by Bonnie Lamer
Glowering at me, Dagda asks, “Will you ever show me respect/”
“Sure, when you earn it. Wallowing in self-pity like this is not a good start. Who cares if you spurned the Queen? That doesn’t give her the right to come kill all the males in the Fairy population. You are not guilty of making her a sociopath. She had to have been born that way. If you didn’t set her off, someone else would have. Yeah, it sucks it was you but get over it already.”
The scotch must be getting to Tana because she giggles a little. “Your daughter has so many of your traits, dear husband.” Did she just insult me, Dagda, or both of us?
After studying his wife for a moment trying to figure out the same thing, Dagda decides to change the subject. He answers my question about Isla. “Isla wants to be here, but she volunteered to watch over the village this evening. With Raziel and Adriel at her house and us here, the village is left exposed. She and Tabitha will keep the peace and be on the lookout for anyone not caught in your spell.”
“That’s good.” I’m going to be a horrible Queen. I didn’t even think about stationing someone in the village. Dagda better not die anytime soon. I need many more years of life experience before I wear his crown.
Tana sets her empty glass down on the coffee table. She tries to stand up, but falls back into her chair with a giggle. “Dagda, be a dear and get me more, please.”
Seriously? She thinks this is the time to get drunk? Kallen must be reading my mind because he says quietly, “Better a glass or two of scotch than resorting to black magic when she’s so upset.”
I snort. “Alcoholism is not a good substitute for anything.”
“I do not believe we need to fear such a thing. To the best of my knowledge, these are the first drinks she has head since returning to us. Aunt Tana was never a drinker.”
Even though we are speaking quietly, the room isn’t big enough to keep our conversation from reaching Dagda and Tana’s ears. “Right you are, my precious boy,” Tana coos. Turning to Dagda, she frowns. “I asked you to get me another glass of scotch.”
Rising from his chair, Dagda scoops his wife out of her chair, causing her to giggle again. “My dear, I believe you have had enough. I am surprised you were able to finish the second glass.” Over his shoulder, Dagda says to Kallen and me, “Go get some rest. We’re going to start bright and early tomorrow.”
Kallen wraps an arm around my waist and steers me toward the Princess bedroom. “We should take his advice and get some rest.”
I crane my neck so I can see his sparkling green eyes. “I don’t think you have sleep on your mind.”
He grins. “There are many ways to relax.”
Maybe I should have taken that nap earlier.
Chapter 9
As soon as Kallen closes the door behind us, my clothes begin to magically disappear until I am wearing nothing but my lace panties. “You are perfection,” Kallen whispers. “I need to touch you.”
My sexiest smile in place, I crawl onto the bed. “Then you are overdressed.” I watch as his shirt disappears exposing the hard lines of his torso. His six pack abs and sculpted chest. His biceps that bulge with every movement of his arms. His jeans disappear and his strong legs bring him to the bed with the grace of a panther. He is mine. All mine. I reach for him and he moves into my embrace.
“I will love you forever,” he tells me, kissing a trail along my jaw until he reaches my mouth. His kiss is deep and sensual, causing sensations in every part of my body.
My hands stroke his muscled back, my nails lightly grazing his skin. “I will love you forever,” I assure him.
I am lost to the seduction. Nothing penetrates my mind except the feel of Kallen’s touch on my skin. His hands explore everywhere and his mouth follows. I return the caresses and kisses until it is impossible to continue without joining our bodies as one. I thirst for Kallen. I hunger for him. We are whole when we are together. Joining our bodies is only a physical representation of the joining of our souls, but I need it. I need to make love to him emotionally, spiritually and physically. When we are as one, even the heavens could not break us apart. Each stroke, each thrust brings me closer to Nirvana. I love him with every iota of my being and I know in my heart and mind that he feels the same about me.
As we reach our bodies’ threshold for pleasure, I whisper, “I will never let you go.” My words bring him to climax and I follow.
When breathing normally is once again possible, Kallen kisses me. “I will never let you go, either. Never, ever doubt that.”
I snuggle into him content for the moment. But it doesn’t take long for the events of last night and today to start creeping back into my mind. First, I check my magic, making certain I didn’t accidently lose focus on the sleeping spell as we made love. I didn’t. Now my mind is spinning in a hundred different directions, seeking a clear path to an answer but I find a dead end in every direction. “What can we do?”
Kallen hugs me tight. “I wish I knew.”
“How can an entire race be turned evil by one scorned Queen?” I ask, not really expecting an answer.
Kallen responds anyway. “I do not believe the entire race is evil. Irena was once a rational creature.”
“Let me guess, Dagda’s choosing Tana made her believe her ancestors were right in hating men.”
Tracing circles on my back, Kallen says, “There was more to it than that. She attempted to make changes in their culture and her people rebelled. Then several who had once believed in her turned against their race and helped the Merpeople imprison them. Being locked up for centuries could make anyone bitter.”
