Mercifully, she doesn't pry, merely blinks verdant eyes at me.
"Can you bestow one on me?" I ask.
Inclining her head, I'm stuck once more by how much strength radiates from her small frame.
Her face is eye-level with my chest, and yet I can't help but feel I'm at a disadvantage. If she ordered me to my knees, I would do so happily. I'd crawl after her for eternity if only for the chance to taste one of her smooth calves.
"It is primal magic," the Queen breathes, "one that will require us to strike a bargain in blood. You will have to complete my demands in full."
"Whatever you want, Queenie. It'll be done."
Arden's lips tip upwards. Her small smile makes her even lovelier and pisses Elwood off even more. I'll have to ensure that whatever tasks she entrusts me with are not hindered by outside interference.
An idea sparks, and I let it flicker.
"You're too confident."
"Confidence is my most appealing quality." I smirk. "I'm quite adept at anything I put my mind to."
Arden's eyes widen, but she quickly shakes off my tease. A somber expression washes over her face.
"There is a blight sweeping over my land. The Void, we call it, has decimated our neighboring kingdom. The Deadlands have risen where it once stood and now seek to spread into Meadowmist." Her wings flutter at her back. "My terms are simple: discover a way to kill the Void and a fairy wish will be yours. Fail and?—"
"I'll die," I finish. "That goes without saying, Queenie."
Arden swallows thickly.
"All that have tried before you have perished. The Void has claimed thousands of fairy lives. Do you still wish to make the bargain?"
I'm as good as dead without the wish. My confidence overshadows my apprehension. I should be treating the threat as real, but with the thing I've sought for so long finally in reach, it is hard to find a reason not to agree.
I have sailed on dangerous waters and fought pirates and other treasure hunters. I should've died as an orphan, but I didn't.
What is one more impossible odd to best?
"Without a doubt."
Her eyes brighten. I like the way she's looking at me. As if I am the thing she's been searching for. If I can help save her kingdom, then perhaps I am.
A fairy wish is a worthy reward for my bravery. I wouldn't mind if she threw in a kiss too.
Just one, so I can take her taste with me back to the human world. Sampling anything more than her lips, and I would start considering something far more dangerous.
"Very well." She turns towards Elwood. "Your dagger, please."
"My Queen, please, consider what you do. We cannot trust this human. He could be working for the Void."
"Prowling, rambling, and now insinuating I'm a spy for a murderous entity? You must really not like me," I grumble, shooting him a glare.
The male fairy returns my hostile stare.
"I beg of you. Please?—"
The Fairy Queen silences the male with a raised hand.
"You forget your place with me, Elwood. My word is law. This is the best chance my kingdom has at survival. I will not waste it over misplaced male pride."
"Arden, please?—"
