The sound of the festivities could not drown the squishing sounds of Zira’s feet on the pixie berries. Her stomach growling rose above the laughter and mayhem that surrounded the bonfire below them. The smell of food danced in the air and surrounded Zira to the point she wanted to risk being stabbed by the pixie guards watching them.
“Your feet can’t touch the ground until all the berries have been juiced,” Mims told them earlier.
“I can’t believe they’re making us do this,” Zira pouted while pulling at the ridiculous flower outfit Queen Bloom insisted they wear. “It’s tradition,” Zira said, mocking Mims.
Zira didn’t remember anyone wearing something as ridiculous as this when she was here last time. Though at the time she was tripping off the mushroom tea Percy convinced her to drink.
“Hey, I’m in the same position here,” Clary stated, clearly upset about the whole situation. “I don’t understand why it’s just us and not the others. Ugh! This stuff is disgusting, and I think it’s starting to stain my feet.”
Clary lifted her foot and Zira could see the dark blue stain reaching up to her ankles. This was not an ideal situation for either of them. Not only was she hungry, but Arias kept moving from her field of vision. The moment they walked through the portal, the Queen had them locked in a room until attendants came in with these outfits. She remembered the conversation vividly.
‘It’s all part of the process,” Mims said for Queen Bloom as Zira looked at the outfit. “We take our tree planting process seriously. Maybe next time you will think twice before burning them.”
“It wasn’t my fault.”
Zira’s words fell on deaf ears as Queen Bloom and her assistant floated away. So now here they were, turning the same dark blue color of the liquid they were standing in. The only good side, if any, was the view. The Pixie Lands were always so beautiful, like an overly saturated dream. The capital was the craziest part of all. Surrounded by many oversized, exotic flowers and other vegetation. The small pixie houses were built into trees, which made it look as if the trees had eyes. Lights seem to be floating around like lightning bugs, creating an atmospheric feel to everything. Now Zira knew why Trixie was so colorful.
“I will kill for just one piece of meat,” Clary said, looking over the edge of the tub they were in. “Maybe I can shock them until someone brings me something.”
“Wait,” Zira yelled as she watched the sparks flying from Clary’s fingers. “We are in liquid. I don’t know about your powers, but I’m pretty sure you could electrify us.”
Clary thought about it before lowering her hand. “True. Maybe a drink would be nice,” she said, cupping the blue liquid in her hands.
Against her better judgment, Zira stopped her. “Unless you want to spend the next two hours touching and rubbing against everything in sight, I wouldn’t drink that.”
With an exacerbated sigh, Clary went back to watching the others have a great time. Ezekiel's laughter could be heard from across the way. His eyes were filled with delight as he moved from flower to flower. Studying and touching them. Behind him were small pixie women, ogling and giggling at his interest. Maybe they didn’t realize he was more interested in the plants than them.
“I might have to give in to being a little tased if any one of those pixies touches him,” Clary growled. Her eyes flicked to the blue-white shimmering irises.
“Pixies are known for their hyper sex drive. They mean no harm.”
“Well, I do,” Clary said.
As if to feel their eyes, Ezekeil met Clary’s gaze. Zira wasn’t sure what she said to him, but his smile was a little less bright. He gave a slight nod and went back to sit near Malachi. If she wasn’t in the situation she was in right now, Zira would ask Clary for her secret to get her men to act the way they do. Alas, she would rather focus on trying to get away. Clary noticed Zira looking at her.
“It keeps them safe,” she said as if she heard Zira’s thoughts.
“From who? You?”
Clary just smiled at Zira’s reply. “You know our lives have similarities.”
Zira scoffed. “I doubt that. I don’t go around kidnapping kids and their mothers for a stupid plan that might get all of us killed.”
“Well, maybe not similar in that way, but I'd loved before Mal and Eke came into my life. They actually saved me,” Clary said with a smile. “When we were kicked out of our pack, Lana started her own. We were small but it was a nice chunk of us. She would go with a few warriors in search of others like us and invite them to stay if they wanted. My first love was one of them. It was…it was the happiest year of my life. For the first time in a long time, I felt okay being who I am. Of course, happiness always ends.
We were attacked at night when Lana was away, speaking with the Alpha King about the recent attacks on our pack. I thought it was okay they might kidnap us and Lana would surely save us, but no. They were killing us. We weren’t really trained to battle but some of us fought back. Others were too scared. My Edgar, he…he was helping the younger kids get away when he was captured. He probably would still be alive if I didn’t show up. I thought I was saving him, but in the end, I was just a distraction. They tore him up right in front of me.”
Clary stared off into the distance. Her eyes clouded as if she was talking to her wolf. She shook her head before returning to the task at hand. “Anyway, Lana showed up in time to save everyone, along with Malachi and Ezekiel. I started to think maybe this was fate. Making me lose one love only to gain two more.”
After a few moments of silence, Zira spoke in an almost playful tone. “Yeah,” she said, “I don’t see how our stories are the same.”
Clary laughed and Zira was tempted to join her, but she reminded herself of their predicament. I have to stay focused.
