Page 6 of A Hint of Delirium

“My name is not little human! It’s Violet!” she exclaimed.

“And my name is Ansel. I’m a High Fae from the Otherworld.”

“A what from where?” She did a double take.

“A sidhe?” She looked even more confused. “The fair folk?” I said dryly.

She snorted. “A fairy?”

I frowned and released a frustrated sigh. “You really don’t know about any of this, do you?”

She inched away from me. “I think you’re crazier than me.”

“You’re not crazy, Violet. What you saw last night was real. Ididtry to pay the bill with leaves because I do not carry human currency, which is why I use glamour to make the leaves appear as money. Unfortunately, humans like yourself aren’t supposed to see it. That makes you an anomaly.” I grinned and inched closer. “Whatever you’ve been told, I’m telling you that you’re not crazy. You’ve just been seeing the fae.”

4

VIOLET

Holy cow.

Or more like holy shit. This revelation deserved an expletive. Either I was still a nutcase and was hallucinating this whole conversation to rationalize what happened the other night, or this man—Ansel—was confirming every thought I’d ever had. That maybe what I was seeing was real.

No. He was a complete stranger. It was insane to listen to his bullshit. Why hadn’t I called the police yet? The phone was right behind me. All I had to do was reach for it and run to the bathroom. Why was I hesitating?

“It’s not all in your head, Violet,” Ansel whispered, holding out a hand to me. “Let me show you.”

I sucked in a breath and tightened the collar of my robe. “H-How?” I stuttered.

“For starters, let me pull down my glamour so others can see me, and you can believe I’m real. Then let me show you the fae that live in your world—the creatures you undoubtedly see.”

“Why?” I frowned, not sure why he was doing this.

He shrugged. “I’m feeling charitable,” he smirked. There was a mischievous glint in his eye that I wasn’t sure I trusted.

If others could see him, it meant this wasn’t in my head and what he was telling me could be real. Or maybe he was just as batshit crazy as I was.

My eyes widened. “So … the ears … they’re real?” I pointed to the appendages in question.

He chuckled and touched the tip of his ear. “Oh, you can see them?” He furrowed his brows. “That’s strange; I’m glamoured to appear human.”

I shook my head. “Dude, you look like you walked off the set ofLord of the Rings.”

He frowned. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should. If you’re really a … what was it you said you were?”

“A High Fae,” he repeated with a grumble, clearly frustrated with me.

“Yeah, right.”

“So do you want to confirm that you’re not actually crazy, or do you want to continue admiring my ears?” he asked, annoyed.

I rolled my eyes. “Let me get dressed.” I stumbled back, away from him and towards my bedroom.

“I’ll wait for you here, little human.” He clasped his hands in front of him and I soaked him in. He was tall and jean-clad with a crisp white t-shirt and black boots. He didn’t look like a fairy. Well, besides the ears. He looked like he rode a motorcycle. Except that angelic face didn’t fit with his style. It was a complete contrast. He was hot. My cheeks burned as I ogled him before turning around and running back to my room.

“Hurry up, little human!” he called out behind me.

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