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My cheeks heat. “This is the most exposed I’ve ever been wearing clothes.”
“I don’t want you going outside like that. They won’t be able to look away, and I’ll end up slaughtering our hosts.”
Taking a cautious step forward, I press my hand to his chest. “I am yours, Rafferty. The only gaze I care about belongs to you.”
He inhales deeply. “We better leave this room if you want to make it outside.”
I pull back and head toward the door, keeping my back turned as Rafferty dresses. When his hand goes to my lower back, I allow him to guide me out and into the party.
Laughter and music surround us, the complete and utter joy infectious. Overhead, pixies dance in midair while others stand on the ground, twirling each other in a circle. A huge table that wasn’t there before stretches nearly as far as I can see with trays of food arranged in a line straight down the center of it.
But that’s not even what I find most interesting. No, it’s the woman who sits at the end of the table, a wide smile on her wrinkled face. Her silver hair is braided down her back, and she claps her hands along with the beat as three pixies dance in a circle above the table.
Something about her calls to me, something soothing. Curious, I step forward, Rafferty at my side, and we cross over to the table.
Before we reach it, she turns. A soft brown gaze meets mine, and she smiles. “You must be the guests,” she says as she gets to her feet.
“Are you Rina?”
She nods.
A heaviness fills the air around us, and I swallow hard, trying to push the nerves aside. “I’m Ember. This is Rafferty.”
Her gaze drifts from me to Rafferty then back to me. “A pleasure to meet you both.” Gesturing to the table, she takes her seat again. Rafferty and I take the two seats to her left with me closest to her, him on my other side. “I hear Falcon found you both in a tree.”
“Yes. The fae who was going to help us get home never showed.”
“Ahh, I do hope they’re all right.”
I continue staring at her, trying to pinpoint what it is I’m feeling. An awareness maybe?
“Magic,” Rina says as she places a cloth napkin in her lap.
“Huh?”
She smiles knowingly. “What you are feeling right now, that tingling? It’s magic.”
“Magic,” I repeat. “Is that why I feel better? I’ve been sick for a long time.”
“Yes,” she replies somberly. “I know. And yes, that is why you are feeling better. Magic fills the air around us, and the wards on the exterior of the thicket prevent any dark energy from being used here. Any magic that will harm a living soul is muted here. This is a safe space for the pixies.”
I glance at Rafferty. The dark energy being muted must be why he feels better, though I can’t understand why it would have an effect on my disease. Unless—it hasn’t been my disease plaguing me since I arrived back in this realm. What if the bond has been wearing me down? “Does that mean I’m safe here?”
“You have quite a few questions, I imagine, and I’m happy to answer what I can.” Rina grins at the pixies as they begin to take their seats. “Once I’ve eaten.”
