by Bonnie Lamer
“I believe they are coming around,” Kegan says from where he’s standing over Rhiannon.
Xandra turns to Alita. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to meet you at the house, okay?” Alita nods, still in a daze from this whole experience. When Xandra uses her wings and flies away, Alita starts walking towards Grandmother’s house. Kegan and I each pick up an unconscious body and start walking in the opposite direction.
Chapter 11
“Who is she, Kallen?” Kegan asks as we trudge through the sand.
“You will know soon enough.”
“Xandra was right. You have become the king of secrets.”
I sigh. “It is not my story to tell, cousin. You will hear the story from Xandra’s lips.”
He is quiet for a moment as we move from the beach to the path through the woods that leads to Rhiannon’s house. I am not relishing the idea of having to explain to anyone in her family how she came to be in this state. I believe it would be considered an act of war. I shake my head in disgust with myself. All of this could have been avoided if I was not such a coward.
About halfway down the path, both girls begin to come round. When Rhiannon opens her eyes and realizes where she is, she wraps her arms around my neck. “You saved me,” she says with a grin.
I snort. “More like I picked up the pieces of you when you did something foolish.” I stop walking and unceremoniously drop her to her feet. “As you are alive and well, you can continue on your own. I have better company to keep.”
Her eyes become murderous. “Going back to your half breed?”
I chuckle. “My half breed as you call her just kicked your ass in a magical duel. Perhaps your blood line needs a little tainting to make it more powerful.” No, I am not helping the situation but it is hard to resist pointing these things out. I believe Xandra may be rubbing off on me.
“You are a bastard, Kallen. I do not know why my sister even wants you.”
I shrug. “Me either. You think I am a bastard now, you should see me when I have spent more than a minute or two in your sister’s company.” Rhiannon’s face flushes red with anger.
In my peripheral vision, I see that the girl Kegan is carrying has also woken. He sets her on the ground and steps to my side. Ignoring Rhiannon, he says, “Are you ready?”
With a grin, I change into my raven form. Kegan has become his sparrow form and we fly away. A very angry Rhiannon watches us go.
Flying back to the house is much faster than walking. I love the feel of soaring through the air like this. I wish Xandra could do this with her Angel wings. She can fly with them. She just cannot let anyone know that she has them.
Landing on the terrace, we both shift back to our Fairy forms. Kegan walks ahead of me into the house in search of Alita and Xandra. I am close on his heels.
We find them in the kitchen. Before I have a chance to even open my mouth, Kegan says, “Perhaps now you could enlighten me about who you really are.” He glares at me. “My dear cousin has absolutely refused to do so.”
I grin as I walk behind Xandra’s stool. I wrap my arms around her waist and give her a kiss on the cheek. It is too soon for that, apparently.
“Uh uh, you go over there,” she demands disentangling herself from my arms. “You have a lot of explaining to do before I say another word about me. What’s all this hand fasting stuff – and why did I have to hear about it from a complete stranger?”
Tabitha’s hands go to her hips. “You have not told her?” Her right hand reaches out so fast I barely see it before it smacks into the back of the head. “Of all the things not to tell her, you pick the most important thing?”
“Ouch,” I say as I rub head. “I am going to explain right now.”
Tabitha doesn’t look appeased; she looks like she’s going to hit me again. I believe it best to move out of range. I walk to the other side of Alita using her as a buffer.
“I’m waiting.” Xandra’s fingertips are drumming on the counter.
I attempt to stall. “Do you not want to know if Rhiannon and her friend saw your wings first?”
“No.” With that one word, she has told me that if I do not tell her the story right this minute, I will not have the opportunity again.
I sigh. This could still be the last conversation we have even when I have told her the truth. Here goes. “I believe I told you before that my mother’s sister is married to King Dagda.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“The idea when they got married was to show unity between the Sheehogue and the Pooka Fae. And to unite the two blood lines on a more physical level. There was, and still is, a lot of Sheehogue opposition to this idea. Most Sheehogue see this as a way for the Pooka to gain more power with no benefit at all for the Sheehogue blood lines, only weakening of them. But, my mother and her sister, and the rest of their family, hoped that the merging of blood lines would result in tempering the wildness of the Pooka with the more civilized Sheehogue blood; preventing civil wars and ensuring peace in the realm. For this reason, my grandparents on my mother’s side arranged the marriage between Dagda and my Aunt Tana. A child of theirs would be of both bloodlines, making the throne blood neutral. Unfortunately, they were never capable of conceiving.”
“Okay, what does any of this have to do with you and this Xenia person being hand-fasted?”
