Page 59 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

That got my attention. “What do you mean?”

“Pom said there’s been some chatter about other species kidnapping pixies and selling them to addicted ogres. Apparently, it’s very lucrative. The ogres will pay anything to keep feeding their addiction.”

Shivers of fear raced through me, leaving me freezing despite the fluffy blanket I tried wrapping myself in.

“If other species start doing that, then…who do we even watch out for?”

Pixie children were taught to steer clear of ogres, but did we have to be careful of everyone now? Were we going to be little better than humans?

“I’m not sure. Pom told me the fairies aren’t happy. In fact, she said they were downright pissed. You know fairies; they lay down a law and goddess help the one that breaks it. Pom said they’ve got a meeting scheduled with the fairy queen. No promises, but everyone expects her to increase the punishment for pixie trafficking.”

“The punishment is already harsh.”

“Yeah, but not as harsh as it could be. Rumor has it that execution is on the table.”

I sucked in a breath. “Death?”

“Mm-hmm. No trial. No reprieve and no excuse. Justice would be in the hands of the fairy on site, and they would have full authority to give out punishment.”

“No questions asked?”

“None.”

I didn’t hate the idea. In fact, it settled the chills racing through me. It didn’t melt the cold. If anything, that sat even heavier in my chest. Only this frigid state was welcome.

“And the ogres involved?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“No changes there. They’ll still be sent to rehab. If they become repeat offenders, unable to break the cycle, then they’ll be kept under lock and key.”

I made some type of noncommittal sound.

“It’s not their fault, Nip. It’s a disease, one that’s difficult to control. I know it’s hard to accept, but they’re victims too.”

Deep down, I knew that. But when you were on the other end of that addiction, when you were the victim too, it was hard to spare any sympathy.

“Anyway,” Parsley went on, “as for Petunia, I think she’ll be fine. She’s tough.”

“All pixies are,” I said.

“True enough. It’ll take time. There were a lot of nightmares last night. I think when she gets her tracking chip placed, Petunia will feel safer.”

I would have felt the skin over my own chip if I could have reached it. It was placed in my upper back, above the start of my wings. All pixies captured by ogres had the option of being implanted with a tracking chip. I’d agreed. Almost all rescued pixies did. If we were lost again, we could be found much quicker. Addicted ogres didn’t have the mindset to look for it to remove it. I wasn’t sure about traffickers. If they knew about the chips, knew where to look, it wasn’t inconceivable they’d be able to remove them.

“I think maybe it should be mandated that all pixies get them,” Parsley said, “regardless if they’ve been captured previously or not. Especially if this trafficking shit is going to start up again.”

“You can’t mandate that, Parse. Not everyone wants to have something that invasive placed in their body. A lot of pixies don’t like the idea of being easily tracked. It’s…it’s like we’re cattle or something.” I was okay with my own chip, but I understood why other pixies didn’t want one and hated that it was something that might become necessary.

“I know.” Parsley’s tone was soft. “And I get it, really I do. I just don’t know what the answer is, and I hate seeing our species suffer like this. Maybe they should make a mask mandate with ogres. If they never get a whiff of pixie dust, then they can’t get addicted.”

“Not all ogres get addicted to our dust. Besides, now you’re interfering with their rights.”

“Ugh! I hate this.” I rarely heard Parsley lose his cool. He must be really frustrated to sound so despondent.

“I know. So do I.” Situations with no answers were always draining. “Back to Petunia. You think she’s going to be okay?”

“I do. It’ll take time, but I’ve seen worse.” Parsley had stopped counting me as part of thatworsegroup. My situation was so beyond all others that I was more of an outlier than a true bar.

“Good. I’m glad. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. And thank you for taking her in.”

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