Page 10 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox's Story (Perfect Pixie Series Book 5)

Leon

Awareness came by slow, painful degrees. My head felt fuzzy, as if my senses were coated in thick wax. Feeling came first, sharp and cruel. The left side of my face prickled with little needles of fire. Those same agonizing bolts of pain radiated from my hands and the left side of my neck.

Memory is a tricky mistress. Mine flickered, little pieces coming into focus only to be replaced by the next jump in the reel. The picture finally presented itself in all its bitter glory…only that picture didn’t include my current circumstances.

“Leon? Are you awake? Please tell me you’re awake.”

The waxy coating covering my ears instantly fell away.

Phlox.

My eyes flew open, and only then did I realize they’d been closed. Opening them didn’t improve my situation. In fact, opening my eyes made me instantly furious.

“Phlox.” My voice should have been garbled. I could feel my teeth pushing against my gums, but they remained stubbornly the same and nearly useless. Similarly, the press of transformation uselessly pushed against my limbs and joints. Even my nails refused to obey my instinctual need.

I growled, low and far too human. “Phlox, what is going on?”

“Nothing good,” Phlox grunted. “Although, you being awake is a start in the right direction.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. I was on the floor. Metal manacles trapped my wrists and neck. There was a single bulb illuminating an otherwise dark and dank room. Instinctually, I realized the sun had recently set. Phlox and I were deep underground, and worst of all, Phlox was trapped within a metal cage.

Yanking, my bondage remained stubbornly in place. I could feel the uncomfortable prickle of magic against my skin. It chafed my already singed flesh.

“Stop it,” Phlox scolded, worry softening his order. “You’ll only hurt yourself. The cuffs are charmed.”

“Witch or warlock?” I asked. Their magics were different but not something I could discern.

“Witch,” Phlox hissed. “And a nasty troll,” he added. “Best I can tell, the witch, Sylvie, spelled Dusk’s doorknob. When I touched it, I was transported here. Since I had a hold of you at the same time, it seems you were pulled along for the ride. Sorry about that.”

“Not your fault.”

“No, but it does make this situation more complicated.” Phlox huffed. “I finally get captured and now I’ve got to get us out of here way earlier than planned.”

My head snapped his direction. “Get us out of here? How do you plan on doing that while trapped inside that metal cage?”

Phlox stood, stretching his slender arms above his head and arching his back. His wings fluttered and he lifted off the cage bottom as far as the confines allowed.

“I’m not a typical pixie,” Phlox said with a mischievous grin.

A lesser vampire would have rolled their eyes. “So you say. I still fail to see how you plan on getting out of your confinement.”

Phlox rolled his shoulders while his gaze skimmed over the bars. “Why do other species always underestimate pixies?” He shook his head, his ombre hair floating around his shoulders. Despite the circumstances, I was entranced. Phlox was stunning. Ignoring my burning skin, I soaked him in like a human dying of thirst lusting after an oasis. Given how long it had been since I’d fed, the analogy hit far too close to home.

“First things first. Time to get out of here. I was waiting for you to wake up.”

“I don’t see how—” The words died on my lips. Phlox’s body changed, decreasing in size, shrinking in on itself. His marvelous wings disappeared along with his flowing hair. The air around his body shimmered and when that shimmer died, a small feline was left.

My mouth dropped open, my eyes shot wide. “Phlox,” I whispered and got a guttural mew in answer.

Sitting on that cold stone floor, I watched Phlox walk up to the metal bars. Their spacing was meant to keep a pixie inside, not an eight-pound cat. Wiggling through, Phlox easily came out the other side. Shaking his plush fur out, Phlox padded my way.

The closer he got, the more stunning he looked. Phlox’s fur was gray with hints of ochre and reddish hues. His head was round and full with small, curved ears. Phlox’s tail whipped around, a dense appendage ringed with narrow black bands interspersed with gray, the tip black.

Crawling onto my lap, Phlox’s eyes were pure yellow, his pupils circular instead of slit like a typical feline.

