Page 94 of Wedding the Werepanther

“I look forward to being admired,”Victoria adds, the mood of the house lifting.

Crisis averted, I get back to work, putting the finishing touches on the big-boss battle of the final quest of my new game.

By the time Shadow gets home that evening, I’m almost done with my detailed outline and shut down my computer with a satisfied feeling of accomplishment.

Dewdrop launches from my lap and flies to meet Shadow in the entryway, throwing his little body into the werepanther’s arms. “Kayla says we’re getting pizza so I can play with the pixies!”

Shadow cradles the dragonet and grins down at him. “That sounds perfect.”

“And the pixies get to meetme,”Victoria writes.

“I’m sure they’ll love that.” His green eyes meet mine, glittering with amusement.

When I call to place the order, I ask Blue about the visit to see if she can arrange for the delivery pixies to spend the extra time. “Of course! We have the biggest flock in all of Faerie.”

After hanging up, I glance at Shadow. “Exactly how many pixies are there at Slice of Life, anyway?”

“Before they left Moon Blade Village to come to Earth, there must have been over a hundred in Blue’s flock. As soon as theyheard about pizza, they gathered from all over Alarria.” He grins. “They call Earth ‘Pizza World.’”

A startled laugh bursts from me. “I knew they were obsessed with pizza but not that they called Earth Pizza World.”

“That was all Naomi’s doing. She’s probably the reason Ferndale Falls has Slice of Life.”

“Thank god for Naomi.”

He nods.

While we wait, Shadow asks about trying an RPG game again, and I pickThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimas a good intro for a newb. I’ve got a leveled-up character I usually play, but I create a new one to be on the same starter level as him, choosing to play a magic-wielding High Elf. Shadow chooses to be a Khajiit warrior, because of course he does. The feline character looks like a sand-colored version of his werepanther form, upright, fur-covered, and armed with wicked claws.

Before we can get much further, the sound of the front door opening makes me hit pause.

Dewdrop beats us into the entryway, chirping happy hellos to the group of a dozen pixies.

They drop the pizza boxes onto Shadow’s outstretched hands with a loud cry of, “Pizza!”

Blue breaks away from the others to hover in front of my face. “We’ve come to meet the magical house.”

“Her name’s Victoria, and she communicates using magical parchments.” I point to the one hanging in the entryway. “Victoria, these are some of the pixies that own the pizzeria in town. Blue is their leader.”

“Hello,”Victoria writes.“I’m happy to meet you.”

“We’ve never been in a house before.” The pixie leader flies closer to the parchment. “Only our apartment above Slice of Life.”

“Then you’re going to love Victoria,” Shadow says. “She’s an amazing house.”

Pleasure saturates the air, and the lights brighten.

“Come and see my cat tree!” Dewdrop chirps and leads them into the living room.

“This is perfect! It’s like the blue birches we nested in when we lived in Faerie,” Blue cries out from within the leafy bower where Dewdrop sleeps.

“Shadow made it for me.”

“Will you make indoor trees for us?” She flies up to Shadow. “Name your price.”

“I’ll get back to you once I find out how much Jace wants for the crystals that make them sprout magical leaves.”

We settle on the couch while Dewdrop takes the pixies on a tour of the house, with Victoria using each room’s magical parchment to answer their questions.