The distant glow of the World Tree shimmered through the branches beyond the fairy village.
Even from nearly a mile away, its massive trunk dominated the horizon, stretching upward until its branches disappeared into the clouds.
Jax rose from the moss-covered clearing.
He felt considerably better about the raid now.
The rules.
The resets.
The extraction points.
The dangers.
And, perhaps most importantly, the legendary reward supposedly waiting for the first group capable of conquering it.
They still didn't know what that reward was.
But anything capable of changing landscapes or altering the balance of kingdoms was certainly worth investigating.
Jax turned toward Pixelle.
The Fairy Queen remained in her enlarged form, standing approximately five-foot-six. Her golden tulip scepter rested against her side.
He extended his hand politely.
"Thank you, Your Grace."
Pixelle's wings twitched.
"Your knowledge of the World Tree has been incredibly helpful."
Another twitch.
She placed her hand into his.
Jax smiled and, without giving the gesture much thought, lifted her hand and placed a respectful kiss across the back of it.
Pixelle froze.
Completely.
Her wings stopped.
Her face turned pink. Almost matching her hair.
Then red.
Then very red.
Jax straightened.
Pixelle did not release his hand.
She simply stared at him.
And smiled.
Jax waited politely.
Behind him, Nyxian slowly raised an eyebrow.
Nyxian couldn't read minds.
Not exactly.
Ordinary thoughts meant nothing to her.
But thoughts connected to intimacy were different.
Attraction.
Desire.
Romantic affection.
Even something as innocent as imagining a kiss could sometimes reach her.
And whatever Pixelle was currently imagining about Jax...
Nyxian could hear enough of it to become very interested.
Her other eyebrow rose.
Then she smiled.
Pixelle continued holding Jax's hand.
Jax didn't think much of it.
Royal customs differed everywhere he went.
Maybe fairies held hands longer.
Nyxian, however, knew better.
Pixelle eventually noticed her watching.
Their eyes met.
Nyxian's smile widened.
Pixelle stared at her.
Confused.
Then realization slowly appeared on her face.
Succubus.
Her eyes widened.
Nyxian gave her the smallest wink.
Pixelle immediately released Jax's hand.
Jax glanced between them.
"Everything alright, Your Grace?"
Pixelle's wings shot straight outward.
"YES!"
Several nearby fairies jumped.
Pixelle cleared her throat.
"Yes."
She lowered her voice.
"Everything is perfectly fine."
Jax nodded.
"Good."
Nyxian covered her mouth with one hand.
Jax wasn't sure what was funny.
He decided not to ask.
He'd learned that lesson before.
Instead, he looked around at the thousands of fairies still gathered nearby.
"Before we head toward the World Tree, I would like to discuss trade."
That immediately distracted Pixelle.
"Oh!"
Her wings fluttered again.
"We have many things to trade."
"Excellent."
Jax smiled.
Business.
Now this was familiar territory.
Pixelle gestured excitedly toward the village.
"Our people harvest enchanted pollen, fairy nectar, several magical herbs that only grow near concentrations of mana, and different types of flowers that can be used in potions."
Zee immediately became more interested.
"Medicinal?"
"Some."
Pixelle nodded.
"Others can strengthen potions. Some preserve them. A few can alter their effects entirely."
Zee glanced toward Jax.
"We should definitely look into those."
"Already planning on it."
Pixelle grinned.
"And we make cider."
Jax paused.
"Cider?"
"Fairy Cider."
His interest immediately increased.
He enjoyed Pixie Mead. It wasn't simply the flavor. The magical drink created a pleasant sense of happiness in those who consumed it.
Apparently, fairies had their own version.
"Similar to Pixie Mead?"
Pixelle hesitated.
"Similar."
"How similar?"
"Very."
Jax waited.
Pixelle smiled.
"But different."
Jax stared at her.
"How is it different?"
Pixelle shifted slightly.
"It's..."
She glanced toward Nyxian.
Nyxian suddenly looked very interested.
Pixelle quickly looked away from her.
"...different."
