I sat back to examine my handiwork. I bent my neck to the right and then the left, trying to loosen the crick taking root.
Not half bad. Not groundbreaking by any means, but not half bad.
I heard a quiet gasp of breath behind me, followed by a stifled sniffle.
I turned to find Fiella looming over me. “What? Are you—are you crying?”
She scrubbed the back of her hand across her cheeks, below her nose. “Of course not!”
I lifted my eyebrows.
“It’s just so beautiful!” she insisted, her voice wobbling.
“Oh, come on, it’s nothing, really,” I laughed.
“It is! Really. It’ssospecial.”
Redd rubbed a reassuring hand across her back while trying to fight off a grin of his own. “It is nice, my love. You’re right.”
She nodded hastily. “I know! Can you paint one for me? For our cottage?”
I glanced back to my painting, trying to view it from the vampire’s perspective. It was alright, but it wasn’t tear-worthy. I shrugged. “Sure. Of course. You can have this one, if you want it.”
She nearly choked. “Ginny! Thank you.”
I laughed awkwardly. “Sure, Fi. It’s really no big deal?—”
I was interrupted by the voice of Tommins. “Alright,contestants! Time is up! Brushes down, bring your paintings up here! Hey, I said time’s up!” He stomped toward one of the contestants who was attempting to add a few final touches to his shockingly detailed painting of a croissant.
Guilt shone in the fae man’s eyes when he glanced up. “I didn’t! I wasn’t?—”
Tommins pulled the painting from the man before handing it off to Linc with a shake of his head. “I’m sorry. You know the rules. You’re out.”
The man looked dismayed, but he didn’t argue further. He did know the rules, even if he had attempted to bend them. I glanced at Fiella to find her hiding watery giggles behind the palm of her hand.
I scratched my cheek to disguise my own smile.
It was funny watching the contestants pout when they clearly got themselves eliminated by their own stupid actions.
I looked around. The other contestants were in the same position, far from their paint brushes and warily waiting for next steps.
I pointedly avoided looking toward the stranger.Especiallyafter my scandalous dream last night. I didn’t want him to read it on my face, to have any idea where my sleeping mind had strayed.
I was annoyingly aware of his presence—I could almost sense where he was in proximity to me. He was toward the edge of the crowd, under the shade of the forest, clinging to whichever shadow he could find.
It was almost like he hated the sunlight. I could not relate to that one bit—I soaked up sunlight like a flower in bloom.
I could practically feel him watching me. I shivered.
It was probably my overactive imagination.
A ruckus from the three dragons snagged my attention, along with the attention of the rest of the park. A resounding crash sounded, followed by a chorus of squeals and then the shattering of glass.
I was moving before I could fully process what was happening.
“Brambleby!” I shouted. “Honey, are you alright?”
Kizzi and Fiella followed me, along with Redd and Tandor. The vampires were fastest and reached the commotion first.
