Page 31 of Wishing for a Werewolf
“In his library?” Severin asks. When I nod, he snorts. “Good luck hearing from him anytime soon. That place is a maze.”
The second we step onto the grass, the tulips come racing toward us, their little root feet a blur. They surround Severin,their leaves stretching toward him like toddlers begging to be picked up. He crouches down, reaching out to run his fingers gently over their flower heads. “Let’s see how you’re all doing today.”
I fight down a grin. Watching him with the tulips, you’d never know he spent most of his life as a warrior king in the service of the Dark God. Shadow fae, like their elf ancestors, can do a wide range of magics, but they always have an affinity for one type. For Severin, it’s plant magic, and the rich green growth of Earth lets him enjoy it for the first time.
“Not too bad. I can tell you actually slept last night. Keep it up.” He stands.
A chipmunk darts out from under a bush to cross the grass, and the tulips race over to give chase. I wonder if they look like a group of cats to the small animal, because that’s what the protection spell makes the flowers look like for non-magical humans.
Severin’s lips thin as he watches them go.
“You’re worried about them,” I say.
“I’ve kept things as warm as possible around Ferndale Falls, but even I can’t halt the march of seasons indefinitely. Winter is coming.” He gestures toward where the tulips surround a tree, the chipmunk clinging to the trunk several feet up, chittering at them in complaint. “They’re imbued with magic, but I’m not sure it’s enough to survive the cold of winter.”
“Don’t humans build special buildings for that?”
“Greenhouses.” He nods. “I’ve constructed one at the palace. If need be, I’ll take the tulips there. Yet I know they’ll miss being here in town in the center of everything.”
“This is their home.”
A note of longing must slip into my voice, because the sharp-eyed shadow fae turns his head to look at me. “It’s yours, too.”
“Maybe.”
“It is.” He claps me on the back. “And I’ll prove it. Once Autumn gets here, we can set up her security business, and she seems determined to hire you.”
I scowl, having forgotten the limitations of the wish swap. “I don’t have a way to get ahold of her.”
“I do.” He pulls out one of the human phones and pecks at the screen, scowling the whole while.
A flicker of motion in front of the library captures my attention. Autumn steps out of the door, looking beautiful in a deep-red dress decorated with golden leaves, as if she just walked out of a fall forest. She shrugs on a denim jacket as she hurries over to us. “Rune! Is everything alright?”
“Better than all right.” I gesture to Severin. “If you have a moment, we can complete one of the wishes.”
She breaks into a smile. “Let’s go.”
We cross through the town green and head down Main Street. “Most of the buildings downtown have apartments on their second floors,” Severin says. “But not the flower shop. Since it’s narrower, there wasn’t enough space for a bedroom, so the single room has been turned into an office.”
The siding of Oopsy Daisy glows the fresh green of spring growth, the trim the warm yellow of buttercups. Flowers and lush plants fill the windows, and Autumn waves at the wood nymph tending to them. She waves back, her long willowy arm as graceful as a tree branch swayed by agentle breeze.
The upstairs office has bright white walls and a dark wood floor and desk. It’s simple, with one closet, a kitchen nook, and a small bathroom, but it’s not as if I need anything elaborate. I don’t plan to spend much time inside.
Severin already has paperwork waiting. It’s in English so that it can be registered in the human data systems, making my life here on Earth more official. The fae king works a translation spell so I can check everything over.
I grunt. “It says I’ll be working for you, not the town.”
“You and Autumn, you mean.” He frowns.
“Yep, and me!” she chirps, her tone falsely bright.
“The humans already have a person meant to uphold their laws. A police officer.” Severin flicks his fingers in dismissal. “The person in the position isn’t magical. They won’t be able to see the real threat of any fae who gives them trouble, let alone counter it safely.”
I keep reading. “This gives me a fair bit of autonomy in how I deal with things.”
“Long have the cu sith been the most loyal guards of Faerie. Also, Varyn checked all of your credentials before I hired you to protect Hannah that time. I know you’ve acted as pack protector for several years. And Autumn trusts you. That’s good enough for me.”
“Town Protector.” I run my finger over the words. “I like that.”
