Every nerve in Tobias was on fire as he warred against his instincts and kneeled, slowly, with the offering. He could smell Braveheart's blood all over the clearing. Far, far too much of it.

  But this wasn’t just a jewelbird—he had no idea what it would be called, only that it glittered and radiated power unlike that he’d ever seen.

  Carefully, as she had taught him, he laid out his offering of feystones with blood from himself, Kenna, and Telos, then bowed his head. In his hand was a healing potion. All he needed to do was pour it down her throat.

  Come on, come on, hurry up—

  The feybeast was in no hurry as it inspected the offering. Seconds ticked by.

  The moment the beast swallowed the stones and preened his hair, he burst into action, startling it as he quickstepped to the tiny pixie, her face ghostly pale and lips tinged blue. Grabbing the potion, he poured some in his own mouth, grabbed her, tilted her head back, squeezed her nose, and fed it to via his mouth as she lay limp in his arms.

  Come on, swallow, come on Braveheart—

  Behind him, he heard Telos and Kenna enter the clearing, kneeling and allowing the beast to preen them as well before they could move freely.

  The potion slid down her throat as Kenna burst forward, landing on her knees next to Tobias. “Shit, shit, put her down—her heart’s stopped.”

  He laid the tiny pixie down as Kenna began chest compressions.

  Her voice gruff with a growl, she snapped, “Keep feeding it to her, then blow air into her lungs. Now.”

  He obeyed, finishing as Telos took a hesitant seat not far away, swallowing thickly.

  Please don’t let them have been too late.

  After what felt like an eternity, Tobias heard her heartbeat start again. Her lungs expanded, and he let out a cry of relief.

  She was littered in wounds, fresh and old.

  Movement to the side was followed with the sharp sting of steel as Kenna drew her blade and held it at a male pixie laid out on his stomach, freshly bandaged. His eyes were dazed and hazy, his movements sluggish as he crawled. “Paloka?” came a strained, hoarse voice. “Where—”

  Kenna sheathed her blade and huffed, glancing behind her at the child in the bedroll before she said, “Little girl, white hair?”

  The pixie’s features lit up. “Yes, is she—”

  “Looks like she’s sleeping but safe.”

  The pixie let out a strangled cry, falling forward onto the leaf litter as he whispered, “Thank the Gods, Paloka—”

  Tobias snapped, “It wasn’t the Gods that saved you.”

  Telos touched Tobias hesitantly. “Easy, Tobias. Give the man a break.”

  The man struggled back to his hands and knees as he crawled forward to where Tobias’s favorite pixie lay. He reached out with a hand, mumbling incoherently before falling again back into a deep sleep, one hand on her ankle.

  Tobias glared at the passed-out pixie as Kenna giggled out, “Aw, is someone feeling protective?”

  Tobias bared his teeth at her. He knew he’d lose in a fight with Kenna, but at the moment he didn’t care.

  Telos let out a breath too small to be a huff and too tired to be a laugh. “Who wants to bet she finished bandaging them before calling for help?”

  Kenna picked up the discarded parchment that had been in her lap, scanning the page before grief pinched her features. “… she knew she was going to die.”

  Tobias’s head snapped up. “What?”

  Kenna lifted the parchment up briefly before her eyes dropped back to it. “These are instructions. Looks like there was an airship crash. These two are the only two survivors. The beasts in this area are too dangerous, and after feasting on the bodies of the dead, they would be even more so. She recommends calling back all locals until a squadron of knights can clear them out.” Her eyes narrowed on the notes. “… towards the bottom it gets harder to read. More unintelligible.” Her face tightened into a grimace. “… she literally wrote until her dying breath.”

  Tobias cursed up a storm when the giant, glittering white bird approached, carrying a massive purple feystone in its beak. They all froze, Kenna’s hand shifting to hold the hilt of her sword, braced and ready.

  Only the bird placed the stone down beside the comatose pixie, nudging it towards her.

