Page 79 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

Letty’s eyebrow raised, but otherwise, she said nothing. I didn’t think she cared much about what happened to Lance. As long as she didn’t out him, she’d technically keep her promise. I had no such qualms.

“Parsnip.” Vander’s soft voice pulled my gaze to him. “I’m so sorry,” he needlessly apologized.

“Not your fault,” I reassured. “This is all on me.”

“No, it’s not. I—”

“Enough.” Eager to expose all my dirty secrets, Letty pushed up my loose pants, easily finding the concealed charm. Her fingers felt disgusting against my skin, yet I refused to so much as shiver.

Nothing was protecting the charm from removal. I’d planned to discuss it with Vander—something to add to future charms. We hadn’t had the time to discover what could or couldn’t be done, and Letty easily released the leather cord holding the charm against my flesh.

I knew the second the stone was no longer in contact. The warmth that had become a constant, soothing presence dissipated, leaving me colder than before. I couldn’t see the change. No mirrors were hanging in Letty’s dungeon. The look on her face was all I needed to know that I’d reverted to little more than shades of gray.

An odd look crossed her face, something between disappointment, frustration, and anger. The joy I expected was absent.

“Where are the others?” she demanded.

“There are no others. That was the only one.”

“It can’t be.” With a wave of her hand, she said, “There must be more. This is… There simply has to be more.”

“There isn’t,” I honestly protested. “I’m a washed-out, faded pixie. No pixie is just shades of gray. Silver, yes. Gray, no. I was born aqua, and that’s what I wanted to be again. I simply wanted to get back to how the goddess made me. I told you that before. It’s not my fault you’re too stubborn to believe me. Pixies aren’t supposed to be…this.”

I couldn’t look at Vander. I didn’t want to see the abject disappointment when he saw what I truly looked like. I didn’t want to see the judgment or the want slip away.

“Beautiful.”

My eyes flew wide, and I tried to turn my head but couldn’t. The best I could do was shift slightly, just enough to make eye contact with Vander.

I’d been afraid of what I’d see. I shouldn’t have been.

Love. Undying, unyielding, precious love.

“You are absolutely beautiful, Parsnip,” Vander said again, awe filling his voice. “That’s what Letty can’t believe, why she thinks there must be something else you’re trying to cover. She can’t accept that you’re just as stunning even without a charm. The joke’s on her.”

Letty fisted my charm. Since it wasn’t meant for her, it did nothing. It might as well have been a dead rock for all the good it did her.

“You still lied,” Letty shrieked. “You’ve been fooling your viewers, your fans, for years. Everyone talks about what a beautifully colored pixie you are, but it’s not true. You’re nothing but a fraud.”

“That may be, and I’m sorry if I truly offended anyone. But that’s for them to decide, not you. You’ve gotten what you wanted. You’ve got the truth. You can crow until the cows come home about how right you were, about how no one believed you and I’m the villain. I don’t really give a shit what happens to me. Keeping Vander, and especially Byx, makes you far worse than anything I’ve ever done.”

“Will his dust work now?”

Even without Letty’s magic, my body would have frozen. The ogre from earlier stepped out of the shadows, out of my periphery and into the light. She was just as huge and horrifying as the first time I’d seen her. My breathing became rapid-fire, barely filling my lungs.

Whatever disappointment Letty suffered fled when she saw the ogre. “It should work just fine now, Franny. And, just as promised, it’s all yours.”

I was painfully familiar with the glazed look that took over Franny’s eyes. It was the same one I’d seen in Jed a hundred times over. It was the look of someone addicted.

In that moment, I realized Letty’s plan. She was going to let the ogre, Franny, have me. And, even if Vander did somehow make it out of here alive, Letty had my charm. If my tracking chip had been fried too, Vander would never find me. I’d be left to fade. The only consolation would be that it shouldn’t take long. I’d lasted six months the last time. I didn’t figure I’d make it six weeks.

With a wave of her hand, Letty released the magical spell holding me captive. I fell back to the floor. My wings reflexively tried to beat, but one of them was damaged, and it hurt like hell. I snapped them shut, landing on the cold floor with a thud.

“Fly,” Franny ordered. “Make pixie dust.”

My good wing twitched just enough to scatter a bare hint of dust. Franny leaned in and inhaled, eyes rolling to the back of her head, facial muscles relaxing.

“So good. More,” she demanded.

---