Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
Igot up early the next morning to open the bakery, feeling much, much better. And the taste of caramel still lingered while I baked, so naturally it was a caramel-themed day: caramel drizzle on a pretty, stacked toffee cake, and caramel coffee rolls, with a batch of caramel and chocolate macarons.
I was so happy for no reason since someone else had hired the goblins to release the Lady of the Wild Woods, and I was their target, not the devil.
And I only had a small amount of baked goods compared to the first day, so the profits would be small, except that my dad had changed all the prices, giving me a solid glare while he did it so I didn’t dare say anything.
He was so sweet, like the devil. So sweet, and I’d kiss the devil again tonight before dinner. We were going to some fancy restaurant, and we’d kiss in the back of the car the way normal people made out.
I was daydreaming stupidly like that, Divinity perched on the mushroom puff between me and the door, when the bell jangled, and in walked the prettiest fairy boy I’d ever seen.
I straightened and only winced slightly from the movement.
If I kept kissing the devil, I’d be better in no time. Caramel. Sigh.
“Welcome to The Rabbit Hole,” I said cheerfully while the boy, who was all polished dewdrops and glowing daffodils, came over, green eyes sparkling while his yellow hair looked like melted butter.
“You aren’t a goblin.” His pout was so pretty.
“I’m a goblin-fairy.” I bared my teeth in a sharp smile that had him stumbling back two steps.
His brow furrowed as he moved closer, looking me over like he was searching for green skin. “That’s impossible.”
“Well, I’m affiliated with Wonderland, and impossible isn’t something we give a lot of heed to. Would you like to order something?”
His magical eyes lit up. “Wonderland? Like the devil’s casino?”
“That’s the one. So, what can I get you?
I have some nice tea with pretty floral notes, but I also have a special blend designed for goblins.
” Not really, but I’d make this pretty creature something green that satisfied his longing for something dark and dangerous while appealing to his actual nature.
“Get me goblin tea. And some sweetbreads.”
I smiled at him while I wondered why pretty people had to be so stupid.
Sweetbreads would make him sick. Fairies didn’t usually eat meat, much less organs.
“Sure. I have a fresh batch coming out in twenty minutes. Would you like to sit at the table with your tea while it bakes? You can have some basic spun flowers while you wait.”
He hesitated then nodded. “Draskri gave me one of your spun confections and said a goblin made it.” My mother’s great-uncle’s name was Draskri.
I stared at him. “Great-uncle Draskri?”
He stared back at me, frowning as he looked me over again. “You’re related to Draskri?” He looked so disappointed.
“I’m the relative he never talks about,” I reassured him then quickly mixed his fairy blend with some green buds that would give it a slight earthly flavor and a green hue that should evoke goblin.
I carried the prettiest teacup with a pretty spun flower out to him, poured, then hurried to the back to make some vegan sweetbreads. “Dad, can you go up front and watch the counter for me?” I asked as I grabbed a bowl and started mixing the flour.
“Do you want me to scare him away? Did he insult you?” He looked meaner than usual, brows low over golden glowing eyes.
“No, he likes dangerous goblins. Did he insult me? I don’t think telling me I can’t exist is an insult, exactly. How did you guys manage to have me?” I asked, knowing he wouldn’t tell me.
He gave me a sharp look then headed to the front, leaving me to beat the dough a little more energetically than necessary.
Of course he hadn’t told me. When I’d asked the first time someone had told me I couldn’t exist, my mother had assured me that she’d tell me when I was older.
When I was older, she brushed it off with various excuses—she was tired, or love made anything possible, or it was fate.
Seriously, I deserved to know how I’d come to be.
What if I wanted to have kids someday? The memory of caramel had me throwing some brown sugar and butter into a pan on the stove.
The sweetbreads were going to be actually sweet.
With a nice vanilla glaze on top of the caramel. That would be so pretty.
I smiled as I baked, looking forward to dinner…and the kiss.
I came out of the back to see my dad pouring another cup of green tea for the pretty fairy boy.
“You should drink with me,” the daffodil fairy said to my dad earnestly.
“You should tip well,” my dad responded before looking up at me and winking. He walked around the counter, put the pot back, then passed me into the back without saying anything, but his amusement was obvious. This fairy boy wasn’t a threat.
Maybe the pretty fairy boy would know more about my great-uncle than I did. I knew hardly anything, and he was the only one I could think of who’d want me dead.