  Telos swallowed. “By the Gods. Whatever beast that was, it was… at least fifth form.”

  Kenna scoffed. “Seventh, easily.”

  Tobias frowned down at the stone as the tall, glittering, long-necked bird then turned and slowly strutted away to patrol the perimeter. “Is it… gifting it to her?”

  Telos muttered, “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  Letting out a breathy laugh, Tobias finally relaxed, laying his favorite pixie down as gently as he could manage. “She would make friends while on a solo venture into the depths of the Wylds.”

  Kenna eyed the other pixie’s firm grip on her ankle. “More than friends, I think. Pretty sure I heard him muttering about a life debt.”

  Tobias grinned weakly. “I bet she’s going to hate that.”

  Telos held out his hand to Kenna. “Can I have those notes?”

  She nodded, handing him the top page and blinking in surprise at the pages underneath. Each was neatly detailed, including hand drawn maps, sketched images of feybeasts and plants, and recommended actions for Lord Everwinter to consider. Telos read over the last page while she found herself fascinated by the succinct information gathered by the little greenling pixie. The information she’d nearly died for.

  Kenna's features softened as she thought of Bartos, now the titled Lord Everwinter. Her chest warmed with gratitude that he'd sprung into action so quickly, sending them off with Telos only a heartbeat after the beacon was used.

  The soft cadence of a murmured prayer fell from her lips, spoken in the ancient tongue. One taught to her by her mother, once. The prayer had no target, no particular god or spirit it was meant for. Instead, it spoke to the Whims. The spirits of the world that pushed and pulled and brought everything into being. In her prayer, Kenna thanked them for putting herself, Telos, and Tobias in a room together when the beacon was called.

  For it was most certainly the Whims that had.

  Less than an hour ago, all four of them felt the same urge to meet in the office. Now, Kenna knew why.

  She continued to scan over the various pages of parchment, continually awed by each new discovery. Not just lists of the monsters, but medicinal plants, weaponizable feybeast components and how to collect them, detailed maps marking paths of safety and areas of danger, even strategies for the caravans to enact this year with predictions regarding future beast populations.

  The woman was a genius.

  Bartos's ability to sense a fey's innate talents had always impressed Kenna. After all, it was how he’d plucked her from obscurity, from the slums Kenna was born into almost fifty years ago. She added praise to the Whims for his talent once more while she marveled over the pages in her hand, at the detail and vast amount of information provided. This could very well change the course of the upcoming war.

  Telos stood suddenly, pulling her attention from her thoughts. Handing down the parchment page to Tobias, Telos's lips pursed. “You two have it here? We probably shouldn’t move them until they wake, anyway.”

  Kenna nodded as Tobias asked, “You going out?”

  “Yeah. I’m going to check out this crash site.” Running his hand through his hair, he said, “I have a really bad fucking feeling about it.”

  Kenna frowned. “Be careful.”

  He gave her a confident grin. “I’ll cut down some of the monsters as I do.”

  Tobias nodded, his confidence in the elf resolute. “Okay. Just make sure you pick up the feystones of the ones you fell.”

  That surprised Telos. “Whyever for?”

  He nodded down at the little green-haired pixie. “It’s one of her rules. It’s why none of the feybeast traps are lethal in nature—other feybeasts will eat the stones you leave behind and gain strength from them.”

  “Huh. I never thought about that before.”

  Kenna giggled. “Neither have I. Do me a favor and try not to cut the entire forest down.”

  Telos rolled his eyes. “Please. You can school me in magic control when I school you in swordplay.”

  With that, he turned and abruptly lifted off into the air, flying himself away from their little clearing.

  Kenna waited for a second before eyeing Tobias, wondering if the idiot had figured out that Telos was in love with him yet. But nope. Tobias had adopted the little pixie into his family like he had Kenna. Completely oblivious to the other man’s feelings as always, he barely cared Telos was headed off alone in the wake of his scare. Instead, he doted on Athereon. His hands had yet to stop moving, gently laying out a bedroll and shifting her onto it before pulling out some bandages and healing salve.

