She laughed loudly.Fartoo loudly. A few pixies around her cheered in response. “Nonsense. I’ve only had one drink.”
Warning bells clanged in my mind. My gaze snapped to an emerald-skinned pixie I recognized from last night. “What did you give her?”
The pixie flashed her teeth at me. “Only a bit of Winterwing Brew. It’s our finest drink.”
Shit.Shit.“She’s part human,” I growled.
The pixie laughed and twirled elegantly in time with the music. “I assure you, she is reacting quite normally to the brew.” She began grinding against another pixie, who moaned with delight.
I swallowed hard, glancing over the crowd with fresh eyes. Every single pixie not only seemed enthralled by the music, bodies moving in perfect rhythm, but they also seemed… exceptionally aroused. A pair of females had their legs wrapped around each other, their wings keeping them afloat as they writhed together. Next to me, the emerald pixie began groping the one next to her, hands moving to the taut hardness between his legs.
My skin suddenly felt hot as Eira’s hips met mine with more force. “Dance, hunter,” she ordered.
I gripped her wrists and pulled them away from my shoulders. I was suddenly achingly aware of how heated her body felt against mine. “Eira, we don’t have time for this.”
Her lower lip puckered in a frown. “Of course we do. Don’t be such a grump.” She lifted our joined hands and twirled so her back was to my chest, then draped my arms around herself, tightening my grip on her. Shivering bones, the feel of her ass grinding against me…
I gritted my teeth, looking around the crowd to see if anyone was paying close attention to us. Every pixie seemed consumed by their own dancing, but I had a feeling if I lifted Eira into my arms and carried her off, it would cause a disturbance. Especially if she screamed. I definitely didn’t want to anger these pixies, particularly if they were inebriated by… whatever was in their Winterwing Brew.
With a growl, I gripped Eira’s arms tightly and whispered in her ear, “Would you come with me?”
She suppressed a shiver, leaning her head against me with a low moan. “Blood and ice, I love the sound of your voice.”
I frowned. Even when drunk, fae still had to tell the truth. Did this still apply with the strange brew Eira had consumed?
“If you… come with me,” I said hesitantly, feeling completely idiotic, “I can speak like this some more.”
What the bloody hell was I doing?
To my surprise, Eira turned to face me, her eyes dark with desire. “Promise you’ll growl in that low,deepvoice of yours?”
My mouth twisted in disgust, but I tried to arrange my features into something neutral. “Um. Yes. I promise.”
Surely, I could just growl a string of curses to fulfill this bargain later. But for now, I needed to extract her from this crowd as subtly as possible.
Eira squealed and clapped her hands together, then tugged on my arm to pull me away from the crowd.
Thank the gods.
I hurried by her side, trying to ignore the way her fingernails dug into my bicep, as if she was trying to feel her way around my muscle.
“So strong,” she murmured, massaging my arm.
I recoiled but allowed her to keep hold of my arm, if only because it got us out of the crowd more quickly.
I found Frisk right where I’d left him. His lips spread, baring his teeth in what looked like a smug grin.
“How could you let her drink that brew?” I demanded.
Frisk barked a laugh. “How could I not? I certainly wouldn’t be the one to get in the way of these pixies sharing their merriment with her.”
“What did Snow drink?” Kendra asked, her white snout stained pink from the berries she’d eaten.
Ignoring her, I said to Frisk, “She’s part human! You have no idea what it could do to her! She was sullying herself with that crowd of pixies.”
Frisk’s eyebrows lifted. “Sullying herself?” His dark gaze roved over Eira with interest. “Get ahold of yourself, hunter. She’s still dressed, isn’t she? She was only dancing.”
Eira wriggled against me, pressing her chest to mine. I gave Frisk a pointed look. “I think there’s a bit more thandancingon her mind.”
