Page 78 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

Parsnip

This couldn’t be happening. It was what my brain had on repeat, and yet no matter how many times it said that useless mantra, nothing changed. The truth was, thiswashappening. I didn’t know if Letty was live streaming or not. In the end, it didn’t really matter.

Letty didn’t seem deterred by my silence.

“What, nothing to say? How disappointing. I’ve heard that unburdening yourself of past lies is freeing. Not that I would know.” Letty’s grin was cruel.

Turning back to the camera, Letty gushed, “You see, viewers, I was recently contacted by Parsnip’s previous warlock. It seems that he’s been spending much of his ill-gotten gains on obfuscation charms. Now, what in the world do you think our pretty pixie is trying to hide? Care to share with the audience, Parsnip?”

I clamped my mouth shut. I had no intention of giving Letty what she wanted. Not because I was still trying to save my reputation but because she didn’t deserve to know. It wasn’t her business. It was mine. Letty was a cruel, murderous witch. She didn’t deserve to win.

My body vibrated with fear. Not just of Letty, but of the ogre I remembered. It was too much to hope that it had simply been a figment of my imagination. Maybe I didn’t see her right now, but there had been an ogre here, and knowing Letty, she had plans for that ogre. Plans that involved me.

Terror threatened to consume me. This nightmare was worse than any my brain had managed to conjure since my captivity. If it were simply my life at stake, I would have caved to that fear. I would have allowed it to swallow me whole. I would have sunk into that deep, dark oblivion and lost myself to all hope.

But it wasn’t just my life on the line. Vander and Byx had gotten caught up in this clusterfuck, and they deserved better.

Evidently tired of my reluctance, Letty placed her hands on her hips and huffed. “Well, I suppose it would have been surprising if you’d simply admitted it.” Tapping a finger to her lower lip, her gaze traveled between Vander and Byx. “Hmm…I wonder which one will get you talking the fastest?”

My heart thudded. “Leave them alone, Letty. Vander and Byx are innocent. They—”

“Oh, pretty pixie, it’s cute how you thinkanyonein this world is innocent.” As if to prove her point, Letty walked toward Byx. She started writing something in the air.

Vander exploded, yanking on his chains, screaming at Letty.

My fear skyrocketed. I had no idea what she was about to do, but Vander did, and he was desperate to stop it.

With glowing rings, Letty slammed her hand into that spot in the air. Within half a second, Byx screamed, shredding my heart.

I watched in horror, impotent to do anything to stop whatever Letty was doing. My screaming joined Vander’s, yet our calls to stop did nothing.

Finally, Letty fisted her hand, ending Byx’s pain.

Byx slumped, unconscious.

Letty lowered and shook her head. “I don’t think she’ll live through another draining. What do you think, warlock?”

“You fucking witch!”

I’d never heard Vander yell and scream. His anger was always low, a rumbling pot set below-boiling point. He was always so calm and thoughtful. That Vander was gone, replaced by desperation.

“Sticks and stones, warlock,” Letty sang. “Sticks and stones.”

Vander gasped, pulling in lungful’s of air that nearly made him choke. “You… If you hurt her anymore, I’ll—”

“Do nothing,” Letty gleefully jeered. “There’s absolutely nothing you can do. But Parsnip can.” Letty sauntered my way, swinging her anemic hips and making her swishing skirt a mockery of my colors. “Parsnip, do you really want to watch me drain the brownie? I really do think one more time will do it. Not that it’s my preference, mind you. Considering no one is willing to tell me how to crack open that little nugget of magical perfection she’s locked away, it would be nice to keep her around a little longer. Everyone needs a magical boost now and again.” Letty shrugged as if she weren’t talking about enslaving and magically draining a sentient being.

“Wh-what do you want from me?” Pride be damned, I couldn’t watch that happen again. My capitulation wouldn’t truly save Byx, but it would buy time, and right now, that was all I could do.

“That’s more like it.” Letty bopped me on the nose. I tried to recoil from her touch, but whatever magic she’d wrapped me in wouldn’t allow that much movement. “What I want, pretty pixie, is for you to tell the viewers out there, in your own voice, exactly how you’ve been deceiving them. I want them to know that you got your position as host ofInterspecies Habitatby lying, and then, I want you to show them what you truly are.”

I swallowed. Hard. I’d been so afraid of this very moment happening, but now that it was here, admitting the truth was the least frightening thing in the room. New, fresher horrors easily took the place of my vanity.

“Fine.” I steadied my voice. If I was doing this, I didn’t want to sound meek. I wanted to sound confident. I was a social pixie, and we did not cower. “Letty Fox is correct. I’ve been using an obfuscation charm to hide what my current, true color is.”

Letty’s grin started out slow and grew until it stretched from ear to ear. “How interesting. And where, exactly, have you hidden this charm?”

I thrust my chin up, moving my head as much as her casting allowed. “Right thigh.” And just in case Letty was stupid enough to live stream this, I was going to throw Lance under every tire of every damn bus in the known world. “Warlock Vander Kines did an amazing job. Far better than my previous warlock, Lance Billings. Lance’s charms were little more than second-rate to what Vander did for me.”

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