by Juniper Hart
“I had a problem doing that!” Gia protested. “A huge problem! You know how delicate fairy hearts are! I almost had a coronary!”
“But you’re still alive, aren’t you? On the other hand, you’re afraid there’s going to be a backlash.”
“Wouldn’t you be?” she cried.
“I think you’re more afraid that you want to say yes and do it.” Gia’s mouth parted to speak, but the words got stuck in her throat. “What’s holding you back from moving in with him?”
“I’m not a princess,” she said immediately. “Happy endings don’t happen for me.”
Allegra raised an eyebrow at her. “Is that it?”
“Yes! No! I don’t know!” Gia was confused by the question and by her feelings. What she had said to Lennox was true: she didn’t want anyone taking care of her, not when she had taken care of herself for so long. She wouldn’t feel right quitting her new job, especially when she was enjoying the change of pace. The clients calling the real estate office were sober and kind. They were nothing like the call center customers or the patrons at the bars.
“Well,” Allegra said. “I think you need to follow your heart on this, Gia. I can’t make the decision for you, no matter how much you’d like that.” Her smile took the bite out of her statement. Her cell phone chimed before Gia could say another word, and Allegra held up a finger, her brow furrowing. “Sorry, I have to take this.”
“Go ahead.” Allegra slipped from the booth, answering her call, but Gia was too lost in thought to hear the conversation.
Her own cell beeped, indicating a text message, and her heart jumped into her throat as she grabbed for it expectantly.
I miss you. Please talk to me.
The caller was private, but she knew exactly who it was. Gnawing on her lower lip, she replied.
I miss you too. We can talk.
While Gia waited for Lennox’s response, Allegra returned to the table. She seemed tense, and she didn’t slide back into the booth.
“I’ve gotta go,” she said. “Will you be okay?”
Gia nodded, shooting her gaze downward, lest Allegra see the expression on her face. Her friend didn’t seem to notice, and she tossed some currency onto the table.
“No, I got this,” Gia argued. “You came to hear me vent, remember?” The priestess chuckled.
“If you call that venting, you really need to do more work on the subject. It’s fine. You can get the next one.” Allegra slung her purse over her shoulder and looked down at Gia. “You need to be careful,” she told her. “You have a very soft demeanor, and you can get hurt easily.”
“I know; I’m a pushover,” Gia sighed, folding her arms over her chest. “I don’t mean to be, but—”
“You are a beautiful soul, Gia. Ensure that you surround yourself with the same.”
Gia glanced up, a tingle of alarm warming her body. Why does it sound like she’s warning me? And about who? Lennox?
“Toodles,” Allegra called, stalking away before Gia could question her.
The ding of another text startled her, and she glanced at the screen. Can we meet tonight?
It was after midnight, and she was on Sunside. It would take two hours for her to get back to the Hollows.
Tomorrow, she answered. After work.
Tomorrow then.
Gia stared at the phone a while longer, waiting for another message. When it didn’t come, she reluctantly rose from the booth. She needed to get home and get some rest after the terrible sleep she’d had the night before. Suddenly, she was insurmountably tired.
As she exited the diner, she lifted her head to look toward the bus stop, but the glare of headlights made her shield her eyes with her hand. Gia stepped out of the line of the light and moved toward the stop. She hoped she hadn’t missed the next bus. They were so infrequent at that time of night, and the sticky Mississippi air was already making her tank top cling to her tiny frame like paint.
Glancing down the street, she looked for a sign of the bus and turned her head back toward the diner. Perhaps she had time to grab a bottle of water? Then again, she shouldn’t risk it. She didn’t want to sprint back into the diner, only for the bus to come roaring by the second the door closed behind her. She would hate having to wait another half hour for the next bus.
That was the reason it took so long to get back to the Hollows from Columbus; the crappy, inconsistent bus schedules.
As she turned her head back toward the bus stop, her eyes fell on a nondescript sedan parked in the lot, its headlights still on.
