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“No time sheet?”
“You can work for as little or as long as you’d like each day. If you don’t feel like doing anything ever, I’ll support you.” Ollie blushes, threading his fingers together beneath his chin. “Want to know something cool?”
I don’t know. I just don’t know how much more excitement my heart can take. Nevertheless, I seem to be living on the edge today, so I nod.
Ollie leans forward, the warm glow of the anther lights catching in his dark eyes like flecks of sunlight. “There is no money. There is no required work. There is no penalty for absence. No schedules or threats or demands. And, yet, many faeries here work more hours each day than you do.”
My eyes widen. “Like…more hours than I do including all my overtime?”
He nods.
“What? Why?”
Ollie smiles, all gentle allure. “Turns out when people are allowed to enjoy what they do, they like to work. Isn’t that weird? When people’s needs are taken care of, they don’t mind providing for their community. Yes, we’re still selfish, and, sure, we still have flaws, bad days, times when we need to not show up to any manner of work…but Cael’s set things up in such a way where someone else is ready to pick up where you leave off. Ultimately, he’s created a law of care.”
“A law of care?” I echo, barely breathing.
“In order to join his eclipse, you have to confirm that you care for the good of those already within it. It’s an agreement to treat others the way you want to be treated. If something happens that can’t be easily solved privately, the issue can be taken to court, and Cael will handle the verdict personally.”
And they taught us that monarchies weren’t ideal in school.
Well.
I suppose they aren’t if the leaders are corrupt and not moth faerie princes who smile calmly while their subjects call them pricks.
I’m still not over that.
It goes beyond disrespect when you can’t jokingly say an insulting thing to a friend without believing it’s at least partially true.
“Is everyone under some kind of unbreakable oath that makes them follow Cael’s rules?”
The anther lights slip from their warm yellow to a brief moment of blush pink, and Ollie stretches to get two cold glasses from outside the entrance petal. “Swearing loyalty means submission to Cael’s retribution, should it be necessary. When you swear loyalty, you are putting yourself at the mercy of your liege. That’s different from swearing perfect obedience to a set of laws, which may not always be black and white given the situation.” He slides one glass to me. “You’ll want to stir the syrup in.”
“Right…” I touch the chilled glass straw and begin mindlessly stirring the pale yellow syrup in the bottom of my glass up through the rest of the clear, bubbling liquid. “So all Cael’s people, his…eclipse…they trust him with their lives. You trust him with your life.”
He takes a sip of his own drink. “Yeah. I guess so.”
“If…” A shudder works its way down my spine as I swallow hard. I can’t believe I’m about to say this. “If he told us to just trust fate…” I lift my gaze to Ollie as he goes still. Touching the blue gem against my chest, I whisper, “…should we?”
His mouth opens, but no sound comes out.
I continue, “This place feels like it was made for me. Like I was supposed to be born here, and fate is correcting the mistake that I wasn’t through making you my mate. If you trust Cael with your life, does it make sense to believe in what he told us to do?”
“His assessment implies that you love me more than everything and everyone you’d be leaving behind.” Ollie shakes his head. “You’re tired, and you don’t want to go to work tomorrow, and I knew you would love all of this, but none of it is a good reason to rationalize making a decision of this magnitude.” Swiping a hand over his mouth, he looks elsewhere. “I understand wanting this to be your life, but binding yourself to me doesn’t have to come with it. Ethically, I can’t give you a family while you’re still half human, and I…I’m so sorry about stealing that from you, but everything else…a home here, work here if you want it, freedom from the confines of the other world…it’s all yours. Without cutting off your access to everything you’ve known so far.”
“Ollie.”
“Mm?” His throat bobs with a swallow as he forces down a too-large gulp of the sweet juice.
“You’re worth wanting, too. A life with you, a family with you, a future with you. It’s all worth wanting, too. You are worth wanting.”
“No.” He laughs, forcing a pained smile. “No, I’m not. Don’t be silly. You’re probably just hungry.”
My face heats. “We can check out the quest board another time. After we’re done eating, I think maybe…you should read something.”
His gaze slashes toward me, and his head tilts.
“It’s very embarrassing. Especially given the fact it was last edited yesterday…but you probably deserve to know that…” That, what? I’m a creep?
