Page 8 of Of Pixies and Promises (Fae Guardians)

Chapter

Eight

I n his boxer shorts, Sid sat next to Nyra and stared out at the vast expanse of the lake.

Glimmering lights flickered in its depths, but the most magical sights were outside and on the shore where glowing, buzzing creatures danced.

Plants pulsed with holy light. It was magical. Breathtaking. A completely new world.

And a tragedy that humanity wanted to destroy it so they could mine metal and other fae-forbidden resources. He could see how stubborn humanity was now. An entire culture existed here in Elphyne without those resources. This culture wasn’t just existing, it flourished.

He couldn’t deny that nature was more vibrant here.

It wasn’t just the bioluminescence but the lushness and the activity.

At this small size, he saw life from a different perspective.

Bugs, plants, sprites, furry animals, and flying beasts weren’t pests he could swat.

They had lives, joys, and failures. They shared in this existence too.

There was so much more to this life that he never noticed at full size.

Alternatively, he could ignore so much more at this size too.

The problems in Crystal City seemed far away.

The societal walls between Nyra and him were nothing.

They were just two beings basking in the moonlight, appreciating the wonder of life.

Nyra had asked him if he sensed something in the water.

At the time, he wasn’t sure what to look for.

He was like a fish asked what it felt like to walk on land.

She was disappointed, but it was probably for the best. If he stayed with her, he would only continue to disappoint her, which left him in a hard place.

He couldn’t be with her but didn’t want to leave Elphyne.

This journey opened his eyes, ripped out his soul, and showed him how to let go of those stubborn thoughts.

It filled the emptiness that had plagued him.

Satisfied the yearning. Half these fae weren’t monsters like the president had preached.

They definitely weren’t tainted or poisoned.

There was no disease he would catch—quite the opposite.

Here, illness was healed. Just look at Nyra’s wings now whole and functional where flames had burned them only hours ago.

His hand was still scarred but didn’t ache like it once did.

Humanity was the problem… or rather, the current leader of Crystal City.

Maybe Sid could track down Silver. He’d heard whispers of a people smuggling operation that helped unhappy humans escape into Elphyne. He could help.

Maybe he could return one day and find Nyra.

He would see her as a queen with a worthy harem.

She would see him as an old man. He scowled at the thought and glanced at her sitting morosely beside him.

Her sadness was palpable, and he wanted to take her in his arms and erase it all with his touch, to bring her to bliss as he’d done once before.

Instead, he scooped water and scrubbed blood and guts off his skin. There wasn’t enough water here on the shore, so he got to his feet and stepped toward the lake. The warm water lapped at his skin like an old lover’s caress.

Yes , it seemed to say. You’re here. You belong.

“Sid,” Nyra said, a warning note in her voice.

He glanced at her with a frown. The shore was further away than he’d thought. Water came to his knees now.

“Don’t go into the deep,” she said. “Or the Well Worms will take you down.”

“The what?”

“The Well Worms.” She gestured to the open lake and further along the shore to where a jetty and a supply hut stood before the forest. He hadn’t recognized the large shape in this small form. “This lake is the property of the Order of the Well, and it’s where Guardians are made.”

He glanced to the endless depths reflecting a crescent moon. Those whispers he’d heard…

Nyra said, “The Well Worms drag you down into the deep. They look into your heart and judge your worthiness. The survival rate is low. Very low. Something like three out of ten lives to tell the tale. The rest float, their corpses bloat, their unworthiness a shame for all to see. Apparently, it’s a horrific process, and coupled with the low survival rate, not many volunteer to become a Guardian. ”

Sid stepped away from the deep. He would be one of the floaters with all the fae blood on his hands.

He quickly washed and tried not to look at the scarred hand, but it seemed to glare in the moonlight.

He was stupid to think Silver would welcome him after how he behaved.

Not only had he almost hit her, but he’d continued to work for people who wanted this beauty destroyed.

“You should dress,” she suggested when he returned to her. At his frown, she explained, “I have enough mana to shift you back to full size. You’ll need to dress if you want your clothes big too.”

Oh.

