“No,” Naomi told them.

“No, it’s not cool?” Ivy asked.

“No, I don’t want you two going anywhere near that club. It’s full of horny mages with too much self-entitlement and not enough sense. And the city is full of monsters.” Naomi nudged Sera in the shoulder. “Right, Sera?”

“Yep. Why do you think I carry a sword? I must have killed at least a hundred jumbo caterpillars this week, but they just keep coming back.”

“Hmm.” Ruby’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Naomi said you were on a break from work.”

“Did she? Uh, yeah, I am. Well, as she said, the city is dangerous. I kill at least three times as many caterpillars when I’m on the job. And vampires. And centaurs. I even once knocked out a mage who looked an awful lot like Santa Claus.”

“Really?” Ruby’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. “What did he do?”

Sera shrugged. “Started a bar fight with a bunch of elves.”

Ivy let out a delighted gasp. “You’re making this up.”

Sera shook her head.

“No?” Ruby asked.

“It’s all true?”

Sera nodded.

“Wow,” said both girls.

Naomi gave them all an irritated look. “Thanks, Sera.”

“I’m just telling it how it is. It’s not my fault your sisters find monsters and bar fights interesting.”

“They’re teenagers. They find chewed gum interesting.”

“Humph!” Ruby puffed out her chest in indignation. “So untrue.”

“It depends entirely on who chewed it,” added Ivy.

“Maybe if it was your honey Cloud…”

“Enough!”

The girls snickered.

“She’s as easy as Mom,” Ruby told Ivy as they stepped out of the room.

“Yep.”

The girls skipped down the hall, saw a teenage boy about their age, then dragged him into a room. Sera snickered. Fairies.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” she told Naomi, setting her sword on the desk. “Ready to have dinner with your family?”

“No.” She rose from the chair anyway. “Let’s go.”

In the short time they’d been inside the room, someone had turned on the stereo system in the great hall. Loud, heavy thumps pounded down the hallway, shaking the walls. Naomi’s stride shifted, her feet marching in time to the beat. She just couldn’t help herself. Neither could Sera. The music pulsed through her body, willing her to dance. There was magic in that music.

People were flooding into the great hall through the main entrance and also the smaller doors on the sides. Some carried food, some flowers, others children. Everyone carried a big smile. Naomi sat down at the table loaded with desserts. Cookies, brownies, cheesecake, angel cake, cherry pie, apple pie, ice cream… Sera’s eyes widened at the treasure trove of sweet delights. She didn’t need any convincing. She sat down next to Naomi and promptly grabbed two chocolate chip cookies—one for each of them.

“This place is great,” Sera said during a break in the music. The pounding beat softened, flowing into a slow, smooth ballad.

“Naomi.”

They turned to look at the man who had just sat down beside them. He had spiked blond hair and eyes like a tropical ocean. Magic oozed from him, a sweet tang of lemon and spiced vanilla. He was wearing a pair of surfer shorts—and nothing else. No shoes, no shirt. If this weren’t Fairy Island, he might actually have looked out of place.

“Cloud,” Naomi replied with a curt nod.

“I’m glad to see you again so soon. You ran off so abruptly last weekend.”

“Uh, yeah, I had to work.”

“Then I am fortunate your schedule allowed you to return so quickly.” He looked at her, his smile teetering on doting. Someone sure was enamored.

Naomi realized that too. She pushed an empty cup into his hand. “Say, Cloud, do you think you could get me a drink?”

“Of course.” He rose smoothly. “What would you like?”

“Anything but the Silverheart Nectar. That stuff tastes like motor oil.”

He dipped his chin, then glided toward the bar like an ice skater. As soon as he’d been swallowed by the crowd of dancers, Sera turned to Naomi.

“He likes you.” She grinned. “And he’s cute.”

“Sure, if you like spiky hair and the smell of Fairy Lily.” Naomi stared across the room at him anyway, her gaze lingering on his sculpted chest. He was built like a swimmer. “And he’s always forgetting his shirt.”

“Maybe he just wants to get your attention,” Sera suggested.

“Hmm.” She continued to watch him, and when he returned with her drink, she set it down on the table and stood up. She grabbed his hand. “Come on, Cloud. Let’s dance.”

With bewildered delight, Cloud followed Naomi onto the dance floor. Sera watched them—and all the other couples too. They swayed slowly to the music, their arms wrapped around each other. A fairy woman rose to her tiptoes and leaned in to kiss her partner. Others were kissing too, including… Sera gaped. Wow, Naomi sure moved fast. She was making out with Cloud smack dab in the middle of the dance floor. No one seemed to notice. Well, almost no one.

“A cute couple, aren’t they?” Naomi’s aunt Cora said as she sat down beside Sera.

Sera nodded and took a bite of her cookie. It took the edge off being alone at a party of kissing couples.