“He was too distracted by the sight of you in your underwear to pay much attention to any details.” Delmare snickered, and we all laughed.
Odette puffed out her cheeks. “Okay, well, wedidgo skinny dipping, but that was only because we had to go into the water to getthe thing.”
“Start from the beginning,” I said, lounging across the blanket and throwing my arms over my head.
“Mmk. Well, I had to go into the woods to get an ingredient for my alchemy class, and Theo came with me,” Odette explained. “We got to the river where the plant grows, but then, a prettyrusalkarose out of the water and gave me this beautiful silver crown! I tell you, girls, it was marvelous.”
“Yeah, and you dropped it back in the river the moment after she left.” Delmare snorted.
“Yep, because I’m clumsy! So Theo and I dove in to get it—withoutour clothes, if you get what I’m saying.” Odette wiggled her eyebrows.
“This was back before you were together. I bet he was dying,” Kiara cracked.
“Oh, yeah, he had a hard-on, but I pretended not to notice,” Odette said, waving her hand. “So we got the crown out of the water—”
“Then went back through the woods, where you ran intoanothermonster, who stole the crown from you and disappeared down a hole too deep for you to follow,” Delmare deadpanned.
“Exactly! It was such an adventure!” Odette threw her arms up at the explosive ending. Kiara and Delmare laughed.
“Sure, Odette,” Delmare said, rolling her eyes. “I’m certain you aren’t exaggerating.”
“It’s hardly fathomable that you lost the crown therusalkagave you twice,” Kiara argued.
“What are you talking about? This is Odette, here. It’s the most rational part of the story,” Delmare insisted.
“I’m mad you guys don’t believe me.” Odette stuck out her lip.
“I believe you. If you said you saw arusalka, then you did,” I said simply.
“Well, I did!” Odette stubbornly crossed her arms. “One day, I’ll prove to all of you exactly what I saw.”
“Theo’s dick,” Delmare commented. I snorted, and Kiara spat out her bite of lemon tart. Odette humphed and turned away, stuffing a sugar cookie into her mouth.
A deep voice rose over the hills as we got done eating. “Jonah, do you know where you’re going?”
“Of course!” another male voice responded. “I’msureit’s this way.”
We lifted our gazes to a hill not too far off. We saw two massive men roaming through the fields, both of them over six feet tall and very muscular in stature. The tallest man looked to be in his late twenties, and had long dark hair that fell over his broad shoulders. He was carrying some sort of large backpack, which I figured held their things.
The second man was literallyskipping— which was a very odd thing to see in such a big dude. He had brunette hair pulled back into a man bun at the top of his head, and a bushy beard on his chin. He appeared not bothered at all by his surroundings, though his partner was nervously glancing around the field for any signs of trouble.
“Who are they?” Odette peeped.
“They’re not fae…” Kiara said slowly.
“No, they’re not,” I muttered. “We should see what this is about.”
Other supernatural races weren’t common in Malovia. Despite their appearance, these people didn’t seem that scary, but it was always better to check. We got to our feet and advanced closer, watching curiously. I suppose, as a fae, I could whip up some sort of bad contract or trick to get them to leave, but maybe they’d go away on their own.
Before we could act, the taller man caught sight of us. He grabbed the other man’s shoulder and hissed, “Jonah, look! The fae!”
Me and the girls froze, but Jonah didn’t appear bothered. “It’s okay, Jake, I know what to do!”
The stranger brought himself up to his full height as he faced us, which made me feel like an ant. “I don’tbelievein faeries! So there!”
“Uh… what?” I blinked.
“You heard me! I don’t believe in faeries!” Jonah shouted confidently, crossing his arms.
