I was back in the Love Fairy Kingdom.
The golden board of achievers loomed in front of me, its surface gleaming like it held some sacred truth.
Doverel had claimed the top spot again — 450 couples in a month. Of course she did.
As for me?
Dead last.
Not that it mattered.
Sure, I still had the rest of the day to rack up a few more names. But let's face it — nothing was going to change. I'd stay at the bottom no matter how many times I twisted myself to fit into their perfect little mold.
And why should I care?
It's not like I believed in their brand of romance anyway.
So while the other Love Fairies scattered like ants chasing after numbers and applause, I did what I was meant to do all along.
No more distractions. No more pretending.
It was time.
I went after what I truly needed: The Emerald.
Of course, I couldn't just snatch it out in the open. Not yet.
Not while every corner of this kingdom was guarded, watched, and tied up in layers of enchanted protocol.
Patience. Precision. That was key.
The power inside me swelled, rising like a storm just beneath the skin. I took a deep breath, steadying the surge.
It was time to use my kind of magic.
Pheromones.
Perfect for Love Fairies. It only worked on those bound by Love Magic. Not everyone — just the ones tied into our delicate, ridiculous ecosystem of feelings and fixation.
Now, some might say it's wrong — manipulative.
But sometimes, a necessary evil is the only path forward.
Yes, it's infectious. Yes, it overrides the will for a short time.
But it fades.
They won't remember.
No harm done.
Besides... these would be my people someday.
Whether they liked it or not.
I had no choice.
"What are you doing here, child? You stopped at one couple?"
Arisa's voice sliced through my thoughts like glass.
I didn't flinch.
Target acquired.
My eyes turned crimson, and a faint red mist curled from my palm.
I blew it softly toward her — a gentle, swirling breath that slid straight into her nostrils.
She froze.
Her gaze turned glassy, her stance slackened. Her expression emptied.
"Tell me where I can find the Emerald…" I said sweetly, my voice a gentle purr.
She blinked slowly. "I… I don't know…"
A grin tugged at my lips — sharp and knowing.
"Then spread the word."
Arisa nodded, mechanical, dazed — and wandered off without another word.
It was working.
I watched her approach a nearby palace guard. The red mist passed from her to him like a living thing.
Then from him to another.
And another.
The pheromones spread like wildfire through the palace corridors, touching one mind after another in a seamless cascade.
They never noticed.
And when the mist left each of them, they blinked — dazed and confused, as though waking from a pleasant dream they couldn't quite recall.
"Where was I going?" Arisa muttered aloud, standing right back where she had been moments ago, her expression vaguely puzzled.
"You were just nagging me to make more couples," I replied, keeping my voice bored, irritated. Message received.
I wasn't a great liar. But her question wasn't very specific either.
She squinted at me for a breath too long, then brushed past with a scoff, off to pester someone else.
I watched her go, my expression unreadable.
Just in time, one of the entranced guards approached me. His eyes were vacant.
He held out a small velvet bag and placed it in my hands, wordless.
Then he turned and walked away.
The mist slipped from his ear and disappeared like smoke in sunlight.
He blinked, turning back to me.
"Where's the score list again?" he asked, his voice airy, unaware of the exchange we'd just had.
I pointed casually to the wall behind me and walked off without a word.
I opened the velvet pouch and couldn't stop the smile that rose to my lips.
There it was.
That faint greenish glow.
The Baltimorean Emerald.
I almost couldn't believe it.
It had worked.
The King of Baltimore's greatest weapon — a stone said to shape reality itself — now rested in my palm.
The hum of its energy buzzed against my skin, ancient and undeniable — like the echo of something alive, long buried, now waking.
It slid under my skin like heat, like hunger.
Was I really mastering my powers this quickly?
Was everything I'd buried inside finally coming back?
I held it close, the pulse of magic curling into my ribs like a heartbeat.
Yes.
It was happening.
The Queen is coming back.