Blood of Centaurs: Book 12 of The Witch Fairy Series
Page 13
Ray has caught up to me now. We walk along in silence, his long legs keeping pace with my shorter ones. With him this close, his aura surrounds me and I experience a calm I can rarely attain on my own. I am surprised this doesn’t lessen my magic since it was anger and annoyance that caused it to go wonky like this. But it doesn’t. Not one iota.
We do not need to walk far for things to fall into place. Yes, we were led to this isolated place to be ambushed. But I admit, even in the Ray induced peace and harmony I’m feeling, I’m shocked to my core when I see who did the ambushing. I can’t help it. I begin to laugh.
With raised brows, Ray says, “I fail to see the humor in the situation before us. Care to enlighten me?”
I spread my arms out before us. “This is beautiful. Poetic justice. This is where the real problem lie the whole time.”
Ray glances from me to the immobile beings in front of us and then back again. “I am still lost,” he admits.
I shrug. “You probably had to be here to really get it.”
After a moment of silence while I ponder this new twist in the puzzle of peace, I say, “I think I brought you here because I was seeking the truth.” I turn to the Archangel. “You are the truth.”
Ray smiles but he is still confused. “Your mind works in ways I will never truly understand. It is a beautiful thing.”
He must mean it as a compliment because I don’t feel like bugs are crawling on me. “Don’t you see?” I ask, pointing again at the beings standing motionless before us. “I came here to help find peace and harmony. But neither of these things can be built without at least a basic foundation to start on.” I laugh again. “I knew this. Deep down, I knew this was part of the problem practically from the time I set foot in this realm.”
Understanding begins to swirl in Ray’s eyes. “For peace and harmony to truly exist, there must be equality.”
I smile up at him. “Exactly.” I turn back to the long row of archers before me. Like their counterparts, they aren’t modest. Neither the Centaur females nor the Faun females bother with coverings for their breasts. Their varying shades of long hair is pulled back from their faces, well away from the fiery arrows in their bows.
This changes everything. These beautiful half-women, half-horses and half-women, half-goats have changed everything. And I love them for it. I don’t care right now the means they used to bring about change, though I may later when I’m not in Ray’s presence.
My eyes focus on the second row of archers. It appears not all of them are female. There are several male Centaurs and a few male Fauns sprinkled into the mix. A closer look at one of the Centaurs increases my understanding of the situation. The resemblance is too clear to miss. Bayard has more to worry about than Pholos trying to take over. It seems neither of his sons appreciate the way he has ruled this realm.
Focusing on Ray once again, I stand on my toes and kiss him lightly on the cheek. “Thank you for helping me understand.”
He chuckles. “Perhaps next time you can simply invite me to meet you.” He winks at me. He’s not angry I summoned him this way. “Say hello to Raziel for me.”
I nod. “I will.” With a smile, Ray disappears. Now that I understand, it’s time for me to return, as well. I pull myself out of Angel time and the universe awakens once again.
17
Several archers in front of me are poised to release their arrows so I use my magic to stay them. It is only now they notice my sudden appearance. To them, it seems I have materialized out of thin air.
An older Centaur woman trots forward, her bow firm in her hands. “We have no quarrel with you, Fairy. Take yourself from here. Return to your realm and leave us to right the wrongs of this realm.”
I sigh. “I really wish I could. But, I can’t.”
Obviously displeased by my answer, the Centaur raises her bow toward me. “Then you will stand as our enemy?” she demands to know.
With a theatrical wave of my hand that isn’t really necessary, I make her bow disappear. “I don’t like having things pointed at me,” I say. Without the theatrical wave of the hand, I make the bows in the hands of the others disappear, as well.
“You deny us our desire for equality?” the Centaur demands in a feral growl.
I shake my head. “Definitely not. I just don’t like to be threatened. What I would like to do is talk to you about what you are seeking. Equality is a pretty vague term. This conversation should also include those you are fighting against.”
The Centaur snorts. “Bayard will not hear us. Pholos is no better. They have the male Fauns so beaten down, they are useless to our cause.”
A suspicion is forming in my mind. It’s confirmed when the Centaur who must be Bayard’s older son joins us. “Mother, who is she?”
“You’re Bayard’s first wife,” I say.
The Centaur nods. “I am Fraya.”
“Xandra,” Kallen says from behind me. I could feel him approaching. “Are you alright?”
I smile at him. “Yes. Meet my new friends.” I introduce him to Fraya and her son, Fayon. Fraya’s brows rise at the term friend, but she still greets Kallen politely. “It seems our agenda has changed,” I tell my husband and even I can hear the glee in my voice. Hopefully, we will be able to leave this realm knowing true change has occurred. Or at least is well on its way.
Fraya and Fayon visibly tense and I don’t need to turn to know why. “It’s time for everyone to sit down and talk,” I tell them as Dagda and the other Kings approach with their soldiers. “But we don’t need armies for this conversation.” Using the magic I have not released, I create a barrier separating us from the armies on either side. Only Dagda, Kegan, Tana, Bayard and Yerwen are brought forward to meet us. On the other side is Fraya, Fayon and Twill, the leader of the rebel Fauns. It must be my Angel wings that are giving me this knowledge of their names and roles.
It takes a few minutes to get everyone calmed down once the Kings are near enough to the females to figure out what is going on. In the meantime, I create a large round table tall enough for the Centaurs and create soft stools for those of us not that tall. We might as well be comfortable as we talk.
