Page 77 of The Fae Menagerie
I nodded.
"Weren't they dangerous?"
"Some." I shrugged. Phiste was the most dangerous fae in all the realms, but only because Grandmother refused their mating. "Most were recaptured, though things will be different in the menagerie from now on." Aidan would see to that. His punishment for trying to kill us was another stint as warden. In the fae realm, he would only lose another night's sleep, but in the menagerie … well, he could be there for ages.
"What about Horace?"
"Once Mother learned of his troubles resulting from sharing a wall with me, she petitioned to shorten his sentence. He's home with his children now."
"I'd love to visit them." Parker's joyous smile returned. "You know, for a moment this afternoon, I worried I'd hit my head and made it all up."
"I'm glad you realized your mistake."
I'd spent a night in the menagerie, uncertain what to do. I slept on Mother's park bench. In the morning, she returned to drag me home to the fae realm, where my interior walls had been tucked back into their exterior moorings like I'd never left my cottage on the light palace grounds. The first thing I did was burn the living room and viewing room couches.
"I'm so glad you're here." Parker dropped a garment bag beside me on his bed and pulled me back to my feet. His arms slipped around my waist, and he tipped his chin up for a kiss. "I missed you."
"And I, you." I kissed him again, savoring his soft lips, his gentle moans, and the feel of his chest heaving against mine. I pulled back, licking my lips. "I mean it, you know. I love you."
"I know, you fool." He smacked me on the chest with the palm of his hand. "At first, I thought you had a funny way of showing it, but then I remembered your role models aren't so great."
No, they weren't. "What about yours?" I asked. "Didn't your dad put out a hit on you?"
He laughed. "He wasn't serious." There was a hint of darkness in his gaze. "Not anymore, anyway. I'll sign a new work contract with him to keep him off my back."
I laughed because Parker was now my bonded fated mate. I'd felt the change the moment he'd summoned me. The life bond had taken hold, and I'd felt him grow steadily closer. "Your life is tied to me, now. You'll be much harder to kill."
He lifted the garment bag to his shoulder and offered me his free hand. I loved the relaxed softness in his gaze whenever he looked at me.
When he glanced around the room for items he missed, he tensed again, reminding me of his first days in the menagerie. He had worried something lurked in every corner or behind every bookshelf. I wanted to take him back to my place, to show him how secluded it was with its original log walls and skylights.
The thought was all it took to transport us to the fae realm.
"Oof," Parker said as gravity took hold of us again. He landed hard, bending over from the shock. "You can teleport?"
I pulled him into my arms and took the garment bag from him, balancing it on the nearest chair. "I wanted to bring you home with me so badly, and now we're here."
"I have to be at work tomorrow," he chided.
"You will be." Returning home to the fae realm was never a problem, but now I would need to find the nearest fairy circle to make sure Parker arrived at work on time. Thankfully, I had days to find a solution. "What if I told you tomorrow in the human realm is a week from now in the fae realm?"
"How do you know that?"
"I mourned for days between when Mother brought me here and when you summoned me."
"Mourned." He rolled his eyes, but his fingers gripped my shoulders tighter. "You're so dramatic."
"What would you call it? I certainly couldn't have gone into a big meeting and won the hearts of an app development team the way you did," I teased. "I was heartbroken."
Parker leaned his head against my chest, and I pulled him closer, resting my chin on top of his head. "As soon as I arrived in the basement, I knew I had to find Bret to get the summoning ritual. The rest just … happened. It was so surreal. Like this place. How is this the same furniture from the enclosure?"
"All except the couches. Wait until you see the one in the den," I said. "Mother brought it for me."
"Den?"
We stood near the front entrance, in the living room. I led him to the coziest room in my cottage. The new couch was there, and the wall hangings along the inner walls, but the rest of the furniture, including my desk and ink stand, bordered the outer wall, so they hadn't come with me to the menagerie.
"This is gorgeous," Parker said, running his hand along the back of the brown leather sofa. "You write?"
