Page 2 of Ozma

“Out of this cage,” Tip said sharply.

“Mombi’s barrier won’t allow it.” The tone in Jack’s voice was melancholic. Tip knew his entrapment bothered Jack because he had repeatedly said that Tip should be free to roam wherever he wished. Jack wasn’t truly free either, though. Yet Tip was still envious that Jack could leave. Get touched, caressed.

Tip whirled around and pulled his arm out of Jack’s grasp. “I’m going to go and get kissed.”

Jack lifted a brow, a smirk slowly spreading into a smile. “I don’t think so.”

“And why not? You get kissed all the time when you run Mombi’s errands.” And who knows what else. He’d probably tumbled all of Loland judging by his rumpled state.

“Even if you could leave, you’re too … innocent.” Jack’s smile still remained.

Tip narrowed his eyes, his fists shaking. “Not for much longer.” He spun around and trudged toward the forest. “We can’t all get pleasured on our way home.”

A low growl came from behind him. Then Jack appeared in front of Tip, placing a hand at his chest to prevent him from walking away. “When I leave the barrier, Mombi’s magic makes me forget—you know that. She can’t have me telling anyone about you. All I know when I’m out there is that I need to deliver pumpkins or get her supplies and come back. I neverchooseto go.”

“And yet you can stop to fondle someone?” Tip’s voice came out high-pitched. “Every time?”

Jack smirked again, his freckles glinting under the afternoon light as he took a step back. “Oh, I see now.”

“What do you see?”

“You’re jealous.”

“No, I’m not.” Tip’s cheeks heated. He’d overreacted and had given himself away.With each passing day, it had grown harder and harder to keep his feelings for Jack hidden.

Jack sighed and shifted closer, angling his face near Tip’s. “When I’m out there, and my mind isn’t clear, I search for dark hair and eyes as blue as the sky. No one’s eyes are as bright as yours, Tip. No one’s. I don’t know why I’m looking for this fae, when I should only be running Mombi’s errands.” He paused, his hazel gaze latching on to Tip’s. “All right, the first part was a lie, I know why. It’s not them I kiss. It’s you. It’salwaysyou. But I’m not good enough for you.”

Jack turned away and started walking back toward his hut, leaving Tip with more questions than answers.

“You can’t do that.” He jogged up to Jack, grabbed his upper arm, and spun him around. Jack was at least a head taller than him as he peered up. Tip’s chest heaved and his hands shakily clasped both Jack’s cheeks, bringing him closer, their lips merely a hairsbreadth from touching one another’s. It wasn’t outspoken Jack who made the move first. It was Tip,innocentand shy Tip.

He pressed his lips to Jack’s, more hard than gentle. Desperate. Hungry. Ravenous as his mouth moved over Jack’s. Tip had known he loved Jack as soon as Mombi had first brought the orange-haired fae home when he and Jack were both younglings. There had never been anything brotherly in their relationship. Only a strong friendship, a bond, and whatever this was.

Together their lips caressed, together their tongues danced. When Tip pulled back, Jack’s eyes were glazed and looked to be full of stars, just as his own had to be.

“All the times I’ve dreamt of that kiss, it was nothing like this,” Jack rasped.

“Me either. This was much better.”

Tip smiled at the memory and finished the second pumpkin. He took the fruit into his arms and walked them across the field to Mombi’s hut.

As he entered her home, the scent of spices hit his nostrils, along with several rotten things. Possibly a dead faerie she’d let decay for days. Who knew what else she kept behind the protected barrier of her bedroom—no one could get through the door but her.

The strong smells signaled that it was another potion for the Wizard to pass off as his own creation. Mombi came scowling out of her room after Tip closed the door. Her gray hair was pulled into a bun, and deep lines were etched in her face, more so around her lips and eyes. The sort of magic she continued to use was draining her of life, arching her spine, hunching her shoulders. One day, Tip knew the dark magic would kill her. And he and Jack both eagerly awaited that day.

“It took you this long to clean two pumpkins?” Mombi ripped the fruit from his hands and smacked him hard across the cheek. His head swung to the side. The slap burned, but he was used to it.

The best thing to do was stay silent. He started to turn but Mombi grabbed his shoulder to halt him. “You didn’t answer my question.” Her dim blue eyes bored into him as she leaned closer and inhaled.

Tip held his breath, his heart beating wildly in his chest. His bath. He hadn’t bathed before coming here.Damn it.

Mombi took a step back and slammed her hand against his cheek, harder than before, the sound reverberating through the entire hut. “You’ve been fucking the slave!” she shouted and moved back, swiping a clay jar off the table. It crashed to the floor and shattered.

Tip took a deep swallow and shook his head. “No, I haven’t.”

“You’re lying. Ismellhim all over you.”

“No.” She would be able to hear his lie again, but he tried to keep his voice even. “I’m not lying.”

---