Gia’s eyes widened in surprise. Is that Allegra?
She turned her attention fully toward the vehicle now, sauntering curiously toward it. Indeed, her friend was sitting inside the passenger side of the car, apparently having a heated discussion with another woman.
Gia quickly realized she shouldn’t be there, and she was about to put herself out of view when Allegra’s face whipped around, almost as if she had sensed her standing there.
Both Gia and Allegra gaped at one another for a long moment. Gia immediately turned to scurry away, but she heard the unmistakable sound of a window being rolled down.
“Hi!” called the driver cheerfully. She had long ginger hair and eyes so dark, they appeared to be black. “Are you Gia?”
“Yes,” Gia choked. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Didn’t mean to what? Spy? Gawk? Be nosy? Gia wasn’t sure what to pick.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” the ginger-haired pixie replied, grinning. Gia was certain she was a pixie. They had a certain mischievousness about them, one that could not be replicated by any other supernatural being. “If I had known you were with Allegra, I would not have asked her to meet me. Please, come closer! Are you going home?”
“I—uh—” Gia looked at Allegra, who seemed ill-at-ease. Still, she was smiling tautly, like she wanted to indicate that her friend meant Gia no harm. “I’m going back to the Hollows.”
“I’ll give you a lift to the crossing. We’re headed there, too!” said the pixie. “I just had some business to take care of, and Allegra was helping me.”
“Oh,” Gia said. Then she waved her hand. “Oh, it’s… no problem. I can wait for the bus.”
The driver glanced at Allegra and grinned. “You weren’t kidding. She is too nice.” She turned back to Gia. “Girl, get your ass in the car and stop being crazy.”
Gia took a step back. Something felt off about the entire situation. But Allegra nodded her head. “Yes, Gia, come on! I would’ve offered you a ride earlier, but I wasn’t sure we were going back to the Hollows.”
Gia thought about protesting again, but she trusted Allegra. If her friend was telling her it was okay, then it was okay. Gia had nothing to worry about.
“Thank you,” she mumbled, slipping into the backseat of the car.
“So,” the pixie said. “Allegra tells me that you’re working in the palace. How do you like it?” she asked, pulling out of the parking spot and heading toward I-45.
Gia shot Allegra another perplexed look. Why is she telling this stranger about me when I know nothing about this stranger?
Allegra kept her head fully turned and focused on the windshield, staring out into the night.
“Today was my first day,” Gia answered. “It was good.”
“The palace is fun, isn’t it? Have you met the Parker brothers yet?”
It was as if a steel rod had been jammed down Gia’s spine. Had Allegra told this pixie about her and Lennox? Why would she betray her like that?
“Uh… yeah,” Gia muttered. “Lennox Parker.”
The pixie laughed musically. “That man…”
“Do you know him?” Gia couldn’t help asking.
“Of course, sweetie! Any female within a fifty-mile radius knows Lennox Parker.” Gia did not like the implication of her answer, but she clamped her mouth shut before she could voice her sentiments aloud. “You’ll get to know him, too, if you want,” the pixie added leeringly.
�
��That’s enough!” Allegra finally snapped. “Your innuendo is pissing me off!”
The pixie laughed again. However, she stopped her lewd comments, and the three of them rode in silence for what felt like an eternity before Gia grew uncomfortable. She mustered the courage to speak again.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You’re giving me a ride and I haven’t even asked for your name.”
The pixie raised her eyes to meet Gia’s through the rear-view mirror, where she flashed a brilliant smile.
“Mira, dear,” she replied. “My name is Mira.”
11
Allegra scowled angrily. “I really wish you hadn’t done that,” she growled. “You just love to rock the boat, don’t you?”
“Oh, what’s the harm?” Mira chuckled. “She really is a babe in the woods. She doesn’t know the difference.” Allegra didn’t respond, chewing on her lower lip. “What’s the problem, Aly? You’ve done your part, and everything is going according to plan now.”
