Page 6 of Fairies Don't Fall

“Oh. But werewolves have alphas.”

“That’s a position of responsibility, not a signifier of betterment.”

I cocked my head as I studied him. “For a warrior wolf, you seem rather intelligent.”

He narrowed his eyes as he studied me. “You have some ideas about warrior wolves that suggests you’ve seen them at their less than civilized. You definitely need to get some books on werewolves. You’re only afraid of what you don’t understand.”

“I’m afraid of all kinds of things I understand. Such as lava. And bark beetles. And werewolves. Your behavior is not typical. I’d expect that if you find a fairy in your domain, you’d trap it, torture it, and then kill it. But your reactions are all wrong. What is the real truth of werewolves? No, what is the real truth of Max?”

He smiled and cocked his head. “Now that’s a question. Still, this is Singsong City. We make a point of not killing anyone without reason.”

“But I’m a fairy. That’s a reason.”

“That’s not reason, it’s instinct or prejudice. Those are the opposite of reason.”

“Ah.” I nodded slowly like that made sense, even though it really didn’t. Maybe sense would come together once my stomach stopped cramping and all of me stopped aching. I felt better now than earlier, but that was a far cry from actually feeling good. I couldn’t remember what that was like. ‘Poor fairy princess,’ Vervain would say, pouting at me in full mock-sympathy. What would Max say if I complained about mycramping stomach? I really had no idea. He was so soft, but he was still a warrior wolf. It was such a contrast, a juxtaposition, a paradox. I almost wanted to study him in earnest.

We left the caverns and went out into the undercity, Song, which was also a cavern, but even higher than the owl cave. Many of the buildings went up into the stone and out on the top side of the city. I’d crept through Song on my way to the caverns, but I hadn’t really looked around. The neighborhood right outside the caves was filled with gray houses that blended with the rocks, their walls right up against each other. The singing lamps lit the streets very brightly after the darkness of the caves.

As we walked along, doors opened and werewolves came out to stare at us. They looked at me how werewolves should, full of hatred, suspicion, and disgust.

“Are you going to kill it?” one old man asked, frowning at me. His teeth were particularly yellow and jagged.

I leaned into Max, away from those teeth.

“Freddy, we don’t kill fairies,” Max replied with a sigh.

Freddy glanced away. “Sure, but if you were to accidentally fall on her with your teeth, I’ve got dibs on her wings.”

Max growled and Freddy stiffened up. My own skin went all goose-bumpy from the sound that went up my spine and to my brain, waking up an ancient fear that screamed at me to run, to fight, to kill it before it killed me. He was a warrior wolf whether he knew it or not. Oh, the damage he could do if someone hadn’t brainwashed him into thinking he had duty.

“We. Don’t. Kill. Fairies,” Max ground out.

Freddy dropped to his knees, head bowed. “Apologies, my lord.” He touched his forehead to the dirty gray cobbles while Max started moving faster.

“My lord? You’re the alpha then? I still have goosebumps. You’re terrifying. Also slightly deceptive for saying that there is no ranking when you’re at the top of the food chain.” My wordstumbled out in a hysterical babble. The Alpha? And he was crazy? Perfect. Just perfect. I wouldn’t just die, I’d be tortured in weird, creative ways.

He glanced at me, still frowning. “You’re exhausted.” That’s all he said, before he returned to the former steady pace that I could keep up with, if barely. I appreciated that he didn’t pick me up again. That would be beyond humiliating no matter how wiped out I was. I was so tired of being sick, of not doing enough for my people, tired of the burden of a world I couldn’t fix.

We continued through Song, the underbelly of Singsong, past a place with signposts to Wonderland, a castle in the distance peeking through creepy-looking trees, with another massive building on the opposite side of the street in sand-colored stone, with lions guarding the front doors.

“The architecture isn’t very cohesive down here, is it?” I asked.

“No. Each district has its own style, origins, and tastes.”

“Like werewolves want everything to be the color of gray sludge. What kind of thing likes lions and sand?” I asked, nodding in the direction of the pillared massive thing that went all the way to the ceiling high above.

“The Sphinx. He’s a cat shifter.”

I glanced away from the building back to him. “A cat shifter? Like a tabby or a calico?”

“Like a sabre-tooth tiger with a plaid fetish. He’s a weird guy.”

I blinked at him then nodded at the woods with ‘Wonderland’ in the distance. “And who owns that?”

“A demon. A devil? I forget which is which. You aren’t going anywhere near Wonderland. It doesn’t look like you have any money, so you can’t lose it in gambling, but he’d take souls in the place of cash, if they were shiny enough.”

“My soul isn’t shiny.”

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