Hill paid no attention to Vera's impotent rage. Without this gift, he would never have dared take in the Fairies so readily.
The little creatures were adorable, but if he couldn't keep them in check, they would spell disaster.
When the terrace landed atop the Mage Tower, the Swan Fairies had all taken the form of tiny humans. Dressed in white robes, they were beautiful, and the other Fairies soon whisked them away to trade stories about what they had been through lately.
Oberon, meanwhile, took Phaella, the red-haired, green-eyed Swan Fairy God in a robe adorned with white feathers, down to the little garden below. They sat on a peony and began a solemn conversation.
Their solemnity, however, drew every Fairy's attention. Even the shyest Brownies hid in corners to watch.
Fairies had no sense of privacy. Oberon and Phaella were long used to being watched, but once they started talking—apparently about something the Fairy Queen had done—not only Vera but the other Fairies began chiming in with their opinions.
Hill watched Vera wave her staff excitedly, cursing the Fairy Queen in her shrill little voice. He suddenly understood that, despite always acting as though she cared about nothing, she still deeply resented being abandoned.
The only reason she hadn't become one of the Rage Fairies might even have been Amaunator's chalice. Beside that solar divine artifact, all her darker feelings had likely been driven away.
Only the Swan Fairies stood at the edge of the crowd, staring at one another in surprise. They had originally been a sisterhood of human rangers, and Phaella had accepted them because they were kind enough. The Fairies' ways were somewhat alien to them.
Hill carefully checked the terrace. Once he was sure no Fairies remained, he had Purvi carry him up again.