Yeah, I’d probably be bitter. “You aren’t tempted by the endless nights of pleasure, are you?”
Chuckling, Kallen kisses the top of my head. “I already have that.”
He always knows the perfect thing to say. “I’m so tired but my mind is racing too fast for me to sleep.”
“I know what you mean.”
“It doesn’t seem right to sleep while the Sirens are singing. I should be out there protecting the Fairies and Mermen.”
Placing a finger under my chin, Kallen lifts until he can see my face. “You are doing more than anyone in regards to keeping everyone safe. No one else could work that spell.”
“But the spell isn’t enough.” Sitting up, I say, “I want to check on them.”
Kallen pulls me back to him. “They are fine. My love, you need rest. We have all of tomorrow to figure out what to do next.”
“More like twelve hours tomorrow,” I correct him. “We only have from dawn to dusk.”
He shrugs. “Plenty of time to find a solution.”
I give up arguing. There’s no point because he’s right. None of us will be able to think clearly if we don’t sleep. If only my eyelids would get the message. They are firmly holding onto an open position. After half an hour or so, Kallen’s breathing evens out. I’m glad one of us can sleep. Slowly, I ease myself away from him so I can get out of bed. Slipping on a robe, I move to the balcony doors, open them and walk through, closing them behind me. I can hear their song now. More of them are singing tonight, their voices in perfect harmony. They must have called in reinforcements when no one walked into the sea last night. I wonder how many are out there waiting for male Fairies to kill themselves so they can derive power from the sacrifice. Magic is a strange thing.
The night is chilly and I turn to go back inside when I hear my name being called on the wind. “Xandra.” I turn back to the darkness. “Xandra.”
Their voices are too distinct not to know a Siren is beckoning me. My guess is Irena. I send out feelers with my magic, trying to determine her location. I let my own voice ride into the night. “What do you want?”
“You know what I want,” she says.
“Well, too bad. You can’t have him. I’ve done nothing to wrong you and I won’t pay the price for other people’s sins.” Did that sound as childish out loud as it did in my head? I sound like a two year old arguing over
a doll.
“We all must pay the price for the past. Your father did wrong by me. He spoke of love and claimed to cherish me.” The voice is getting more agitated with every word. “It was all lies. He claimed another for himself with no care for my pain.” It’s not just me sounding childish now.
Might as well keep it going. “Oh, boo hoo. Get over yourself already. Everyone has had a bad breakup at some point.” I haven’t, but she doesn’t need to know that. “Only a select few like you use it allow themselves to embrace their sociopathic tendencies.”
“You are your father’s daughter,” Irena scoffs. “Selfish and unfeeling.”
“Oh, I have feelings. I have feelings for the innocents you want to drown for the sake of your own power. You are the selfish, uncaring one. How can you do that night after night? How black your soul must be.” I wonder how many Sirens make it past the cleansing of their souls and move on instead of being returned as grasshoppers or something. I’ll have to ask Adriel the next time I see her.
An interesting thing is happening, though. As Irena speaks, my magic is closing in on her. It is like a hound dog searching for a scent, it focuses on her voice. She’s definitely not in the ocean. She’s close by. In the river, maybe? Or in the woods. Is she close enough to see me? I suddenly feel vulnerable out here alone on the balcony.
“All men have evil in their hearts. Mourn for them if you must, but if you search for the truth you will see find I am right. That’s why men answer our call. Every man is open to infidelity if the right offer comes along.”
“Wow, glad you aren’t my mom giving me dating advice. I might become as bitter and stupid as you.”
Irena is angry now. I can feel it in the night air. “I could kill you where you stand in your silk robe on that balcony.”
So, she can see me. She really is close. I still cannot pinpoint exactly where, though, as the night is saturated with Siren magic. That’s okay, knowing she is close is enough. Pulling hard and fast on my magic, I push it all outward in a circle around the palace. Wherever the Siren is, my magic will find her. I know it hits its mark when I hear a scream of pain. How easy it would be to let my magic consume her. I push harder. Harder. But I’m not a killer. Even if I was, the other Sirens would have even more reason to target us. Killing Irena will do no good. Therefore, I will try another route. I will give her a chance at redemption. “Leave this place, Irena. Leave or you will suffer a fate worse than the ones you force into suicide. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.” I tug my magic back. “Go now and I will spare you.” I know I sound like a cheesy movie, but it seems to do the trick. Irena is moving away from the palace at great speed. I debate going after her, but without an exact location, I would be teleporting blind. I really don’t want to end up inside a tree or the side of the cliff. The best I can do now is hope she takes my words to heart and calls off this silly standoff we have going on.
I know, I’m a dreamer.
Chapter 10
When I walk back into the bedroom, I find Kallen awake, propped up against the headboard. There are two round, black beasts on the bed with him. “Do you really believe she’s going to give up just because you tell her to?” Taz snarks as soon as his beady little eyes see me.
