Ayden sat on the back steps of the house, watching Tess spar with her father. Small pieces of hair fell loose from her braid as she flipped out of the way of an oncoming attack. Her eyes sparkled with excitement—fighting was her main thrill in life.

Falcon took a swing at her with his longsword. She blocked with her daggers, and then kicked, but he ducked. They looked a lot alike, the same chocolate brown eyes, the same brown hair, and the same smile, except on her it made Ayden’s heart swell.

Her uncle came to sit next to him. Cael wasn’t really her uncle, but he and his wife, Lotus, had been the close friends of her parents—Falcon and Julia—for over twenty years. They were kind of an adopted family, and the only extended family Tess had since her parents claimed to be from some other world called Earth.

Cael was a half-elf with the long redwood colored hair of the Saelythian elves, and the stunning blue eyes of his human father. He was flawless in his beauty, making Ayden’s looks even more average as he sat beside him. Ayden had short brown curls and big hazel eyes. He was almost the same size as Tess and only two inches taller than her at five foot ten, but while she was athletic and lithe, he was just lanky.

“You know,” Cael said, pulling Ayden from his thoughts. “You have always been so devoted to her.” The observation was one anyone could make, but Cael also used his Woodlander perception.

“No more than you are to Lotus,” Ayden noted. “Sera and Matt.”

“True,” he conceded. “I do not believe I have ever seen a person change as much as Matt has. My daughter’s love has made him a good man. He is far different from the monster he once was.”

“Even if he hadn’t gotten rid of Malluk’s mark,” Ayden said, referring to the God of Darkness, “Sera could bring out the good in anyone.”

“I would have to agree with that,” Cael said with a proud smile. “Is that another charm for her bracelet?” he asked, glancing down at the tiny wooden rose Ayden was carving.

He nodded, having forgotten what he was doing when his attention had been drawn to Tess. He gave a charm to both Tess and Sera every year for their birthdays. It was Tess’ today, he had already given her a tiny dragon for hers. Sera’s was coming up in two weeks when she would be turning nineteen, as well.

“It is very good. You get better every year.”

Ayden blushed a little at the compliment. “Thanks.”

Cael smiled and patted his shoulder. “If you will excuse me, I think I will give my niece a real challenge.” He stood and went to join the fight. Tess’ back was to him, but he pulled his sword and attacked without hesitation. She was quick and sharp, always paying attention to her surroundings as well as her opponents when she was in a fight, just as they had taught her. She whirled around in time to block him, unsurprised by them teaming up on her. They always pushed her, and she loved it.

When Tess got an opening, she decided to show off, as she often did. She did three back flips across the yard and landed in front of Ayden, then bent down to kiss him. Her father swung at her, though he knew Ayden would put a magical shield around her before his sword hit the barrier. Blue glowing cracks appeared in the air where the blade struck, and then disappeared seconds later.

“Tess, do not treat fighting as a game,” her uncle admonished—it was something he told her repeatedly.

She smirked. “I wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t dating a mage.”

Falcon frowned. “Or in a real fight I hope.”

She stood and smiled at him. “Duh.” She attacked again and the fight continued.

“Your cockiness is going to be the death of you,” her father grumbled.

Ayden agreed with him, but Tess had been that way her whole life and no matter how many times people tried to tell her, she was never going to change. Ayden had given up talking to her about it years ago. At least he was always there with his healing spell when she got hurt.

A few minutes later, she managed to disarm her father, a difficult thing to do, but he still kicked her to the ground and put his dagger to her throat. The match was over, and she had lost again. She had yet to win against either of them separately, and stood no chance at all when they teamed up on her, but she loved it.

Tess walked over to Ayden and pulled him up. He wasn’t surprised when she pushed him against the house and kissed him passionately. Fighting always put her in the mood, which was just fine with him. Falcon and Cael paid no attention to her as they went into the house. Tess never cared who was watching, even her parents, and everyone was used to it. Everyone except Ayden who would rather she kept it in the bedroom.

After a minute, he broke the kiss and grabbed her hand, taking her inside. He set his knife and the unfinished charm on a small table beside the door and led the way to the stairs. They ignored the knock at the front door as they climbed the steps. Tess didn’t make it easy since she couldn’t seem to help touching him and kissing the back of his neck. When they heard their names though, they both stopped and turned around.

Falcon thanked whoever it was and closed the door. He glanced up at them, a scroll in his hand. “Here, it’s for you,” he said, holding it out.

Tess let Ayden go, took a hold of the banister, jumped over, and landed smoothly on her feet in front of Falcon. She took the scroll and unrolled it. After a moment, her mouth fell open and her eyes grew wide.