Jax waited.
That appeared to be the entire explanation.
"That's not particularly descriptive."
"I think it's very descriptive."
Nyxian made a strange choking noise behind him.
Jax glanced back.
"You okay?"
"Wonderful."
She smiled brightly.
"Please continue discussing the cider."
Jax looked at her suspiciously.
Then back to Pixelle.
"Does it taste good?"
"Very."
"Is it dangerous?"
"No."
"Poisonous?"
"No."
"Addictive?"
"No."
"Does it make people sick?"
"No."
"Then I'll try it."
Pixelle smiled.
Nyxian's smile became considerably larger.
Jax noticed that.
He wasn't entirely sure why.
"If it's good, we can establish distribution through Solmere."
Pixelle perked up.
"You would sell it?"
"If people like it."
Jax shrugged.
"I already have distribution networks handling beverages, food, potions, magical ingredients, and specialty products. Adding another product isn't difficult."
His mind was already moving through possibilities.
"We'd need containers appropriate for transportation."
"We have containers."
"For fairies."
Pixelle paused.
"Oh."
"I can solve that."
Jax continued.
"We can provide glass bottles, barrels if necessary, metal tools sized specifically for your people, preservation equipment, herbs from other regions, spices, potions—"
Pixelle's eyes widened as the list continued.
"And," Jax added, "access to the Solmere markets."
That caught her attention.
"Direct access?"
"Through my businesses initially."
He smiled.
"If your people eventually want to establish their own storefront, I'll help arrange that too."
Pixelle stared at him.
"You would let us own the store?"
Jax frowned slightly.
"Of course."
"As in...fairies?"
"Yes."
"Owning it?"
"That's generally how owning a store works."
Bunny giggled.
Pixelle looked genuinely surprised.
Jax realized there were probably several conversations about the rest of the continent they would need to have later.
But Pixelle recovered quickly.
"Then we have an agreement."
"Not quite."
Pixelle blinked.
Jax smiled.
"We haven't negotiated prices yet."
"Oh."
She narrowed her eyes.
"You're one of those merchants."
Nyxian laughed.
"You have no idea."
Jax ignored her.
"We'll work out the details after the raid."
Pixelle nodded.
"Agreed."
Jax extended his hand again.
Pixelle stared at it.
Then at him.
Then toward Nyxian.
Nyxian was already smiling.
Pixelle carefully shook Jax's hand once and immediately released it.
Jax raised an eyebrow.
Fairy customs were confusing.
He turned toward the distant World Tree.
"Alright."
He looked toward the Vixens.
"We should probably go see how long this line really is."
"I'll guide you."
Jax nodded.
"That would be appreciated, Your Grace."
Pixelle's wings twitched again.
Nyxian saw it.
Pixelle saw Nyxian see it.
Pixelle glared at her.
Nyxian blew her a tiny kiss.
Jax started walking.
Then Pixelle added—
"Inside."
Jax stopped.
He turned around.
"I'm sorry?"
"I'll guide you inside the World Tree."
Jax stared at her.
"No."
Pixelle blinked.
There was a brief silence.
"No?"
"No."
Pixelle looked genuinely confused by the word.
"I'm the Queen."
"I know."
"Of the fairies."
"I know that too."
Pixelle waited.
Jax waited.
Apparently neither fact had produced the response she expected.
Her arms slowly crossed.
"Then perhaps you misunderstood me."
"I don't think I did."
"I'm going with you."
"No, you're not."
Nyxian's grin returned.
Bunny looked between them.
Llandra quietly folded her arms.
Zee seemed particularly interested in watching how this developed.
Pixelle floated several inches closer.
"You cannot simply tell the Fairy Queen no."
"I just did."
Her eyes narrowed.
Jax sighed.
"Your Grace, this isn't personal."
Her expression changed immediately at the title.
Only for a second.
Then she remembered she was irritated.
"My team has fought together for a long time."
Jax gestured toward the women behind him.
"We know what each other can do. We know how each other moves. We know how each person reacts when something goes wrong."
