I return to the table, and all the tension leaves her body the moment I rejoin her side.
“Thank goodness. I was starting to wonder if you would ever return. I want to go back to the mountain. Everyone is staring at me. That winged creature won’t stop licking histeethat me.”
Confused, I peer over my shoulder, growling when I spot the puca. His tattered bat wings drag across the floor like worn leather, and when he regards Ivy like she’s something good to eat, I bare my fangs, making sure my eyes glow with bloodlust.
If he so much as breathes her air, then I will tear his wings from his spine and use them as tarp for my next camping trip.
How Ihatepuca.
Nasty faeries...
That white fluff that grows on wild berries? The puca did that. They taint everything with theirfilth.
Well, he won’t be tainting Ivy tonight.
The winged faerie takes the hint and returns to his deck of cards, gambling with a redcap—another bloodthirsty heathen.
Ivy eyes the tankard warily when I slide it across the table. “Is it safe?”
“Yes. Merry birthday!”
She shakes her head, skin pale. “N-no…”
I roll my eyes. “It’s fine. It’s not poison, I promise.”
Ivy crosses her arms. “Well, if it’s safe, thenyoudrink it.”
I narrow my eyes. Is that a wager on her tongue?
All right. I guess this is just me living up to my end of the bargain. She paid for my protection, and that means protecting her from faerie beverages, too. Though her plan is quite flawed, since the spiked ale wouldn’t have any effect on me.
I pick up her tankard, downing Stannog’s gnat’s piss in one gulp. The most repulsive taste fills my mouth, yet I still swallow every last drop to prove my point.
Fuck, it’sdisgusting…
Ivy presses her hand to her mouth, and she’slaughingat me, the swine.
“Are you all right there?” she teases gently.
My head swirls as it appears I drank a little too quickly. “N-never better…”
She leans closer, and her honeysuckle scent fills my nose. “Are you sure? You’re sweating.”
I chuckle, pushing the other tankard towards her. “Ha, good one. Now it’s your turn,princess. You won’t regret it.”
Oh, I’m sure she will.
The human bites her bottom lip, and her teeth leave indentations in the plump, red flesh.
Finally, she grabs her drink and swills it down her throat, and I see the moment it goes to her head.
She hiccups, palming her mouth. “That tastes…”
“Like gnat’s piss.”
The poor thing looks like she’s about to vomit. I hear several titters around the bar, but Ivy isn’t here for their amusement.
If there’s one thing faeries love, then that’s the sight of a drunken human making a fool of herself.