“When it became apparent that Aunt Tana would not bear a child, she turned to my mother and a friend for help in furthering their goal. So strong were my mother’s beliefs that combining blood lines would bring peace and unite the realm, she agreed to participate in an ancient ritual with Xenia’s mother. Xenia’s Pooka bloodline is as pure as our own, so it would have been a strong union. The ritual they performed had been used many centuries ago to keep blood lines pure. It was also a ritual that was outlawed centuries ago, and it is considered a high crime to perform it. Despite that, they went ahead. For the first time in history, the ritual was performed to unite a Sheehogue and a Pooka.” I have to pause a moment to push the bile of anger back down my throat.
“What did they do?” Xandra asks.
“They performed a blood bonding ceremony, attempting to unite mine and Xenia’s blood. The desired result of the ritual is that the two Fairies brought together may not love anyone else. They will be irresistibly drawn to each other, whether they are suited for each other or not.”
Her brow furrows. “So, it’s like a love spell?”
I shake my head and bile be damned, I let the anger spew out in my words. “No, the two are drawn together out of compulsion, not love. They may hate each other, but still find they cannot be with another.” I will never understand why my mother wanted such a fate for me. She may have wanted peace, but using me as a pawn and attempting to shove such a terrible fate onto me has left a dark spot in my heart where my love for her should be.
For the first time in this conversation, Xandra looks nervous instead of angry. “So, you’re drawn to this Xenia?”
That she is concerned about such a thing almost makes me smile. “No.”
She lets out a sigh of relief. “The blood bonding didn’t work? Was that because you were from different Fae blood lines?”
I shake my head. “No, neither my mother nor Xenia’s did enough research regarding the ritual. Both parents must be present and give their consent, and magic, for the binding to take. When the first ritual failed – our blood refused to combine in the mortar bowl, they approached their husbands. They wanted to perform the ritual again. Xenia’s father was very much in favor of the idea, but my father was furious. Grandmother even more so.”
“She doesn’t want the blood lines to combine?”
“It is not that. Grandmother believes that Fairies should marry for love, not to keep a blood line intact. And if they happen to love someone of a different blood line that should not be a concern.” I smile as I think about how she sent me to find Xandra knowing I would fall in love with her. “Her objection to the ritual was, and is, the loss of free
will. That was why the ritual had been banned. Forcing one to be with someone they probably would not have chosen on their own is cruel and selfish, and can lead to a life time of emotional pain.”
“What happened when Isla and your dad found out?”
I take a moment before responding. In the silence, Grandmother’s voice resounds through the kitchen. “As High Chancellor of the judicial system, I had no choice but to banish both women from the Fae realm.”
Xandra must not have heard her come in because she practically falls of her stool. “You’re the High Chancellor of the judicial system?” she asks.
Grandmother smiles, though it’s a sad smile, and comes farther into the room. “Yes, I am the High Chancellor of the judicial system. I preside over crimes involving high magic.”
“And you banished your son and his wife from this realm?” That is a fair, if harsh, question.
Grandmother shakes her head. “No, I did not banish my son. I did not want to have to banish his wife, either, but the laws against performing certain rituals have been rendered for very good reasons. And the penalty for performing these rites is banishment. I could not change the laws simply because she was my daughter-in-law. I was also concerned that she may try the ritual again.” Everything Grandmother must have felt at the time washes over her face – anger, sadness, betrayal, shame, disgust. It is all there. “Xenia’s mother left this realm alone. Her father has since hand-fasted with another.”
The shock on Xandra’s face is tangible. “But Kallen’s dad chose to go with her? Even after she tried to do that?”
“Yes,” Grandmother says simply.
Looking at me, Xandra asks softly, “Is that why your parents were in my realm when they were killed by humans?”
I nod hoping she will not pursue that line of questioning. I will not keep anything from her, but there are some things that are still difficult for me to speak of even after all these years.
Changing the subject back to its beginning, Xandra says, “I’m not sure that I understand. If the ritual didn’t take, why is Kallen hand-fasted with this Xenia person?” Magic is rising with her temper. I do not think she even knows she is doing it.
“Unless you plan to use that magic, dear, you should let it go. I understand there has already been another incident today,” Grandmother says calmly.
Xandra gives her a sheepish smile. Looking back at me, she asks, “Kallen, why?”
“Because Xenia’s family claims that the ritual was successful, that the blood did join. Regardless of the fact that my mother swore on her life that it did not. And regardless of the fact that it was illegal to perform the rite, their belief is that what is done is done and we must abide by the law of magic over the law of the realm.”
“So, they think you two are married?”
I nod because I am once again too angry to speak for a moment. After a couple of deep breathes, I say, “That is their claim. But, it has been strongly refuted during our lifetimes. The principle argument being that I am not in the least bit, not even an infinitesimal, miniscule part of me, drawn to Xenia.” I hope I emphasized that enough.
“If that’s true, then why didn’t you tell me this before?”
I cannot help but smile. “Because, my little Witch Fairy, you have a nasty temper and I know what happens when you get angry.”
