Cassie was the first to break the silence: "I know how this must look and what you must think of me."

Simona kept her eyes fixed on the path ahead. "If Chris is who you want, then I'm happy for you both."

"Thank you. He is what I want . . . what I've always wanted, but. . ."

"He was here, and you were on the other side of the world," Simona added helpfully, this time acknowledging Cassie with a companionable glance.

It wasn't a full pardon, but it was a move in the right direction.

"Yes, and we heard the rumors that Chris had died here. Moving on wasn't a conscious choice, but I let it happen. And before I could figure out who I was, what role I wanted to play, or what I could withstand in Chris's absence, I was engaged to Joe. And the night before it was all to take place, Chris arrived. I was the one who was dead and suddenly, I was alive again."

"I'm glad he made it there in time. I just feel bad about. . ."

"I know. His family. But Simona, there were thousands of them and they had these dragon-like beasts with them. Chris intended to go back for his father and brother, but. . ."

"It would have been a death sentence."

Cassie nodded. "That's what I believe too. And once Chris had a life-threatening injury, we no longer had that tough choice to make."

"I understand. And thanks for telling me all of this even though it's none of my business."

"Oh, but it is your business. You deserve a safe place to raise your family. And who should happen to stumble out of Chris's bedroom? The princess of trouble. An advocate for good, but a magnet for evil."

Simona laughed at that. "I was surprised to see you, but I have to admit, I had fair warning."

"How so?"

"My brother, Bane, actually said something to me. Chris was miserable the night he left for the wedding. I couldn't get a word out of him, though. I asked Bane if he knew why. He didn't have a guess until I mentioned that Joe was marrying you. It was an immediate 'Ooooh, that hurts!'" Simona shrieked, imitating what must have been Bane's voice and facial expression.

Having never met Bane, Cassie couldn't be sure of its exactness, but it was quite comical, and she found herself giggling away some of her angst. "It sounds like Bane is quite a character. Chris speaks very highly of him."

Simona and Cassie soon came to a fork in the path. Simona took the curve around a tree root. They had a canopy of leaves and tropical flowers overhead. Gradually the path became more open above them.

Cassie closed her eyes and let her body absorb the sun's heat. It was the warmest she had ever felt. The village was unmistakably tropical as well. It seemed like a natural occurrence, like something that sprouted from the earth. Every hut, porch, wagon, even the outdoor furniture and children's playthings were all made with resources scavenged from their surroundings.

"This is Ilima," Simona said with her hands in an open gesture. "And that is where I live." She pointed at her hut, a ways down and on the right. "With my husband, Jonny, his parents, and my children. Funny, but soon after I found out about my fairy heritage, Jonny's family broke the news that they're Modifiers. So we're a mixed clan of winged and wingless, just like your household will be. Kale lives a few huts past mine. Bane and Jasmine live there with him and his wife, Eva, and her sister, Lily."

As Cassie and Simona walked closer to the heart of Ilima, a number of male voices were becoming more of a challenge to speak over. Across from Simona's hut, there were torches surrounding stools and outdoor tables. The establishment looked more proprietary than residential, and there were a number of young warriors indulging in various vices—cards, dice, ale, the smoking of weeds.

"That's 'The Corner,'" Simona announced, and the words, Ke Huina came to Cassie's mind before she saw the plaque hanging from the door.

At their approach, Cassie wasn't surprised to acquire all eyes. She couldn't escape it—her past, her appearance, her legacy and heritage. But she wasn't prepared for the muffled laughter and the shifting glances, a secret male language that even she couldn't understand. At one table, money exchanged hands. Apparently, the possibility of her pairing with Chris was common enough knowledge to be the subject a wager.

"And the view just keeps getting better!" said a shirtless warrior at the near top of his lungs. He had exquisitely handsome eyes that could have been perceived as sensitive had his devilish smile not given him away. He flew from his seat and landed in front of them, too close for comfort. "Aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend, Simona? This must be the Princess of Pyxis we've all heard so much about."