“What is it?” Ayden asked as he hurried down the stairs to join her. She handed it to him while Falcon looked on curiously. Ayden’s eyes widened, as well. “I can’t believe it’s real,” he murmured.

“What?” Falcon wanted to know as Cael joined them, looking curious.

“The fairy’s secret city,” Ayden said, amazed. There were stories of a hidden city, but most people didn’t believe it existed. Even the fairies themselves denied it. “I should have guessed it’d be…” But he wasn’t able to finish the sentence. He tried again but nothing came out. He laughed. “I can’t tell you where it is. They must have put some kind of secret keeping spell on it. No wonder no one’s ever been able to tell the truth about its location.”

Falcon and Cael walked around to stand next to Ayden so they could look down at the scroll. “It’s blank,” Falcon said. “I can’t even see the words.”

Ayden smiled. “Brilliant.”

“What do they want with you two?” Cael asked.

“They want to see us,” Tess answered, looking bewildered. “It doesn’t say why, just that they need to talk to us as soon as possible. I wonder why they didn’t just come here if it’s so important. Why let us into their city?”

Ayden shrugged. “Don’t know, but it’s awesome,” he said excitedly. “The fairies are the creators of so many arcane spells, not to mention magical items. Just imagine what stuff they might have in their city.”

“Always about magic with you, isn’t it?” Tess teased.

“Always about fighting with you, isn’t it?” he returned with a smile.

“Or something,” she said with an impish grin and a suggestive twitch of her brow.

He acted as if he didn’t hear her, but his blush gave him away. “We should leave first thing in the morning.”

“Forgetting something?” Cael asked.

“What?”

“We’re going to Chendal tomorrow,” Falcon reminded them. “For Sera and Matt’s wedding.”

Ayden couldn’t help his sigh. “Okay, we’ll leave from there. Oh, I need to pack our bags,” he said and headed up the stairs.

Tess caught up with him. “You can do that later. Right now you’re mine,” she told him as she took his hand and pulled him toward their room.

Poor Falcon, Ayden thought. Most daughters were a little more discreet about their sex lives. But thankfully, her parents just pretended as if they didn’t hear or see anything.

“You know,” Tess said as soon as she closed the door behind them and started undressing. “There are times I would almost consider wearing a skirt.”

Ayden laughed as he set the scroll down and took off his boots. “You can’t stand the minute it takes you to strip?”

She was already unclothed and pulling off his shirt. “Not when I want you so much.”

He smirked as she started undoing his pants. “You’ll live,” he murmured. She shoved him onto the bed. “Be nice,” he told her, what he meant was; don’t be rough. She tended to get that way when she was too excited. It always amazed him how she could fight so hard and then still have plenty of energy left over for things like this.

“Are you complaining?” she asked, kissing his stomach and letting her hands roam over his body.

“Mmm, never.”

She trailed kisses up his chest, his throat, and nibbled on his earlobe as she straddled him. She tried her best to be gentle, to not claw his chest. He ended up having to grab her hands, letting her pin him against the bed as she rocked her hips and brought them both to the heights of ecstasy. 

With a long, happy sigh, she moved to lay next to him. He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his arm so he could look down at her. She smiled blissfully as he caressed her cheek with the tips of his fingers.

“Do you know how much I love you?” he asked quietly.

“As much as I love you,” she said, looking up at him.

“More,” he insisted and kissed her.

She suddenly pulled back. “Oh! Are we supposed to bring a gift for Matt and Sera?”

He shook his head. “It’s kind of insulting that you’re thinking about them at a time like this.”

She just rolled her eyes.

“Yes, we bring a gift,” he told her, then chuckled at her expression. “Don’t worry, I already got it.”

She grinned. “You’re the best.”

“Yeah? Best at what?” he asked, kissing her shoulder.

“Everything,” she answered. “Except fighting of course, even though you’re wonderful with a sword.” She grinned suggestively. “How about a demonstration?”

He wasn’t surprised. He was used to her ravenous appetite. Once fast and then a second time to be slow. He loved her energy and passion, even if it left him worn out at times. He kissed her throat. “You’re insatiable.”

“You love it.”

“Very much so,” he agreed, sliding his hand over her stomach. She gasped and shivered as he cast his shock spell. He made it very weak so that it didn’t hurt at all, just gave her a very nice tingle. He chuckled softly. “Shh.”

“I can’t… help it,” she breathed as he continued casting. He grinned and returned to kissing her, keeping her quiet as his hand moved lower.