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“What if you’re flying on a ic carpet?” She unsnapped a pocket, and the carpet unfolded itself inover as far as she could, she held out her hand to Jax, who scrambled aboard
Froe point above it all, Veronica watched in silence as the drama unfolded, but she slid her hand across the soft blue threads and wound her fingers in Jax’s His warmth anchored her to a world where not all men were like her father or her mentor, who constantly plotted to take what they wanted, no matter the cost to others
The beanstalk’s shadow covered Antoine like death’s dark blanket He abandoned his hacksaw and took off running
The oldso hard to cut down broke under the weight of the hundred or so giant zo down Unable to hold onto the unstable beanstalk, they slipped off the vines Their large bodies tu humps that shook the leaves off the trees Even their hearty bones couldn’t take the ile
Antoine scurried on the ground as the beanstalk toppled over, crushing hiht
As the rass, Veronica searched for some sense of loss for the man who’d shown her the wonders of the world and stoked her passion for discovery She came up empty That o
As soon as the round, she ju before the goose ras
Veronica hunkered down beside the flustered bird and petted its soft feathers “It’s okay, Christmas It’s all over now”
The wet earth stank of decoreed It was a sickly combination For the first tiun, the reality of the deception hit her How many people had he sacrificed in this twisted little plot of his? The ry tears, the more her shoulders shook
Jax’s hard chest pressed against her back He didn’t say a word, just wrapped his good arm around her waist and held her as she cried
She wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand and sniffled a few more times “Thank you”
“Hey, if a one-arood is he?”
“Oh my God, your arm” Embarrassment infused her cheeks with heat “Let me see it”
She reached into her pocket, brought out a handful of pixie dust and scattered it over the shredded reic, reconnecting the torn tendons and popping his shoulder back into place Just as she was patting the newly healed skin, a cotton candy-scented breeze drifted through camp and the hair at her nape sizzled to life
“Jax–”