Page 72 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

“Hmm…I suppose we’ll see. And, for both your sakes, you should hope the answer is different. After all, what good is she to me if I can’t suck her magic dry?”

My brain knew it wouldn’t work, but my heart roared, and I pulled against my chains, yanking and clanking, grunting with effort and spitting every useless curse I could think of Letty’s way.

Unamused, Letty waved a hand in Franny’s direction. A simple “please” was all she said, and once again, Franny loomed before me, her meaty fist drawn back.

Kneeling on that disgustingly damp floor, my final thought before that fist met my head was that I was staring up into Parsnip’s worst nightmare, his bad dream morphing into my own.

ChapterTwenty-Six

Parsnip

I checked my phone again, even though I would have heard it ring. Still no answer from Vander. I wanted to drive to Richmond again tonight. The thought of sleeping alone was too much, but I wasn’t sure I should keep barging in on him the way I’d done the past few nights. But at this point, was it still barging? Or did Vander just assume I’d come to him?

I didn’t know, so I wanted to speak with Vander before heading in that direction. I’d been struggling with my thoughts and feelings all day. Hell, I’d been struggling with them for a lot longer than that. Was I in love with Vander Kines? I wasn’t certain. I’d never been in love with anyone before. Social pixies weren’t known to settle down with a single individual. We fed off adoration, and the more, the better. If I were tied down to a single soul, would that change? Would my fans abandon me if I were “off the market”? I wasn’t certain, and perhaps what was even scarier was the fact that I was beginning to wonder just how much I cared.

The scales were tipping. Vander made me feel good. He made me feel safe and wanted. Did I really need other, more superficial desires?

Not for the first time, I wished I understood my nature better. My experience with Jed changed me. What I didn’t know was if it had truly changed my underlying nature or not. Would I still feel this way if it hadn’t been for what I’d gone through?

I didn’t know, and there wasn’t a manual on social pixie trauma. You’d think there might be, given all the pixies who’d gone through what I had. But there was a stigma surrounding captured pixies. Most of us just wanted to forget what had happened, to move on as if we’d never been caged and kept as a pet to an addicted master.

Sighing, I pulled into my rental home’s drive. The once-cozy house looked cold and unwelcoming. Without a doubt, it would have looked bright and cheerful with Vander standing in the doorway. But he wasn’t in the doorway. He was miles away in another city.

I stared at my blank phone again, decision made. Whether he expected me or not, I was going to grab a few things and head to Richmond. Vander hadn’t turned me away yet. There was no reason to believe tonight would be different.

The evening was even colder than past ones. Pulling my shawl tight around my shoulders, I hustled out of my car and flew to the door. I was pulling my key out when I noticed a light blue envelope taped to the inside of the storm door. My name was scrawled across the front.

Ducking behind the storm door blocked the wind as I snatched up the envelope and tore it open.

I saw the pictures first, my numb finger nearly dropping them. Nearly crumpling in on myself, my forehead hit the inner door, the metal freezing, yet I barely felt it.

Vander.

Byx.

Their names thundered through my head, pounding on my ears and ringing through my skull. They looked bad. Vander was cuffed and looked unconscious. And Byx was just lying there on some dirty, rotten couch.

Hands shaking, I opened the slip of paper tucked inside. It took me at least three tries before I opened it enough to read the print.

I have something you want, Parsnip. Getting them back will cost you, but I believe you’re finally willing to pay the price. You know how this game goes. Their lives are in your hands. Don’t be selfish. Come alone. Letty.

A simple address was written below. I had no idea where it was, but that didn’t matter. Letty Fox had Vander and Byx. My body vibrated with fear. I hadn’t seen this coming. I hadn’t anticipated anything remotely like this. Letty had never threatened anyone but me. If she had, I would have tracked her down, spent every last dime I had to take her out.

Rage, hot and lava-thick, spread from my core. How dare she? I silently seethed my anger without an outlet.

Though my fingers shook, I managed to get into the house. Taking flight, I paced back and forth, trying to think of what to do. It wasn’t easy, and my thoughts ran like wildfire through my mind. I couldn’t risk Vander and Byx, but at the same time, I couldn’t be foolish enough not to alert someone what was going on.

Grabbing my phone, I typed a quick message, saved it, and set it on a timer. If I wasn’t back to stop it within two hours, the message would upload to both Divia and Solen. I sent the address I was headed to and snapped a copy of the letter and pictures Letty left for me. I added a quick note to Solen’s message, informing him of the chip implanted in my back. Worst-case scenario, I could be tracked.

I would try to solve this myself. I had no idea what I could do. I was just a pixie. We didn’t have offensive powers. We could play good defense, but social pixies weren’t known for that art. We didn’t have anything to protect. No home, no land…just ourselves, and our goddess hadn’t deemed that enough to form much of a protective barrier around.

I didn’t care. I was armed with fury and need. Maybe they wouldn’t be enough, but I’d work them to the best of my ability. I would not let Vander, and certainly not Byx, suffer for Letty’s madness, for her obsession.

Grabbing my phone and thicker shawl, I programmed the address into my phone and headed for my car. I set my phone in the cup holder and allowed its uncaring voice to tell me how far I’d be on certain roads and where to turn. The directions led me out of Rutherford Haven proper. I vaguely realized I was headed in the opposite direction of Peaches’s orchard, but beyond that didn’t have a clue.

I passed a number of cars, their lights a brief flash that I barely contemplated. My heart hammered, and my hands clenched the steering wheel. The directional app led me into a run-down neighborhood filled with homes that had seen better, more fruitful days. The house I ended my journey at looked like a carbon copy of the ones to its right and left, each missing more than a few windows, rotting boards covering otherwise gaping holes in an attempt to keep out the elements and riffraff. Their mission was a lost cause the moment the nails were hammered home.

The streets were empty. Only a single streetlight was still operating, and even it flickered like it might go out any second.

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