Page 69 of Fairies Don't Fall

Well, that made absolutely no sense. You don’t just leave your girl with the other guy. Unless you’re crazy like a werewolf with four-part personality dissonance. He should turn it into a song. The song of Max. And I’d sing it for him and really break some ears.

Chapter

Twenty

Ihad my fairy court work on creating a portal from the House of the Rising Sun directly to Max’s back lawn. If you punched that much magic into a delicate new terraform, you could dislodge the sky, or have the cave collapse, or any number of other mishaps which the court’s official fairy terraformers reminded me of, looking cross and sober as we stood in the large, pale stone courtyard, lit by the fingers of a delicate sun, Ruin at my side. They were appalled that I’d done a terraform on my own in such precarious circumstances and were determined to come with me to make sure the work of Berry, the betrayer, hadn’t tainted the name of fairy terraforms everywhere.

Max didn’t seem to mind if I brought those fairies, just Vervain. He was on the edge of the courtyard talking to Felix and Vervain, the fairy he was supposedly jealous of. The one he nodded at like they were old friends. Now I was jealous of Vervain, getting all of my consort’s attention.

“Do you mind if we come with you?” Mirabel the Music Master said, striding up to me with her ogre husband close behind. They looked tired, like they’d been dancing for a few days. Fairyland could definitely wear you out, particularly when you were in the arms of the one you loved. They clearly adoredeach other. An ogre and an angel? Then why not a fairy and a wolf? Because lupin sorcerer. But I wasn’t going to get Vervain to help me kill him. Slaughter wasn’t going to die, or I would have let the poisonous dagger do it. Nope. I’d had to drag him back to life instead of taking advantage of his weakness. I was such an idiot. I should feed my heart to him now and get it over with.

I refocused on the couple in front of me instead of Max with his powerful yet graceful gesture as he said something to Vervain. “Do you know the mayor? As the Music Master with so many ties to powerful factions, you could do something about his political machinations, couldn’t you?”

She stiffened. “I am not friends with the mayor, but he was elected by the people. Right now, I think we need to be careful not to make the opposition right about how we take and use power.” Her eyes were searching as she studied me. She’d cheerfully greeted me when I’d been the ethereal fairy queen, but now she’d seen the death fairy. Which one was I really? If only I knew.

I smiled at her. “Of course. His corruption is no excuse for our own. Law and order must be maintained.” I turned to her husband, the ogre. “If any of your soldiers come against my consort’s wolves, they will fall. I hope you understand that I mean no harm to anyone who doesn’t threaten my consort’s pack, but those that do are toast.” Mm, toast.

He nodded slightly. “I will issue a warning to my people regarding the dangers of fighting fairies. Particularly you. If they choose to take contracts that go against you, that’s the business of war.”

“I don’t fight wars like it’s business. I will ruin those that threaten me if I do not destroy them entirely.” I added a smile at the end so I sounded less psychotic. I don’t think it worked.

“Like Max,” Mirabel said brightly. “You completely changed his loyalties.”

Yeah. That was the most impossible thing of all. I cleared my throat before I gave her an awkward nod, then refocused on her husband. “At any rate, I apologize in advance for any of yours who may fall.”

He gave me a slight smile, showing his tusks. “I have several ogre mercenaries for hire, if you would care to engage them.”

Max growled. “We don’t need help defending our territory, but thank you for the offer.”

He put a possessive arm around my shoulder, pulling me away from the two. His touch was so good, so right, so absolutely dazzling. Why had I ever stopped touching him even for a second? He was everything. Including the big bad lupin sorcerer who would eat my heart for breakfast. My skin prickled where he’d put his fangs, breaking through the skin.

“Are you sure?” Mirabel asked, frowning at him in concern. “Ogres are actually trained for battle while wolves are a bunch of cagey street-fighters, sure, but in battle against experienced armored mercenaries?”

Max raised my hand and kissed the back of my fingers. His kiss burned into me like drops of holy happiness. “You misunderstood,” he said, smiling at me over my knuckles. Why was he touching me like this? We were still at an impasse, death fairy vs. lupin sorcerer. I suppose we had to show a united front to the ogres and angels. Yes, that was a distinctly good idea.

Max continued, “I was referring to the fairies. You’ve never known fear until you’ve faced an enemy that can disappear and rip through your throat like a bullet before returning to full size behind you to cut off your head if they don’t rip out your kidneys first. Ogres, particularly well-trained ones, would have no chance against fairies.”

“If battle conditions become untenable, they will leave,” the prince said with a shrug. “They have their contracts.”

I cleared my throat. “You are both welcome to return to earthland with my group of terraformers. My consort and I will go first to make certain everything is in order.”

Max finally dropped my hand, but the feel of his lips on my skin remained, burned into me. Didn’t we have to keep playing the part? Why not?

Ruin nudged me with her sharp elbows. “Hand kissing is so gross,” she muttered. Right. That’s how it felt, so gross. Which is why I wanted Max to kiss my hands for the rest of my life.

When the portal was finally ready, I took a deep breath, grabbed Max and Ruin’s hands, and pulled them through the shimmering oval that tasted like soap bubbles. We emerged into a moonlit scene of screaming metal beasts and tearing timber. Cats. That’s what Ruin had called the big machine that was going to help move the boulders. This time, they were moving Max’s house.

I gasped and took two steps towards the scene of devastation.

“Where are you going, Sparkles?” Max growled, pulling me back against his warm strength.

I looked up at him. “Your bed. How can I sleep in your bed if it’s demolished?”

His eyes flickered golden and bright. “We have a pack war to get to. My house can wait.”

Yeah. Sure. The pack war was the most important thing, except that his bed was the softest, sweetest, best memory I’d ever had with Max. Of course it had to be destroyed. But why was Max’s house being torn down? No way it didn’t involve the mayor. Wasn’t he behind the poisonings and part of the plot to overthrow my mother? No, he wasn’t that old. Or was he?

Max rumbled a growl and pulled me close, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “It’ll only take a few minutes, and you safe in my bed was part of the deal.” He pulled out his phone and pushed a button. “I need a lawyer,” he said impatiently to whoever wason the other side. “You’re the one who didn’t want to take the role of alpha, which means you have to answer to me. Yes, in the middle of the night. When else would I need a lawyer? Your husband can recommend someone if he’s not in the mood. I’m at my house, or the mayor’s next door. Yes, we are having fun.” He hung up and then walked towards a line of men in construction hats, keeping me close to his side. Ruin kept on my other, gripping my arm.

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