Page 94 of Faking with the Fae King

The tulips run over, surrounding me, tiny leaf arms waving for attention. I give them each little pulses of healing energy.

“This is fascinating.” The dragon eyes them keenly, reaching into his invisible pocket to pull parchment and pen from what seems thin air. He starts scribbling. “Did you make them?”

“I made the original flowers, but I didn’t animate them.” I brush my fingers over the last few tulips. “That was one of the human witches.”

His eyes narrow. “They have a surprising level of power for non-fae.”

I smirk at him. “If I’ve learned one thing here on Earth, it’s never underestimate a human woman.”

The light drops to a smooth golden glow as we step inside the pub, and the rich smell of ale fills the air. A few groups of humans and shadow fae sit sprinkled across the room, but things will get busier come evening.

Rune sits at the bar, talking to the orc bartender.

“Two ales,” I say to Thorvinn, then spy that Rune’s almost finished his current drink. “Make that three.”

The orc sets the frothing tankards in front of us, and we drink, the hoppy ale strong and refreshing.

“I’m surprised to see you here, since your contract to protect Hannah ended yesterday,” I say to the werewolf. “I thought you’d be back in Alarria by now.”

“The apartment you rented is still mine for the rest of the month,” Rune says. “And the gold you paid me isn’t good for much in Alarria. But here…” He shrugs and takes another sip.

“I like it here, too,” I say, a bit surprised to admit it to the two of them. “Now that there’s an orc pub and a brownie bakery, Ferndale Falls is perfect.”

“Not to mention the pizza,” the werewolf adds.

The dragon grunts and lifts his tankard in a salute before drinking.

We drink for a bit in silence, but it’s a comfortable silence. I think I like it.

Then a group of women enter, laughing and bright and yelling for cider. They’re the witch friends of Hannah’s.

The men on either side of me tense, their bodies shifting slightly so they can watch the women without being completely obvious.

“Yes, Earth certainly has its charms,” I tease, then grin as Hannah calls my name.

I spin to find her framed by the door of the pub, sunlight pouring in all around her.

I hurry over and take her into my arms, kissing her as if I haven’t seen her for days, for indeed, it feels that way.

She gives me a breathless chuckle. “Hi to you, too.”

“Hello, my love.” I hold her to me, my very best reason for loving Ferndale Falls.

My Hannah. My joy. My home.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Hannah

With the pressure of the trials over and Ferndale Falls doing so well, the next couple of weeks fly by in a blur of joy as I finally practice the whole get-a-life thingy. Severin’s good at making his own happiness a priority and has been teaching me his “ways,” which boil down to sex and pastries.

Somuch sex!

So. Many. Pastries.

Underneath all of Severin’s smoking I-can-crush-nations vibes lies a man with aneensyobsession with baked goods. He’s learning the internet so he can find new recipes, which he takes to Pepperpot to try out. When he brings me pastries every morning from Cake My Day, there’s always at least one new one in the mix.

He even got the brownie to create healthy pet treats and gives Finn fox biscuits every day. My familiar totally loveshim now. When we do movie nights on my couch, Finn sprawls across both our laps, blissed out on fox treats and tummy rubs.

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