He placed his hands on his hips and made for a striking display of masculinity, if a fem-fairy was impressed by that sort of thing alone (which Cassie was not). And he winked at Cassie as if he believed he had a valid chance to woo her away from her reason for living.

Cassie knew someone else who used to wink at her. Joe. Even in air as warm as bathwater, the thought gave her a chill.

Simona sighed audibly and plastered on a sardonic smile. "Cassie, this is Mano. He's got no shame and no fear. And with you, that's a death wish. He should know better. Have you seen Noa?" she asked him.

"Kitchen, I think. I'll get him."

Mano left and returned, not more than a minute later, with a winged fairy in a stained apron—slightly shorter, stockier, probably stronger, and perhaps the less handsome of the two. According to Simona's reaction, favorable this time, "Noa" was the one to take more seriously.

"Aloha. I'm the one and only Noa Kendri. Welcome to Ke Huina." He continued his introduction, his voice smooth and professional, and he said something along the lines of what she'd expect from the son of the owner. "We hope to see you back here soon . . . and often, Princess. First meal is on the house." He smiled at Cassie. At them both. He had a nice smile. It was convincing, almost. Somehow his eyes were less so. They were an intense golden-brown set slightly too far apart. And the way they moved and judged movement, there was something predatory about them.

For a moment, Cassie probed into them. Noa was quick to notice, though, like he had something to hide, and gave her a curious expression. She averted her gaze an instant later, her heart pumping so much fear through her chest that she was worried he could smell it.

There was a penalty for prying where she wasn't welcome—getting caught—and she would not attempt it again. Whether her gut reaction was warranted or not, she was perfectly content keeping a safe distance, regardless.

"Simona!"

Both Simona and Cassie turned toward the voice of a fem-fairy this time. Simona waved. There were two of them. They all converged in front of what was pointed out to be Kale's hut.

"Eva and Lily, this is Cassie. She's a. . ." Simona bit back a smile as she searched for the right word. "Friend of Chris's from Pyxis."

The sisters' sour reaction made Cassie consider more favorably the company of Noa and Mano at Ke Huina. Nonetheless, she put on a slight yet civil smile, like she was used to doing in the face of such criticism, and said, "It's such a pleasure to meet you."

⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Watch this, Dad!" Ryan shouted from the cliff overlooking the lagoon.

Chris was wading knee deep at the edge of the water. He blocked the sun from his eyes when he looked up. "I'm watching!"

Ryan dove off the cliff and used his wings to enhance his aerial acrobatics. After an uncountable number of summersaults and twists at a mind-blurring speed, he slowed his fall to correct his entry position. He entered the water feet first with a high splash.

"Now watch this, Dad!"

Morgan performed a graceful swan dive and entered the water perfectly vertical, barely a splash to be seen.

"Wow," Chris said, genuinely impressed. "You two have been practicing!"

They were "cheating," of course, reversing gravity with their wings when the urge struck. Even so, they were divers of extraordinary skill for their eight years of age. If they led a "normal" life, they could have been dive-team champions. Or something else, whatever athletic feat they put their minds to. Maybe they missed out on the brains of a Wakefield, like Chris had, but they certainly had MacRae-Jokura athleticism.

They both sported wide grins while treading water next to each other.

"Don't you want to swim with us?" Morgan asked her father. The way she peered at him with her head tilted to the side, it must have been strange to her that she even had to ask on such a hot day. He loved the water as much as they did.

"I wish I could, but I have a cut on my back."

Morgan's eyes widened.

"I'm all right," he claimed. "Nothing for you to worry about."

Ryan, perhaps noticing his sister's concern, splashed her. She splashed him back. Then they used their wings—a gleaming sparkly white in the sun when wet—to lift from the water. They flew back to the top of the cliff with wobbly but effective movement and began another round of diving.

Chris was scooping cool water onto his arms and face, and into his hair when he heard a twig snap. Kale stepped into the clearing behind him. His stance said it all—arms crossed, feet planted in place. He was expecting Chris to come to him.

