Lilly threw her hands up, but she wasn’t fast enough. One hit her in the stomach, and the other smacked one of her legs. She was pretty sure snowball production wasn’t one of her newfound powers. And before she could even think to try, a barrage of them hit her, one after the other. Within seconds, she was drenched and cold. “Okay, okay! Dammit, stop with the damn snow already.”
“Are you going to tell me the truth?” Peri’s tone held a clear warning. Lilly had no doubt she’d be buried in an avalanche if she didn’t.
“Yes, fine. I’ll tell you the truth.” Lilly knew she probably sounded like a pissed-off teenager who’d just been caught sneaking in after curfew. She kind of felt like one, too. Peri snapped her fingers. Immediately, Lilly was dry. And instead of the jeans and T-shirt she’d been wearing, she was now adorned in an outfit almost identical to Peri’s, except she wore a puffy vest instead of a jacket. “Why, thank you, Mom, for dressing me.”
“You’re welcome, child. Now sit your adolescent ass down and spill your guts.”
Lilly sulked back over to the couch and sat. She took a deep breath and blew it out, causing her cheeks to puff out. “So, I had just gotten off the phone with Jacque—”
“Thank the goddess you finally called her,” Peri mumbled.
Lilly narrowed her eyes. “Are you going to let me tell you this without a running commentary?”
“Maybe, but I can’t promise. Sometimes the crap you say requires commentary. Carry on.” Peri made a motion with her hand.
Lilly ignored her irritation and continued. “I felt them the minute they flashed into the room. It was a female fae and djinn.”
Peri sat up straight and leaned forward. “A female fae and djinn, as in, the djinn was female as well?”
Lilly nodded. She knew Peri would immediately know it was Myanin. There was only one female djinn, that they were aware of, that was currently wandering unsupervised in the human realm.
Peri didn’t relax back into her seat. She pierced Lilly with her sharp gaze and waited for her to continue.
Lilly recounted the entire visit. “And then they left,” she said as she ended what had turned into an hour-long explanation because Peri kept interrupting her every ten seconds to ask questions. Lilly felt like she was being interrogated, which in all actuality, she was, because… Peri. Explanation enough.
Peri rose up and paced the room. Her body glowed faintly as she muttered under her breath. It was refreshing to Lilly to see someone else look as crazy as she’d been feeling. She felt her lips turn up in a smile. When Peri’s head whipped around to look at her, Lilly’s smile slowly dropped.
“Why the hell are you smiling?” Peri asked. “What could you possibly have to smile about? You made a bloody blood oath with a murdering djinn. A djinn who is currently being hunted for said murder by her people to be tried and sentenced. Where in any of that is there a reason to smile?”
“To be clear,” Lilly cleared her throat, “the bloody blood oath wasn’t really bloody. As soon as the Great Luna was gone, the wounds healed immediately. The whole thing was quite nice and neat.”
“I don’t give a flying pixie baby how bloody the freaking oath was,” Peri growled. “I care about the fact that you made the damn oath in the first place. What in seven hells were you thinking? I mean, I realize you’ve lost your damn mind. That’s been established. Everyone who loses their soul mate loses their mind. It’s a thing. But I wasn’t about to let you go completely off the deep end. Let you dangle, sure. But I was sure I could pull you back before it was too late. But nooooo, what do you go and do? You get a running start and then leap, arms spread as if you think you’re about to sprout wings and fly. But you’re plummeting to your very painful and messy demise.”
“It’s not that bad, Peri,” Lilly said, although she was second guessing herself now that Peri, the very powerful high fae, was acting as if Lilly had just made a deal with the devil.
“Really,” Peri said slowly, crossing her arms in front of her. “Pray tell, queenie, what exactly about this very serious, very permanent oath you took isn’t that bad?”
Lilly opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. Finally she blurted, “Cypher said to trust my gut. I’m trusting my gut.”
Peri lifted a brow at her. “You’re trusting the intestines inside of you that process your food, drain it of nutrients, and then push it out as fecal matter?”
“Okay, that’s disgusting and completely not necessary. You know what I mean.” Lilly exhaled. “Did you miss the part where I said the Great Luna herself blessed the oath?” Lilly held up her hand and showed Peri the half-moon that had appeared on her palm. “Oh!” She jumped up and ran over to the vanity. Lilly was sure she looked like an absolute idiot, but she didn’t care. She had another ace up her sleeve. “I also have these,” Lilly pointed at the vanity, then froze. “What the hell?”
Peri walked over and stared down at the spot Lilly indicated. “Perfume bottles in various assorted sizes and colors that mask the odor of your desperation?”
“Dammit, they were just here,” Lilly snapped.
“What was just here?” Peri sounded as interested as a dying walrus. Because Lilly knew what dying walruses sounded like, and she was sure it was Peri’s voice right now.
“The fae stones.”
Peri was quiet. When Lilly looked at her, she saw the fae’s eyes were momentarily filled with surprise, but it disappeared a second later. “Uh-huh, right.” The high fae started pacing again. A minute later, she disappeared.
“Well, okay then.” Lilly sighed and went back to the couch. She sat there wondering what the heck
