pointed out, and Bezel, off to one side of her, nodded sagely.
She hadn’t meant to discuss any of this with her grandFae, but he’d overheard Maggie talking to Bezel and had jumped in with his opinions. Actually, she thought, he seemed to be around a lot and spent most of his time listening in on other conversations. Curious? Or was there another reason for his interest? He didn’t seem worried by the threat of Mab, but then, why should he be? It wasn’t as if he had a target painted onto his back.
“Yes, alive,” Jasic argued, and slid the pixie a dirty look, “but away.”
“For now,” Bezel said, facing the other Fae with his long fingers fisted at his sides. “You don’t know what Maggie went through defeating the bitch.”
Jasic’s eyebrows arched before he gave Maggie a proud smile. “The point is she did beat her.”
“No, the point is she coulda been squashed like a tree beetle.”
“She wasn’t, you irritating creature. And how dare you suggest that I would wish my granddaughter harm.”
“That’s just what you’re doing if you’re telling her not to worry about Mab.”
Bezel was worried—and that made Maggie’s spine twitch. If her resident pixie thought she was in trouble, Maggie was willing to bet he was right. She’d come home from the DMV, and found Bezel the only one there, since Nora was at her place napping and Eileen was at school. The pixie had spent the last couple of hours training Maggie.
He’d had her leaping and crouching and shadow-boxing and spinning all over the backyard like a crazy person. He’d made her practice the focusing ability necessary to blow Faery dust at an opponent so intensely that she was light-headed from all the deep breathing. The next hour, he’d had her work at sketching portals in the air. She was getting better at that, but she really wanted to learn how to shift from one place to another. For that, she’d have to learn from a Faery, but she really didn’t want to ask her grandFae to be her teacher.
Illogical or not, she just couldn’t bring herself to fully trust the grandFae who’d so recently barged into her life. The rest of her family didn’t seem to have a problem with him, though. So why did Maggie? She wasn’t sure. It was just a really vague sense of . . . uncomfortableness around him. Probably not even a word.
Plus, Bezel didn’t like him. Of course, Bezel had something nasty to say about almost everyone. Still, Maggie trusted the pixie more than she did the stranger so intent on invading her life. What did that say? she wondered.
She took another sip of ice water, leaned against the kitchen counter and tuned back in to the battle raging in front of her.
“Besides,” Bezel was saying, his pointy, bewhiskered chin jutting up at the Fae sneering at him, “even though Maggie won that fight with Mab, who’s to say she will again?”
“Oh, thanks very much,” Maggie put in.
Bezel waved one hand at her.“Didn’t say you couldn’t do it, did I?”
“She’s the Queen now,” Jasic argued. “She has warriors to protect her, a palace to retreat to and she certainly shouldn’t be spending time rolling around in the dirt with a pixie, of all things.”
Retreat? He meant hide. She briefly considered it and felt a sudden yearning for a blanket to pull over her head.
“It’s called training, you useless pile of trollshit.”
“Just one minute there—”
“Both of you shut up,” Maggie shouted, and instantly, both of the males currently bothering her turned furious gazes on her . “I really don’t need this crapola right now, okay? I’ve got enough going on in my life without you two going at each other, looking at me to referee.”
“Hey”—Bezel held up both hands—“no biggie to me. Train or don’t train. You want your ass kicked, that’s your problem.”
“You’re a queen now, Maggie,” Jasic explained slowly and quietly as if talking to a not-quite-up-to-specs three-year-old. “There’s no
She hadn’t meant to discuss any of this with her grandFae, but he’d overheard Maggie talking to Bezel and had jumped in with his opinions. Actually, she thought, he seemed to be around a lot and spent most of his time listening in on other conversations. Curious? Or was there another reason for his interest? He didn’t seem worried by the threat of Mab, but then, why should he be? It wasn’t as if he had a target painted onto his back.
“Yes, alive,” Jasic argued, and slid the pixie a dirty look, “but away.”
“For now,” Bezel said, facing the other Fae with his long fingers fisted at his sides. “You don’t know what Maggie went through defeating the bitch.”
Jasic’s eyebrows arched before he gave Maggie a proud smile. “The point is she did beat her.”
“No, the point is she coulda been squashed like a tree beetle.”
“She wasn’t, you irritating creature. And how dare you suggest that I would wish my granddaughter harm.”
“That’s just what you’re doing if you’re telling her not to worry about Mab.”
Bezel was worried—and that made Maggie’s spine twitch. If her resident pixie thought she was in trouble, Maggie was willing to bet he was right. She’d come home from the DMV, and found Bezel the only one there, since Nora was at her place napping and Eileen was at school. The pixie had spent the last couple of hours training Maggie.
He’d had her leaping and crouching and shadow-boxing and spinning all over the backyard like a crazy person. He’d made her practice the focusing ability necessary to blow Faery dust at an opponent so intensely that she was light-headed from all the deep breathing. The next hour, he’d had her work at sketching portals in the air. She was getting better at that, but she really wanted to learn how to shift from one place to another. For that, she’d have to learn from a Faery, but she really didn’t want to ask her grandFae to be her teacher.
Illogical or not, she just couldn’t bring herself to fully trust the grandFae who’d so recently barged into her life. The rest of her family didn’t seem to have a problem with him, though. So why did Maggie? She wasn’t sure. It was just a really vague sense of . . . uncomfortableness around him. Probably not even a word.
Plus, Bezel didn’t like him. Of course, Bezel had something nasty to say about almost everyone. Still, Maggie trusted the pixie more than she did the stranger so intent on invading her life. What did that say? she wondered.
She took another sip of ice water, leaned against the kitchen counter and tuned back in to the battle raging in front of her.
“Besides,” Bezel was saying, his pointy, bewhiskered chin jutting up at the Fae sneering at him, “even though Maggie won that fight with Mab, who’s to say she will again?”
“Oh, thanks very much,” Maggie put in.
Bezel waved one hand at her.“Didn’t say you couldn’t do it, did I?”
“She’s the Queen now,” Jasic argued. “She has warriors to protect her, a palace to retreat to and she certainly shouldn’t be spending time rolling around in the dirt with a pixie, of all things.”
Retreat? He meant hide. She briefly considered it and felt a sudden yearning for a blanket to pull over her head.
“It’s called training, you useless pile of trollshit.”
“Just one minute there—”
“Both of you shut up,” Maggie shouted, and instantly, both of the males currently bothering her turned furious gazes on her . “I really don’t need this crapola right now, okay? I’ve got enough going on in my life without you two going at each other, looking at me to referee.”
“Hey”—Bezel held up both hands—“no biggie to me. Train or don’t train. You want your ass kicked, that’s your problem.”
“You’re a queen now, Maggie,” Jasic explained slowly and quietly as if talking to a not-quite-up-to-specs three-year-old. “There’s no
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