Page 31 of The Fae Menagerie
He laughed. "You were right the first time. It still tingles, but I can't see the mark."
"How long would it take you to heal from a wasp sting in your realm?"
"I've never been stung by a wasp." He flipped his damp hair back from his forehead. "I was stung by a bumblebee once. It took a few days?"
"Close enough. This is unusual healing for both our realms."
Perhaps Mother was right, and the luck coin was closer than I thought. Still, I'd covered nearly every inch of my enclosure, both killing and picking up dead wasps. Surely, if there was a glittering gold coin in my midst, I would have found it.
I sighed. "I can't explain it, but I'm glad you're all right."
His cheeks pinked, and he nodded. "So am I. Thank you."
"For what?"
"You killed all those wasps." He grabbed my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "The living room was a disaster, and I can only imagine the mess in the other rooms. I appreciate the effort."
I scoffed. "If I'd known you would heal so quickly, I might have let you fend for yourself."
He took my hand and pulled me toward my bedroom door. "Shower, and then you can tell me how you came to possess the holy pickleball paddle of wasp killing."
"Well, when you say it like that …"
It took longer than expected to wipe the bug guts from my limbs. The warm water made me drowsy, and then I had to fight to stay on my feet. I turned the tap to cold, which only made it worse when I started shivering.
Finally, I climbed into bed beside an already snoring Parker. The story of my makeshift wasp killing paddle would have to wait for another day.
Chapter
Eleven
PARKER
I woke to the bell.Doyle yipped as its sound reverberated through his bedroom. I'd never heard it so loud and ominous before.
I still felt like utter shit after dealing with the wasp sting, but I was lucky to be alive. Doyle and Chani had helped me sweat out the wasp venom. I felt sticky with sweat and needed another shower, but there was no time, not if we'd missed breakfast and the bell chimed for viewing hours.
"Fuck." Doyle sat up, his back unnaturally straight and his wings out at full attention. "We must have missed the first bell."
He moved as though on an invisible leash. He tugged hard against it to reach his garment before the force pulled him from the room.
The viewing magic didn't impact me the same way. Once I sat on the viewing couch, I couldn't leave the room, but it couldn't hold me until I sat down. I intended to postpone as long as I could.
I hurried into my clothes, ran a comb through my hair, and grabbed the prepared tea service from our missed breakfast. Mother Thera had delivered another box of pastries overnight. The food delivery turned off the magic that tried to force theroutine meals down Doyle's throat. I used tongs to add the tarts to the tea tray, not trusting anything after last night.
I carried it to Doyle in the viewing room and poured him a cup of tea. He watched carefully as I plucked a berry tart from the tray. When he shook his head, I added it to a plate for myself and plated another for him.
He hovered on the edge of the couch with his wings inches from the back, but he relaxed a little after his first bite of food. "Thank you."
"Everything all right?"
He nodded toward the bench, where his mother once again sat watching us. She waved and returned her gaze to her book. "She was worried about you."
She hardly looked worried.
"Before you arrived, she did not look pleased," Doyle whispered. "She sent a messenger off somewhere. Chani also said to expect Aidan today."
"Is he responsible for the wasps?"
