Page 13 of Faking with the Fae King

“It’s nice to meet you, just Finn.” I push to standing. “I’ve got to get back to town.”

“Humans. You’re always dashing around, but none of it looks like hunting.”

“You’re right. A trip to the grocery store is way down on my list of priorities.” I continue along the path to the waterfall. “My life’s more complicated than that. Especially lately.” Oh, god. Am I really telling an animal I just met all of my problems? When people say they have a therapy pet, I don’t think this is what they mean.

Or maybe it is. I remember whispering preteen angst into the fur of Benji’s neck as he let me hug him after a long day of school. The mixed-breed rescue was part golden retriever, part something else, and the best boy, always greeting me with doggie kisses and a wagging tail.

I haven’t had a pet since I went away to college, because I couldn’t have one in my dorm room. When I moved back to Ferndale Falls and into my own cottage, I kept telling myself I didn’t have the time to give a pet the attention they deserve, but maybe I should have made time.

“What are you thinking?” Finn says from right beside me.

I startle. He’s so silent that the sound of the waterfall kept me from realizing he’s been slipping through the woods to my right. “You’re still here.”

“Where else would I be?” His ears tip forward in what looks like a fox frown. “Didn’t you hear me earlier? I’m your familiar, which means you’re my witch. We’re bonded.”

“Bonded.” I grin. “I like that.”

He snorts again, but his ears are high, his bushy tail lifted like a perky flag, the white tip waving higher than the fiddleheads.

The trees open up on the waterfall, the continuous rush of splashing water soothing, but I don’t have any time to linger, so I circle the pond to take the trail to town.

A blur of bright blue darts past the corner of my eye, and I whip around to peer into the trees. “Did you see that?”

“Yes.”

“Thank god! I thought I was seeing things as well as hearing them.” I shove my hair off my face. “Do you know what it is?”

“No, and I don’t like it.” Finn gives an irritated bark. “I should know what everything is—this forest is my home.”

“It’s probably a fae,” I say.

“It wasglowing.” Finn sounds affronted.

“It was magic.” A thrill thrums through me. Talking to Finn proves it once and for all. I really am a witch!

I just need to figure out my powers, so I can win this bride thingy, marry Severin, and save Ferndale Falls before the protection spell wears off in two weeks. How hard can it be?

CHAPTER SIX

Hannah

The low light of evening makes Main Street look wonderfully different now that trees and flowers fill the town green. Even the air smells sweeter.

“What is that?” Finn’s ears perk as soon as he sees the green. “Thatwasn’t here last time!”

“You’ve been to town before?”

We pass under one of the streetlights right as he shoots me some fox side-eye. “Of course I have. It’s part of my territory.”

“Of course.” I grin.

A group of tulips gallop across the open grass of the green, the bright colors of their flower heads slightly muted by dusk’s fainter light.

Finn lets out an excited yip and dashes off.

“Don’t hurt them!” I call after him. “They’re justflowers!”

“Just a little chase.” He slows and slinks around a rhododendron, his tail held low and sneaky. “No biting, I promise.”

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