Bayard may have a stroke pretty soon. Yes, his deep, dark secret was to seek out this other son and name him as his heir, but what I didn’t discern from his secret is that he hasn’t ever actually met Fayon before. He has had spies watching him as he grew, but he never felt the need to meet him in person. That’s not creepy or weird at all.
When things finally calm down, we are able to get everything out on the table. Basically, the Centaur and Faun women want to be treated as equals. No surprise there. Being the old King set in his ways that he is, Bayard baulks at the idea. Until it is pointed out to him that the females in this realm outnumber the males. They have also built an intricate tunnel system underground to give them the upper hand when it comes to sneak attacks. They have cleverly hidden the trap doors so that they are near impossible to find. That’s why we couldn’t find the trap door under the barn that was used to kidnap Tana. It’s there, just really well disguised.
The females of the realm and the males who have chosen to stand with them have been training for years for this uprising. As most of the men went off to their jobs, the women used the time to learn to out skill them in warfare. I love these women. I really do.
As for the Sasquatch? The numbers have tipped in the Centaurs’ favor in regards to their armies. With the women willing to defend the realm alongside the males despite their differences, the Sasquatch’s chances of winning the war are dwindling quickly. Compromise moves up to the top of their priority list.
After listening to Fraya’s proposition, Yerwen grinds his teeth until I fear he’ll never be able to chew an apple ever again. “You are suggesting that we send agricultural workers here to clear small patches of land to farm for our realm yet we remain in the realm that is dying around us?” he snarls. I’m pretty sure some tooth enamel dust escapes his mouth as he says this.
“This is a generous offer,” Dagda insists. He has been impressed with Fraya, as well. She has all the right answers whether the males of her realm want to acknowledge it or not. My biological father even agrees to forgive her and her rebels for their kidnapping of Tana. Mostly because Tana insists that he does. He’ll do anything she asks right now he is so happy she is safe and sound. “The ecosystem of this realm will be minimally impacted and yours will be strengthened. Most importantly, you will have the peace you seek.”
As much as Yerwen wants to argue, he can’t unless he wants to admit that his goal all along was complete domination of the Centaur realm. I’m glad I didn’t let Kono in. She would be openly hostile by now.
In the end, a temporary peace treaty is hammered out between Yerwen and Bayard. The details need to be worked out, but it’s a start. Dagda agrees to leave some of his forces behind under the service of one of his best generals to help keep the negotiations on the right track.
As for the females of the realm gaining equality, this is not for us to negotiate. Only those of this realm can determine what makes them equal. But, I do promise to come back if Fraya and Bayard cannot come to an agreement. Or if Pholos tries to take it upon himself to end his father’s life and go against Fraya and Fayon.
After several long hours, we are all exhausted. Fraya and Bayard have a long road ahead of them. One that can only begin to be paved today. It’s time for them to back away from the table and digest all that has happened so far.
As for myself and the ones I love, we can go home.
18
I hold Kallen’s hand as we cross back over to the Fairy realm. Kegan, Dagda, Tana, Taz and Felix have already travelled through the passageway I created. I turn to close the fabric of the realms and wave to Fraya. She came to see us off along with Bayard. I feel a little sorry for Bayard. He looks at Fraya the way Garren looks at Isla. But I don’t see a happy ending in their future. Fraya has taken a new husband and is quite happy. I wonder how different things would have been if Bayard had stood up to his father all those years ago and not let him send Fraya away.
I’m not surprised to find Raziel waiting for us on the terrace. “Ray is well, I assume,” he says, a smug smile on his face. He already knows the answer.
I can’t be mad at him. He’s really not allowed to tell me these things. “He says hi,” I tell him. I filled Kallen in on my little chat with the Archangel.
Adriel joins us on the terrace. “Have you finished wreaking your own special brand of havoc on the Centaurs and Sasquatch?” she teases.
“I think I liked you better when you were shredding people’s souls,” I snark to the Fallen Angel of Death.
Unconcerned, Adriel pops a grape into her mouth. “I love you, too.”
“Xandra!” Zac shouts and bounds out of the house to throw himself into my arms. “Thank you for finding them,” he says, meaning Tana and Felix.
“I told you it wasn’t your fault.” I hug him tighter before letting him go.
“Neither is it his fault we will have a hand-fasting soon. I cannot say the same for you,” Tabitha grouses as she, too, comes out onto the terrace. She still wraps her arms around me and then Kallen and hugs us close.
Stretching his arms over his head, Kallen yawns. “I can use a nap,” he says. He wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Care to join me?”
“Oh please,” Taz gripes. “Like we don’t know what he means. I’m going to see if Tabitha saved any bacon.” He waddles off with Felix in tow.
As if Kallen needs to ask. Of course I want to join him. I nod and we promise the others to fill them in later about our trip. Dagda and Tana have already left for home but promised to return for dinner. We can go over everything then.
The first thing I want to do when we reach our room is get the smell of burnt barn off my skin. Kallen has no objection to following me into the bathing room. He pulls back the magic holding my clothes in place and I step into the wonderful, warm water. I hold my arms out to him, wanting to feel his naked skin against mine.
Joining me, Kallen engulfs me in his arms and brings his lips to mine. He kisses me until I forget about the Sasquatch and the Centaurs. He kisses me until I forget about the Fauns and their quest for equality. He kisses me until the only thing in the universe is this gorgeous Fairy who I know will love me forever. Against his lips, I murmur, “You are my idea of perfection, too.” Our bodies join and we forget all about taking a nap.