Page 31 of Fairies Don't Fall

Chapter

Ten

For a second I froze and then I broke into a run, towards the sound of the beating dragonfly wings. It wasn’t a dragonfly. It was a big metal machine with whirling blades on the top that cut through the air and anything else that got too close. It was a death machine, but I climbed inside anyway, without a moment’s hesitation.

Max strapped me in, then sat beside me, his fingers tapping his knee as the bug lifted off the ground and then darted into the gathering darkness.

“What kind of poison was it?” I asked after a few minutes of stomach-tangling guilt.

“I don’t know.”

My stomach churned with the knowledge that I should have stopped this. But what was a factory for snacks? I didn’t understand anything until it slapped me in the face. I should have told Max right away. Not because I was worried about war, but because it was the right thing to do. Why hadn’t I warned him, really warned him, before his people were poisoned? Was I really worried that he’d be furious with all fairies and not just the ones trying to kill his pack? Did I not think that he could discern between good and bad intent?

I was exactly like those pixie dust fairies who couldn’t see what they should do, who ran away stupidly.

“Princess Sparkles,” Max said, brushing the back of my hand with his. “Are you all right?”

I looked up at him. “No. Did Ruin…” My throat clogged up at the thought of the wild girl poisoned by one of mine, who I’d been incapable of stopping.

His warm hand wrapped around mine, and I squeezed his back, taking a shaky breath through my tight chest. I felt sicker than I had for a few days. And his touch always gave me more comfort than it should, more than I deserved.

“I don’t know, but she’s a tough kid. Also, she’s in detention and shouldn’t have any snacks she hasn’t earned.”

I hesitated for a moment and then wrapped my arms around his arm and leaned my head on his shoulder, squeezing my eyes tightly closed. “Then she’s probably poisoned.”

He rumbled a laugh and leaned his head on mine. “It’ll be okay. I know a necromancer who can bring her back to life. He owes me a favor or two.”

I looked up at him in horror, but his eyes were twinkling. “You’re joking.”

“I’m joking. She’s going to be fine. Like I said, she’s tough.”

I bit him, right there on the shoulder, because how could he joke about turning Ruin into an undead…

His gasp changed to laughter, real laughter that made his body shake while he grinned at me. “Did you just bite me, Princess Sparkles? Didn’t you know that only werewolves bit?”

“You’ve never bitten me. You should.” For being afraid of warning him clearly.

His eyes flickered gold. “Should I?” He made it sound so flirty.

I released his arm and folded mine, scowling when I noticed the other wolves in the black bug, watching me in the growingdarkness. I looked down at my hands, and they had a light sheen, more glow than I’d had for a long time. How could I glow at a time like this? Honestly, in spite of my worry about Ruin and the rest of the wolves, I didn’t feel nearly as sick as I had when I left Fairyland.

It didn’t make sense. None of this made sense. Who would want the caverns to be used for fairies? Who would have access to a far-away factory to poison snacks? It seemed so far-fetched. I didn’t understand enough about this world. I needed to talk to someone who did.

I looked up at Max, then around at the watching wolves. They were studying us so intently. Were they concerned that he’d decide to gobble me up for good, or that I’d manage to kill him? This wasn’t the place to talk about fairies wanting to kill werewolves, but the next time we were alone…A memory of Shotglass, what she’d do with Max if they were alone, went through me like a burning knife. Is that why they were looking at me like that? Because I was one of those fairies who wanted Max for pleasure or status in the case of the female werewolf? They’d seen me grab his arm like that, but he hadn’t pushed me away. Did he think I wanted him?

I felt cold and alone, wrapped in my own arms, and it struck me. I did want him. Not the way Shotglass wanted him, because I didn’t understand lust and pleasure the way that she did, but I wanted to hold his hand right this second, and I’d love it if he put his arm over my shoulders and pulled me close so I could rest my head and fall asleep. I’d slept with his beast. I shouldn’t have been able to relax enough to sleep, but I had, and I’d felt so good waking up with him. A beast.

Was I going insane? What else could possibly explain why I’d cling to a werewolf for comfort? And yes, I found his bare face disturbingly attractive. And his bare chest. At least if we weretalking about Max and not his beast. His beast was too terrifying, and yet, I’d slept in his arms.

I shook my head because I didn’t have time to think about whether I was insane or something even worse. I had to find out who was trying to slaughter the werewolves, and I had to do it quickly. I searched fairy minds far and wide, but none of them knew anything about poisoning Singsong City’s wolves.

The ride ended after we flew over the surrounding golden wall and landed on a lawn inside Singsong. A large house was at the end of the grass, white, pillared, very boring except for the messy illustrations drawn all over it in glowing purple, green, pink, and other unnatural colors that positively assaulted the eye in the darkness. Max unfastened my straps and took my hand while he stayed crouched over because the roof was too short to stand up in while I stared at the house.

He said, “We’ll take the elevator down to the caverns. The sick are in the warehouse, and your fairies are in the caves.”

I stared at him in horror. “The fairies were poisoned too?”

He rubbed his chin. “I don’t think so. To my people, it looks like mass hysteria combined with horticulture, but with fairies, who can say? They weren’t poisoned like the wolves and goblins.”

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