“They did!” He scampers behind the wooden counter at the back of the room, completely hidden by its height. There’s a rustling sound, and he reappears, standing on top of the counter beside a short stack of books. Skye reaches forthem, but he pulls them away. “You must check them out!”
She muffles a laugh, but I still hear it, as does the small fae. Yet she holds out a card that he scans with a contraption before scanning each book.
“Is everything okay with the library?”
“It’s been quiet. There’ve been a few calls confirming story time will happen next Saturday.” He looks at her with big brown eyes. “I said yes. I hope that was right.”
“That was perfect!” Skye beams at him, and his small face lights, a flower seeing the sun.
She spins around and hands the books to me.
I scowl down at them. “Are these going to help us learn to… you know?” There’s no way I can say the word “dance” in front of the little fae without the entire town learning about what I’m being forced to do, and that I cannot abide. It’ll be bad enough if they learn I’m being sucked into a book—they donotneed to know about the dancing.
“Nope, these are for researching my magic. We’re meeting Kayla for the… other thing.”
I slide the books into my storage pocket and gesture her towards the door. “Lead on.”
We use the sidewalk to skirt around the town green, passing the bookshop and a few other stores. Skye smiles and waves at everyone we see, calling personal hellos to several people. Why am I unsurprised that she’s well-loved? She’s so cheerful and sweet, the very opposite of me.
“Skye!” An elderly woman halts in the middle of the sidewalk in front of us, leaning on a cane. She has silver hair tinted a faint blue-purple and pale skin wrinkled with age, but a strong force of will still burns from her eyes.
“Mrs. Greely, it’s good to see you.”
“Is it? Because I keep knocking on your door, but you’re never home, young lady.”
“I’ve been working a lot,” Skye says. “What can I do for you?”
The woman jabs the end of her cane toward a flyer posted on a shop window that readsFerndale Falls Valentine’s Day Dancein large red letters with lots of hearts surrounding it. “I wanted to confirm you’re doing the decorating again this year.”
“Of course I will, Mrs. Greely. You know how much I love the dance.”
I hear the note of longing in Skye’s voice. She truly does have a desire to dance in public. I shudder at the thought. It’s bad enough to need to do it in secret. I can’t imagine letting people see me.
The old woman stares at the two of us, her gaze hard and assessing. Then she focuses on me. “Were you shirtless in her front yard the other day, young man? Because I must say, that’snotan appropriate dress for calling upon a young lady.”
Skye laughs, turning the sound into a cough the moment Mrs. Greely turns her glare Skye’s way. Then she hooks her arm in mine and pulls me along the sidewalk. “Got to run! We’re meeting someone.”
“Who was that?” I ask as we hurry away.
“That’s the most terrifying person in Ferndale Falls. She officially runs the Events Committee and unofficially heads the little old lady gossip network.” Skye looks up at me. “Trust me, you donotwant to get on her bad side.”
How amusing, as if a dragon would ever be bothered bya magicless human.
“You’re too nice and too concerned with what others think of you.” I pull her to a halt and force her to face me. “Why is that?”
“I’m a nice person.” She smiles wide and bright… and false.
“No, it’s not that. I want the truth.”
“I’m a people pleaser, okay?” She spreads her hands wide. “Is that what you wanted to hear? Fudge me, even telling you that was because I wanted to please you.”
“That’s not actually an answer. Why are you a people pleaser?”
“Because I always thought I had to be.” Old hurt clouds her eyes. “My parents died when I was a baby, and my aunts took me in. But the kids at school…” She looks away, across the green, biting on her lip, her shoulders hunching inward the tiniest bit, but fae eyesight is sharp, and I note it.
My lips curl back from my teeth in a silent snarl. If I ever discover who these “kids” were, I’ll make them rue the day they met a dragon. I smooth my expression before touching her chin and getting her to look at me again. “What did they do?”
“Kid stuff.” She shrugs, an awkward flinch of her shoulders. “Everyone said I was so lucky to have my aunts. And I am. I’m the luckiest! But some of the kids used to tease that I’d better not do anything wrong or my aunts wouldn’t want me anymore. It made me feel like I had to be lovable, so they wouldn’t regret taking me in.” She makes an uncomfortable sound that tries to be a laugh but falls far short. “God, I’ve never admitted that out loud.”
