Talon, Jorah, Thayer, Toby, Nikolai, Delaro, and Grayson all went through without hesitation. Rasha was vibrating with excitement, and I felt like I might puke.
Basil’s hands cupped my face and forced me to look down to meet his eyes. “I promise you this is safe. I would never in a million fucking years let Rasha do something unsafe. Never.”
I nodded. “I know.”
He kissed my chin since he couldn’t reach my lips, then asked, “Do you want me to hold her and walk through that way? Or do you want to hold her?”
“I got her.”
He nodded and grabbed our bags while I picked up Rasha, placing her on my hip. She was getting so big, even though she was still tiny for her age, but I liked carrying her this way. As Basil took a step toward the portal, I reached down to grab his hand with my free one. He seemed surprised but laced our fingers together easily enough. Then he pulled us through.
It felt like all the air was sucked out of me as I passed through, and complete and utter silence surrounded us, but it only lasted a few seconds before I was stepping out into a land of pink. Like all the shades and then some, pink.
Rasha giggled in my arms as she said, “Woah.”
“Woah is right, baby girl.” I kissed her cheek.
Basil smiled at us. “Just a reminder. Everything about half a mile around the house in any direction should be safe, as in, it won’t eat you. But that doesn’t mean you should touch anything—you hear me, Rasha? Don’t touch anything without asking me or one of my brothers first, okay?”
“Okay.” She nodded with a serious expression.
“I mean it. It could be poisonous. The plants and things around the house are safe, but we can’t keep bugs and animals out without messing with the ecosystem, so we don’t. Bugs and animals can travel freely. Also… don’t even swat things away. Some of the bugs look small, but when they open their mouths, they have like a bazillion sharp teeth.”
My eyebrows went up. “Should we even be here?”
He snorted. “I’m sorry, I’m making it sound worse than it actually is, I just don’t want you guys getting hurt. Rasha, until you know the area and creatures better, I don’t want you going anywhere alone, okay?”
“Okay.”
I added, “I don’t think I wanna go anywhere alone, either.”
Basil smiled at me. “I like that plan.”
“Good.” I gave him a nod. “Is it safe for Rasha to walk?”
He laughed. “Yeah, yeah. I promise it’s fine. Just don’t touch shit and you’re good.”
Rasha giggled. “You said a bad word.”
“I always say bad words,” Basil said, but still added, “Sorry.”
Rasha giggled again.
Shaking my head, I put Rasha down and asked, “Where’s the house?”
Basil pointed up a tiny hill to a small cottage. It was so small and blended in with the very pink area so well that I hadn’t even noticed it at first. “All of you fit into a one-bedroom cottage?” Jesus, we were going to be sleeping on top of each other. I didn’t want anyone sleeping that close to Basil.
He laughed at my frown and said, “Nothing in Faela is what it seems. The land, people, and creatures here are pure magic, and illusion magic is very prominent. Nik specializes in it, actually. He set up our house to look unimpressive so it would be looked over if anyone came searching for the Three. The inside of our house is actually really big. We each have our own room, and last time I was here, I, uh… I added on a bedroom so Rasha would have her own room if she didn’t want to sleep in ours.” His cheeks flamed, and I couldn’t help but lean in to kiss one.
“That sounds good, love,” I said. “Right, Rasha? You can stay with us or in your own room if you’re comfortable.”
She smiled up at me, then at Basil. “Can you take me to the butterflies now?”
Basil laughed. “How about we take our bags into the house first and make sure everyone else is settled?”
Rasha pouted. “And then we can go see the butterflies?”
Basil turned to me, and I nodded, so he said, “Sure, sweetpea. We’ll go right after.”
She grinned so big you woulda thought he promised her the moon.
We made our way up to the cottage, and Rasha asked what every single thing we passed was called. Every pink blade of grass, pink tree, pink bug, pink bunny-looking thing that was fluffy but apparently evil. And Basil answered her each and every time, even helping her sound out the strange Fae’lee words, and not once did he show any sign of being frustrated or annoyed. He was really good with her, which… he had so many siblings and obviously a caring father figure, so it wasn’t all that surprising once I knew him. My first impressions of him had been so far off base.
Walking inside the cottage was a strange event. I knew he’d said it was bigger than it looked, but holy hell, it was huge. It was like a goddamn mansion. Seeing the tiny building from the outside, then walking into a huge house had me reeling. It was like a kids storybook or somethin’.
“You okay?” Basil asked quietly as Jorah helped Rasha with her bags.
I nodded. “Yeah, just takin’ it in.”
“Fae magic can mess with your head.”
“Yeah… damn.”
He grinned at me, so I leaned in and pecked his lips, making his smile grow.
Once everything was set, Basil led Rasha and me outside down a path that led under the fairy arches—trees that made an archway where a billion fairies lived, apparently—to the butterfly garden. I’d known the butterflies were going to be big, but actually seeing them was an entirely different story. Giant butterflies, they’d called them. They were more like gigantic butterfly monsters that looked big enough to eat Rasha. Trusting Bas, I stayed to the side when he had one on his shoulder and kneeled down for Rasha to pet it. It nuzzled into her hand, climbed onto her lap after she sat, and stayed there for almost an hour. She was in love. I gave it a pat and was surprised how soft its furry body was, but one pat was enough for me.
When Rasha was hungry, we went back to the house, and Bas continued answering every single question she had. She didn’t stop talkin’ the entire time. A smile pulled at my lips as I walked behind them and listened to my two favorite people in the world gettin’ along so well.
Rasha was stayin’ at the house while Bas and I went for a walk. Leaving her with Basil’s family was becoming easier and easier, especially because they all seemed happy to stay with her. She was staying with all of them, but Delaro had assured me he wouldn’t let her out of his sight, which made me feel better since he seemed to be the most responsible one out of his entire family.
When we walked onto the pink sand, I exhaled loudly, and Bas halted and turned to me with the large piece of fabric he’d brought with him draped over his arm. His eyes searched my face before he asked, “You know I’m with you, right?”
I nodded. “I know.” My voice came out lower and harsher than I meant.
He pursed his lips. “Are you going to be able to handle this?”
Reaching for him, I grabbed the back of his head with one hand and wrapped my other arm around his waist to pull him flush against my body. As I tilted his head back, I leaned down so our noses brushed and our lips were only a hair away and said, “Just remember who you belong to and we won’t have a problem.”