezed back. “I had a great time. Sedrick did too.”

I gazed at the werewolf. Sedrick’s adoring gaze was on full display. When I looked closer, I could see Phil’s mating mark. This table was full of bonded anomalies. Staring down at Parsnip’s wide, surprised, upturned aqua eyes, I knew I wanted to add a third odd couple to this strange mixed group.

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