Chapter 17 #5
There was, and there wasn’t. Max didn’t think he could explain it if he tried. It wasn’t like there was some gaping hole in his brain, or anything. It was just like things had… shifted, for want of a better word.
He felt confident that it had worked. There might have been a number of reasons he didn’t fully trust his father, but on this issue, at least, he had Max’s full confidence.
Max could well believe that fae nobility were just that good at magic, especially where protecting their secrets was concerned.
It was like a weight had come off his shoulders – a weight that he’d been carrying his whole life, without even realizing it.
“I’m good,” he said, and a smile broke out on Poppy’s face. “Still here, still me. And the manticore’s still here, for better or worse. Just pretty sure I can’t mind-whammy anyone anymore.”
He wasn’t one hundred percent sure he could still shift, but it didn’t feel like the connection between him and the manticore had been disturbed in any way.
Either way, he wasn’t about to try and shift now, when he barely knew how to shift to begin with.
He’d try later, once things had calmed down.
And if he couldn’t shift… well, it’d be an incredible disappointment, but he’d work through it.
He had Poppy now, after all, and that was by far the most important thing in his life.
His father looked like he wasn’t quite sure what to say, or whether he should say anything at all.
Making a sudden decision, Max stuck out his hand.
Things weren’t going to be suddenly easy between them, but he did understand now why his father had done what he’d done, and he definitely appreciated the help he’d given them today.
There was no point in making things difficult.
His father stared at his hand for a long moment.
“Oh, yes,” he said eventually, before reaching out for an awkward handshake. “Forgive me. It has been quite some time since I last did this.”
Max could easily believe that handshakes weren’t a thing amongst the fae. Probably they’d be worried that the other party would set their hand on fire, or deliver a lightning bolt, or something.
On impulse, Max leaned in for – not quite a hug, per se, but a bit of a pat on the back. Friendly, but not too personal.
Pulling back, he watched as his father blinked, looking surprised. “Indeed.”
It’s a start, thought Max with a smile.
“I just have one question,” Poppy said. “Well, I have a ton of questions, but the rest can wait.”
“Go ahead,” said Max’s father.
Her brow wrinkled in confusion, and she indicated the unconscious fae on the floor. “This guy said that he identified me as being your child because I had my father’s eyes. But… I don’t even have your eyes.”
Max’s father peered at Poppy’s face for a moment, before looking almost… embarrassed?
“Oh,” he said. “The thing is… most fae have green eyes. A very specific shade of green. But some fae in our clan have what you in the human realm might call ‘hazel’ eyes.”
Poppy’s eyes widened. “And he based his identification of me on that?”
At his nod, Poppy’s mouth dropped open in astonishment, before she shook her head incredulously. “Do you know how many people have hazel eyes?! Yours aren’t even the same shade as mine! And the colors are reversed!”
His father shrugged helplessly. “I am at a loss to explain his thought processes, beyond the fact that his clan is known to be… imprudent.”
Despite the mildness of the delivery, Max was pretty sure that that was probably considered a sick burn in fae society.
“You can say that again,” Poppy muttered, before sighing and waving her hand, as if to dismiss the topic. “Thank you for clearing that up.”
“My pleasure,” he replied.
Abruptly, he bent down to the unconscious fae lying on the ground.
“You are going to be doing a lot of explaining,” he murmured to him, before, without warning, he slung the fae over his shoulder and straightened up as if he weighed nothing.
It was a bit strange, after all the telekinesis and psychic battles and mythical shifters – but it was kind of reassuring as well, in a weird way.
It made his father feel a bit more… well, not human, obviously, but relatable.
As relatable as a filthy rich member of the fae nobility could be, anyway.
A ripple of concern ran through Max’s gut – not a large one, but present, nonetheless. “Uh, you’re not going to… torture him or anything, right?”
“What? Oh, no. He will go on trial, and there will be punishment, but not the death penalty, since that only applies to crimes committed within the fae realm. And nothing that could be considered torture. Well, not in the human sense.”
At Max’s apparent worried expression, he quickly went on, “That is to say, he will most definitely have his powers removed, which would be considered quite terrible to a fae. And there will be other consequences. But nothing that you should be concerned about.”
“Okay,” Max said, deciding not to pursue the topic further. He didn’t particularly feel like learning about fae punishments right now.
The three of them – well, four of them, he supposed – stepped outside, and Max couldn’t help but feel a little bit of schadenfreude as the fae’s legs banged against the doorframe.
Despite Max’s newfound healing, he was still pretty sore all over, and his ego had definitely taken a bit of a bruising at the idea of being floated out of the kitchen window, and, presumably, through the woods.
