Page 89 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

Parsnip stumbled out of our bedroom, stretching his arms high above his head, revealing a length of perfectly pale skin. His damaged wing was still a little slower than the undamaged wing, but it was on the mend, and the healer thought within a week, Parsnip would be good as new and flying high.

My one and only rolled his eyes. “Morning, Vander. Is Byx up?”

I scoffed. “She’s been up for about three hours.”

Parsnip shook his head, strands of gray ombre mixed with hints of aqua shifting back and forth. Byx was right. Some of the color returned. It wasn’t a lot, but what was there was stunning. There were hints of aqua in Parsnip’s wings, and his toenails were tipped in the color. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough. Parsnip’s eyes lit up when he saw it. And speaking of eyes, Parsnip’s deep aqua—a color that had been magically enhanced by the charms he wore, was now a pale, ghostly gray rimmed in equally pale aqua. They were stunning.

Mostly gray pixie dust, mixed with a few particles of aqua, floated through the air. “I envy her energy,” Parsnip said, quickly followed by a yawn.

“I do too, but it’ll run out soon. I think she’s still a little jacked up from the magic poured into her. I probably overdid it, but having never done something like that before, I thought more was better than less.” I shrugged. I’d basically emptied Byx’s charm. Turns out, that much wasn’t really necessary. Who knew?

“Completely understandable, Vander.” Byx grabbed a banana and sat across from me at the table. “How are you feeling today?”

Out of the three of us, I was taking the longest to recover. I rolled my recovered rings around on my fingers, noting they fit a little looser than before. “Better than yesterday,” I finally managed.

“Hmm, I suppose that’s progress.”

“It is.” I scooted my chair back and reached for Parsnip.

He came easily, settling in my lap. It was fast becoming one of our favorite positions. Stradling my lap, Parsnip laid his fruit down on the table, running his fingers through my hair.

“I like the extra white,” he said, carding through my temples. “It suits you.”

Turns out, Parsnip’s colors weren’t the only ones changed by Letty’s ministrations. Although not nearly as dramatic as Parsnip’s change, I’d gained more white. It made me look older than I was.

“Glad you like it,” I murmured against the expanse of Parsnip’s neck, inhaling his scent, allowing it to filter through my body and soothe my rough edges.

“There’s a lot to like.” Parsnip’s voice deepened, turning husky.

“Back at you, beautiful.”

His cheeks flushed. I enjoyed making Parsnip blush, and it was surprisingly easy. He loved compliments, and I didn’t mind dishing them out. In fact, it was quickly becoming one of my favorite past times.

Tilting his head, Parsnip gave me more access, a soft cooing sound slipping through his lips.

“Ew, you two are so disgusting.” Byx trotted into the kitchen, digging through the fridge for some kind of snack. We’d discovered her appetite had increased with her overload of magic. She burned through calories a lot quicker. We were all hoping that would fade as her magic evened out. The way she was going, I didn’t think I could afford to keep up with the grocery bill.

Parsnip eased back slightly but didn’t get out of my lap. His wings fluttered, spreading more dust. Byx moved back and grabbed a hand towel to cover her nose. The act reminded me that I needed to make her a charm so Parsnip’s dust didn’t bother her as much. We might not have talked about it, but I didn’t plan on letting Parsnip out of my sight, and he seemed content spending his days and nights with me. Filming had been placed on hold, at least temporarily.

Instead of feeding into Byx’s teasing, I gave her a wide grin. “Anything going on in the shop?”

We’d decided to open back up today. I wouldn’t go in, but Byx was bored and needed something to do. She could field questions and sell available products. Any special requests could be dealt with later.

“We had a couple of customers,” she answered, crunching on an apple. Next, it would be a bag of chips, but I was glad she’d gone for something mildly nutritious this time. “Nothing major.”

Byx wore her kitten hair clips, and they purred constantly. Parsnip and I thought it was an indication she was more traumatized than she was letting on. Hell, I was still plenty traumatized, and I didn’t see that changing anytime soon.

I’d been staring at Byx’s hair clips long enough that she self-consciously touched them.

Parsnip picked up on the move and thankfully asked, “Do you think you could make me something to put in my hair for the big reveal?”

“Really?” Byx perked up. “What do you want?” She took another bite of the apple, moving closer. “I’ve got a few more things in mind.”

Parsnip’s smile was gently fond. “Why don’t you surprise me?”

Byx’s grin lit up the room. “You’ve got it.” She nodded, already lost in thought. “I’ll need Vander’s help. Right now, they just run on my magic, and when I’m not around, they don’t work.”

“I’ve got some ideas.” I didn’t think it would be too difficult.

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