The next morning…
Darquebane Manor looked like a battlefield.
At least…
One particular section of it did.
The master suite—an entire floor to itself—was in complete disarray.
Curtains half drawn.
Sheets twisted beyond recognition.
Pillows scattered across the floor.
One chair was on its side.
Another had somehow ended up several feet from where Jax distinctly remembered it belonging.
And Pandora's Box…
Apparently, at some point during the night, they had decided opening the box wasn't enough.
They had emptied it.
Completely.
Decorations and accessories were scattered throughout the room like evidence from a particularly enthusiastic crime scene.
Jax opened his eyes.
And stared at the ceiling.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Partly because he couldn't.
Mostly because memories were beginning to return.
Fragments.
Fairy Cider.
Pixie Mead.
More Fairy Cider.
Someone laughing.
Someone else encouraging him.
Then—
Jax closed his eyes.
Oh, God.
He remembered enough.
Not everything.
But enough.
Normally, Jax was perfectly happy letting the women set the pace. He enjoyed making them happy. Enjoyed following their lead.
Last night…
He hadn't.
Something about the combination of Pixie Mead, Fairy Cider, and finally letting himself stop thinking had apparently unlocked a side of Jax that none of them had seen before.
Including Jax.
He had taken control.
Completely.
He remembered things he'd said.
Things he'd demanded.
Things he definitely wouldn't have said sober.
He remembered surprised expressions.
Wide eyes.
A few moments when even Nyxian had looked shocked.
Jax swallowed.
I've gone too far.
That thought sobered him more effectively than his System ever could.
He'd lost control.
And worse—
He'd enjoyed losing control.
Jax stared at the ceiling.
They're going to hate me.
Then he became aware of his current predicament.
Naked bodies surrounded him in every direction.
Bunny was curled against one side.
Nyxian was partially sprawled across his chest.
Zee had claimed one arm.
Llandra was somehow still elegant despite being completely tangled in the sheets.
Pixelle—still human-sized—was wedged between Bunny and Zee.
And Lexi…
Jax looked down.
Then blinked.
Lexi had apparently discovered that Nyxian came equipped with built-in pillows.
She looked extraordinarily comfortable.
Nobody seemed angry.
Then again—
Nobody was awake.
Jax decided not to move.
Partly because he didn't want to wake them.
Partly because he wasn't entirely certain he wanted to face them yet.
So he remained there.
Listening to them breathe.
Thinking.
Remembering pieces of a night he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to remember.
And occasionally wondering how one of the pillows had ended up on the chandelier.
Morning Reviews
Zee stirred first.
She shifted against him.
Stopped.
Apparently reconsidered that movement.
Then very carefully settled back down.
Her eyes slowly opened.
And met Jax's.
Jax gave her a tentative smile.
"Morning."
Zee stared at him for several seconds.
Then smiled.
"Good morning."
That didn't sound angry.
Promising.
"How are you feeling?"
Zee considered the question.
"Sore."
Jax's stomach dropped.
"Zee, about last night—"
"And extremely satisfied."
Jax stopped.
Zee's cheeks turned pink.
But she didn't look away.
"I was going to say—"
"I know."
"You do?"
Zee nodded.
"You think you went too far."
Jax hesitated.
"Maybe."
Zee's smile grew.
"You didn't."
Jax studied her face.
"Are you sure?"
"Very."
That was when Nyxian's eyes opened.
"He's awake?"
Jax sighed.
"Unfortunately."
Nyxian lifted her head from his chest.
Her hair looked like it had fought a hurricane and lost.
She looked at Jax.
Then grinned.
"I like drunk Jax."
Jax closed his eyes.
"Of course you do."
"I agree."
Jax's eyes opened again.
Zee was smiling.
"You too?"
Zee's blush deepened.
"I found last night very…"
She searched for the word.
"Educational."
Nyxian laughed.
Bunny stirred.
"What're we talking about?"
"Drunk Jax."
Bunny's eyes remained closed.
"Oh."
A pause.
"I vote yes."
"There isn't a vote."
"There should be."
Pixelle suddenly lifted her head.
Her hair was everywhere.
"BEAST JAX IS THE BEST JAX!"
Jax stared at her.
"Please never call me that again."
"I make no promises."
Lexi stirred.
She yawned.
Then apparently realized where she'd been sleeping.
She looked down.