The more I gazed at him, the more I realized Phlox’s shifter form wasn’t a typical house cat. While I wasn’t certain what he was, that much was clear. What was also clear were the claws kneading my chest.

“You’re stunning,” I said in a hallowed whisper. Those words earned me a hearty purr and a rough tongue swipe along my jaw. Phlox was considerate and stuck to the side of my face that wasn’t sun scorched.

Another shimmer of light and I had a lap full of pixie.

“Bet you didn’t expect that,” Phlox said smugly.

“No. Not that,” I easily agreed. “I’ve never heard of a pixie-shifter before.”

Phlox shrugged as if it weren’t important. “Not sure if there are any others. You told me I was unique. I guess you just didn’t know how right you were.” Glancing off to the side, Phlox’s wings fluttered. He looked nervous and sounded unsure when he asked, “Is it okay? I know it’s a little…different.”

I hated my shackled arms more than ever. “Free me of these restraints and I’ll show you just how okay I think you are.”

Phlox’s grin lit his face. “You got it.” Holding up his right hand, Phlox raised his index finger and flicked out a single claw. “Partial shifting has its benefits. One of the first things I learned when I became an agent was how to pick a lock. Magical or not, I’ve got this.”

One by one, my shackles fell, slipping away and falling to the ground with an unceremonious clang. The itchy feel of foreign magic fell with them.

“Better?” Phlox asked hopefully.

In answer, I wrapped my arms around the amazing pixie I planned on making my own. “Better,” I agreed before tasting his lips. Phlox melded perfectly with my body. Knees on either side of my hips, Phlox plastered our chests together. I ignored the stinging pain radiating from where our lips touched. My scorched skin wasn’t nearly as happy as the rest of me.

Finally pulling away, Phlox rested his forehead against mine. “It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. It was just supposed to be me.”

Rubbing my hands up and down his arms, I whispered, “I’m not sorry. I couldn’t fathom the idea of you being taken. If you were gone and I had no idea where you were…” I couldn’t finish that thought, let alone sentence. Most likely Lucroy would need to take drastic measures if that were to happen.

Phlox sighed and pulled away. His gaze was stern with a little V formation between them. “That’s all well and good, but we’ve got a problem.”

“Just one?” I questioned, raising a single eyebrow.

“One that’s bigger than the others. Like I said, you weren’t part of the plan, and believe it or not, there was a plan.” Phlox blew out a breath that sounded like a raspberry. “And it’s not just my plan blown to pieces. Oxley and Sylvie didn’t expect you either.”

“Oxley?”

“The troll. Anyway, the point is, they don’t know what to do with you either, but they’ve got ideas.” Phlox filled me in on what he’d heard. “They haven’t been back since dumping us in here, so I don’t know what they’ve decided about you.” Phlox sniffed and raised his chin. “Really, the service here is deplorable. They didn’t even offer me a glass of water. Not that I would have drank it if they had. Sylvie’s already threatened to drug me a couple of times.”

This time, my teeth extended, and my eyes tingled letting me know they’d flooded in crimson.

“Hey, I didn’t say she had drugged me.” Phlox gave me a winning grin. “I played along well. It’s easy to fall into expectations. Oxley and Sylvie expect a passive pixie and that’s exactly what I gave them.”

“I would say I am sorry I missed the performance, but I doubt I could have contained my rage.” Ripping those two to shreds sounded well and good, but that wouldn’t prove informative.

Sitting back on my lower thighs, Phlox tilted his head to the side, his long hair flowing over his shoulder and pooling around my legs. Without thought, I ran my fingers through his silken strands. The banded colors played along my fingers. Realization hit me that his hair was a play on his shifted form.

Which reminded me… “What kind of a cat are you?”

This time, Phlox’s grin accompanied lightly flushed cheeks. “Pallas’s cat.”

I blinked. “Forgive me, I do not know the species.”

Phlox waved me off. “Not many do. They’re not native to this part of the world. My pixie mom ran into my dad somewhere in Mongolia. Auntie Tandra said it wasn’t a love match, but they did have a spark and viola.” Phlox waved a hand down his body. “Here I am.”

