Tae set me down, then landed a few feet behind me. Suddenly, I was surrounded by naked faeries, but no one made a big deal out of it. They just pulled their clothes out of their satchels—worn around their necks during the flight—and got dressed. I limited myself to ogling Taeven. He was the only one I wanted to look at.
The Falcon Lord grinned as he stepped up to me. “I thought you'd be more interested in your first up-close look of Varalorre than me.”
“Babe, when you're naked, nothing else matters. Not even a magical country.” I smirked.
He chuckled and took my hand. “Welcome to the Coyote Kingdom, Shane.” He waved a hand at the clearing. “Up ahead is the village of Frehan. They're sap farmers, I believe.”
“Sap?” I asked as I looked around. “Like for syrup?”
The trees were perfect, almost too perfect, and some of them towered over the rest, higher than I'd ever seen a tree grow. Through the scattered trunks, I glimpsed the village that I had spotted before we landed; it had been hard to miss since it gleamed with the shine of polished gold. Even from a distance, I could tell that the homes were finer than any in Stalana, even those in the cities. They had square bases but their roofs were domed and gilded so that the sunlight reflected off them and set the village aglow. And this was a farming community?
“Yes, precisely,” Tae answered as he led me toward the village. “The sap of the amaronth trees is sweet and can be harvested without hurting the trees, making it a relatively low-labor endeavor. But the farmers of this village also refine the sap and turn it into syrup.”
“So, amaronth trees are similar to maples?”
“Yes, though I think you'll find that amaronth syrup is unique.”
“I'm sure it is,” I murmured as I stared at the gleaming leaves and vibrant flowers. I could practically feel the magic in the air. “Great balls of fuck!” I jerked to the side, knocking into Taeven as I released his hand.
“What is it?” Tae asked as everyone went on high alert.
“I saw this glittering thing zip through the trees!” I pointed in the direction of the object.
The knights relaxed with irritated and slightly amused expressions while Taeven chuckled.
“What?” Then I saw it again. “There it is! It's . . .” I trailed off.
“A Pixie,” Taeven finished for me. “Several, from the look of it.”
A faint giggling carried over to us.
“Greetings!” Taeven called to the Pixies. “It's my valorian's first time in Varalorre. Forgive his ignorance.”
I gaped as a swarm of tiny people with iridescent wings burst up from a thick carpet of wildflowers and zoomed over to us. They welcomed me to Varalorre with high-pitched voices and light brushes of their hands on my cheeks as the tiniest of the bunch—children, I assumed—showered me with flower petals. I stood there, feeling my smile turn goofy, and held my hands up to catch the petals. A child took it as an invitation and landed on my palm.
“Thank you. I'm Shane. What's your name?”
“Elissa,” the little girl said. “I like your eyes, Valorian Shane. They are the color of leaves in the sunshine.”
My heart melted.
“I like your wings,” I countered. “They're like diamonds but very thin.”
She giggled, jumped into the air, and hovered beside my face to kiss my cheek. Then the whole flock rose and flew away with spiraling acrobatics.
I stared after them in wonder.
“They're just Pixies,” Tasathor muttered.
I tucked the flower petal into my satchel with a side-glare at Tasathor. “I'd wager to say that there is nothing in Varalorre that should be preceded with 'just,' especially not those magnificent faeries.”
“Well said.” Taeven nodded approvingly as he reclaimed my hand.
Tasathor flushed as the other knights frowned at him.
A few minutes later, we stepped out of the forest and onto a stone sidewalk. We strolled into the foot traffic of Sidhe and Unsidhe citizens, several of whom looked surprised to see us. They nodded respectfully to the Falcon Lord as he passed, his retinue of knights marching in formation behind him. But I didn't have time to glance at Tae's guards; I was too busy taking in the people of Frehan, especially the Unsidhe. There were races I'd never seen before, including more of those amazing Pixies. The Pixies weren't allowed to serve in the armies for obvious reasons. Though, I had a feeling that a swarm of them could do serious damage if they put their minds to it.
“Oh my God!” I stopped at a store window and peered in. “Is this a spice shop?!”