Then up at Nyxian.
Nyxian looked down at her.
"Comfortable?"
"Extremely."
Lexi extracted herself, shrinking back to her tiny form before fluttering toward the edge of the bed and returning to normal size.
She stretched.
Immediately regretted stretching.
Then smiled anyway.
"I have to say, that side of him was quite exhilarating."
Something apparently crossed her mind.
Her legs twitched slightly.
Lexi paused.
Then smiled wider.
"Very exhilarating."
Jax covered his face with one hand.
This was not going the way he'd expected.
He looked toward Bunny.
Bunny gave him a sleepy thumbs-up.
Nyxian was obviously useless.
Zee had apparently betrayed him.
Pixelle wanted to name his drunken alter ego.
Lexi was considering the evening exhilarating.
Which left—
"Llandra."
The Elf slowly opened her eyes.
Jax felt hope.
Llandra was reasonable.
Llandra was composed.
Llandra was the person who could be trusted to look at a situation objectively.
"Please tell them they're insane."
Llandra looked around the bed.
Then at the condition of the room.
Then at Jax.
She considered her response.
For entirely too long.
"I would not describe that side of you as unwelcome."
Jax stared at her.
Llandra's cheeks colored slightly.
"From time to time."
Nyxian's grin became dangerous.
"That's Llandra for every night."
"It most certainly is not."
"Every other night?"
"No."
"Twice a week?"
Llandra picked up a pillow.
Nyxian immediately ducked.
The pillow sailed over her head.
Jax stared at Llandra.
"You too?"
She met his eyes.
And softened.
"You were different."
"I know."
"You were considerably less restrained."
"I know."
"You were also attentive to how we responded."
That mattered.
Jax's expression changed.
Llandra reached across Zee and touched his hand.
"You didn't become someone else, Jax."
A small smile.
"You simply allowed us to see a part of you that you normally keep very carefully controlled."
Jax thought about that.
Zee shifted beside him.
Then winced slightly.
Jax noticed.
"So we're never doing that again."
"No!"
Zee answered so quickly that everyone looked at her.
Her face went scarlet.
Nyxian collapsed laughing.
Zee covered her face.
"That isn't what I meant."
"It sounded pretty clear," Bunny murmured.
Zee lowered her hands.
She looked at Jax.
"You said things last night."
Jax froze.
"What things?"
Zee's blush somehow deepened.
"Things."
"Zee."
"Very vulgar things."
Jax's stomach dropped.
"Oh."
"I've never heard you speak like that before."
"I'm sorry."
Zee blinked.
"Why?"
Jax stared at her.
Zee hesitated.
Then quietly admitted—
"I found it extremely exciting."
Silence.
Jax processed that.
Then another thought occurred to him.
"Wait."
Everyone looked at him.
"I don't usually curse?"
Nyxian burst out laughing.
Bunny buried her face in the pillow.
Even Llandra lost the battle and started laughing.
Jax sighed.
Apparently he'd learned several things about himself this morning.
None of them were particularly useful.
Escape
Eventually, Jax managed to extract himself.
It was not easy.
There were complaints.
Several protests.
Bunny grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back.
"Don't go."
"I'm making breakfast."
She released him immediately.
"Go."
Jax stared at her.
"That was fast."
"French toast?"
"Probably."
"Go faster."
Jax shook his head and climbed from the bed.
Behind him, Nyxian stretched carefully.
Very carefully.
"I still think we should get him drunk more often."
"Agreed," Pixelle said.
"Agreed," Lexi added.
Zee said nothing.
Jax looked at her.
She avoided his eyes.
"Zee?"
"Occasionally."
Jax sighed.
Llandra smiled.
"Very occasionally."
Somehow that wasn't reassuring.
Breakfast
The manor staff had been given the day off.
Intentionally.
Jax valued privacy.
Especially on mornings when the master suite looked like something investigators might need to document.
So he made his way downstairs without bothering to dress.
He liked the freedom.
He always had.
Exhibitionist?
Maybe.
Comfortable with himself?
Absolutely.
He did, however, put on an apron Bunny had bought him.
KISS THE CHEF.
Given everything that had happened during the previous twelve hours, Jax suspected the apron was making promises he wasn't currently prepared to keep.
He started breakfast.
French toast.
Sausage.
Fresh fruit.
Orange juice.