As much as Chris wished he could hold his own ground or better yet, meet him halfway, he trudged out of the water and joined Kale where he stood.

An angry Kale wasn't that unusual. Anger directed at Chris wasn't unheard of either. The scary, irrational kind of anger that was oozing from every one of Kale's pores, however, made Chris believe catastrophe had struck Ilima while he was away and that it was somehow his fault.

"I met your new friends earlier this morning." Kale informed him as soon as Chris was by his side. "You need permission to bring fairies onto our land, you know."

"Yes, I know," Chris replied, forcing a calm tone through his clenched teeth. "But it was late, and we were busy. With the thunderstorms rolling through, I figured it could wait until morning."

"Even if you told me right away, like you should have, it was already too late. What if they're spies? Now they'll always have access to Ilima!"

"They're Cassie's friends. If she trusts them, I trust them. And besides, my father set up this zone. Doesn't that give me some say about who can enter?"

"No, it doesn't! I heard your father's probably dead! If the protection is breached, who's going to correct the problem? You? Did you happen to learn some advanced magic in Pyxis or were you too busy doing other things?"

Chris crossed his arms and squeezed his biceps hard enough to cause himself pain. He stared into lagoon space ahead hoping Kale would just . . . vanish.

With his body prepared for a fight, Chris practically threw an elbow back when he felt a squeeze on his shoulder. But he knew enough to look first, and he was glad for that.

Bane's smile was usually contagious, but under these circumstances, Chris couldn't make himself smile back.

"Is this a bad time?" Bane asked once he caught a whiff of the tension.

"No," Chris said before Kale had a chance to speak, "your brother was just leaving."

Kale gave Chris one last glare and then zipped into the jungle, not likely to return for a good long while. Chris couldn't say he minded.

"Yikes!" Bane said, turning to watch Kale disappear.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

Bane, not one to tolerate bad moods or silence for very long, soon broke both with an enthusiastic, "So?"

With Kale out of the picture, it was like a cloud had lifted. Chris found it in himself to chuckle. It was weak and weary, but it was at least possible to render. "So what?"

"You were up early this morning. Or should I say up really late? Where's this princess no one can stop talking about?" Bane spun around to see if any beautiful brunettes somehow evaded his keen fairy-male radar.

"With Simona." Chris bit back a laugh when he noticed Bane's eye. It was scratched, bruised, and nearly swollen shut. Chris grabbed the side of Bane's head and propped it toward the sun. "What the hell happened to your face?"

"Long story," Bane replied, his tone flatlining.

"I've got time."

"Yeah, well. . ." It must have been some story if he wasn't willing to talk about it. The kid was terrible at keeping his own secrets. "I'd rather hear your story. I want blow by blow details."

Chris knew it was his own fault that Bane was curious. When they were in captivity together, to pass the time and to avoid going insane with boredom, Chris opened up about his past and had fourteen extra years of life experience to share. Bane was a twenty-year-old male who was plucked from the human world and thrown into battle after battle at a time he should have been gaining his own experience. He now wanted specifics that Chris no longer felt were appropriate to share. "Uh . . . no. Not gonna happen."

"Why not?"

"Because. Will you just tell me who kicked the shit out of you already?"

"Fine. So Kale and I attacked the Pyxian with the dark hair this morning."

"You did? Why?" Chris's tone was somewhere between annoyed and outraged.

"We didn't realize he was with you," Bane replied quickly. "Then, out of nowhere, the blonde, all legs and a swing like DiMaggio. . ."

"Carina," Chris filled in. "And you must have attacked Orion, her brother-in-law."

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, this 'Carina' girl took a branch to my eye like she was going for the kill."

The humor and the irony made Chris lose himself to a full-blown laugh. "Wow, that's too bad. I was hoping you two would hit it off, you know, in a good way."

"Well," Bane said dryly with one eyebrow raised. The other eyebrow looked too battered to join in. "That's out of the question."

