Hockey Pucks & Pixie Dust

9 - One Foot in Each World

Sindri set her curling brush on the bathroom counter and scrutinized her appearance. Her golden trusses fell in loose, fat curls around her shoulders, accentuating her little black dress that flared at the waist and stopped at the lower thigh. Cliché as it was, a woman could never go wrong with a classic. Even now, her chest was a little too flat, but her flawless complexion and ice blue eyes made up for her lack of curves.

Though Thayer had made a quick exit without an explanation, Paloma had helped, going through Sindri's closet and makeup while offering suggestions for the night's date.

"Not a purse; use a clutch! It's classier." Or something along the lines of, "Do you want him to think you're a nun? Shorter!" Best of all was, "Now you look like a hooker. Don't you have something in between?"

Why was being a woman so hard?

But the true conundrum was the mark Sindri had erased. Fairies could heal themselves, but they didn't go out of their way to inflict new (or in her case) old damage. If Storm had waited a week, Sindri could have more easily explained the absence, but this was literally two days after her incident.

Paloma walked in and glanced at Sindri through the mirror. Her lips quirked at the side as she pinched her chin between two fingers. "I don't suppose you have a strapless push-up bra?"

Sindri laughed and spun around before hoisting herself onto the counter. "Didn't you tell me two dresses ago I look like a prostitute? Now you want me to emphasize something I don't have? Make up your mind!"

If only fairy magic could give her a boob job. That would be a cool skill, and she'd be rich for enhancing body parts without all the invasive plastic surgery.

"Is this your way of saying you don't own sexy underwear?" Paloma asked, completely unashamed as she joined Sindri on the counter. She swung her legs, bouncing her feet against the wooden cabinet below.

Sindri shrugged and propped her hands on the surface on each side of her, leaning back. "I haven't needed one before. I'm more accustomed to pushing people away than chasing after them."

A hand clinging to hers brought Sindri's attention to Paloma, who watched her with round, soulful eyes. Her playful mood that normally sparkled in her pouty smirk and deep gaze had disappeared, replaced with a seriousness rarely present in the younger fae. "Em, why are you like this? You've avoided romantic entanglements longer than I've known you. Don't you want to fall in love?"

Love. So many meanings and ways to express such a complex emotion. And until now, Sindri had experienced all but the euphoria everyone sought like the Holy Grail.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, but she forced herself to keep a calm demeanor. The truth was too shameful to admit, no matter how much time had passed. "I mean, there's the curse," she hedged, which was true enough. Loki had said she wouldn't find love for a while. "I've wandered this planet for over a thousand years, and I've never met someone I could share that side of myself with." Also not a lie.

"But why didn't you try sooner?"

If there was one thing Sindri hated about Geminis, it was their insatiable curiosity and incessant nosiness. Astrology didn't affect only humans, but fairies were clever and immortal; a human could die, but a fae would remember forever and eventually obtain the answers when intrigued enough.

"It doesn't do any good to dwell on the past," Sindri replied, quoting words Elvinia had spoken more than once. Shoving herself off the counter, Sindri smiled brightly and changed the subject. "Did you find something for the cut I'm supposed to have?"

Paloma sighed, but nodded and followed suit, leaving the bathroom and returning shortly with a small medical pack. Opening it, she took out a spool of surgical thread. On instinct, Sindri backed away, recalling her brush with the Canadian scientists after a previous lover had discovered her secret and alerted the authorities. "Are the sutures necessary? I thought you'd work your magic with makeup or something."