A dragon fruit blend.
Syrup warmed just enough to pour perfectly.
One by one, the women eventually appeared.
Not quickly.
Apparently stairs had become a subject of negotiation.
Nyxian came down wearing one of Jax's shirts.
Bunny arrived wrapped in a robe.
Llandra had somehow restored herself to near-perfect respectability.
Pixelle had returned to her tiny form and simply flew.
Lexi chose flying too.
Zee walked.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Jax watched her approach.
"You okay?"
Zee smiled.
"Wonderful."
"You're walking funny."
"I'm aware."
Nyxian passed behind her.
"Beast Jax."
Zee's face turned crimson.
Jax pointed the spatula at Nyxian.
"No."
Nyxian grinned.
Breakfast began.
The Ring
For a while, nobody discussed anything important.
They ate.
Bunny stole sausage from Jax's plate despite having her own.
Pixelle nearly drowned a piece of French toast in syrup.
Nyxian repeatedly looked at Jax and smiled for no apparent reason.
Jax knew exactly what the reason was.
He ignored her.
Then Lexi reached for the dragon fruit juice.
Sunlight caught her hand.
Zee saw the ring.
Her eyes followed it.
She had seen it before.
Of course she had.
But this morning—
Something about it felt different.
Maybe it was Pixelle's wedding.
Maybe it was the night before.
Maybe it was waking up surrounded by the people who had become her family.
Or maybe she'd simply waited long enough.
Zee looked at Jax.
"I want mine."
Jax stopped chewing.
"Your what?"
Zee nodded toward Lexi's hand.
"My ring."
Everyone went quiet.
Zee took a breath.
"I want to get married."
Jax swallowed.
"Okay."
Zee blinked.
"Okay?"
Jax smiled.
"Zee, I already asked you."
A small smile appeared.
"I know."
"And you already said yes."
"I know."
"So unless you've changed your mind, I'm still planning on marrying you."
Zee's smile grew.
"I haven't changed my mind."
"Good."
Jax reached across the table and took her hand.
"Neither have I."
Zee looked down at their hands.
Then back at him.
"I don't want to wait anymore."
That changed his expression.
"Okay."
"I want to find my family."
Jax listened.
"I want you to meet them. I want to do what we were supposed to do before."
Her eyes briefly moved toward Pixelle.
Pixelle suddenly became extremely interested in her breakfast.
Zee looked back at Jax.
"And then I want to get married."
Jax squeezed her hand.
"Then that's what we'll do."
Pixelle shot upright.
"We need to get you a dress!"
Zee slowly looked at her.
"What?"
"I already have a wedding dress."
Pixelle paused.
Bunny remembered.
"Oh, yeah"
Zee slowly turned toward Pixelle.
Pixelle froze in midair.
Then immediately pointed at Bunny.
"She brought it up!"
Zee narrowed her eyes.
"You stole my wedding."
"I DID NOT!"
"You got married during my wedding preparations."
"That was an emergency!"
Nyxian raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not sure that's how weddings work."
"I didn't know!" Pixelle protested.
"You still stole it."
Pixelle crossed her tiny arms.
"I borrowed it."
Zee stared at her.
"You can't borrow someone else's wedding."
Pixelle thought about that.
"Well, you can have it back now."
Lexi nearly choked on her juice.
Zee tried to maintain her glare.
She failed.
A smile broke through.
Then Bunny started laughing.
Nyxian followed.
Within seconds, the entire table had joined them.
Even Zee.
Especially Zee.
Where
The laughter eventually settled.
Then Llandra asked the question that mattered.
"Where do you want to do it?"
Zee looked at her.
"Home."
The word changed something.
Not dramatically.
Bunny still smiled.
Pixelle still hovered near the syrup.
Lexi was still admiring her ring.
But Llandra became more attentive.
So did Nyxian.
"Your home?" Llandra asked.
Zee nodded.
"My people."
Jax watched her quietly.
Zee continued.
"There are traditions. Things that are supposed to happen before someone marries."
Nyxian leaned back.
"Parents."
Zee nodded.
"My parents should meet Jax."
"Should they?" Nyxian asked.
Zee looked at her.
Nyxian's voice wasn't mocking.
That made the question considerably more serious.
Llandra spoke gently.
"You don't have to go home to marry him."
"I know."
"You could marry here."
Zee smiled faintly.