“Is it?” Allegra muttered. “She’s stronger than I originally thought.” Despite her best judgment, a spark of pride rushed through her.
“That girl? She’s a gust of wind away from being swept into the Mississippi River.”
“She’s a fairy,” Allegra retorted. “I don’t mean she’s formidable. I mean that she’s mentally stronger. Lennox already invited her to move in with him, and she refused.” Mira gaped at her, blinking her coal eyes rapidly.
“He already asked her?” she choked, and Allegra thought she heard a note of envy in her tone.
“They are fated to be together,” she reminded Mira. “That’s why we set this all in motion to begin with.”
“I know,” Mira said. “I’m just surprised that our playboy prince was in such a rush to commit. He’s never been in a relationship, you know?”
Allegra eyed her warily. They had just parted ways with Gia after crossing into the Hollows, and the encounter had left Allegra feeling unsettled. Gia was never supposed to know about Mira, and she was certainly never supposed to have caught Mira and Allegra meeting in secret.
While Mira was convinced Gia wasn’t smart enough to put it together, Allegra was not so sure—not anymore. Gia had been a surprise to her almost from the first day.
They had done their due diligence, learning about the poor waitress. They needed to ensure that Gia would not endanger their plans and could be easily manipulated. On paper, she seemed to be exactly what they sought: a struggling fairy with weak powers, probably looking for an escape from her mundane life and pitiful existence.
All Allegra needed to do was put Lennox and Gia together in the same room and let nature run its course, but not until Gia was officially working within the palace walls. That was the key.
Allegra had not met Gia by chance that night in the bar. She had played her part just like Mira had, targeting Lennox in New Orleans and purposely granting his wish.
Lennox and Gia were supposed to be the weakest links. The plan had always been to get Gia working in the palace, throw her and Lennox together, and cause a rift in the palace with the morals clause.
“Lennox is so new to his reign; he probably doesn’t even realize he can’t screw anyone he wants anymore,” Mira chortled with glee. “By the time he finds out, it will be too late, and he will be dethroned.”
Dethroning Lennox would have the dragon princes undoubtedly fighting amongst themselves over who would reign, and the ensuing chaos would be the perfect cover for the rebellion starting to brew among the Hollows. While the palace sorted out their internal conflict, the rest of the inhabitants of the world beneath the surface—sick of being manipulated like puppets by the dragons—plotted a mass attack: a unified force of power to overthrow the monarchy.
But none of that would happen if Lennox wasn’t dethroned, and so far, he had not gone public with his affair. Moreover, Allegra wasn’t sure she wanted a part of throwing Gia under the bus anymore. She had genuinely grown to like the fairy.
“If I didn’t know better,” Allegra commented, casting Mira a sidelong look, “I’d say you’re jealous of Gia.”
Mira snorted contemptuously and glared at her. “Jealous? Of what? She can have that guy. All I want is for the Hollows to be free of those tyrants.”
“I’m starting to wonder if there isn’t a better way of doing this,” Allegra sighed. “Gia has enough to worry about without—”
“Are you backing out on us now?” Mira cried, jumping to her feet so fast, she almost fell from the bluffs. She caught herself on the edge of the cliff.
“I’m just saying, it hasn’t really gone according to plan,” Allegra went on. “She was supposed to have fallen for him and let him sweep her off her feet, but she’s not as ditzy as we initially thought.”
“You said she’s considering it, didn’t you?”
“Considering it is not the same as doing it. She’s not a fairy who wants rescuing, Mira! I think we got her wrong.”
Mira gazed pensively at her. “Okay. You like her, I get it. But in the long run, this is also for her benefit, you know?”
“Putting her together with her fated mate and then ripping them apart is not to her benefit!”
“Not everyone ends up with their mates, Allegra.” There was a bitterness to Mira’s tone that Allegra didn’t like.
“I just don’t think this is going to work out the way you think,” she explained. “We should consider another plan. Maybe you should just revoke the wish and put Wilder back in power.”
