Page 38 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

Sedrick’s large glass of what I suspected had been beer sat empty on the table, a smaller glass of drained honeysuckle mead nearby. I stared at the mismatched glasses, and my mind wandered back to my earlier thoughts.

I didn’t know if it was polite, but I asked, “I know this may sound odd, but does Phil happen to be a home-and-hearth pixie?”

Peaches immediately lit up. “He is. Phil’s an excellent home-and-hearth pixie.” With cheeks puffed out, Peaches gave me a scolding look. “A lot of others don’t think he would be, but Phil’s size doesn’t affect his pixie nature at all. He might be big, but he’s all pixie.”

I held up my hands, palms out. “I meant no offense. I’m certain Phil is just as good as you say.”

Lucroy leaned forward ever so slightly. “You’ll have to forgive Peaches. I’m afraid he’s witnessed some rather negative comments thrown Philodendron’s way. Peaches is very protective of his friends. It is an excellent quality in a beloved.”

Peaches gazed up at Lucroy as if he’d hung the stars, moon, and sun.

Parsnip wiggled, but instead of leaning away, he got closer. The heated contact sent my blood south, plumping my cock and nearly blanking my mind.

“How did you know?” Peaches asked, pulling my mind from the gutter. At least a little. “Is it a warlock thing?”

I blinked, trying to focus. Finally, I asked, “How did I know Phil was a home-and-hearth pixie?”

Peaches nodded, the move a little more aggressive than it should be. I got the sneaking suspicion Lucroy hadn’t limited his pixie’s honeysuckle mead the way Sedrick had done with Phil.

“No, nothing like that. I could probably make a charm that would let me know. Warlocks can tell species apart, but when it comes to a pixie’s specific nature, we need to ask.”

“Oh.” Peaches sounded confused. “Then what gave Phil away?”

I took a moment to turn that over in my head, wondering if I should say anything at all. Generally speaking, I didn’t make a habit of talking about what clients came into my shop to discuss. Despite not having a silencing pact, I was a professional and didn’t like spreading gossip.

This, however, didn’t feel like gossip. It felt like something that might save a lot of grief down the line.

Twirling my glass between my fingers, their blackened tips contrasted sharply with the vibrant fluid within. As if sensing my unease, Parsnip placed a hand on my hip. It was the barest of touch, but it was more than enough.

Inhaling, I said, “I don’t want you to think I make a habit of spreading around what clients ask of me, but in this case, I think I’ll make an exception. Mind you, I might be wrong, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.” When I glanced up, I made sure to make contact with Lucroy’s obsidian eyes.

A faint vampiric nod was all the encouragement I needed. “I get a lot of odd…requests. I probably say no to more commissions than I accept.” Parsnip’s fingers squeezed my thigh. “But this one was a first. A beta wolf came into the shop last week. He wouldn’t tell me who his alpha is, but given the nature of his request, I think I can guess. There aren’t a lot of alpha werewolves out there with that kind of reputation.”

Peaches’s large eyes blinked. I didn’t know whether it was due to ignorance or alcohol. Lucroy didn’t have either of those issues. The sharp tick on his cheek and the thinning of his lips said he knew exactly who I was talking about.

“Anyway, the reason the request struck me as odd, and cruel, was that he wanted to know if I could create a charm that would dissolve or break a home-and-hearth pixie’s bond.”

Peaches sucked in an alarming gust of air, his eyes flying impossibly wide. Beside me, Parsnip hissed something that sounded suspiciously like a curse.

“He wouldn’t…” Peaches’s head twisted, and his body soon followed. Going up on his knees, he leaned into Lucroy. “Please tell me he wouldn’t do something like that. I know Arie’s horribly cruel but…” Burying his face in Lucroy’s neck, Peaches’s laugh grated across my skin. “What am I saying? Of course he’d do something like that. Arie’s a monster. He killed my cousin just because he wanted her bonded land. Doing something like that to Phil and Sedrick is exactly something he’d try.”

Without a word, Lucroy pulled Peaches into his lap. Peaches’s golden wings lay at his back, completely void of life. Parsnip’s hand moved from my thigh, tightening down on my fingers with a punishing grip.

“That’s beyond wicked.” Parsnip sounded like a ghost of himself, and when I looked down, his skin was ashen. “I can’t even imagine the cruelty of it. You don’t…” He audibly swallowed. “My brother’s a home-and-hearth pixie. He’s not bonded, but if he were…I’d kill someone who did that to him. I don’t know how, but I’d find a way.”

I squeezed Parsnip’s fingers in return. “Don’t worry, I’d help.”

Parsnip’s large eyes blinked, his dark aqua-colored lashes shimmering with wetness. Tears didn’t slip down his cheeks, but it looked like a near thing.

Peaches couldn’t contain his. “This has to be a break in his agreement.” Peaches sounded desperate, rage filtering through his sadness and bringing vitality to his bruised words. “Tell me Ray can nail his ass to the wall for this,” Peaches practically begged Lucroy.

I could see it in the vampire’s dark eyes, the need to tell his beloved that Hellfire Rayburn could enact fairy justice on Alpha Belview. What I could also see was that he knew it would be a lie.

Instead of answering Peaches, Lucroy asked me, “Did you get the beta’s name?”

Reluctantly, I shook my head. “He wouldn’t give it, and he certainly wouldn’t give me his alpha’s name. When Ideclinedhis rather generous offer of naming my price, he attacked me.”

Parsnip’s worried gasp warmed my heart.

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