"What's wrong?" Tink set her arm around Silvermist's shoulders during dinner at the local honey bar that night.
Her wings drooped. "I think a fairy got mad at me today. I don't know why."
Tink's eyes wandered to where Fawn, Vidia and Rosetta danced on the floor. She popped a fried honeycomb into her mouth. "Well, if it's a female, take her flowers as a peace offering. If it's a male, make him food. Males always forgive anything for food."
"But, I don't know what I did."
Tink grabbed two mugs of honey nectar from the passing server and set one in front of each of them. "Here. Relax. You've been having a bad week with your broken arm and everything. Forget about it."
A bit later, she giggled at Tink's joke. "Tink, you're so funny."
Vidia walked over. "That dance floor is hot." She waved a hand at her rosy cheeks and sat on Tink's other side in the round booth. Her eyes narrowed. "Did you get Silvermist drunk?"
"Vidiaaaa," Silvermist giggled. Then she mimicked Vidia's scowl. "You're so serious," she said in a low, falsely serious tone. Then she burst out laughing.
Vidia hit Tink's arm with the back of her hand.
"Ow!"
"You got her drunk! I can't believe you! You know Silvermist is a lightweight. How much did you give her?"
Vidia certainly was more fun with her face swimming. Holding up one finger and then staring at it in concentration to make a second finger raise, she giggled. "Three."
"No! Two!" Tink pulled Silvermist's hand down under the table and turned red. "She's having a bad week. I'll get her home safe."
Laying her head on Tink's shoulder, she sighed and stretched her hand up toward the lanterns. "The lights look so pretty. Like fireflies dancing with butterflies and rainbows."
"Uh, that's 'cause they are fireflies," Vidia replied with a dry look. "Come. I don't trust Tink to get you home without another catastrophie." She got up and pulled her up.
She clutched an arm around Vidia's shoulders. "Are we on a boat? Everything is swaying like the music." She hummed and let the waves sway her.
Rosetta flew over. "Is Silvermist ill?"
Pitching forward, she landed in Rosetta's arms and patted her cheek. "You're so pretty," she said dreamily.
"Bust my bonnet, you need to go to bed, darlin'." She and Vidia hefted her to her feet.
After they had flown her home, she couldn't stop thinking about how angry Sleet had been. No one had ever been so angry with her before, and it hurt so much that sleep evaded. She rolled over in bed that swayed like she was on the ocean. Maybe Tink had a good idea to take him food. Cookies baked fresh that morning sat on the kitchen counter. Stumbling out of bed, she smiled. Everyone loved cookies.
Several cookies didn't make it into the picnic basket but onto the floor. Why was the house so rickety? She'd have Bobble and Tink take a look in the morning to see why the wind made it sway so. Stumbling to the closet, she dug out her winter clothes. Sleet was a winter captain, so he probably resided in winter. It took several tries to figure out how to get the cape button through the hole. But by midnight, she was ready to go and picked up the basket with a smile. He was going to be so surprised.
He couldn't sleep. Work had been a nightmare, having to fight away a pack of wolves that insisted moving in near the winter fairy lands. He hated wolves. They were so bloodthirsty. Worse, they liked chasing things that glowed. At least bears and lions gave up more easily. Wolves held their ground. He rubbed his bandaged arm where a claw had sliced it that afternoon. The damn thing throbbed too much to sleep. Spruce, the lead healer fairy, had seen the bandage and insisted on checking if the wound needed stitches. It did, but he had lied. Everyone got a nervous look in their eyes when he came around-even Queen Clarion. She hid it well, but he was born to smell even a hint of fear. Everyone feared him, so he kept his distance. The wound would heal on its own eventually, just another scar added to the dozens of sins marking his body.
Laying on a pine tree branch, he tucked an arm behind his head to look up at the stars. He loved the clear winter nights when the black canvas exhibited its thousands of diamonds. Venus glittered in the distance. Apparently Lord Milori studied the stars because Queen Clarion enjoyed stargazing. He snorted. Another reason why it was a bad idea to get involved with a female-she'd take up all his free time doing unmanly things like stargazing or going to that dance/bar club everyone went to. No way in hell would he ever be caught dead in that place.
A branch snapped below. He sat up and squinted through the darkness. A lone wolf crept along the evergreen trees, prowling as if on the hunt. His eyes swung in the direction the wolf was intently focused. A single faint glow traipsed along with a basket, oblivious to the danger. The fairy wore winter clothes-it had to be a warm fairy. Bitter cold wind carried up the salty scent of the sea. His heart shot to his throat and he lept to his feet. "No," he whispered in horror.
The wolf stilled behind a tree and crouched down, ready to make the kill.
The distance between her and the wolf would make a thrust attack impossible. He dove off the branch, flapping frantically to gain speed until the wind roared past, making his eyes water.
The wolf pounced with a bloodthirsty snarl, his mouth open and fangs gleaming in hunger. The mouth clamped down on Silvermist, like a horrible animal trap that would sever her precious body in two.
His heart stopped. Everything moved in slow motion. He wouldn't get to her fast enough, even if she had somehow survived.
The beast tilted his head back to swallow his prey.
Kill. A scream of grief ripped from his throat. The rage, the instincts, the sole purpose of being alive to simply kill rose up from his soul as he raised his blade and soared for the wolf's throat where the heartbeat pulsed. "Noooooo!"