“Have you lost your damned mind?” Mira exclaimed. “Wilder is the strongest of them all! There is a reason we picked Lennox. He is by far the easiest to overcome. He’s been in control for a month and he’s already having himself overthrown! No, we continue with our plan. In the next days, the brothers will be too busy squabbling amongst themselves to notice we are infiltrating the palace and ready to overtake it. We have succumbed to their dictatorship for far too long!”
Allegra didn’t respond, her mind floating back to a time when the dragons had terrorized the Hollows, instilling fear and destruction against all who defied them. That had been so long ago, though. Now they had built an economy, and their reign of fire was only a distant memory.
How had Mira sold her on the idea of doing this in the first place?
Mira is not the only one who wants change, Allegra realized. She has an army of others who back her up. I am only one small piece of the puzzle. If I don’t help her, the scheme will still go forward, and if the others win the battle in the end, I may be in trouble.
While Allegra held more power than Mira from a magical standpoint, she was not nearly as devious in thought. An incensed pixie was not someone Allegra ever wanted to fight.
“Are we going to have a problem?” Mira asked, shattering Allegra’s reverie. “Are you going to have a hard time convincing Gia to be with Lennox?”
“No,” Allegra hurriedly said, shaking her head. “I think she’s already leaning that way, anyway. It won’t take that much convincing on my part.”
“Good!” Mira grinned widely and happily as she skipped back from the edge of the cliffside. “You should get home to bed. You need to be at work in a couple hours.”
“I don’t need sleep,” Allegra reminded her, though she also rose from her spot on the mossy rock. “But you’re right. I should head home.”
“Stop looking so glum, Aly,” Mira chirped. “Just think, in a few weeks, you’ll have your very own suite in the palace. Maybe you can take over one of the princes’!”
“I imagine you’ll be taking Lennox’s suite?” she asked dryly.
“How did you know?” Mira cooed as they sauntered back toward the road where they had parked their scooters.
After they parted ways, Allegra glanced over her shoulder one last time, chewing on her lower lip in concentration. She had still not told Mira the truth about what had happened the night of the gala. It was supposed to be simple, catching Lennox and Gia in the act of making love and calli
ng them out to the world.
Even though Allegra had known Gia had fallen for Lennox on sight, she couldn’t bring herself to betray her. That was why she had snuck her from the palace before anyone else could expose their tryst.
It wasn’t fair to do this to Gia. She hadn’t done anything wrong. No matter what Mira said, if she lost her mate, she might never recover.
I have to find another way to ruin Lennox without hurting Gia, Allegra decided. I’ll tell Mira I’m doing what she asks while I try to keep Gia safe.
She knew she was playing with fire, but she couldn’t bear the thought of betraying her new friend—not when Gia had done nothing to deserve such treatment. There had to be another way; there had to be. Allegra simply hoped she found it before Mira caught her lying through her teeth.
12
A strange tension had fallen over the palace seemingly overnight, one worse than the usual heaviness Lennox was accustomed to. He felt as if all eyes were upon him when he descended the twin staircase onto the main floor for breakfast that morning.
“Good morning, Your Highness!” the staff called out, and he nodded curtly to them, his eyes narrowing as he entered the vast dining room. He paused at the doorway, hearing loud voices rising to an almost feverish pitch.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass! He’s gone too far this time!” Reef yelled. “If you won’t do anything about this, I sure as hell will!”
“You need to calm down,” Keppler said in his typical stoic manner. “Having a temper tantrum won’t do anything.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Owen retorted. “You’re never around! You spend all your time in San Francisco, ignoring the fact that he’s down here.”
“He’s got just as much pull in Sunside as he does in the Hollows,” Keppler reminded him. “I just choose not to let Lennox’s antics bother me.”
Lennox tensed. They were talking about him. What antics of his was Keppler referring to?
He strode inside the dining room, having heard enough. Instantly, his three brothers fell silent, all shifting their eyes away from him as he slid onto the head of the table. Wilder was also there, though he had remained silent during their argument.
