“Since I lost Jamila?” Hamish nodded and I answered, “Too long. Not long enough.” I did not believe there would ever be enough passage of time for her memory to fade or my desire to have her near pass.
Quiet descended until finally Hamish said, “I meant no disrespect to your creator.”
I huffed, only slightly mollified. “She was everything to me.”
“Of that, I have little doubt. Still, the fact remains that you have no…conventional means of compensating me for my time.”
I cringed, knowing he was right. Remembering that brief flare of heated attraction Hamish had allowed to slip, I reluctantly offered what I had. Myself. “I…I realize you can probably find a lot of others who would like to…to…” I waved a hand in the general direction of Hamish’s groin. “I can do that. If you’d accept that as payment.”
Hamish’s expression blanked and his sparkling eyes dulled. “You believe I would be so crass as to accept sexual favors?”
I swallowed hard. I was on some very shaky ground here. “I don’t really know you well enough to say. I’m just… It’s all I have, and I’m desperate.” I cringed at the last. It was probably stupid to lay all my cards on the table like that. Hamish McIntyre didn’t exactly strike me as having a ton of empathy.
Proving my point, Hamish scoffed. “You believe that will be enough to sway me?”
I was crestfallen. This had been a foolish endeavor from the very beginning. All I’d done was manage to embarrass myself. “Probably not.”
“There is noprobably. There is onlynot. While you are certainly attractive enough, as you soaccurately pointed out earlier, I have no need to stoop so low to satisfy my sexual urges.”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I struggled to come up with anything that might sway his opinion. I needed his help. There was no way I could keep Jamila’s land safe if I couldn’t get a fairy lawyer to take my case. There were other lawyers, but Hamish was the best and that’s what I needed. I couldn’t settle for anything less.
Teeth gritted so hard my jaw hurt, I simply couldn’t think of anything that might sway the fairy before me. Tongue-tied I stood there, arms hanging by my side. The silence stretched on, and I was certain when I looked up, Hamish would be gone. He wasn’t.
“Against my better judgment, I am curious what situation would be so dire that you would offer your own body as payment.” Hamish’s tone wasn’t kind, but it wasn’t harsh either.
“Jamila.”
Hamish’s head cocked to the side while his eyes narrowed. “It was my understanding the witch was deceased.”
“She is.” All these years later, it still hurt to admit that. “It’s her land. Her homestead.”
“What about it?”
Was I wrong, or was there the barest spark of interest in Hamish’s voice? “Jamila’s descendants sold the land to a developer. They…they’re going to bulldoze the entire area and build apartments.” Fear, anger, and anxiety warred for pride of place in the emotional turmoil spinning through my head.
Hamish leaned back into his heels, arms crossed again, and any previous interest long gone. “Then it is a done deal. If they inherited the land and decided to sell it, there is nothing you can do.”
I shook my head, unwilling to accept that. “There’s a loophole.”
This time, I didn’t have to question whether Hamish was interested or not. “Do tell.”
And so, I did.
Hamish
This dryad was fascinating. No, that wasn’t the correct term. He was distracting. My eyebrow twitched as I listened with half an ear. It was horribly unprofessional of me. Worse, it was un-fairy like. Despite that irritation, I couldn’t stop staring. Todrik was…unusual. Perhaps the accurate statement would be that his effect on me was unusual. As a fairy, I’d grown up surrounded by beauty. We were flooded by rich colors, tones, textures, scents… Everything in Fairy was beautiful. That didn’t mean it wasn’t deadly as well, but beauty can be found nearly anywhere, even in the most vicious plant or creature.
Todrik wasn’t special in that regard. Light pink hair—darker at the scalp and lightening as it lengthened, was harmoniously mixed with a sprinkling of white. His skin was pale with a light peach blush. Nose delicate and lips plush, Todrik’s features were harmoniously balanced, adding to his symmetrical appeal. The crest of his head rose no higher than my chest, and I had to look down to meet his pale green eyes. Those eyes were curtained by thick, light pink lashes. His eyebrows were a slightly darker shade.
I suspected, at first glance, many humans saw Todrik and imagined him little more than a child. They could not be more wrong and, possibly, more right. Dryads were a tricky species when it came to age. Those who were born as a dryad were easier to age. However, like many dryads, Todrik hadn’t been born into his current sentience. Love and magic had taken his original form and transformed him into so much more.
Such transformations typically required witch magic, butnot always. Stories abounded where a human was able to transform a beloved tree into a dryad. I was uncertain if I believed such fanciful tales. If true, I imagine the human involved was a bit more than human. Or perhaps the tree contained more magic than the average woody plant.
The point was, magic was needed to transform a tree into a sentient, humanoid form. Dryads, by definition, kept their original tree forms as well. Many spent the majority of their lives in this form while others interacted with other species in their humanoid shell. Todrik’s earlier lack of control revealed the type of tree he was. Cherry.
The scent of cherry blossoms was still strong. It was my favorite scent. Did Todrik know that? Doubtful, as I was unaware that any beyond myself knew this fact. Was that why I found him so appealing? Was that why I couldn’t seem to get my mind to focus?
I leaned infinitesimally closer, subtly inhaling. Even without the blooming blossoms, Todrik smelled divine. A sudden, unnerving desire tokeepTodrik slammed into me. Centuries of training allowed me to keep my shock physically contained. The way Todrik continued babbling, I had no doubt he’d missed my mental meltdown.
