The woman hurried up to Lilly and threw her arms around the queen. “I wanted to come sooner, but Andora wouldn’t let me.”
“And just before Lilly is about to go stomp on a pompous ass’s head, she let you come for a visit?” Peri asked through narrowed eyes.
Cindy pulled back from Lilly and smiled sheepishly. “Not exactly.”
“I brought her,” Nissa, the high fae Lilly hadn’t noticed, stepped forward.
“Nissa, you’re becoming as bad as me when it comes to ignoring people’s wishes.” Peri folded her arms in front her.
The high fae smiled. “I learn from the best.”
Peri smirked.
“Cindy,” Lilly said, “what are you doing here?”
“Do you remember the first time we met?” Cindy asked.
Peri groaned. “This is not the best time for a trip down memory lane.”
Lilly ignored the high fae. She thought back to when she’d met her new neighbor. Lilly and Jacque, the newest members of the neighborhood, had been out for a walk. Cindy was working in her yard on a gorgeous spring day, just on the cusp of summer. The mornings weren’t cool for long, but the pollen had finally stopped falling, and Lilly’s allergies were no longer forcing her to stay inside.
“Yes,” the queen finally said. “You had dirt smudged all over your face because you kept wiping sweat away with your gardening glove,” she said with a grin.
“You do realize that you’re about to go fight for your life, right?” Peri said, attempting to regain the woman’s attention.
Cindy smiled back. “I didn’t even realize what a mess I looked. I was just so shocked to see you.” Cindy, of course, had known Lilly was a sprite, though the queen had been oblivious.
“Do you remember what I said to you?” Cindy asked. Her eyes were eager and bright. Apparently, she felt it important Lilly remember.
“Yes.” Lilly laughed. She remembered because she also remembered thinking Cindy was nuts. “I asked you why your yard looked like you were digging for gold.” Because that’s what it had looked like. Small holes were scattered across the lawn where Cindy had used her tiny, pointy gardening shovel to dig.
Cindy nodded. “And I said?” she prompted.
“You laughed and said, ‘Just wait until the damn pixies figure out you’re in the neighborhood. Your yard will look like a groundhog war zone, too.’”
Cindy was still nodding, looking very expectant.
“That’s what you came here to say to her?” Peri said, her voice sharp as she tried to step between them.
Lilly stared intently at Cindy as her longtime friend practically bounced like a ball. She was trying to tell Lilly something without actually telling her. Her eyes widened as she realized the seer sprites must have seen something, but Andora would not let Cindy tell Lilly what. Cindy literally couldn’t say what she wanted to say.
“Lilly, for the love of—” Peri started but the queen held up her hand, stopping whatever ridiculous thing the high fae had been about to say.
“Pixies,” Lilly said.
Cindy nodded, looking like an eager golden retriever, bless her heart. “Pixies,” she repeated. “And holes,” Cindy quickly added.
“This conversation is getting weirder by the second,” Peri muttered.
Lilly clasped the book to her chest and tried to work out what Cindy was trying to tell her. “So, the pixies are going to show up today.”
Cindy nodded. Her lips were pressed tightly together as if she was trying hard not to blurt anything out.
Lilly thought about the holes. What would the holes have to do with the coming of pixies?
“You were digging holes that day because of pixies?”
Cindy nodded vigorously.
Lilly snapped her fingers as she practically jumped. “You weren’t simply digging holes for the sake of digging holes. You were setting traps. Pixie and traps. The pixies are setting a trap!”
“Yes!” Cindy yelled so loud that Lilly wondered if those outside might have heard her.
“Wait, what?” Peri said.
“Keep up, Perizada,” Lilly said. “Cindy came to warn me. But she couldn’t just spit it out because Andora probably put some sort of spell or some spritely magic on her.”
Cindy nodded like a golden retriever again.
“That damn pixie king,” Peri growled. “I’m going to skewer his ass if it’s the last thing I do.” She turned to Cindy. “Are the holes literal or merely an analogy to the use of traps?”
“Can’t say, but the first thing you say is usually correct, Perizada,” Cindy replied.
“Of course it is. So the holes are real.” Peri tapped her finger on her lip as she thought. Lilly had no clue what Cindy meant. Had the pixies actually dug holes and disguised them outside, hoping Lilly would fall into one? Like a bear trap? Surely not. That seemed so … not magical. Not that a magical being had to use magical means to defeat their foe. It just seemed like the most logical way. But maybe that’s what would make it work? Because she wouldn’t be expecting it.
“Lilly, when we step out there, I will tell you stop at a certain point and you will not move from it,” Peri said suddenly.
“That’s going to make it challenging to fight,” Lilly pointed out.
“It’s a good thing you like a challenge then, isn’t it?”
“Umm, I also like winning. How the hell am I going to win a battle if I can’t move out of my opponent’s way?” Lilly snapped.
“Nissa,” Peri said to the fae, completely ignoring Lilly’s question, “Gerick and the warlock army are outside. Please make him aware that we’ve got more than just Lysander’s nonsense to contend with.”
Nissa nodded and then disappeared, returning a few seconds later. “Done.”
“Cindy, you look like a bobblehead. Stop” Peri snapped her fingers at the woman.
Cindy immediately stilled, though her eyes remained filled with worry.
“Thank you, Cindy,” Lilly said as she pulled her friend into a hug. “I appreciate you taking this risk to warn me.”
“I didn’t break any rules,” Cindy said with a grin. “Well, except the one where she specifically said not to come see you until she said it was okay. But I did
