Page 7 of Fairies Don't Fall

“No? Lucky Sparkles. I guess your soul is safe with him. Still, you aren’t going there.”

I had no interest in going somewhere run by a demon or a devil, whatever the difference was, but at the same time, it wasn’t his place to tell me what I could and couldn’t do.

I cleared my throat and tried to stand up straight. “My Lord Max, I’m afraid you’ve made a mistake. I’m capable of making my own decisions.”

“Princess Sparkles, I’ll believe you when the only thing keeping you on your feet isn’t my hand on your shoulder. You would have fallen half a dozen times.”

“Well, the train ride was exhausting.”

“The beds weren’t comfortable?”

“Beds? There are beds in the train? I suppose I should have gone inside, but I wasn’t sure how to do that without damaging something.”

“Ah. They’re called doors. You rode on the outside of a train? Yes, you’re perfectly capable of making your own bad decisions. You get to take a break from bad decisions until your head is right.”

“My head is right. I’m not the crazy one who talks to owls and tries to heal fairies.”

He smiled slightly. “Save your energy for walking, Princess Sparkles.”

I glared at him. “My name isn’t Princess Sparkles. It’s Grace.”

His brows rose. “Really? You’re Grace? Or should I say, your grace?”

I shifted uncomfortably. I’d never been graceful, so the name was always a reminder of what I wasn’t. Fairies weren’t as graceful as elves, because we were too flighty and changed directions too easily, but I was definitely less graceful than a princess should be.

“You can call me Sparkles.” It was more attainable than Grace.

“And you can call me Max. My Lord sounds like an exclamation of concern.”

“I think that’s a good name for you, then. Every time I look at you, I want to make an exclamation of concern.”

He rumbled deep in his throat and nodded us forward. The library was in the upper city above the Laboratory, which we’d have to go through. The Lab was a truly creepy building, a castle lit with red lights, bodies hanging from the walls, but inside was clean, clinical.

Max took me to a little café off the large main hall. The cafe had a garden inside in the center of the space. They had lights that called to me along with the growing life.

“Oooh,” I said, heading directly towards the garden.

Max pulled me back so I bumped into his chest. “No. Fairies can make delicate tech explode,” he rumbled in my ear while my heart beat rapidly at being so close to so much big bad wolf before he released me and headed towards the counter.

“Max, what can I get for you?” the guy behind said, looking dull and bored. What was he? That rugged hair was wolfish, but he didn’t look at me like I was something to kill, like an insect to be swatted out of hand.

“What do fairies eat?” Max asked.

That made the guy’s face wrinkle up as he considered. “Pollen? Nectar? I don’t know. You seem to have a fairy attached to you that you could ask.”

Max frowned down at me. “Princess Sparkles, what do you eat?”

I opened my mouth to argue about the Princess part then sighed. He was an insane Lupin Lord. I was too tired to argue about how he said my title. “I don’t eat. I have a delicate stomach. Sometimes I sip poppy pollen,” I said with a shrug.When was the last time I’d eaten? Vervain used to go on and on about it until even he got tired of the lectures.

Max shook his head at me. “Sure, you can take care of yourself. Poppy pollen?” He turned back to the guy behind the counter. “Fairy diet is mostly plant-based, but insects are necessary. Most prefer dragonflies over butterflies. Crunch is more pleasant than squish, don’t you agree?”

The guy behind the counter started gagging. “Gross.”

“Wrong,” Max corrected with a sharp smile. “Insects are much more hygienic than mammalian blood your employer consumes. Give Sparkles a salad.” He leaned forward and growled ever so slightly, making the guy jump.

“Chill out,” the man said, shaking his head at Max. “No reason to get all bent out of shape just because some sparkly thing gets caught in your fur.” He turned and started making a salad. I was surprised when he slid it over the counter and there were flowers mixed in the leaves. It was pretty, with nuts and berries as well to give it color and contrast, but there was no way I could eat it.

I frowned at it and then at Max. He sighed, grabbed the salad and my shoulder then walked me over to a booth near the magical underground garden. It was so pretty, with bright flowers and even brighter frogs hiding among the foliage. I wanted to touch one. Maybe lick it. A frog that bright was probably almost as poisonous as me.

---