He shook his head.
"I don't bring strangers into dangerous situations without knowing what they're capable of."
"I am not a stranger."
"We met yesterday."
"Merriweather has told me about you for months."
"That means you know me."
Jax pointed toward himself.
"I don't know you."
Pixelle opened her mouth.
Stopped.
Apparently that particular argument was difficult to counter.
So she changed tactics.
"What if I order you?"
"No."
"What if I make it a royal decree?"
"No."
Pixelle's wings fluttered irritably.
"What if trade between the fairy village and Solmere suddenly becomes extremely difficult?"
Jax stared at her.
Llandra's eyebrow rose.
Bunny covered her mouth.
Nyxian looked delighted.
"Are you threatening my trade agreements because I won't take you adventuring?"
"No."
Pixelle paused.
"Maybe."
Jax stared.
She lifted her chin.
"There are many adventuring parties nearby."
"I'm aware."
"Some of them might be interested in fairy products."
"I'm sure they would."
"And perhaps I would rather trade with them."
"That's your right."
Pixelle's confidence faltered.
That hadn't worked either.
Jax crossed his arms.
"Your Grace, I'm not risking your life—or the lives of my family—because you threaten my profit margin."
Pixelle stared at him.
The Vixens became noticeably quieter.
Jax wasn't angry.
But his tone had changed.
Pixelle apparently noticed too.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Pixelle lowered her arms.
"Fine."
Jax waited.
"I can read the ancient script."
That got his attention.
"What ancient script?"
"The World Tree script."
Jax glanced toward Zee.
She was listening carefully now.
Pixelle continued.
"Not everything inside a World Tree uses modern writing. Some of the oldest markings come from languages preserved by the fairy clans."
"Can you read all of it?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
Jax appreciated that.
"But more than you can."
"Considering I can't read any of it, that's not a high bar."
Pixelle smiled.
"Still counts."
"What does the writing say?"
"It depends on the trial."
Pixelle's expression became more serious.
"Sometimes warnings. Sometimes instructions. Sometimes clues."
Jax stopped.
"Clues?"
Pixelle nodded.
"About the trial itself. What the Tree expects from you. Sometimes even hints about how you're supposed to defeat it."
That changed things.
Jax thought back to the raids he'd already completed.
Not every room had been about finding the biggest creature and hitting it until it stopped moving.
Some had puzzles.
Riddles.
Rules that weren't immediately obvious.
Traps where understanding what the room wanted was more valuable than overwhelming power.
He'd managed those before.
But being able to actually understand the rules of a room before testing them through trial and error?
That could be extremely valuable.
Jax nodded slowly.
"Okay. That's useful."
Pixelle smiled proudly.
"I know."
Jax almost smiled.
"What else?"
"I can feel the Tree."
Zee stepped forward slightly.
"Explain."
Pixelle looked toward her.
"Fairies are naturally sensitive to concentrations of mana. That's why we're here."
She gestured toward the massive Tree.
"But this close to a World Tree..."
Pixelle closed her eyes.
Her wings slowed.
For the first time since Jax had met her, the excitable young queen became completely still.
"The magic is everywhere."
Her voice softened.
"Through the ground."
"The air."
"The plants."
"Even us."
Her eyes opened.
"I can feel changes in it."
Zee studied her.
"Changes?"
"When the Tree is calm."
Pixelle nodded toward it.
"When something disturbs it."
"When magic begins accumulating."
"When something inside changes."
Jax's expression became more serious.
"You can detect traps?"
"Sometimes."
"Sometimes?"
"I haven't been inside this World Tree."
Jax nodded.
Fair answer.
Pixelle continued.
"But our histories describe fairies guiding adventurers through World Trees before."
She smiled slightly.
"We can feel when the Tree gets angry."
Jax raised an eyebrow.
"The Tree gets angry?"
Pixelle shrugged.
"You probably call it something boring."
Zee smiled.
"Mana fluctuations."
Pixelle pointed at her.
"That."
Nyxian laughed.
"I prefer angry."
