Chapter 201 Chapter 201
“Because I’m a fairy too,” she said, prompting Maxwell to snort at her.
“Whooa, really?”
“Yes. I have wings,” she said, “They’re just invisible now.” Maxwell rolled his eyes at her and groaned in annoyance, but she ignored him.
“Can you fly?” Flynn asked.
Before she could answer, Maxwell mumbled, “She flies over the coffee table and then lands on her nose.” Valerie gritted her teeth and glared at him.
“He’s evil,” Flynn breathed.
“Yes, and that’s exactly why you should do something about it,” she said and whispered something in his ear while Maxwell watched them with narrowed eyes.
“What’s going on?” he asked suspiciously when the boy approached him shyly, but he didn’t receive an answer.
He stood in front of Maxwell, eye-level with him since the demon was sitting on the bench, leaning his elbows on his thighs. Flynn gave Valerie another shy glance, and she nodded encouragingly. “Do it,” she giggled while Maxwell wasn’t sure whether he should glare at her or the boy instead, since both were mildly annoying to him.
Flynn reached his hand out and bopped the tip of Maxwell’s nose, shyly glancing at him to see his reaction, but when he only got a wide-eyed stare, he turned to Valerie instead.
“Did it work, Sister?”
“Yes, it did,” she smiled.
“What are you even talking about?” Maxwell grumbled.
“Oh, you know, evil fairies turn into good fairies when you bop their noses,” Valerie grinned.
“I can’t believe this.” Maxwell ranted exasperatedly. “Only a human would think of something so stupid.”
“I don’t think it worked,” Flynn pouted. “Look, Sister, he’s going to jinx us. His eyes are red.”
“Red means he loves you,” she said seriously, and Flynn’s mouth formed an “o”. She sat down next to Maxwell on the bench and put the three cups she had brought down. The beverages were still too hot to drink, and she didn’t want Flynn to accidentally burn his tongue.
“Valerie, we are going to have a serious talk when we’re home,” the demon whispered in her ear, his threatening voice not intimidating her as much as it would have had he been someone else. His fingers trailed over her jawline and tilted her chin towards him. The red was fading from his iris already, but he still looked annoyed.
“Don’t be angry all the time. This is fun, loosen up,” she smiled and stole an unexpected kiss from him when she briefly connected their lips. Finally, he stopped scowling. “Please? I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine.”
“Thank you, Maxwell. You’re my favorite demon, and I can’t tell you often enough,” she smiled and noticed that the tips of his ears turned red. She didn’t see him flustered often, but now he definitely was.
“Shut up,” he sputtered, not meeting her eyes anymore. Her smile only brightened, and she knew that she had won him over once again.
“Flynn? Do you want your hot chocolate now?” she said and offered him the cup. “Be careful and don’t burn your tongue.”
The boy nodded vigorously, reaching his small hands out to take the cup from her. She handed Maxwell his cup too, and he tried the beverage, liking its sweet taste. The demon pointedly ignored Flynn’s awe-filled doe eyes that were now resting on him.
“Sister, I think our trick really worked,” Flynn whisper-yelled to Valerie, who almost exploded as she tried to suppress her giggles. “Mr. Fairy isn’t evil anymore.”
She snorted, pressing her hand on her mouth in a failing attempt to stop herself from laughing. “See, I told you.”
Maxwell didn’t find the scene so funny, glowering at her with sinister eyes that promised nothing good, but Valerie wasn’t deterred by his sulkiness. She lifted Flynn on her lap, holding him so he wouldn’t fall. In the meantime, he was busy drinking his hot chocolate. She glanced around in case she spotted more of those evil demons that had attacked him, but so far, she hadn’t.
“Do you think they’re all gone?” she whispered to Maxwell, who shrugged.
“I don’t know. Those pests are good at hiding,” he replied. “I’m keeping an eye on the area, don’t worry about them.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I wonder where they came from.”
“Yeah, it’s strange for low-class demons to target a human on a whim,” he muttered lowly so Flynn wouldn’t hear him.
They lingered on the bench for a while, warming their hands on the hot chocolate and watching the snowfall while they waited for Flynn’s parents to show up. The boy was calm but kept his eyes open, glancing around searchingly. By the time he finally laid eyes on his parents, his cup was empty. Valerie noticed the frantic man and woman immediately; they looked worried, and when Flynn waved at them and shouted their names, they came over quickly.
“Flynn,” the mother said, scooping him up in her arms. “Why did you run away? Never do that again.”
His father sighed, ruffling his son’s hair. “You made us worry,” he said.
“Sorry. Some evil ghosts annoyed me,” Flynn mumbled. “But Sister and Brother chased them away.”
The parents obviously were confused by his story, writing it off as his having a vivid imagination. They turned their attention to Maxwell and Valerie, and she quickly explained what happened, leaving out the supernatural details.
“Hello, my name is Valerie,” she smiled. “About half an hour ago, we found Flynn alone in the park, so we made sure he was safe until we found his parents. I’m glad you’re here now.”
The mother wiped her teary eyes, a smile blooming on her lips. “Thank you so much. I’m sorry for the trouble he caused you,” she said apologetically. “He has always had a vivid imagination.”
“It’s fine,” Valerie replied. “We were happy to help.”
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He had been watching them for a while, always keeping enough distance between them so that the demon wouldn’t notice him. Mason knew better than to underestimate Maxwell since he was very perceptive and vigilant. The human—Valerie—didn’t notice the way his eyes constantly roamed over their surroundings and the subtle way his magic flared whenever a low-class demon got too close to them.
With Maxwell around her, it would be impossible for Mason to catch her off guard, and that was exactly what he intended to do. Ever since he had bumped into her by coincidence a few days ago, he had been following her, watching her. He wanted to find out as much about the couple as he could before he went and killed them. His hatred only grew the longer he saw them interacting with each other.
Valerie reminded him too much of Delilah. She looked at Maxwell with disgusting fondness in her eyes that wasn’t unlike how Delilah had looked at Seth. Mason ground his teeth upon hearing Valerie’s melodious laughter. The air around him heated up, and the snow melted before it could even touch him. Flames danced around his fist.