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Bal cleared his throat and sat up straighter in his high back chair. “No. We mature at the same rate as full blood human children. I am considered young, but I assure you I am all adult male.”
Nayome blushed, recalling that she did, in fact, have first hand experience that Bal was a fully grown man. “Sorry, yes of course you are. I’m just surprised.” She couldn’t keep the giggle in as she apologized. Bal had puffed out his chest, she had clearly taken a ding out of his ego.
Grumbling, he looked like he was about to say something when Flay appeared at the library door with a massive silver tray, balanced precariously in her grip.
Nayome watched as Bal jumped to his feet to help. He had to wrestle the heavy tray from Flay who insisted she was fine, but he won eventually with polite insistence. Nayome quickly shoved aside some books to make room for Bal to set it down on the table.
“I thought you could both use a snack and some hot cocoa. If you plan to pore over all these old books into nightfall, you’re bound to get peckish.” Flay smiled widely at them, gaze flicking back and forth between the two.
“Thank you Flay, that was very thoughtful.” Bal had a rye look on his face, but was regarding the small woman with warmth.
“Oh, twas nothing young master. If you think of anything else that would make you both comfortable, you know where to find me.” Flay backed out of the room, a small bow for each of them before she shut the sliding wooden doors behind her.
Nayome watched Flay depart, gnawing on her lower lip as questions half formed swirled around her head. Bal must have seen the question in her eyes as she watched Flay, because he answered before she could ask it out loud.
“Flay, and the others you have seen like her, are descendants of a household spirit. A type of fae, though origins are not clear. You may have heard them referred to asbrownies.”
“Brownie’s,” Nayome repeated, moving her gaze back to Bal. “So…wait, are they enslaved? Flay seems happy, but why would a mythological being choose to serve…”
Bal was already shaking his head. “I cannot pretend to understand the motivation, but they have lived alongside other factions of fae since the beginning of our recorded history. Some may even be older than our longest lived elder. There is no enforceable contract between us, and they are free to leave at any time.”
“That’s…well, that’s really confusing.”
“Trying to apply human motivations will not work in this case. We do try to take care of them, as much as they will allow us.”
Shaking her head, Nayome decided she would grapple with the concept of the household fae later. For now, she was having a hard time keeping her walls up as she watched Bal take a small sip of cocoa. Druid, fae, or whatever he was, there was no denying he was a decent person. The way he had leapt to help Flay, despite her stubborn refusal, was telling of his character. He took care of his own, Nayome corrected herself. While she was hovering between worlds, she would have to remember to be careful. Bal’s loyalty couldn’t extend to her, and the human world she called home.
“What’s got you thinking so hard?” Bal asked quietly.
Nayome glanced around at the library, shelves bursting with different colored volumes, bound in cloth, leather, and more modern looking hardcovers. For a moment, she considered spilling her fears, letting Bal in and giving him a chance to respond to her innermost insecurities. But then all her carefully crafted walls would have to come down. She would have to let him past her defenses, and she just couldn’t take the risk. And really…what was that small, longing voice, deep in the innermost recesses of her heart expecting to happen? That Bal would want her? Want to be with bookish, workaholic Nayome Miller? He was interested in her because she was another source of power, a new tie to his druid bloodline, his people. Even if the distance wasn’t an issue, there was no way she would be able to keep his attention once the novelty of this situation wore off.
“It’s nothing,” she whispered, glancing down at her hands. She was making the smart decision, Nayome thought stubbornly as she packed up and headed to bed, alone. Every step she took into this new world seemed to unravel a piece of her life on the other side. She needed to keep it together.
Bal was nothing but an unrealistic temptation.
But while she was here, Nayome wanted to get handle on her own abilities. She would never be safe in her world if she couldn’t keep from summoning fireflies when she was upset, or traveling through thin air in public. A strange mushroom was enough to call the US government down on her, after all. She needed to focus and learn everything she could about her magic so she could control it.