"So do I," Bunny added.
Jax rubbed his chin.
That was useful.
Very useful.
"What else?"
Pixelle smiled.
"My magic."
She raised one hand.
A violet light appeared above her palm.
It started small.
Then expanded.
The surrounding fairies immediately moved farther away.
Jax felt the mana radiating from it.
Substantial.
More substantial than he'd expected.
Pixelle closed her hand.
The light vanished.
"Fairy magic becomes stronger near a World Tree."
"How much stronger?"
Pixelle hesitated.
Jax immediately noticed.
"How much?"
"I don't know."
Jax stared at her.
Pixelle threw up her hands.
"I've never fought inside one!"
"That's not reassuring."
"It should be!"
"Why?"
"Because I'm already powerful!"
Nyxian snorted.
Pixelle glared at her.
"I am."
"I didn't say anything."
"You made a noise."
"I make lots of noises."
Jax quickly stepped back into the conversation.
"What kind of magic?"
Pixelle smiled.
Instead of answering, she turned toward a patch of flowers growing along the edge of the clearing.
Her fingers moved.
The flowers moved with them.
Their stems stretched.
Twisted.
Then rose from the ground.
Several nearby vines followed.
They wound together, thickening rapidly as leaves and branches intertwined.
Within seconds, what had been an ordinary patch of vegetation had formed into something resembling a large four-legged creature.
A wolf made from vines, flowers, and living branches.
It lowered its head.
Its leafy shoulders shifted.
Then it stalked across the clearing.
Jax watched carefully.
"Interesting."
Pixelle flicked two fingers.
The creature lunged.
Then stopped instantly.
Another movement of her hand caused it to collapse harmlessly back into vines and flowers.
"Plants listen to me."
Jax looked toward the World Tree.
There was certainly no shortage of those.
"And that's stronger near the Tree?"
"Much."
"Anything else?"
Pixelle raised her golden scepter.
The tulip-shaped head began glowing violet.
She aimed toward an empty patch of ground well away from the village.
A pulse of magical energy erupted from it.
The projectile crossed the clearing almost instantly.
BOOM!
Earth exploded upward.
Several fairies cheered.
Jax stared at the small crater.
Pixelle lowered the scepter proudly.
"That too."
"Okay."
Jax nodded.
"That's useful too."
Pixelle smiled triumphantly.
"So?"
Jax studied her.
This was different.
Threatening trade hadn't mattered.
Her crown didn't matter.
Her title didn't matter.
But this?
This was an argument.
She could potentially decipher trials before they stumbled blindly into them.
She could sense magical changes inside the Tree.
Her magic was specifically amplified by the environment they were entering.
And she could fight.
Jax glanced toward the Vixens.
Llandra gave a small nod.
"I would still like to see what she can do under pressure."
"Agreed."
Zee looked toward Pixelle.
"Her sensitivity to the World Tree could be extremely valuable."
Bunny nodded.
"And plant monsters are cool."
Everyone looked at her.
"What?"
Bunny shrugged.
"They are."
Nyxian smiled.
"I vote yes."
Jax looked at her.
"Based on combat potential?"
"Among other things."
Pixelle's face reddened.
Jax sighed.
"Fine."
Pixelle gasped.
Then immediately launched herself forward and wrapped both arms around him.
"YES!"
Several thousand fairies cheered.
Apparently they had been listening to the entire negotiation.
Jax barely moved from the impact.
He awkwardly patted Pixelle's back.
"With conditions."
Pixelle released him.
"Fine."
"You haven't heard them yet."
"I'm still going."
Jax pointed toward her.
"That's exactly why there are conditions."
Pixelle smiled innocently.
Jax didn't believe that expression for a second.
"Inside that Tree, you're not the Queen."
Pixelle frowned.
"I'm always the Queen."
"Not to me."
That stopped her.
Jax continued before she could argue.
"Inside the raid, you're a member of my party."
He pointed toward himself.
"I'm leading it."
Then Llandra.
"If Llandra tells you to move, you move."
Zee.