I poured a cup for me and went over to smile at him. “Can I sit?”
He blinked up at me, glanced at my legs, bare beneath my short gauzy skirt in pale blue, then gestured to the seat across from him. “Of course. Was that really your father?” he asked in a low voice, sounding scandalized.
“Yep. He can stick to the ceiling and everything. He used to give me rides up the sides of buildings when I was cranky.”
His eyes were big and impressed. “That’s so cool. Can you stick to walls?”
I raised my fingertips and wiggled them. “A little, but I just use my wings.”
He stared at my wings. “You can actually fly with them? You must have a lot of fairy blood.”
“Yeah. My mom was almost a full fairy.” And now I had a lump in my throat.
“Was? What happened to her?” He winced. “Sorry. That was rude.”
“No, it’s fine. She died of iron poisoning. She had a lot of blood transfusions, dialysis, but in the end…” I swallowed hard, struggling with the stupid feelings.
He covered my hand with his, and I felt judgmental eyes on me.
There was Divinity on the puff, staring at me like I was betraying the devil.
Which was ridiculous because no way I’d ever date a pretty fairy boy.
And I wasn’t dating the devil, so there was zero guilt I could feel even if I did date this person. Which I wouldn’t.
“I’m sorry.” He sounded so sincere. “The stronger the fairy blood, the more likely pollution and hard metals are to make you sick.”
I nodded. “Yeah.” Like everyone didn’t know that.
“My sister…” His green eyes flashed with anger, and he squeezed my hand tight before releasing it.
“Death is part of life,” I said, and sipped the tea. It was nice, a good blend I’d have to make for myself sometimes. The peppermint was what did it for me.
“Sure. But your life isn’t supposed to exist. What do you do for fun?”
I lowered my cup and studied the pretty fairy boy. “I bake. What do you do for fun? Try to get into trouble, I’d bet. I try to stay out of trouble.”
His eyes gleamed as he leaned closer. “But how can you live like that? You have to live life as long as you have it, or it’s a waste!
And then when responsibility falls on your shoulders, and you’re crushed, it’s worse than death.
” His expression was cloudy, an angry daffodil swaying in the stormy breeze.
“Do you think so? I guess you haven’t had a lot of people wanting to cut you up to see how you exist.”
He looked disgusted then his expression smoothed. “If you’re with me, no one will touch you.”
“Really? Are you affiliated with angels, like my great-uncle Draskri?” I took another long sip of tea while he frowned at his cup.
“Angels aren’t the only powerful force in the world.”
“I don’t know much about them. I’ve always been dying to know how he got angelic blood. Your blood seems pretty pure.”
He sighed heavily. “Yeah, my blood is really pure. Just fairy and human, nothing else to taint it.” He rolled his eyes, clearly less than impressed with his fancy fairy blood.
“Draskri is really your great-uncle? There was someone in a picture I saw once, a pretty little pale fairy.” He squinted at me and shook his head.
“She was much more delicate than you. You’ve got meat on your bones. ”
I winced. I’d probably been eating way too much, but it was hard to notice when the place had no mirrors, and my dresses fit perfectly magically. “Yeah, I don’t look much like my mother. I have more of the goblin bone structure, even if I have my mother’s coloring.”
He grabbed my hand. “That’s why I like you. You’re not like all the other fairy girls. You’ve got teeth, and I don’t just mean literally. Do you want to go to the club with me tonight?”
I stared at him. “The club?”
“There’s a club in Wonderland. We could dance and drink, maybe get into some trouble.
” His eyes twinkled, and I stared at the daffodil-come-to-life like I was actually considering it.
No, what I was thinking was, why hadn’t I known there was a dance club in Wonderland?
I’d been there enough times for dinner, but it was always just the big stairs, the large lobby, and then the dining room behind the white coral screen.
“I can’t. I have to get to bed early so I can bake in the pre-dawn morning.”
His hand tightened around mine. “But you have days off.”
The bell jangled, and I slipped my hand out of his grasp and smiled at the mother with the kid from the other day with the animal cupcakes. They were staring at the fairy like he was the prettiest thing they’d ever seen. Then the kid saw the rabbit and lost interest in the fairy boy.
“The cupcakes were lovely!” the mother said, warm and much more comfortable without ogres. “Could I get another dozen? I was telling my carpool group about them. You can’t have children without a carpool group. Should you ever have children. I don’t suppose you’re married.”