Free Wicked Wonderland by Lisa Whitefern Page A

had conjured.
    “If your fae powers are weak, your resistance to alcohol will be weakened too,” Nick said with a half frown.
    Kris took one of the baguettes from the plate and used the little silver knife to spread on some caviar.
    Lilly took another sip of champagne. “I remember how much you always loved caviar, Kris.”
    Nick grinned. One of the amazing things about Lilly was that she could always remember the tiniest details about people who interested her, even down to their favorite ice-cream flavor. He loved that.
    “You remembered!” Kris laughed and, with a point of his finger, shot the plate of baguettes back to her side in a wave of golden light.
    “My God, you can conjure up food out of thin air and command a flying sleigh. It’s like you two are all-powerful!” There was a little shudder to her voice.
    Kris shook his head. “Oh, sweetie, sylphs are far from all-powerful, especially rogue half sylphs like us with mortal blood running through our veins. We’re good at conjuring objects. That’s about all, really. And we know different ways to fly when we have to.”
    “Kris is especially good at conjuring up food and drink,” Nick added.
    “Thanks, dear!” Kris smiled at Nick. “Now, as I was saying, please don’t imagine Nick and I are all-powerful. We can’t use magic to defeat other enchanted creatures in battles. And believe me, Nick and I have had to engage in a few violent ones against the dark fae. We’ve chosen to be Warriors of the Light, but we can’t influence water like the Undines, the water fae, can. Or influence fire like the fire fae, and I can’t do scrying to save my life.”
    Nick gave a snort. “If either of us could scry, we would have known you were in trouble and found you years ago, Lilly. Count on it.”
    She started and looked into his eyes with surprise and slight suspicion. He knew she’d heard the darkness in his voice.
    Perhaps now she’ll finally start to understand how much I’ve missed her.
    Kris broke into his thoughts. “We also aren’t much good at healing. We’re okay if an injury isn’t too serious, like when Nick fixed your nose, but if the injury involves something as serious as damage to the human heart, the magical energy needed to complete the healing process can completely drain us, cause us to pass out or get very ill.”
    Nick gritted his teeth at the memory. “I wish you hadn’t brought that up.” Nick noticed the confused look on Lilly’s face and sighed. He’d tell the sad story rather than leave her bewildered, though it made him feel ill to think about Cat. Nick set down the reins and licked his dry lips. Hell! Before he told this story, he needed a drink. The reindeer were flying on autopilot at this point. They knew this part of the route fairly well. It made Nick a little nervous not to guide them, and he mentally sent out a magic summons for their helper, Bockle. But for now, the reindeer would be all right.
    Nick hummed and motioned for the champagne to fly back to him. He poured himself a glass.
    “It’s like this, Lilly.” He stopped and took a large gulp. The liquid was a cool fire trickling down his throat and warming his insides. When he finished drinking, he spoke again. “We had a lady friend once, half sylph and half mortal like us. Not a girlfriend, just a platonic friend we hung out with. Her name was Caterina. She tried to save her mortal boyfriend when he got in a car crash, but the man had damage to a few vital organs, including his heart. The amount of magical energy it took to try to heal him was too much for her. Other sylphs tried to warn Caterina, but she was too in love and wouldn’t listen. Her boyfriend died, despite her attempts to heal him, and she fell into a coma from which she’s never recovered. She’s still languishing in a mortal hospital. It’s been five years now.”
    Lilly’s expression softened. “I’m sorry to hear that. How’s your friend’s family coping?”
    Kris frowned.