“You’re done!” exclaimed Margot, hurrying over to meet them. “That took a long time.” Poking at the unconscious fae, she added, “I’ve never met a fae in the flesh before. A full one, anyway.”
Max’s father’s eyebrows went up slightly, but before the two of them could get into a conversation – which Max wasn’t quite sure he wanted to see right now, even though it would probably be entertaining – Levi came over to provide the voice of reason, Natasha and Kieran trailing in his wake.
“Would you like a lift back?” he asked. “Or…?”
Max realized that Levi didn’t know what he shifted into – or even that he could shift now, necessarily. He hadn’t arrived until after the fae had been subdued, after all.
Either way, though, Max didn’t want a lift back… and he didn’t want to shift and fly back, either. The last thing he needed was to send Poppy plunging to the earth. And never mind the fact that he wasn’t sure how the removal of his fae powers had affected things.
No. There would be plenty of time for that later. All he wanted right now was to walk back with Poppy.
“We’re all good,” he said, pulling Poppy closer to him. “But thanks. I mean it. All of you.”
He looked around at the sea of smiling faces, and felt a pull within him that he’d never felt before. He’d only been in Girdwood Springs for a couple of days, but already he felt more at home here than he ever had anywhere else.
Of course, wherever Poppy was, he would go. If she wanted to return to her home, then he would follow her. He would follow her anywhere.
“Oh!” said Natasha. “I just remembered that we have to put away those groceries. Right, honey?” she said, jabbing Kieran in the ribs.
“But didn’t we already put them away?” Kieran asked, confusion spreading over his features.
The jabbing appeared to intensify. Natasha’s smile grew wider, more forced. “Right, honey?”
“Ow! Oh – right! I forgot. Silly me.”
At that, Kieran stepped back, and, without warning, shifted into an enormous griffin, Natasha climbing onto his back with practiced ease.
Max had to admit that it took even him by surprise – he glanced over at Poppy, who was watching with an awestruck look on her face. But she didn’t seem scared, which was the main thing.
Levi and Margot departed in a similar fashion, and then it was just his father and his unconscious cargo who remained.
“Well,” his father said awkwardly. “It’s been good to see you, son.”
Max smiled – still not completely carefree, but more relaxed about the situation than he could’ve imagined even a few short hours ago.
“You, too. It’s been good to see you again.”
He couldn’t quite bring himself to say Dad at the end – but, well, baby steps. He thought that it might come in time. And if it didn’t… well, it was still better than what the two of them had had up until now.
Addressing Poppy, his father added, “And it was lovely to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Poppy said with a smile. “I hope we can see you again.”
“I am sure you will.” He turned to Max, then hesitated. “I’m uncertain whether to ask you to pass on my regards to your mother or not.”
“Oh, boy.” Max scrubbed a hand over his face, unsure how to open that can of worms with her. “At this point? I’m not sure, to be honest. I’ll have a think about what would be best.”
He’d work all of that out later. Right now, all he wanted was to go back to the B&B, curl up with Poppy, and sleep forever.
His father nodded. “That sounds appropriate. Well – I shall leave you both to your travels. Farewell.”
And with that, he and the other fae disappeared in a flash of light.
Max and Poppy stood there for a moment, taking it all in.
“… Wow,” Poppy said at last.
Max nodded. “You can say that again.”
“Wow,” Poppy said. But he didn’t think she was saying it to poke fun – she really did sound awed. And he couldn’t blame her.
Turning to face her, he reached up to touch her cheek. “Are you okay?”
She smiled, brilliant in the darkness. “Yeah. More than okay. Now that our lives are no longer in danger, I actually feel fantastic. Though I’m sure I’ll crash pretty soon.”
“Yeah, me too,” he said honestly. “We should probably start heading back – there’ll be no magical emergency to summon help for us this time if we need it.”
“There better not be,” said Poppy, before her mouth split open in an enormous yawn. “Oh my God. Excuse me.”
Max pretended to think on it. “Hmm… okay. But only because you’re so wonderful.”
“Oh, stop,” Poppy said with a grin. Reaching up, she pushed up his glasses where they’d slid down his nose, before rubbing at his upper lip. He’d completely forgotten about the mustache she’d drawn there.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said with an exaggeratedly long-suffering sigh, before pulling her in close to him and holding her tight.
Shockingly, the manticore retreated to a respectful distance, giving them some space.
Now, it was just the two of them amongst the trees and the falling snow, and there was nothing else he wanted in life.
There were still so many things that needed to be sorted out, but there would be time for that later. For now, all he wanted was her.
“My mate,” he murmured into her hair. “My Poppy.”
“My Max,” she whispered back. “My everything.”
Holding her close, feeling her warmth, her love, the glow of the mate bond, he knew that everything from now on would be more wonderful than he could ever have imagined.