Riley
I dig my fingers into the dirt when we are on land. "Thank the gods we are no longer soaring over the ocean!"
William chuckles. He lies on his back next to me, entirely breathless with his bright eyes facing the sky. The winds are powerful; William laughs when his body is lifted off the ground.
"A little help?" William pleads. "Help your tiny mate!"
I reach out my hand, and William grabs my fingers one second before he is blown away. It makes worry settle like a bird inside my chest. William is so defenseless. I cup my hands around him, bringing him to my chest.
"This is so weird," I mumble. "I'm half-freaked out all the time because you're so small."
"How do you imagine I feel?" William peers up at me with an expression that speaks of his inner struggle. He looks ashamed. "I'm an alpha, and now I'm the size of a doll. My pack wouldn't follow me—they would laugh their asses off if I tried to lead them!"
I giggle, touching his cheek with the tip of my finger. He winces at the touch, causing me to bite back a laugh.
William might hate his current state, but I find him sweet.
I whisper. "At least you're cute."
William glares up at me. "That doesn't make me feel better. It's not like my pack will decide to follow me because my eyelashes are suddenly longer, and I have glittery wings!"
"Come on!" I peer down at him, trying not to laugh at the grim expression William is giving me. He is adorable. "It's not that bad—you can fly now!"
William rolls his eyes, and his tone turns sarcastic. "Woohoo..."
I crack up and shake my head. "You're killing me! I don't think you being a fairy is the end of the world—you still have your scary magic. It means your pack members would still respect you."
William doesn't answer me. Instead, he stares up toward the skies when we pass mushrooms as large as trees. They are glowing in different colors, and there are fireflies everywhere.
"This place is so weird," William points ahead. "Look, there are flowers that resemble lampposts from our world!"
My eyebrows fly up when I realize William is right, and I gasp when they move forward like living things.
They jump across the path we are following, pausing briefly to stare at us. Goosebumps prickle over my skin, but luckily, the living lampposts don't attack us.
"We have to get home quickly," William whispers. "This place is so strange already, and everything is so freaking huge! It's like Alice in wonderland but on cracks—look at that, there are flying book birds!"
I lift my nose and blink at the enormous books flying above our heads. They make me seem small, causing me to shudder.
I wet my parched lips. "If those books are that huge, I don't want to know what other creatures live in this world."
"There are probably a lot of dangerous creatures—fairies being one of them since they eat humans. You will have to be careful not to get sniffed out by them. Real fairies know how to size-shift, and they will use it against you, grow large enough to make you their dinner."
I peer down at William. "Have you tried to size-shift?"
"Yes," William meets my eyes, grimacing. "But I suspect I need to gather more energy for it to work... That or I'm just not naturally gifted. Perhaps my mixed blood has made me a failure?"
"I doubt that is the case. All you need is the right motivation—"
A shrilling shriek leaves my lips when I'm snatched up from the ground by something that grabs my leg. Blood rushes up to my face as I dangle upside down, and William slips away from my arms.
"William!" I shout, managing to grab him. Instant relief washes over me, and my lips curl into a smile. "Got you."
"Is this a human?"
I freeze when the creature holding me lifts me higher up. Soon I'm dangling in front of two curious eyes and a face larger-than-life. It makes me scream—William is wailing too.
"A fairy!" William exclaims. "Shit, this is bad!"
The new face blinks in confusion at William. "Another fairy? Well, whatever, man, this human is mine! You can't have her—I haven't eaten human meat in months!"
"Don't eat me!" I shriek. "I'm too young to die!"
My words make the fairy laugh evilly at me. "But humans are so tasty! I'm dying to throw you into my mouth!"
I absorb my captor.
The fairy is a male with red eyes and freckles spread over an enormous, round face. Red hair covers the man's scalp, and its lips form a cruel smile with sharp canine teeth taking up most of my vision.
"I don't understand why another fairy would make friends with a human, though," the fairy narrows its eyes at William. "Were you saving her for a late-night snack or something?"
William grimaces. "The human is a friend of mine, and listen: we are both fairies, right? Can't you just let us go?"
"I think not—your hair is black, and your skin is pale, and I'm not interested in making friends with a dark fairy. Fire and darkness don't get along. So no offense, but you're not on my friend's list."
"I'm not your enemy!" William exclaims. "We just want to pass this part of the forest. Won't you release us?"
"You're asking me?" The fire laughs and curls his fingers tighter against me. It makes me cry out in pain; I think I break a few ribs. "Since you sound that desperate, you can't be very powerful. Could it be that you can't use all your abilities yet? Hah. Then this will be an easy dinner then!"
The fairy tightens his hold on me, and I scream in pain.
"Stop that; it hurts!" I'm pressing my shoulder upwards in an attempt to flee from his hand. But my movements stop when the giant fingers around me tighten their grip even more. "You're going to kill me!"
"That's the plan!" The fairy laughs darkly. "You're my dinner!"
I scream and press William to my chest when the giant fairy throws me into his mouth. I'm immediately soaked by saliva, slammed into his hard palate until all air leaves my lungs.
Shockingly, the giant fairy doesn't immediately bite me—this gives me time to crawl forward to pinch his tongue.
"GAAAAH!"
The fairy coughs me out, and as I'm falling to the ground, I make eye contact with William. He is laughing.
"You're insane, Riley!" His lips are twitching, shaking from the laughter he is hopelessly trying to contain. "You pinched his tongue! Brilliant!"
"Yes, but now isn't the time to celebrate! I'm going to shape-shift!"
William flies out of my arms, and I change into a wolf while falling endlessly from the sky. But before I get the chance to land, the fire fairy grabs me by the scruff.
My legs dangle in the air, and I growl and snap at the giant fairy. I don't intend to die without a fight, even though I'm the size of a chihuahua to this big fairy.
The fire fairy laughs darkly, moving me so that I'm forced to peer into his wicked eyes. "Any last words before I snap your neck?"