CHAPTER ONE
Skye
Magic shivers through the air, and the book I’m reaching for disappears.
My hand recoils in shock. “What the fudge?” There aren’t any kids in the library right now, but I automatically correct to a safe swear just in case, because I’m supposed to be alone, and I’m clearly not.
A chuckle comes from several feet away, and my head whips around right as the book slides into place on the correct shelf.
“Who’s there?” It can’t be pixies. Their voices are much higher, and their tiny glowing blue bodies are pretty much the exact opposite of discreet.
Instead of answering, another book from the reshelve pile disappears.
“Oh, good, you’re here.” A blast of wintry air precedesHannah as she hurries through the main door of the library. My bestie pushes her long brown hair out of her face, her light cheeks pinkened by the cold. Since Town Hall is right next door, she didn’t bother with a coat.
A third book disappears from the stack on the circulation desk.
“Did you see that?” I jab a finger toward the ones that are left. “Someone’s here, someoneinvisible.”
“Bumbleboots, is that you?” Hannah asks the room.
“Yes, Mayor Wylde.”
“Introduce yourself to Head Librarian Summers, please.”
A two-foot-tall man steps out of thin air. Everything about him is brown, from his dark hair and eyes to his light-brown skin and his clothes, made of a patchwork of leaves.
“You’re a brownie, like Pepperpot.” I step out from behind the circulation desk to get a better look at him. His resemblance to the town baker is too strong for him to be any other type of fae.
“Alas, my hearth magic does not incline itself to baking like the amazing Pepperpot.” He blushes and glances down at his hands, which twine together nervously.
“Bumbleboots is a special kind of brownie,” Hannah says, “a book brownie.”
“Oh, that’s the best!” I smile at him.
“Really?” He perks up, looking at me with hopeful eyes.
“The very best.” I nod. “There’s nothing better than books.”
With another shiver of magic, he disappears, taking the pile of books with him. In a flash, they appear one after theother, sliding into place on the various wooden bookshelves lining the room.
“How does he do that?” I ask. “Teleportation magic like Naomi?”
My friend shakes her head. “Invisibility is part of a brownie’s hearth magic.” Hannah raises her voice. “That’s great for today, Bumbleboots. I’d like to speak to Head Librarian Summers alone now, please.”
“Yes, Mayor Wylde.”
Magic thrums through the air, leaving behind silence.
“So I’m ‘head’ librarian now? Kind of unnecessary, don’t you think, since I’m the only librarian.”
“Not anymore, you’re not.” Hannah pulls out her phone. “I got a very pointed email from the state’s human resources department. As of five pm today, you’re on vacation.”
“But I don’t want a vacation.” Even as I force the words out, I cringe inside, the people pleaser in me hating to go against anyone, let alone one of my besties.
“Skye, you have to,” Hannah says, using her official I’m-the-boss tone, which is fair, since she’s currently talking to me as the mayor of Ferndale Falls. She frowns at her phone as she scrolls through several pages’ worth of data. “You didn’t take a vacation this year. In fact, you haven’t taken a single one since you started as town librarian four years ago. If you don’t take at least two weeks off, you’ll forfeit your paid vacation days.”
“Would that really be so bad? If I don’t use those days, the town keeps the money.” Ferndale Falls has struggled for years, shrinking and fading as people and businesses moved away. The recent influx of fae with magic and money hashelped, but…
