Page 66 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

“Pardon me, Leon. I believe I need to have a word with Sedrick.” Lucroy easily slid out of the booth and headed for the hall leading to the parking garage.

I quietly watched him go. Phlox stood on the booth seat, body completely turned and wings fluttering. “What the hell was that about?” Phlox waved a hand in the general direction of the parking garage. “That was hardly a proper goodbye and he didn’t even finish telling you what happened tonight.”

While I wasn’t certain what was on Lucroy’s mind, I knew he had a good reason for his actions.

Phlox spun around and flopped back down on the seat beside me. Arms crossed, he huffed. “I suppose it’s up to me now.” Uncrossing his arms, Phlox’s tension dissipated into lethargy. Slumping, he ran his fingers through his hair. “You have no idea how badly I want to shift right now.”

Sliding closer, I grabbed Phlox’s hand and entwined our fingers. “You do not need to speak further about tonight if you do not wish. I can hear it from another or you can tell me later when you’re feeling up to it. If you desire to shift, I have a perfectly good lap you can lie on.”

Phlox’s lips parted, eyes wide as he stared up at me. I hope it wasn’t premature, but I swear I saw adoration sparkling in their deep blue depths.

“You really wouldn’t mind if I laid in your lap?”

“Not even a little,” I reassured.

Phlox’s lazy, appreciative grin lit me up from the inside. I almost believed I could survive on that look alone.

“I’ll definitely take you up on that later.” With a regretful sigh, he said, “But right now, I need to be a responsible agent and fill you in on the other tidbit of amazing information we learned tonight. I don’t think Erasmus was keen to tell us, but after a bit ofpersuasion, he dropped a big-ass bombshell.”

I was all ears and leaned down when Phlox lowered his voice. I could barely make out his words above the pounding music setting Dusk’s atmosphere.

“First off, necromancers are scary as fuck. Turns out, they might be more useful than we originally thought. Do you remember what Vander said the other night about necromancers, witches, and warlocks? He said that back in the day, witches and warlocks procreated and it was only after their falling out over djinn that they stopped doing that, turning to humans to keep their species going.”

“I remember that, yes.”

“So, as it turns out, necromancers weren’t even a species when djinn were created. They came along later as a product between warlocks and humans.”

“That follows, but I fail to see the importance.”

Phlox licked his dry lips. “I didn’t either. I didn’t even think much of it when Aurelia didn’t know what Erasmus was. None of us thought much about it until Erasmus said he didn’t think djinn are as indestructible as previously believed.”

My eyebrows shot high. “How so?”

Phlox cringed. “You know that all djinn have an object of attachment?”

I nodded. “Yes, Aurelia’s is an ancient amphora.”

“Exactly. Well, it turns out that object is a little more special than anyone thought.”

I could not imagine how that could be true. My barely raised eyebrows must have expressed my disbelief.

“Yeah, I know how you feel,” Phlox said, running his fingers through his hair, tucking it behind an ear. “Goddess, I could murder a burger right now.” Phlox’s stomach growled in agreement.

My eyebrows did more than barely tilt upwards. “Meat? I have never seen a pixie eat meat before, not even you.”

Phlox shrugged as if it were unimportant, or perhaps, he didn’t want to make a big deal of it. “I’m part Pallas’s cat shifter. I’m mostly a vegetarian, but sometimes I crave something a little bloodier. I think my blood donation early this morning might have something to do with it. Although Peaches doesn’t crave meat, so my guess is it has more to do with my shifter side.” Gaze drifting to the side, Phlox cautiously asked, “Does it bother you?”

“That you eat meat sometimes?” I asked incredulously.

“Yeah. I know that’s not very pixie-ish behavior. I’ve been careful over the years not to eat it in front of other pixies. Bless Auntie Tandra. I think it hurt something deep in her soul to buy it for me, but she did it anyway.”

The more I heard about Phlox’s auntie Peltandra, the more I desired a direct meeting. “I care not what you eat, Phlox. I only care that you are properly nourished and happy. I would slaughter whatever livestock you crave.”

Phlox’s nose wrinkled. “That should sound gross and yet it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I’m not really sure what that says about me.”

“It says nothing negative. Now, do you have a preference from where food is ordered?” I pulled out my phone and found a food delivery app. Phlox listed what he wanted and from where and I happily placed his order.

With my beloved’s needs on the way to being met, I turned the topic back to Aurelia. “You mentioned Aurelia’s object of attachment is even more significant than earlier believed. You have piqued my curiosity.”

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