Gobble up those sweet lies.
Naive, lost girl.
Shut up!I screamed internally.
I just wanted the intrusive voices to stop. It was always hardest to keep them out when I was overwhelmed.
My strength started to crumble as the buried emotions bubbled to the surface like a predator on the hunt. My heart angrily beat as if daring me todo it, do it, do it!
Surrounding noises suddenly muted. The room became a blur, and I could feel myself growing distant.
Until a cool, firm hand grabbed my own from under the table.
The world froze.
Pogue.
Concern. Those eyes had real concern swirling within them. Not for himself, though. Somehow, I couldfeelit.
His hand soothingly tightened.
“Carwynn.” My name on his lips was a statement. Something lost, now found.
He lowered his voice, shoulder brushing my back as he inclined his head.
“The last time you laughed—reallylaughed. Find that moment and hold it.”
What? What was he talking about?
He nodded his head.
“Do it. Hold onto it.”
Something had changed in his eyes, but I wasn’t sure what.
Looking down, I thought back to the month prior.
Breena, Aine, and I had a girls’ night. Somehow human traditions came up, and I tried explaining what Christmas and Santa were. They absolutelylostit. Breena went into a snorting fit, and Aine laughed so hard tears streamed downher face.
Aine kept yelling, “Why would you be excited for a creepy old man dressed in fur to break into your house in the middle of the night?”
Breena chimed in that it could be “some human kink thing.”
Thanks to the Si fairy cider, all hopes of themnotturning Santa into some kinky human fetish went out the window. The more they misunderstood the holiday, the more I barreled over in hysterical laughter myself.
I held onto that memory—the feeling of love and pure joy. It poured in, opening like a floodgate. Slowly, the darkness receded, drifting off. The creature inside seemed to lull back to sleep, the emotions soothing it like a bedtime story.
The room brightened. The muffled noises sharpened, returning to normal.
Baffled, I stared back at Pogue’s handsome face.
He’d helped me.
“Thank you,” I whispered without a second thought.
The comforting coolness of his hand slipped away.
“You’re not the only one who’s been strangled by their own magic,” Pogue replied. “I’ve been there.” He turned back toward the others.