  He hadn't even glanced at Telos when he left.

  Though Telos had glanced at him.

  Tobias noted her attention and frowned. “What?”

  Kenna shrugged. “Just wondering if you’d found someone else to pine after yet.”

  Tobias's expression flattened. “You’re pining after Bartos, too, ya know.”

  “I know. But you have options.”

  He snorted, petulant as always. “So do you.”

  Her eyes fell on the pixie. “… you don’t think…”

  “That our forever bachelor alpha’s into her? Nah. Not in that way, at least. No more than I am.”

  Her smile tilted. “Not everyone is as inflexible as you in their attraction.”

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  He rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, I’m a bad fey for only being into cocks.” Then he muttered, “Or at least one very particular one.”

  They fell silent as the darkness of night wrapped around them. In the distance, they heard the booms and bursts of powerful magic, each lost in their thoughts as Kenna wondered, not for the first time, if she was waiting for a man that would never return her affections, and which side of a one-sided love it was better to be on.

  When Squirt opened her eyes, she immediately knew she wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be. It hurt far too much.

  The bright light in her eyes told her it was daytime. She closed her eyes against the light, willing it and her headache to go away. A shadow fell over her, and she cracked an eye open to see the bright, relieved face of the child she’d rescued.

  Her bright blue eyes practically sparkled as she turned her face away and said something. The sound was garbled, or the language was, or something. Squirt groaned before another head joined the child, this one of equally small features. His skin was a light brown, his hair tousled, wavy dark brown, and his eyes a brilliant, deep violet that radiated happiness.

  “My goddess, you’re awake!”

  She eyed him through her cracked lids. She blinked once. Then again.

  Nope. Still confused.

  Groaning, she closed her eyes. “Go away, pest.”

  Eyes closed, she missed the way his face fell into utter confusion, but she heard the child giggle. The sound was a happy one, at least.

  “Braveheart? You awake?”

  Tobias. Good. Someone she knew, at least.

  She shifted as two pairs of hands moved, helping her to sit up. She muttered darkly, “I don’t need help,” but they paid her no mind.

  Instead, to her horror, they sat her up against the man’s chest, his arms firmly wrapped around her shoulders to hold her steady. Growling, she tried to shift out of his hold as Tobias appeared, squatting in her field of vision and handing the little girl a bowl. “Here. Porridge. Mind feeding her for me?”

  Squirt snapped, “I can feed my damn self.”

  The child wilted and Squirt’s temper deflated immediately.

  Sighing in defeat, she muttered, “Fine. Just… don’t… why the fuck are you holding me?”

  The pixie simply asked, “Would you prefer he hold you?”

  Tobias grinned. “Nope, not happening. You get to hold her, she gets to feed her, while I lecture her for her stupidity.”

  Squirt’s jaw dropped open to protest as the child shoved a spoonful of porridge into her mouth.

  Tobias crossed his arms, clearly smugly enjoying the indignation turning Squirt’s face a bright shade of red. “Now, Braveheart, you’ve been one very naughty huntress.”

  She swallowed and managed, “Fuck off,” before another spoonful of plain porridge was shoved into her mouth.

  “You almost died.”

  She swallowed and snapped, “I’m a greenling, what the fuck do you expect?”

  The pixie behind her hummed. “A fierce and beautiful warrior, indeed.”

  The child beamed as Tobias’s eyes widened in surprise. Then a teasing grin curled up his lips as he said, “Well now, beautiful, you say?”

  Squirt’s brain misfired.

  “Mhm. A beautiful warrior of the Hunt herself, shining with fierceness and compassion—"

  He grunted as she elbowed him in the ribs, rolling out of his hold even as she held one arm around her middle. Fuck, hers hurt.

  The little girl gasped and said, “Careful Miss Hunter, you’re hurt!”

  Well… yeah. She’d figured that out.