Bane and Chris turned toward the sound of approaching fem-fairies. Cassie, Simona, Jasmine, and Carina stepped onto the bank, two sisters, two Pyxians who were as close as sisters, and they were smiling and all atwitter. At least the Jokura ladies were gracious and accommodating hosts. As far as Chris could tell, they had resolved the conflict their brothers had so needlessly created.

When Bane saw Cassie, he gave Chris a painful backhanded whack to the chest that left him winded.

"You lucky bastard," Bane hissed without moving his lips.

Chris tried to push Bane into the water for retaliation. But Bane only had to correct his balance with one step back. Chris gave up when his back twitched with pain. It initiated the conversation about what had happened in Pyxis.

Chris explained his confrontation with Crux Chevalier and his brush with death, lifting his shirt to show Bane his back full of bandages.

Bane peeled back the gauze at the top corner, released it with a grimace. His smile was quick to return, though. "Only you, Chris. . ."

Soon Cassie made her way over to Chris's open arm. She gave him a half embrace around his waist. "And you must be Bane. I feel like I know you already."

Cassie removed herself from Chris's arm and stood on her tiptoes to give Bane a hug around his neck.

Bane's eyes widened with surprise. "It's nice to meet you too!" He patted her back tentatively as if she were breakable. Then over Cassie's shoulder, he gave Chris a mischievous grin.

And, all in good fun, Chris mouthed, "Don't even think about it."

At the hug's conclusion, Cassie clasped on to his fingertips. "Bane, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

She let go of Bane's hand to retrieve Carina. When Cassie turned back, she looked around in confusion. Carina, however, looked less surprised and didn't wait long before fluttering back over to Simona and Jasmine.

"Where'd he go?"

Chris cupped her concerned face in his hands. "I'll tell you later," he whispered. She nodded and together, they went to say good-bye to the girls.

And once they left, Chris spotted a dark flash of movement high on a branch of a kukui nut tree. Bane. The poor guy. In battle, he could be as fierce as anyone. He was brave, loyal, and could both lead a crew and follow orders. He was the warrior Chris preferred at his side under any circumstances. But he had his weaknesses. Chris would do what he could to help, but Carina might already be a lost cause. She wasn't likely to avoid fairy-male notice for long. Not in Ilima.

Overall, Chris was satisfied with how everyone was adjusting to each other. Bane was happy for him, Simona seemed more tolerant of the circumstances once she had time to get to know Cassie, and Jasmine seemed ecstatic that there were more fem-fairies around for company. The twins were even playing with Victor and Vela's boys, Lucas and Abner.

There was one last introduction to accomplish before he decided whether the day was a success or a failure.

"All right. Listen up! All fairies shorter than I am need to report to the MacRae hut immediately." They scowled, they protested, they stalled, and snuck in one last turn. They were having so much fun together and it was turning out to be a scorching hot, cloudless afternoon. Still, it was time to start their chores for the day. "Morgan . . . Ryan . . . come here a second."

They landed in front of Chris and Cassie, his arms around her waist, and he made a point not to drop them. As he expected, the twins eyeballed the two of them warily. They hadn't seen him with anyone since their mother and it would take some getting used to.

"This is Cassie. She's going to be staying with us," Chris informed them. "Do you remember her? You met her a long time ago."

Morgan and Ryan looked to each other for confirmation. Morgan nodded while Ryan shrugged.

"She's a princess," Morgan supplied.

"That's right. You do remember," Chris said.

"Are you going to be our mother?" Morgan asked Cassie.

Cassie gazed over her shoulder with a smile, checking to see if Chris wanted to answer that one.

"Don't be silly, Morg," Ryan jumped in. "We have a mother. Simona's our new mom."

"No, Simona is your aunt," Chris corrected.

"Why can't she be our aunt and our mom? Simona can live with us and she—" Ryan pointed at Cassie.

"It doesn't work that way, kiddo."