That was fast. Ignoring the lump in his throat, he dressed. He smoothed his hair back and retied it into a knot. He scratched his growing beard and then went to stand a few feet from the water’s edge where she remained. She wouldn’t look him in the eye, and it hurt more than he cared to admit.

“Once you’re full-sized, the bargain will be done,” she said quietly, studying her fingers.

He gave a curt nod but frowned when he realized she wasn’t coming further ashore.

“What about you?” he asked.

“I’ve only got enough for one of us. I’ll stay soaking in the water. It won’t be long until I’ve refilled enough again.”

“Then I’ll wait.”

“Why?” She blinked rapidly as if to stop tears. “The bargain will be over. You won’t need to protect me.”

She didn’t wait for his response. It was as though a bolt of lightning hit him, everything sizzled and zinged, and then he stood at full, human height. Nyra remained dragonfly-sized on the ground.

So tiny.

So fragile.

So vulnerable.

He couldn’t leave her like this. Without thinking, he stepped to the side to ensure enough space was between them and then sat. He braced his hands on his knees and stared at the lake.

Nyra’s buzzing wings activated, and she flew at him like she had the first time they’d met. His lips curved, but he ignored her squeaky voice until she stopped attacking and flew back to sit in the water sullenly.

The unnatural whispers from the lake were stronger at this size, inviting him into the deep.

For hours it seemed he stared, contemplating his options.

But it must have been less, for the moon had barely crossed in the sky.

By the time Nyra appeared at his side, sitting in human size, he still hadn’t come up with a good plan to stay in Elphyne.

Melody, another human he knew from Crystal City, had recently mated one of the Guardians in the Cadre of Twelve.

If Silver wouldn’t help Sid, maybe Melody could help him assimilate here.

Or… he could try his luck in Cornucopia—the lawless city that was neither Seelie nor Unseelie but a place where all fae were welcome.

It would be easy to get lost in there. But it all left him with the empty feeling he’d had while living in Crystal City.

None of it warmed his chest like the pixie sitting next to him.

“You stayed,” she said, digging at the sand beside her.

His scarred hand was inches from hers. His little finger twitched, wanting to reach out and cross the tiny expanse to her. She stopped digging. Their breaths slowed. When her little finger extended, he linked it to his.

“What if we make a new bargain?” he said, meeting her eyes.

“No more bargains,” she whispered and shuffled closer.

The heat of her body set his skin on fire. He shivered though he was not cold.

“What do you want, Sid?” she asked, her voice a husky rasp. “If there were no boundaries, no rules, no regrets.”

“You,” he exhaled. “I’ve never wanted anything more.”

The rightness of his words left him feeling powerful. Invincible. Like owning his desire was all the strength he needed.

“Then claim me,” she challenged. “Let me dust you, and the rest will be history.”

Could it be as simple as that? Charged energy bounced between them.

His heart stuttered, and then he captured her face between his hands and kissed her reverently.

Only a second of savoring passed, and then hunger roared through him.

He pushed her down on the sand, covered her with his body, and deepened the kiss.

Nyra sighed into his mouth, gasped when he inhaled, and whimpered when he demanded more. Their tongues dueled, and his lips clashed with her fangs, but it only heightened his need to something primal.

“You’re mine, Fangs,” he growled and then, with a snarl of dominance, folded her wings and pinned them beneath her. He wanted all of her within reaching distance, all contained in his space.

She arched into him with a whimper. So beautiful, his fierce fae princess.

So yielding and responsive under his touch.

Water sprinkled her body like dew. Full breasts pushed out at him.

The gauze was all but gone now. The blush of her erect nipples begged for his mouth.

He ran his palm down her neck, traced down the center of her body, and flattened his palm over her stomach.

She writhed and mewled beneath him, but he had her pinned with his strength.

That invincible feeling he’d had when admitting his desire compounded and grew.

His cock hardened exponentially. She was his, and she wanted him too.

He tugged the last of her gown from her body, and then his mouth was on her breast, sucking that hard bud into his mouth, treating it like his favorite dessert.

Her skin was hot and feverish. Buzzing came from her pinned wings.

“Sid,” she pleaded, threading her fingers into his hair and holding him to her breast. “I’m about to…”