  Tobias crossed his arms and glared at her. “That’s what you get for dying on us. We can’t give you another potion until tomorrow.”

  Scowling at him as she wheezed, her ribs definitely only barely fused and very bruised, she snarled at the now bewildered pixie clutching his stomach. She muttered, “And I suppose the potion worked just fine on you?”

  He blinked twice, then waved one hand. “Non, non, my goddess. I healed myself.” His expression immediately turned dejected as he touched his index fingers together. “I would have been more help, but I was drugged.”

  Her eyes flickered between him and the pained look on the child’s face. Squirt hedged, “… kidnapped?”

  He sighed, leaning back on his hands. “Yes.”

  Tobias did a double take. “Wait, seriously?”

  She gave him a hard stare. “How is it that I’ve been awake for all of five minutes and—you know what, never mind.” Grumbling, she staggered to her feet, only for the other pixie to suddenly be there, holding out his hands to steady her.

  He murmured, “Careful, please. Why don’t you bring out your wings and fly so—”

  Fury boiled in her veins. Fury and shame as she snapped, “Leave me the fuck alone.” She wheezed, the intake of air aggravating her ribs and about a dozen other injuries.

  He held up his hands placatingly. “I’m just saying that without gravity weighing on you—”

  Gritting her teeth, she hissed out, “Leave it.”

  He paused, tilting his head. “You don’t need to be shy—your green is a beautiful col—”

  She slapped him, the sound echoing in their small clearing. Slowly, he turned his eyes back on hers, more stunned speechless than hurt at the visible tears in her eyes, the pure hatred and rage in every line of her face exacerbated by the clear pain she was in.

  Her voice was a soft, broken whisper. “I said no.”

  Ducking her head, she turned, limping away to the edge of the clearing and leaving him staring after her, one hand holding his cheek where she’d slapped him.

  Tobias rubbed the back of his neck before approaching and leaning down to the male pixie to murmur quietly, “Look just… don’t bring up her wings or color, alright?”

  The man didn’t even spare him a glance as he gave the smallest nod, the only indication he’d heard Tobias at all. Instead, the male pixie’s eyes remained fixed on her as the tiny woman stripped. Then his body went rigid, making Tobias freeze when his eyes fell on the scars on her back. Unaware of their horror, she ignored them as she accepted a roll of bandages from Kenna.

  Tobias cursed. Gathering himself, he straightened, one hand on his hips and the other wiping down his face while he tried not to let his wolf out. “Braveheart?” he called in the mildest, most placating, friendly voice he could manage. “Why is your back covered in scars?”

  “Because I like knitting,” she snapped back. “Why the fuck do you think?”

  ***

  Kenna’s eyes flickered to Tobias. He was ready to kill. Quietly, she ordered, “Tobias, go take a walk.”

  Squirt snapped, “It’s too fucking dangerous—” She stopped, biting her lip at the smile on Lady Kenna’s face.

  The dark-haired beauty leaned in, murmuring, “He’ll be fine. He’ll stay close. His wolf is near the surface, and he needs to shift.”

  Glancing away, Squirt nodded. He had enough magic for his instincts to be more difficult to control. “Fine,” she bit out. “But make sure he stays nearby.”

  She nodded, then gave Tobias a pointed look. With a growl, he turned and jogged off into the trees.

  Kenna turned back to the scowling pixie. “Want some help?”

  She muttered, “I know how to patch up my own damn ribs, thank you very much.”

  Humming, she said mildly, “I never say you didn’t. I offered to help free of charge.”

  Squirt’s eyes snapped to the shifter’s before she said darkly, “You’re a titled fey. Titled fey never do anything free of charge.”

  She chuckled and shrugged. “We do for our family.”

  Dryly, she said, “Last I checked, I’m a pixie, not a wolf.”

  “Mhm. Did Tobias tell you about his sisters?”

  She muttered, “No,” with a wince as she wrapped the binding around her ribs again. He had mentioned them but had never spoken about explicitly them.