"Are you going to sleep with her in the same bed?" Morgan's nose crinkled in anticipation of Chris's answer.

"Um. . ." Chris watched Cassie's cheeks go rosy. He could feel his face going a similar shade, but he was sure it looked better on her. "You should let me worry about the sleeping arrangements. Everyone will have a place to sleep. Okay? Any more questions or comments?"

Morgan shook her head.

"Ryan?"

Ryan sighed dramatically. "No, can we go back to the hut now?"

"Sorry. They're a bit blunt," Chris said, once they were out of earshot.

"Don't be. They seem like wonderful children."

"They are. But they're too much like me sometimes." He gave her side a little squeeze. "I hope the rest of your day went well."

"Yes," she expressed tentatively.

"Anything I should know?"

She shrugged. "How well do you know Kale's sister-in-law, Lily?"

"Um . . . not that well?" he said with hesitancy of his own. "Why? Did she say something to you?"

"Well. . ." Cassie started, but then she didn't continue.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me. I'd rather know."

After another weighty pause, she answered: "She said you're old enough to be my father and she didn't take you to be that 'type.'"

Chris tried to swallow that, hoping it would dissipate once it hit his stomach. He didn't want his anger to seem misdirected. Unfortunately, it stayed lodged in his throat. "She had the nerve to say that to you?"

"Not exactly. She said it to her sister in the Hawaiian dialect."

"How dare that . . . that . . . ogre say that at all? It's not even true!"

He wasn't old enough to be Cassie's father, but he couldn't deny the age difference was significant. Ten years. That was quite a gap for present-day, even in the fairy world. And Cassie's stature and innocent glow made her appear even younger than she was.

"Our age difference doesn't bother me," she assured him. "It never has. Did it ever bother you?"

"No," he answered quickly and then he invested some time to think about it. "Well, for about five seconds I was like, 'Get a grip. Have some self-control.' But we all know how well that went over."

"There's nothing wrong with your self-control."

He continued to dwell. "Anyway, I'm going over there. I have to. This can't. . ."

"Please, Chris." When he tried to march off, she grabbed for his forearm. "That's not necessary. I don't want to begin my life here by making enemies. It wasn't meant for me to understand."

"The point is that it was said." They were face to face. He tried to calm himself by looking into her eyes. They were indeed working their magic. He was calm again and knew she was right. He shouldn't go over there in a huff so soon after his tiff with Kale. "So I suppose Hawaiian is one of your thirty-seven human languages? Kale doesn't even know it. He gets annoyed when they speak it around him."

"I learned from one of your father's books the last time I was here. It was a dictionary."

The words sunk in slowly. How is that possible? "And you just . . . memorized it?"

Her eyes darted from side to side, almost as if she misunderstood the question or the awe behind it. "How else would one learn a language?"

"Oh, I don't know. A teacher? Total immersion? Years and years of practice? Do you realize you once told me that you're not a genius?"

"That's not the word I would use. My proficiency is a mere. . ." She struggled to find the right words to deny it.

"Cassie, I couldn't even name you thirty-seven languages," Chris said solemnly.

Back in his school days, he wasn't even good at English!

"And I could never vanquish nine Crown Champions and a Fire Breather. Or get ten fairies across the world without incident. I love you, all of you. You'll give me the best of who you are and I'll do the same. Our strength is in our bond. What's mine is yours."

Well said. . .

She gave him a knee-weakening kiss that renewed his confidence.

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" he said as he surfaced for air. "When those born-and-bred natives are talking about us, you can be our secret weapon."

"You're the only one I've ever told, and I intend to keep it that way."

He snuck his hand back around her waist and they continued their walk to the hut.

Chris and Cassie spent the rest of the day and most of the evening helping the Pyxians construct their permanent shelters. While doing so, Chris watched Cassie as often as he could manage. He was always in awe of her, but even that was evolving. She was so extraordinary, so full of surprises, that he was left to wonder. Are there any limits?

⭐️⭐️⭐️