But it was a lie. She had never before been certain of this, but when she saw Malina, with a Man she loved and without her Power, then she knew.
And she knew, too, why Malina’s power had all but deserted her. It was not, as Malina supposed, merely that she had left her Pixie dress behind. The reason lay in what had caused Elves and Pixies to become estranged from one another in the first place.
The reason was nothing more than mortal love, and the natural birth of young that resulted. For what was mortal love, if not physical love, the love of things temporal.
Pixies like Imalwain, Éha, and Malina, were born into the world in a way that was altogether magical and mysterious. At the height of spring they would gather at an appointed place, a secret place, deep within the forest, once they had come of age, and in their tiny winged form would come together as one . . . a bystander would see a clearing full of tiny balls of light, swirling in a dizzying Dance of Life . . . they would move slowly closer and closer together, until they became a single entity, as bright and beautiful as a star.
Then, like a silent explosion, the single entity would burst apart, and each light, as it left, was now two . . . mother and daughter.