“I thought about why you’re not marked and I figured it might be the same reason for me. The pain of losing one’s mate is indescribable and I refuse to have anyone I loved go through that. So, I haven’t marked Malachi and Ezekiel and I won’t until I know they are safe. We are safe.”
Zira didn’t respond as they kept squishing the berries below their feet. After another hour or so, Zira, Clary, and the gang were relieved of their duty. They were ushered to Queen Bloom’s private tent. The book was lying open on a small table while Queen Bloom hovered around it. She didn’t acknowledge their presence and only floated over to her throne to sit. She waved a hand and Mims instructed them to sit.
“How did she open it,” Clary wondered out loud.
Mims laughed a little. “The Queen created the spell for this book. Niamh and the Queen had a special…relationship.”
Queen Bloom yawned and her eyes turned into little slits, staring at Zira, who fidgeted in her seat. Something was rubbing her the wrong way, but having Arias near was calming. He also brought her some food which melted her heart. Granted, it was only enough for a little kid, but she was glad it was something.
“The Queen is ready,” Mims said, gesturing towards the book. “What do you want to be translated?”
Clary moved to the first page she wanted as Mims looked over the contents. Mims hovered her hands over the book, and they watched as the symbols lifted off the page for a second before falling back on the page. Zira noticed Mim's eyes widening before she left to go near the Queen’s side. The once hateful look turned into a curious one. Queen Bloom floated over to the book to look at it.
“Hmph,” she said before returning to her seat and nodding to Mims.
Mims made her way back to us. “To sum it up, there’s a great power locked away in the Nexus. It is protected by fire breathers. When the two become one, the door will be revealed, here.” Mims pointed to the picture of the fountain.
“That’s it,” Clary asked. “How do we get to the door? Does it say anything about the crystals?”
It was the first time Zira had a good look at the crystal hanging around Clary’s neck. It was similar to the one the man was wearing in the portrait.
Maybe, she wondered, thinking about what Niamh said when she was sitting by the fountain. Everything must end here.
Mims shook her head. “There’s no other page that speaks on this.”
Clary flipped through the book until she saw where a page was torn. She paused before turning to Zira, who closed the book.
“You,” she said to Zira. “You did this, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zira said, moving away from Clary to shelter Arias from her outburst.
“Pretty convenient that the page we need is missing from the book. Where is the other page, Zira?”
“How do you even know that page wasn’t already missing in the first place,” Zira countered. “Doesn’t seem like she wanted people to know what was on it anyway.”
Clary growled at Zira and stepped towards her, feeling the sparks in her fingertips. Then she felt Ezekiel’s hand on her shoulder, but she kept her eyes on Zira. She visibly took a deep breath with her eyes closed and smiled. “You’re right. We can figure this out. You said the Nexus has this power and it’s protected by fire breathers. Dragons, right?”
Mims shrugged her shoulders.
“Fine. Can we get a portal to the Dragon’s lands?”
“We do not associate nor travel to that hot sack of garbage,” Mims spat out. “You will have to go on foot. Through the Dark Forest, just beyond the bonfire.”
Clary sighed. “Of course we do and how would we know which way to go?”
“Walk until you see the mist of their foul breath and smell the gaudy brimstone,” Mims said with a smile.
A muscle jumped in Clary’s jaw as she turned to Malachi and Ezekiel. “We should pack for the journey ahead.” Clary turned and bowed to the Queen, who seemed to be enjoying the little show. “Thank you, Queen Bloom, for all your help. We will take our leave at once.”
“No.” Queen Bloom’s voice echoed through the room as all eyes went to her. Though her eyes were on Zira. Then everyone's eyes were on her as they wondered what she had done this time around.
“Um…what?”
“Of course, you don’t remember,” Queen Bloom said with a hurt tone in her voice.
“What are you talking about?”
Queen Bloom giggled, which was never a good sign. She sat up on her throne with her head propped on her hands. She looked at Mims, who nodded.
“Last time you were here, the Queen gave you and your wolf friend a generous offer of being with her for the night. Instead of graciously accepting, you left and proceeded to burn our trees.”
Silence filled the room as everyone processed the information they were given. Zira looked shocked as she looked at everyone before glaring at the Queen.
“I knew it,” Zira exclaimed. “I knew it wasn’t just about some damn trees.”
“Zira,” Zed warned as he made a motion with his head towards the door. More pixies were entering and flocking around the Queen.
Zira wanted to hold her tongue, but she could feel Nina’s anger and couldn’t help. “First off, I was drugged. So, I don’t remember this so-called request. Second, really? I probably would’ve said no regardless. You’re not my type.”
Queen Bloom shot up from her seat. When she spoke next, her voice sounded strangely detached. “Then I guess I don’t really need to be gracious, do I?”
“Wait,” Zira said. “You made a promise to Trixie.”
“True and I have read your silly page, but I never said anything about your safety.” Queen Bloom smiled as she stared at all of them with a wicked smile. “I bet you wish you had accepted my offer, now.”
Zira and the rest of her group backed towards the exit as the Queen slowly floated back down to her seat. She gave them one last smile before flicking her hand.
“Hunt!”