I gripped the colr and dashed into the woods, following a trail of glittering green dust. Refreshed by the cool morning air, I put my all into it. The sleepy forest shifted, trees creaking and moaning in the mist. I didn’t feel unwelcome, in fact the trees encouraged me further. As though our py brought much needed warmth before the looming winter—what was I thinking? Since when did I understand trees?

  I followed Meliss?’s sparkling trail to a clearing. There she sat, her legs swept out to the side, one resting on the other. She csped her hands, squeezing her arms to her chest. “Oh no!” she said with a pout of mock fright, shaking her shoulders. “A scary hunter-man has invaded my forest. What kind of lewd things will he do to me?”

  I growled as I pounced on her. I thought I had her, but my hands grasped at nothing but gold and green dust.

  The green fairy giggled, her wings buzzing from above. “You’ll have to do better than that, Mr Dominant!”

  Meliss? teased me with a zy glide, always barely out of reach. She ughed as I jumped and swiped at her. This would get me nowhere, I’d have to be smarter.

  “What are you going to do now, hunter-man?” she said. “Without wings you really have no hope. You should just give up!”

  I continued to chase, swatting at her feet. I knew it wasn’t the way, but I had to keep her close if my pn was going to work.

  I let my hands begin to glow.

  “What’s that? It’s got a warm tickle to it. I’m almost tempted to let you catch me.”

  My fingers brushed her heel.

  “Almost,” she said, fluttering upwards with a ugh.

  As soon as she looked away I tried to conjure a whip. It shouldn’t have been that difficult. It’s just a longer, softer javelin, right?

  I conjured something rope-like, its consistency was questionable, but there was no time. I threw the whip, coiling it around the green fairy’s leg.

  “Huh?” She shouted.

  I yanked her down, almost within reach.

  “What are—how?” She resisted, kicking her feet and buzzing her wings. Her strength surprised me. It took all I had to keep her from dragging me across the forest floor.

  I pulled and she kicked. The whip shattered in a spsh of light and I fell on my ass.

  “Lawks!” I shouted.

  My ears burned with the sound of ughter. “What was that, Jethro? Is that the magic you’ve been working on? Seems like you still need to practice. A lot.” She drifted away through the trees.

  I followed with a grumble. She wasn’t going to make this easy.

  Before pursuing, I tried to conjure another whip, but as soon as I tightened my grip it slipped through my fingers, dissolving into sparks. No substance, no practicality—I cursed under my breath, and chased on.

  I followed the sound of Meliss?’s ughter to the edge of the woodnd. She looked down on me, fluttering in the breeze. Dramatic clouds drifted in the heavens behind her.

  “Are you sure Vio devoted herself to you?” she teased. “She’d never be with someone with such fragile abilities. I mean, how did you take down a troll with that?”

  “Ha!” I scoffed, hiding my vexation. “You haven’t seen the half of what I can do. I just didn’t want to hurt you. But if you think you can handle it, I’ll show you my true power!”

  “Ooh no! I’m scared now,” she said, sarcastic to the core. “What am I to do? I better make a run for it.”

  Meliss? swooped by my face and took off across the valley.

  “Wait,” I muttered. She sure was taking this seriously. I didn’t want to leave my dies behind on our special day, but I couldn’t just let Meliss? go. I set to running as fast as I could, hoping I’d be back by lunch at the test.

  I watched her until she disappeared into another forest, far up the valley. It must have taken three hours just to get under the eaves of those trees. Fortunately, I still had plenty of energy, my training was paying off.

  I entered the woods with careful discretion. It was clear this was a test of my worthiness. I’d have to sneak up on her.

  I thought of my harem as I crept through the unfamiliar woods. I couldn’t wait to get back to them, with Meliss? in my grasp. I’m sure they were wondering where I was by now. Would they be worried? Angry? I already had enough trouble managing my current collection. But I couldn’t just let Meliss? go. She was my second love affair in Itán. Vio only joined because of her—and that power—she was a crucial addition.

  This forest was wary—more guarded, watching my every step. Was I really sensing its feelings, or was this chase driving me mad?

  There were hints and signs of Meliss?. Not broken branches and certainly not footprints. I couldn’t put my finger on it, a brief twinkle in the corner of my eye, the subtle scent of lemons. It may not have made sense, but I was confident I had her trail.