"If Zee tells you that you're injured and need to stop fighting, you stop."
Bunny.
"If Bunny tells you to duck—"
"Definitely duck," Bunny added.
Jax nodded.
"Definitely."
Nyxian smiled.
"And if I tell you to take your clothes off—"
"No," Jax said immediately.
Nyxian sighed.
"You're no fun."
Pixelle giggled.
Jax looked back toward her.
"If I say retreat, you retreat."
Her expression became more serious.
"If I tell you something is too dangerous, you don't argue."
A pause.
"No royal authority."
Another pause.
"No decrees."
Pixelle's mouth opened.
"No threatening trade agreements."
She closed it.
Bunny giggled.
"You follow the same rules as everyone else."
Pixelle considered him.
"And if I disagree with you?"
"Outside the raid?"
Jax shrugged.
"Tell me."
"Inside?"
"Do what I say first. Yell at me afterward."
Pixelle smiled.
"I can do that."
"I suspected you could."
Nyxian laughed.
Jax extended his hand.
"Deal?"
Pixelle looked down at it.
Then toward Nyxian.
Nyxian smiled sweetly.
Pixelle narrowed her eyes.
Then she took Jax's hand.
"Deal."
Jax shook once.
"Good."
Pixelle started to release him.
Jax held on for another moment.
"One more condition."
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"What?"
"We train first."
Pixelle blinked.
"Train?"
"Yes."
"I just showed you what I can do."
"You showed me a few things."
Jax released her hand.
"Now I need to see what you can do against something that fights back."
Pixelle stared at him.
"When?"
"Tomorrow morning."
Her expression fell slightly.
"Morning?"
"Early."
"How early?"
"Sunrise."
Pixelle looked horrified.
"You cannot be serious."
"I am."
"I'm the Queen."
"Still not helping."
Pixelle crossed her arms.
"I don't wake up at sunrise."
"You do tomorrow."
"Jax."
He started walking back toward the Vixens.
Pixelle floated after him.
"Jax!"
He glanced back.
"Yes, Your Grace?"
Pixelle stopped in midair.
Her wings twitched.
Her cheeks warmed.
For just a moment, she forgot what she had been complaining about.
Jax waited.
"...Sunrise is unreasonable," she finally managed.
"See you then."
He continued walking.
Pixelle hovered in place, staring after him.
Nyxian remained behind.
For several seconds, neither woman spoke.
Then Pixelle slowly turned toward her.
Nyxian was smiling.
Pixelle pointed a warning finger.
"Not one word."
Nyxian raised both hands innocently.
"I didn't say anything."
"You heard things."
"I heard enough."
Pixelle's face reddened.
"Forget them."
Nyxian's smile widened.
"That's not really how memories work."
Pixelle groaned and covered her face.
Nyxian laughed softly.
"But if it makes you feel any better..."
Pixelle cautiously peeked between her fingers.
Nyxian nodded toward Jax.
"You're definitely not the first woman to have inappropriate thoughts about him."
Pixelle lowered her hands.
Then looked toward Jax.
He was already discussing something with Llandra and Zee, completely oblivious to the conversation behind him.
Pixelle's wings fluttered.
Nyxian watched her expression.
Then heard the direction of another thought.
Her eyebrows rose.
Again.
"Oh, sweetie."
Pixelle immediately snapped her head toward her.
"I didn't say anything!"
"You didn't have to."
Pixelle's face went crimson.
Nyxian laughed and started walking toward the others.
Pixelle floated after her.
"You're not telling them!"
"I haven't decided."
"Nyxian!"
The succubus laughed.
Ahead of them, Jax glanced back.
"Everything okay, Your Grace?"
Pixelle's wings nearly stopped working.
Nyxian laughed even harder.
"Everything's wonderful, Jax."
Pixelle glared at her.
Then looked toward Jax.
Tomorrow morning, Pixelle Starbloom was going to show Jax Darquebane exactly why bringing a Fairy Queen into the World Tree was a very good idea.
Assuming she survived waking up at sunrise.