  “I’m one of his sisters. Adopted, like you were, but I’m one of them. If he’s adopted you, too, that makes you family.”

  She glared. “I ain’t been adopted. Last I checked I was a fully grown fucking fey.”

  “You sure? You’re so small…”

  The joke broke Squirt out of her rhythm before the tension eased out of her, despite the glare she leveled at the wolf. “… bitch.”

  “Not yet, but one day, maybe.”

  The joke surprised Squirt enough that the prickly pixie snorted, the barest tilt to her lips, a simple ghost of a smile.

  Kenna raised her eyes to the pixie still standing rigidly, his eyes burning into Squirt’s back. Her own narrowed.

  When Telos came back, he’d know for certain, but she was positive this man was far more powerful than he appeared. It was hard to know with pixies until they had their wings out, as their wings were the source of their power. Telos would have the skills to know for certain without the man’s wings, but that was a skill Kenna lacked.

  What she didn’t lack was basic intuition. She had seen that look on a man’s face before.

  Oh dear. He was half in love with her already.

  ***

  The little girl came over, kneeling by Squirt’s side apprehensively with the bowl of porridge. Squirt stiffened, glancing at the child out of the corner of her eye as she knotted off the wrap on her ribs. Returning her eyes forward, she hunched her shoulders and said, “I’ll eat in a bit.”

  “Are you angry at Uncle?”

  Squirt muttered, “I’m angry at everyone and everything. Don’t take it personally, kid.”

  The little girl nodded once. “Why didn’t you heal yourself?”

  Squirt’s brow twitched. “You ask a lot of questions, don’t you?”

  Kenna giggled delicately behind her hand. “Oh, you’ve not been around many children, have you?”

  Dryly, she drawled, “Gee, I can’t put my finger on it, but usually people don’t let me around their kids.” More quietly she muttered, “It’s like they think my lowmag status is contagious.”

  The little girl looked confused, then looked to her uncle. He blinked a few times before speaking fluidly in their language.

  Squirt left them to it, putting her shirt back on before taking the bowl from the child and taking a bite. Cautiously, the man approached again, stopping when Squirt glared at him over her shoulder. Still, she focused her attention on shoving the food into her mouth, chewing angrily as the two she rescued continued to speak in that fluid language of a minor tribe from Skye Kingdom.

  Through sheer stubborn force of will, she tried to stave off the sleep hovering around the edges until she realized it was futile. Putting down the empty bowl, she stumbled over to her bedroll and collapsed on top of it, fast asleep.

  The next time Squirt woke, she was disoriented and confused as she stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling. No, wait. She narrowed her eyes at it. A mildly familiar ceiling.

  She was back in her cabin.

  How the fuck did she sleep that deeply?

  Movement outside her bedroom window drew her attention to the murmur of voices. Some familiar. Some strange.

  Gods, she was parched.

  Sitting up, she hissed, holding her still sore ribs. Throwing back the covers, each movement a practice in patience and aching pain, she slid her feet over the side and to the ground, stumbled to her feet, and opened the door.

  The voices got louder, telling her it was coming from outside her cabin. Rubbing her eyes, wondering vaguely what day it was, she opened the door and blinked in confusion as her eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light.

  No, she wasn’t seeing things. For some reason, that pixie and child she rescued were laughing in front of the cold coals of the firepit, a small lute in his lap that he strummed a tune to as he sang a boisterous song. Some of those she was training were seated around the pair on the ground as they did various tasks. Weaving traps or fixing nets or fletching arrows.

  Utterly baffled at the sight, she was not prepared when the other pixie looked up and brightened instantly, his violet eyes rich enough for her to see the color from here. The smile on his face could outshine the damn sun. He stood as the instrument crumbled to dust in his hands, and in a burst of motion known as a quickstep, he was kneeling before her, clutching onto her hand.

  “My lady, please, give me your name so I may give you my life in servitude.”

