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“I don’t think he meant to lead me to his folks, and I don’t think he knew they would attack me. He and a few others stood back. I saw it.”
“Hmm.”
“Everything happened too fast, including you crashing into me. I don’t think he had time to react.”
“Hmm.”
Rick watched in distrust as the pixie flew toward her, perusing her as if to search for something. Realizing what it was, she twirled and showed Yu her arms and legs.
“No wounds. I’m okay.”
Yu understood her gestures and circled her excitedly, then wandered over to curiously study Rick. The two had a stare down, so laughably familiar between men that she couldn’t help rolling her eyes. Remembering she still had her outer clothes wrapped around her legs, Emerald sat on a rock to unwind them, then settled in to watch how the two dealt with each other.
They walked around the cave, circling each other, their sharp gazes never breaking contact. When Rick growled, Yu hissed, but there was no baring of teeth or surge of power. Yu gave up first, fluttering around Rick now while the man stood still. After three aimless but excited flying circles, Rick’s expression softened and a smirk shadowed his lips.
“You’re not quite as harmful as your peers, are you?”
Yu didn’t understand, but he noted the questioning tone and nodded solemnly. The pixie gestured wildly, then grew frustrated when Rick couldn’t understand it.
“You want me to…poke my nose with my finger? That’s revolting.” Rick lit up. “Oh? Wait. Do you mean that I have a pretty nose? There’s no need to tell me. I know. I’ve been told plenty of times that everything about my face is pretty.”
A snort came from her throat, too late to stop. She put a hand over her mouth, her cheeks burning. To her relief, they were so attuned to each other that they ignored the sound, playing with more gestures until Rick gave up and laughed. The sound was deep and melodic, as mesmerizing as the rest of him. Yu was mesmerized, too, finally floating so close that Rick could bump the pixie’s nose with a thumb. Yu did the same, emitting powder. Rick blinked, then grinned.
“That tickled me. It’s…a cute feeling. Either you’re a baby or you just don’t mean us harm.”
The openness of the Fae to the pixie caught her off guard, especially when Rick had no reason to be this nice to someone so small and harmless. But he was, paying attention to Yu as the pixie tried to communicate some more, then becoming amused when the pixie began to grow sleepy.
“Yu,” Yu said, pointing at himself. “Yu.”
“Rick,” Rick replied promptly, then patted the flat space on another rock until the pixie curled on top of it and yawned. “Just Rick. Goodnight, little bub.”
Silence encumbered the space. She looked away and slid from her rock to the ground, wriggling until she found a sufficient spot to lay down her outer clothes. Then she pulled some energy from inside her and washed it over the ground, including the water in case they needed to jump in it. Just as she rested her back on the rock, her senses fluttered and a shadow fell over her.
“If I hadn’t heard it myself, I wouldn’t think you were capable of laughter.”
Emerald closed her eyes, realized he wasn’t leaving, and opened them.
“What did you think I was capable of?”
“Death. Destruction. All with that cool expression you always tack on to hide what you think and how you truly feel.”
He was so sure of it as if he didn’t doubt her magical abilities for a second. Agitation surged that he could surmise beyond that, too, putting her in defense mode.
“Says the person hiding under this relaxed, easygoing persona when he’s a ruthless Fae.”
She had meant to intimidate him, perhaps shake that easy acceptance of everything. But the man was unperturbed, tilting his head and mulling over her words.
“I wouldn’t say ruthless throughout. It depends,” he corrected, repeating what she said earlier. He held out a hand. “Truce?”
She peered at his hand, veined and not as smooth as most Fae’s were drawn like in those books. They were supposed to be lithe, ethereal all over, and untouched by physical labor. Everything about him was not like in those books, and she narrowed her gaze.
“Didn’t we already have one?”
“A handshake confirms it.”
“Confirms what?”
“That you won’t leave me in the middle of the night. It’s your loss, but I meant what I said about two heads being better than one.”