Her brows rise. “You mean all those arguments we’ve had have been you trying not to make me mad?”
“Did you say Witch Fairy?” Kegan asks in disbelief. He quickly moves to anger now. “You brought the Witch Fairy here? Where every Pooka Fairy wants her dead?”
“That was my thought exactly,” Xandra grumbles though that had my position on the matter. Not hers.
“Yes, it needed to be done,” Grandmother says in her matter-of-fact way. “She is the only one who can stop the rebellion.”
Kegan is not appeased. “How will she do that if she is dead? How is she supposed to protect herself?”
It is done. He is not going to change anyone’s mind. Especially now that Xandra has learned the real reason behind Xenia wanting her dead. “You have spent time with her. Does she in any way resemble a delicate flower to you? I believe she is quite capable of protecting herself. She may not be able to clothe herself, but I would bet on her against the entire Pooka rebellion.” Her power is growing stronger every day. There is truth in what I am saying. Unfortunately, though, it is not just strength that wins a war.
“But, what if she’s ambushed? She can’t be on guard every minute of the day.”
I chuckle. Being able to defend herself from ambush is one of the things she does very well. And I can prove it. In a flash, I have a crossbow in my hand and I aim it at Xandra who is only a couple of feet away. Then I pull the trigger.
My arrow is stopped almost immediately by a wall of magic. What I did not expect was for her to wrap the wall around me. When the hell am I going to learn that her control increases when she is annoyed? Perhaps after she stops throwing fruit from the counter on my head. One at a time. Oranges. Bananas. Papayas. The bananas are not so bad but the other two hurt.
“Xandra, is this really necessary?” I ask as I duck an orange. “I was simply making a point.”
She responds with a sweet smile. “So am I.”
The initial fear that I was actually trying to kill her has passed and now the others in the room are enjoying the show. Glad they are amused at my expense. Xandra drops the last banana onto me and then she lets her magic go.
I narrow my eyes in her direction. “You are going to pay for that.”
She believes me. I know this because she jumps off her stool and runs out of the room. I like this game. I know I am faster than she is. I catch up to her at the stairs and grab her arm, pulling her close. She does not know what to expect and I cannot help a chuckle at her wary expression. Lucky for her there are things far sweeter than revenge. Placing a hand in her hair to pull her even closer, I capture her lips. Her sweet, beautiful lips that open for me so I can delve into her luscious mouth. This kiss is so mind blowing, I am tempted to lay her against the stairs and take things as far as she will let me. It is with great regret that I finally let her up for air.
She is definitely breathless. “Wow,” is all she can manage a minute later.
Pressing my forehead to hers, I let the desire for honesty guide my words. “I was afraid to tell you about Xenia. Afraid that you would not want to be with me if you found out.”
She smiles and puts her hand on my cheek. “Thanks for all that confidence in my love for you. I appreciate it,” she teases. A growl rises from my deep in my chest and I capture her mouth again. She is laughing, though, so it is not nearly as satisfying as last time. But I do know now that my fears were unfounded so she can tease all she likes.
“Am I forever going to find you two in an embrace?” Kegan asks sourly from where he’s leaning against the door frame to the living room.
“Go away,” I growl against Xandra’s lips. She knows I am not talking to her.
Still laughing, she presses against my chest. “Be nice,” she says.
I am all out of niceness for Kegan today. I pull her back against my chest and bring my lips to hers again and I find no resistance. My god, I could kiss her forever. But, her eyes pop open when she hears Kegan shouts out an oath.
“You bloody bastard!” he yells as he is being propelled backwards with his arms flailing like a windmill. Eventually, he falls to his butt as I continue to push him with my magic. Apparently Xandra’s sympathy for him is limited because she is laughing so hard she can barely breathe. Kegan is to the door leading back to the kitchen now. He tries to hold onto the door jamb, but it does not help. He disappears around the corner of the door.
Xandra shakes her head. “He’s going to get back at you for that.”
I shrug. “Probably.”
“Isla sent him out to get us, didn’t she?”
“More than likely.”
“Come on.” She grabs my hand
and pulls me back towards the kitchen.
“I could still be kissing you if you were not dragging me back in there. It would certainly be more pleasant.”
“And have Isla be the one that comes out to get us next? I don’t think so.” With a resigned sigh, I let her pull me along
Chapter 12
Back in the kitchen, Alita and Tabitha look amused and Grandmother only looks mildly annoyed. Kegan looks pissed and he starts to pull magic when he sees me.
Tabitha steps in before any real violence can occur. She is used to breaking us up when one or the other of us has pushes things too far. I definitely pushed him too far this time but it was worth it. “Boys, that is quite enough. You will not be having one of your wars in my kitchen. Kallen, apologize to Kegan.”