“Yes. Lucky for me.” I pondered what he’d told me and verbally rolled the name over my tongue. “Pallas’s cat. Your other form is beautiful.”

Phlox’s flushed cheeks deepened in color. “Thanks, but, uh…Pallas’s cats aren’t known for their tameness. They might be pretty, but they don’t do domestication. If you’re ever in that part of the world and come across a true, wild Pallas’s cat, steer clear. They might look cute and cuddly, but they’re anything but.”

“Thank you for the warning. I believe I have my hands full with the Pallas’s cat sitting in my lap. I have no need to quest for more.”

“Oh…well…” Phlox spluttered, and I enjoyed his discomfort. Had the circumstances been different, I would have continued teasing him. As it was, we most likely could not afford the time.

“You’ve been awake longer than me and know the situation better. Given your escape routine, I assume you have a plan.”

“Eh…sort of.” Phlox filled me in on the original plan, the one my capture had upended. “I don’t think we can wait the week. If Sylvie’s to be believed, her magic fried my tracking chips. I’ve still got Vander’s mark and as far as I know, it’s still in working order. I can’t contact him through it, but he should be able to find me. Same with Byx’s hair clips.” He touched the quiescent meerkats slumbering away. “So, they can find me, but shouldn’t show up for a week. Like I said, I don’t think we can wait that long. It’s better if you’re worth something to them, but even then, I don’t think it’s wise sticking around. You can take the troll. A witch might be a different matter. She’s weaker right now. I’m not sure how long it will take Sylvie to regain her magical mojo, but I don’t think we want to be here when she does.”

Unfortunately, Phlox was correct. As far as strength and speed were concerned, no species could best a vampire. But magic was a different matter. And right now, I wasn’t as nearly as certain as Phlox that I could take down a troll. My body was weakened and my flesh scorched. I needed to feed.

I don’t know if Phlox could read my thoughts or had figured my state out on his own. Regardless, with barely a questioning glance he tilted his head, exposing the heavenly slope of his neck.

My body stilled. My eyes locked onto that flesh and the blood flowing below. I could hear the delicious sound of it speeding through arteries and veins, that pulse increasing as Phlox’s heart rate thrummed.

“Phlox.” I licked my arid lips. “You do not need to do this. I am not so desperate for sustenance.” I craved his blood, and it took all I had to offer him this out. But what I said was correct. It was not life or death. Not yet.

“I know I don’t need to, but I want to. You’re thirsty and my blood will help heal your wounds. I need you as strong as possible if we’re going to make it out of this in one piece.”

Phlox’s words stung. Was he offering simply out of duty? While practical, that option didn’t sit well with me.

Clamping my mouth shut, I acted like a teenage vamp, turning stubborn and mulish. “I can manage just fine,” I protested.

Phlox rolled his eyes. “Just feed, Leon. I know you want it, and I don’t mind.”

He didn’t mind?I squirmed, valiantly keeping my mouth closed.

“Goddess save me from prideful vampires.” With a flick of the newly formed claw on his finger, Phlox sliced open a thin line of skin. Crimson slowly seeped to the surface trickling down his neck. The scent hit me like a nuclear bomb. Phlox always smelled divine, but this…his blood exposed and so very close.

My lips parted and my eyeteeth dropped. Still, I made no move.

“Come on, Leon. Drink. Let me do this for you. I want to do this for you.”

Those magic words stirred me to action. I’d like to say I didn’t lunge for him, but that would be a bald-faced lie. My teeth struck home, piercing Phlox’s delicate skin. I shamelessly moaned around the warm blood flooding my mouth, slipping down my throat and quenching a hunger I’d fought for weeks.

No other blood could ever be this delicious. I was done, hooked on a single donor source. Should Phlox deny me, deny our bond, I would wither away to little more than a starved husk. Most likely I would walk into the sun before that day happened. It wasn’t just Phlox’s blood I needed to survive; it was the whole package I held within my arms. Pixie or Pallas’s cat, Phlox was mine.

Phlox was my beloved.