Page 6 of Of Pixies and Promises
“You good?” he grunted, his voice raspy.
“My wings…”
Nyra untangled herself and scrambled to her feet. She glanced over her shoulder and almost cried at the ragged holes in her membranes.The coronation ceremony!How would she explain this to Colt? Or to her mother. The gown was ruined. God, she was so foolish and naive.
The wing exoskeleton was bruised but intact. She would eventually heal in a few days… maybe a week, but until then, she would walk everywhere. If she could shift, then she would heal faster.
But she was empty. Bone dry. Not a single drop of mana existed inside her personal well. Refilling at a normal pace—from nature around her—could take anywhere between hours or days. She would be small for a while unless she found a power source to expedite her refilling process.
With a groan, Sid got to his feet and took in their surroundings. His gaze snapped to her in disbelief. “Youshrunkme?”
Nyra scoffed. “I thought that was obvious.”
He paled and mumbled, “I thought I just hit my head.”
“You did.”
“I did,” he repeated, shaking his head with a wince.
Nyra reached out. “Here, let me take a look.”
He flinched away, and his expression turned suspicious. “Youshrunkme.”
“I saved you.”
“Unshrink me,” he demanded, stepping closer, becoming more of that predator she’d first imagined him to be.
“It’s not that easy.”
“Why not?”
“I’m out of mana.”
“Get some.”
“My wings are broken. I can’t just fly out of here and find a power source. It’s going to take time at this size.”
“How much time?”
“I don’t know. Everything takes longer when you’re small.”
He covered his face with his hand and groaned. Nyra’s nerves evaporated, and anger washed in.
“You know, you didn’t have to step before me. You could have let them shoot me. So don’t blame this on me.”
He stared at her, clearly grappling with his choice. Suddenly looking lost, he cupped his nape and shook his head. His mouth opened and closed a few times, but he said nothing.
Guilt tickled her gut, which made her feel worse. First, she couldn’t make dust. Now she felt pity for a human. What the Well was wrong with her?
“You didn’t have to save me,” he grumbled half-heartedly.
Nyra opened her lips, about to say it was an accident, but then remembered that she’d been holding his shirt in fear while he’d gripped her wrist. He’d glanced over his shoulder, seen the fear in her eyes, and then stepped between her and the men with guns.
He’d protected her.
At a loss for words, they stared at each other. The tendon at the side of his jaw twitched sexily.Well-dammit.Why did males look so hot when they were angry? She folded her arms, huffed, and glanced away.
Enemies don’t save each other.