  It took a long while, but I caught up with her. The green fairy sat on a tree branch, dangling her legs. She wore an impatient expression as she waited. I watched her, careful not to make a sound, lest I announce my presence.

  She was low enough to reach, I only needed to get close without her noticing. I backed away. If I took the long way around I could approach her from the rear.

  Once I was behind her I took my time, pcing each step with silent care. I was only a couple of yards away, I could smell her lemon scent. I looked down, finding a soft patch of soil to pce my foot.

  When I looked back up, she was gone. The hair stood on my neck as I felt hot breath on my ear.

  “Pretty close, hunter-man,” Meliss? whispered.

  I jumped, heart racing, spinning around to grasp nothing but green dust. I was shoved to the side—then all was quiet. I darted my gaze every which way, but it was as if she had never been there.

  “I’m almost impressed,” she said from another tree branch, high above. “But there’s no way a human could sneak up on a fairy. It’s absurd.” The gde echoed with forced ughter.

  “Then how am I supposed to go about this?” I shouted, anger welling up within me.

  “I don’t know, Jethro. I promise not to make fun of you if you give up.” Her wings buzzed as she flew in close, brushing my shoulder before taking off through the forest canopy.

  “I’m not giving up,” I said through gritted teeth. I chased after her, foregoing all attempts at discretion. I crashed through the underbrush. A wild spirit took me as I tunneled in on her sparkling trail. I sensed the woods shifting, disapproving, reacting to my rampage, but I didn’t care. Meliss? was mine!

  I was brought to a sudden halt in a clearing. Saoirse stood in the open, poised with bow in hand. She raised her eyebrows at me.

  “Master,” she said. “I thought you were a frightened animal. Why aren’t you with the rest of the harem?”

  My mind cleared. Saoirse brought me back to ground level reality. My vision widened and embarrassment flooded into me.

  “It’s Meliss?,” I finally said, recollecting my composure. “She’s awake and has agreed to join us. But only if I catch her. What are you doing out here?”

  “We’ve spent so much time together recently. I thought it best to give you space while you attended to the needs of your neglected lovers. I was pnning to join you all in the night.”

  “I see. I’m sure they’re already pretty upset. It’s te afternoon. They’ll understand, right? It’s Meliss?.”

  “They will certainly be furious with you.”

  “I didn’t think it would take this long. Does she actually want to join my harem?”

  “Fairies have been known to make their pursuers chase them for days before allowing themselves to be captured. Even weeks in some legends.”

  “Weeks?” I shouted. “We don’t have that kind of time. Saoirse, can you help me with this?”

  “I am yours to command,” she said with a bow.

  “Perfect. How do we go about this?”

  “Fairies are a most formidable prey,” Saoirse expined, her cool voice soothing my anxiety. “They’re rarely caught without intentionally allowing it. Their senses are strong, so they cannot be snuck up on without high level obfuscation magic. And their movement is too fast for an outright attack. There is only one reliable way to successfully capture a fairy, and that is distraction.”

  “Distraction?”

  “Yes, in spite of their significant power, fairies are surprisingly easy to preoccupy.”

  “That’s perfect. She still doesn’t know we’ve talked. You can distract her while I sneak up from behind.”

  “Sneaking is too risky,” she corrected. “Our chances of success will be greater if I can lure her into a location where you are already hiding.”

  “How are we supposed to do that? She’s probably long gone by now.”

  “If we wait, she will likely return to tease you.”

  Saoirse helped me find a suitable hiding pce in the shadows behind a rge tree.

  “You’ll need to be able to move freely. Be silent, put all of your attention into the tree. There is nothing else but the tree. Study the texture of its bark. Imagine what it must feel like to be this tree, to be a part of it.”

  “Hmm, I can do that,” I said, staring at the bark. I assumed she was just giving me something to do to pass the time, but after a while I found myself connecting. The tree and I were communicating, in some manner. Not with words but with some other, subtle sense. Much like I had felt about the woods earlier today. The tree seemed to acknowledge and even appreciate my presence and attention.

  Hours went by, the low clouds dimmed as evening settled over the valley. I could almost feel Lavendu’s worry and Era’s anger, not to mention everyone else. And I didn’t want them turning on Saoirse. Would they accuse me of favoritism if they knew we were together today?

  ***

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