  She stared at him uncomprehendingly when one of her hunter trainees called out, “He means he owes you a life debt.”

  The pixie stood, turning to point his fingers and wink charmingly at the púca, before saying, “Yes. That.” His hands fell to his hips as he grinned at her. “But my way was more fun, non?”

  In absolute disbelief, she slowly shook her head at him. “You’re insane.”

  He winked at her. “Insane for you, perhaps.”

  Dryly, she said, “I think you mean ‘crazy about’ you?”

  He cocked his head over one shoulder. “Is that not what I said?”

  She exhaled sharply, muttering, “What is it with fey wanting my gods damned name. Just call me Squirt.”

  He waved his hand dismissively. “Non, non, non. I have heard this meaning of that name.” He grinned with entirely too much tease, “I shall call you my goddess until you tell me, then.”

  Now that he wasn’t passed out, she wasn’t running for her life, and she wasn’t half dead, she could feel the power radiating off this damn man. He clearly wasn’t bothered by her earlier behavior… or at least, he wanted to know her name enough to pretend.

  Wary of his intentions otherwise, she simply took a step back, her face absolutely neutral, as she bowed and intoned, “There is no debt between us, good sir. I formally release you from any in my hands.” Straightening, she glared at the fey and said coolly, “I will happily escort you to the nearby town and help you find accommodations there as soon as you are ready, good sir.”

  He studied her, that teasing smile fading into something a little darker.

  She dropped her eyes instantly, her face pointed down as she waited.

  He squatted to smile teasingly up at her, throwing her for a loop. “When I’m ready, hm? What if I’m never ready?”

  She blinked, struck dumb by the strange charm of the madman. “… I beg your pardon?”

  His smile turned dopey. “What can I say, I’m a fey who wishes to court you. I don’t want to leave yet.”

  The clearing fell into dead silence.

  She sighed. Then straightened as she glared down at him. His eyes were wide with feigned innocence as she hissed out, “Listen here, you damned pest. I get it. It’s exotic. A fun night to brag to friends about later, about the time you bagged a greenling.”

  His dopey smile fell.

  Her fists clenched as she took a steadying breath. “I’m sure there are plenty of others you can explore that particular kink with. I don’t need you to pretend to rescue me from my life, or think you’re doing me a service, or that I’m your cute little doll, or any of that shit. I’m not your fetish.”

  Baffled, he said, “I didn’t say you were?”

  She scoffed. “They never do. Not until I’m in their beds and can’t escape. I don’t need anything or anyone, and I certainly don’t need anything from you.”

  The man looked genuinely heartbroken in a way that only made Squirt bare her teeth at the sheer audacity. Dead silence stretched as his grief and her rage grew in response to each other, making the others shift around uncomfortably.

  Jul, spurned up in a bit of guilt and a desperate need to break the silence, cleared his throat as he rocked back on his heels. “This uh… huntress, his lordship has asked that they stay here.”

  Fuck. Her attention whipped his direction as she snapped, “Why the fuck didn’t you say so sooner?”

  The little girl jumped and then leaned towards the púca to say in a loud whisper, “She really is angry at everyone, isn’t she?”

  Even Squirt’s ears turned red at that.

  She hated this. She hated everyone’s eyes on her. It was easier to rein in her temper when she was invisible. Dropping her eyes down, she clenched her fists, utterly frozen by her fury at her embarrassment.

  Without a word, she spun to stomp into the cabin when Jul said, “And his lordship has asked for you to visit the castle once you were able to.”

  Her head fell forward and bumped the door in defeat. “… anything else?”

  “… Tobias said there was chocolate?”

  She straightened slowly. Then hunched her shoulders as she clearly argued with herself. Then she snarled out, “Fine. I’ll get dressed and go,” every inch of her tense with fury.

  Yet, to the amusement of every witness there, she opened the door carefully and closed it gently as she muttered about psychotic pixies, pointedly not looking at the wistful expression on the man’s face.