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“Correct. Why?”
“Faeries only can’t lie with words.”
“Yep. Some fae cannot speak for various reasons, but unless they are involved in politics or power—where they are considered highly effective and respectable members of the intrigue you and your sister talk about—they tend to be quite like the rest of the fae. Outside Cael’s domain, it’s wise to be wary.”
“I don’t think I’ve asked before. Why are things within Cael’s domain so different?”
“Usually the members of a fae court, gentry, and peasantry reflect their ruler. Cael handpicks who he allows within the bounds of his lands, and his principles place stress on concepts that promote safety, order, and diversity.” Ollie rustles his hair. “It’s a very different environment than what I grew up with. In my home pack, everyone’s a werecanine. Strength is valued above many things. As a member of the nobility, it was my place to protect those weaker in our ranks, not join them.”
“That’s an awful double standard… Your love shouldn’t have been linked to your abilities. I thought Cael said that packs were basically families.”
“I was born a prince first, a brother second, and when I failed in my first duty, I lost the right to that brotherhood.”
I twist my fingers together. “I guess there are flaws in both human and fae systems, depending on where you are and what you believe.”
“At the end of everything, we’re all still people, even if some of us are also creatures.”
Very cute and soft and tan and white creatures.
I can’t make my hands behave anymore, so I reach for the smudge and dust it off. “Well…did I pass my test?”
Ollie’s gaze refocuses once I pull my hand away. “Sorry. Did you say something?”
“Have I graduated with high honors? May I now wander through Faerie with the wild abandon of a child and sleep in little rose beds whenever I tire of being wild and abandon-y?”
He’s quiet for a moment, then he stands and finds something on the kitchen counter. A cookie? A brownie? Maybe a brownie. Goodness gracious. How much stress does this man have? Taking a bite, he mumbles, “No. The image gives me anxiety.”
“The image of me sleeping in a giant rose gives you anxiety?”
“The image of you exploring Faerie with wild abandon gives me anxiety. I feel like you need a lot more practice. And a map of the safe places that fall into Cael’s domain, because I don’t want you anywhere outside of his realm. In some places…beyond the quaint cafes, homey shops, and gilded palace…we have some unsavory neighbors.”
Quaint cafes? Homey shops? I gasp.
Brownie crumbs fall from Ollie’s mouth. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Take me on a Faerie date. Oh please. Please take me on a Faerie date?” Giddy excitement runs through my veins. “Take me to a little Faerie cafe after a little Faerie walk by a little Faerie lake with little Faerie swans.”
Cringing, he swears.
My heart drops. “What?”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve recreationally wandered around in the other realm. I’ve somewhat avoided it for fear my past may crop up when I least expect it.”
I fold my arms. “If anyone propositions you while I’m standing right there, I’m tattling to Cael.”
“I don’t think anyone Cael has accepted would approach me in such a manner while I’m with you since I have made my resignation from such disreputable positions known, but…” He rubs his chest and finishes the brownie. “I don’t know. I was raised in places where that wouldn’t be the case. It’s still hard sometimes to reconcile the idea that I’m no longer in that kind of environment.”
I nod, understanding. “Sometimes I forget entirely how to people and don’t know how to go outside without feeling an inexplicable need to sob, too.”
He stares at me, long and hard, then shakes his head. “Yeah. You’re going to love this.” Wiping his hands on a towel, he lifts his chin toward the kitchen exit. “Go ahead and get ready to go.”
“Now?” I scan the hurricane covering every surface, the raw dough still on the table in front of me, the pounds and pounds of food yet to be put away. As though there’s a place for it to fit. “The oven’s still on.”
“I’ll ask Aspen to take over here.”
“Aspen?”
“A friend. A dryad.” He smiles. Dimples. “Pila’s eldest sister and a member of Cael’s inner circle.”