"I know."
Llandra gestured around them.
"You could have the largest wedding Solmere has ever seen."
Pixelle gasped.
Jax immediately pointed at her.
"No."
"I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!"
"You were going to."
"I was thinking!"
"That's what worried me."
Bunny laughed.
Llandra continued.
"Or something private. Only us. Whatever you want."
Nyxian nodded.
"Surrounded by people who already love you."
The unspoken alternative remained in the room.
Zee understood it.
"You're worried they won't accept me."
Neither woman answered immediately.
Zee looked down at her plate.
"I don't need their permission."
"I know," Llandra said.
"If my father refuses his blessing, I'm still marrying Jax."
"I know that too."
Zee looked at her.
"Then why are you looking at me like that?"
Llandra hesitated.
Nyxian didn't.
"Because you still want him to give it."
Zee went still.
The others quieted.
For a moment, the only sound came from somewhere outside the manor.
A carriage rolling along the street.
People talking.
Solmere waking up after the festival.
Zee looked down at her hands.
"I'd prefer it."
Llandra said nothing.
"That isn't why I'm going."
Still nothing.
"There are traditions."
"I know," Llandra said.
"I need to do this properly."
"I know."
Zee's fingers tightened slightly.
"I want them to meet Jax."
Nyxian watched her.
"And I want to see them."
That one was quieter.
More honest.
Zee looked toward Jax.
"I left."
Jax said nothing.
This wasn't something he needed to solve.
"I built an entirely different life."
Her eyes moved around the table.
At Bunny.
Llandra.
Nyxian.
Pixelle.
Lexi.
Then back to Jax.
"I want them to see it."
Llandra understood.
Perhaps better than Zee wanted her to.
Nyxian did too.
Neither pushed.
Because whatever else Zee told herself—
Some small part of her still carried a dream.
That she would return home.
That they would see the woman she'd become.
That they would see the people who loved her.
That they would meet Jax.
And somehow—
Everything would finally be different.
Zee didn't say any of that.
She didn't have to.
Finding Home
Bunny broke the silence first.
"So we go."
Zee looked at her.
Bunny smiled.
"We meet your family."
Her ears bounced.
"They're going to be so happy to see you."
Zee smiled.
A real smile.
"I hope so."
Llandra glanced toward Nyxian.
Nyxian saw it.
Neither said anything.
Lexi leaned forward.
"We can find them."
Jax looked at her.
"You know where they are?"
"Where they were," Lexi corrected.
Pixelle nodded enthusiastically.
"They moved."
Zee frowned.
"You know that?"
"Of course."
"How?"
Pixelle looked genuinely confused by the question.
"Fairies."
Jax waited.
Pixelle waited.
Apparently that was the explanation.
Lexi sighed.
"They settled outside the World Tree's influence. They followed one of the stronger mana flows away from it."
Jax nodded.
"And they've moved since then."
"A little."
"How little?"
Lexi and Pixelle looked at each other.
Pixelle shrugged.
"Fairy little."
Jax stared at her.
"That tells me absolutely nothing."
"I know."
She smiled.
"But we'll find them."
Zee looked between the two Fairies.
"You're sure?"
Lexi nodded.
"The mana flow hasn't moved."
Pixelle grinned.
"And neither have we."
Lexi looked at her.
"We've moved."
"You know what I mean."
"No, I genuinely don't."
Pixelle ignored her and flew toward Zee.
"We'll find them."
Zee held out her hand.
Pixelle landed in her palm.
For a moment, Zee simply looked at her.
Then smiled.
"Thank you."
Pixelle puffed out her chest.
"You're welcome."
Then—
"We should leave tomorrow!"
Jax nearly dropped his fork.
"Tomorrow?"
Bunny's ears shot up.
"Road trip!"
"We have portals," Jax said.
"PORTAL TRIP!"
Nyxian laughed.
Lexi was already talking about supplies.
Pixelle wanted snacks.
Bunny wanted more snacks.
Jax suspected those were somehow different categories.
Llandra began asking Zee what customs they needed to know before arriving.
And Zee—
Zee simply sat there.
Listening.
Smiling.
Her family around her.
Planning to meet the family she'd left behind.
Jax watched her.
Then reached across the table and took her hand.
Zee squeezed his.
Whatever waited for them—
They would face it together.
And for the moment, that was enough.