Wicked Magic Read Free

family. The only real family he had ever known. He respected them, relied on them in battle, and had confidence they would watch his back. No matter his rivalry against his brother, Keir trusted Hawk in war.
    Outside of war and training, Keir tended to keep to his own, but not when these warriors needed him to be the glue in their camaraderie and in battle. They were young and required the spirit of teamwork in every way.
    After a fine meal of fresh cornbread drizzled with honey, roasted chicken, spinach, potatoes, and bread pudding, Keir made his way to his cabin in the woods outside the village.
    Rather than living in the barracks with many of the D’Danann warriors, or in a treetop home, and certainly unlike members of the court who resided in their great mansions, Keir had long ago chosen a simple cabin in the woods. It was
difficult to be away from all the other D’Danann, but he chose to ignore the Dryads, Pixies, Faeries, and any other beings that might be nearby.
    Sometimes that was not so easy to do.
    Tonight, though, he thanked the gods the Pixies were not up to mischief around his home, decorating it with flowers or some odd nonsense. Not one of the mischievous Fae had dared to enter his sanctuary, but they had no compunctions about the area around his cabin.
    Wood scraped wood as he opened the door and then slammed it shut behind him. The three-room cabin was large and airy. He didn’t require much … just an open-beamed great room, a bedroom, a place to take a piss and a bath. All the furnishings were large, comfortable, and made for a man.
    He strode to his bedroom and grabbed his haversack, intending to pack some of his own supplies. The last time he was in the San Francisco Otherworld, he had been forced to use the perfumed soaps and shampoos of the witches.
    The moment he opened his pack, a tiny Faerie poked her head out.
    â€œGodsdamnit, Galia.” Keir scowled and opened his pack wider, releasing her lilac scent.
    The blond Faerie rose out of his haversack with a mischievous expression on her perfect face. Pink Faerie dust sparkled in the air from her wings. She was no longer than his hand from the tip of his middle finger to his wrist, and her long blond hair reached past her knees, covering both her naked ass and her bare breasts. “What in the Underworlds are you doing here?”
    She fluttered up to his eye level and grinned. “I thought I would come for a visit.”
    Keir turned away and stomped to his bath chamber. “Out of my home.”
    Her laugh was like tiny bells. She darted ahead of him and landed on a cake of soap. It slipped and she giggled as she skated on the soap the length of the wooden shelf. She wove in and out of his bath items, barely missing his body gel and shaving gear, but knocking off the brush he used for
his teeth. When she reached the end of the shelf she placed her palm out and threw up a shield to keep herself from sailing off and onto the floor.
    â€œGalia!” He jabbed his finger in the direction of the doorway. “Out!”
    After coming to an abrupt stop, the Faerie hopped off the cake of soap. “Are you going back to that Otherworld? The one called San Francisco?”
    â€œIn the morning.” Keir grabbed the brush from the floor and jammed it and the other bath items into his bag. “Now, leave.”
    She fluttered after him as he packed extra clothing and weapons. Pink Faerie dust glittered wherever she flew, and she darted just about everywhere, exploring his cabin despite his orders for her to leave.
    When he finished shoving items into his haversack, he tossed the bag by the front door. He yanked the door open and pointed out into the growing darkness. “Back to your Sidhe. Now.”
    Galia fluttered up to his face and startled him as she kissed his cheek with a feather-light touch before using her delicate wings to back away. “Such the big, bad warrior. You need to have a little