Fairy Tale: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Lillim Callina Chronicles Book 3) Read Free

Callina. I wasn’t going to back down now, even though the idea of lodging a personal complaint against fairies for not doing my laundry was patently ridiculous.
    “I hope you brought some sunscreen,” I declared with a smirk. “Because it’s about to get hot in here.”
    “That’s okay,” Kishi said with a grin. “If it gets too hot, I’ll just take off all my clothes.”
    I stepped across the border, trying to dismiss the idea from my mind. All I needed was someone retelling our adventure with Kishi in all of her naked glory. Color filled my cheeks, and I turned toward her to say something when the heat of the place hit me like a punch in the stomach. My breath whooshed out of me, and I was pretty sure someone wrapped me in one of those warm towels you find in steam rooms.
    “Maybe… that wouldn’t be such a bad idea,” I squawked through the choking dryness of my lips. I wasn’t quite sure how, but it felt like someone stuffed my mouth with cotton. “I’m pretty sure I read something about that somewhere…”
    Beside me Kishi was on her knees. Horror flashed through her eyes as she glanced from me to the hem of her sweatshirt. Then, in one quick movement, she tore it off. There was a dull throbbing in the air, like the buzz of an insect that died away as her clothing his the sand.
    “Well,” she hissed, kicking off her shoes, “I certainly feel much better.”
    “I don’t think it would be unreasonable to suggest that we maybe leave this part out of our report at the end,” I muttered a few minutes later.
    “Why? The whole purpose of those reports is to better prepare future Dioscuri for the perils they might face. We aren’t supposed to leave anything out.” She wore a look of resolution on her face that threw me for a loop. Especially since it was coming from a girl who, for all practical purposes, was walking through a desert in her bra and panties.
    “Because I don’t really want to write about how we stripped down to our underwear so that the sweltering heat of the Summer Court didn’t kill us.” I was already embarrassed at the thought of how this might look. Or, even worse, how some pervy clerk might imagine it.
    “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about your granny panties.” She raised an eyebrow, and I barely resisted the urge to throttle her. I mean not all of us could be clad in black lace undergarments that really brought out the whiteness of our skin.
    No, it was absolutely perfect that Kishi was wearing the prettiest things I’ve ever seen, and they made her look absolutely radiant, while I was walking along in granny panties and a bra so old that it was actually fraying at the edges. This was exactly what I hoped for deep down.
    “Besides,” Kishi continued, “the moment I took off my clothes I felt worlds better. I bet it has to do with some magical enchantment.” She winked at me, and I turned away uncomfortably.
    The ease with which Kishi sauntered through the blazing desert in her near-nakedness shocked me. I, on the other hand, was not thrilled and could barely keep my mind on what we were doing. Every sound made me reach to cover myself so that someone wouldn’t see.
    Which was ridiculous. Anyone looking at us would instantly tune me out and focus on Kishi. Vibrant tattoos ran up the length of her body depicting fantastic battles with dragons and monsters so masterfully that they could have been displayed on the walls of a museum. It accented her skin in such a way that she damn near bristled with beauty.
    I, however, felt sticky and grimy, and was pretty sure I already had sand in places I’d rather sand not be. Still, I did feel better not wearing clothes in that I could breathe without gasping.
    We had shoved all of our belongings into my spirit pouch. Well, almost everything. I was still wearing the twin blades of Shirajirashii slung low on my hips. Part of me was embarrassed because I felt like some kind of anime girl dressed up for fan service, while the