“Oh, lighten up, Rita!” Zair said, his moss-green hair obstructing his eyes like usual. “It’s just rain. We must be happy when it rains.”

It’s not that I don’t like water…just not falling from the sky.

“And why is that?”

“Because we’re faeries. Children of Earth. Rain makes the Earth happy, so we should be happy too. Rain is a precious gift.”

“Oy. No more deity stuff, please! I’ve told you a million times, I’m not proud of my mundane nature. I’d much rather be sailing. Sailing’s not good when it’s raining.”

“Rita, you can fly! Why on Earth would you want to sail?!”

“Not on Earth. On Water.”

Zair rolled his eyes at me. How annoying. “Whatever, Rita. You do realize that you can’t become a sailor, right?”

“And why not?” I gave what would become an infamous scowl.

“Because. You’re a faerie, child of Earth. The Water God’d sink your ship. You don’t belong on the water.”

“You’ll see, little imp.” She teased Zair. Becoming an imp is a faerie’s greatest fear. “You’ll see.”