I’m tempted to suffocate him with a pillow. “Where have you been all day?” I ask instead. Other than the brief time he and Felix were in the sitting room with us, I haven’t really seen much of him.
“We were with Tabitha in the village, if you must know.”
I put my hands on my hips and stare at him in disgust. “You’re my Familiar but you follow Tabitha around because she gives you more food than I do?”
“Yup.” At least he’s honest.
Kallen has yet to say anything. He’s watching me, trying to figure something out. Finally, he says, “Why did you let her go?”
“Honestly?”
“No, please lie to us. We like it when you do that,” Taz grumbles.
“Shut up.”
“Me?” Kallen asks.
I shake my head. “No, the idiot on the bed with you.”
“I do hope you are not referring to me,” Felix drawls.
“Of course not.”
“Xandra, could you limit your conversation to one of us at a time?” Kallen asks.
With raised brows, I counter, “You try having a Tasmanian devil being snarky to you all day and see how often you can give your undivided attention to anyone.”
“Point received,” my gorgeous husband says. He looks good with his sleep mussed hair and stubble.
“Back to your question, I didn’t follow her because I couldn’t tell exactly where she was. I understand what you mean now about how the Sirens’ magic fans out making it pretty much impossible to locate them. I didn’t want to teleport into the woods blind.”
“Why not? You’d make a great oak tree,” Taz tells me. “Or maybe a bramble bush. Or a large mushroom.”
“Are you about done?”
“If you aren’t going to let me sleep, I need to amuse myself somehow,” Taz informs me.
“You just got here. How have I been keeping you from sleep?”
“Xandra, please, ignore him,” Kallen begs. “I assume it was Irena. Do you think you got through to her?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Wherever she was, I did catch her with my magic and it burned through her like it would anyone else.” At least, I’m pretty sure it did. I guess there is a very slim chance something else made Irena scream in pain. Maybe she twisted her ankle tripping over a log or something.
There is suddenly hope in Kallen’s eyes. “Do you think you could hold her with your magic?”
“I think so. If we can find her again, that is.” It just now dawns on me that I could have held her in place and had Kallen or someone go looking for her. Capturing Irena might give us the advantage. On the other hand, having the Queen of the Sirens so close might make the males in the palace easier targets. She won’t make herself such an easy target again. I should have chanced it and gone after her. She was close by and I couldn’t pinpoint her location, but I bet I could have found her without teleporting. Yup, I’m Idiot of the Year. With her going back to the sea? Proverbial needle in a haystack.
Pulling myself from my ruminations, I notice there is a gleam in Kallen’s eyes I don’t like. “What are you thinking?”
He evades the question. “I am thinking you should come back to bed.”
“Shouldn’t I wake Dagda and Isla and tell them what happened?”
Shaking his head, Kallen says, “No. Since there is nothing to be done about it, telling them can wait until morning.”
“Okay, but when they start yelling at me for not telling them sooner I’m blaming it all on you.” I pull back the covers on my side of the bed and crawl underneath them. I snuggle up to Kallen again. Through a yawn, I say, “Pajamas, please.” I don’t like to sleep naked with Taz and Felix in the room. Taz is my Familiar but he doesn’t need to be familiar with every part of me. Besides, he’d probably say something to make me self-conscious and the last thing I need right now is less confidence.
Scooting down on the bed, Kallen wraps an arm around me and pulls me close. “I don’t like waking up and finding you gone. It makes me fear you have run off to do something foolish.”
I give him a sour look. “Gee, thanks.” Glancing at the two Tasmanian devils at the end of the bed, I ask, “How did they get in here?” The bedroom door was closed.
“They were scratching at the door so I let them in.”
Grinning, I ask, “Are you developing a soft spot for them?”
“No, not at all. I simply know at least one of them would seek revenge if I didn’t let them in.” He’s probably right.
“Wanker,” Taz grumbles.
“He just called me a wanker, didn’t he?”
I can’t lie to my husband. “Yup.”
Kallen moves his foot, pushing Taz off the bed. “You can sleep on the floor tonight.” Felix chuckles and c
urls into a tighter ball to fall asleep. Taz hops back up on the bed grumbling, but he curls up, too. There are no more snarky comments from him the rest of the night.
To my surprise, I do get a few hours of sleep. I wake to Kallen nuzzling my neck. “I hate to wake you, but it’s nearly dawn.”
I remember the days when I thought seven was too early to get out of bed. Now, I wish I could sleep until seven. “I’m up,” I mumble into my pillow.
Kallen chuckles softly. “I do not believe curling deeper under the covers and hugging your pillow tighter is synonymous with getting up.”
“You’re such a stickler for details,” I grumble.
“You have left me no other recourse.” With that, my darling husband starts tickling me. Something I am very sensitive to.
“Kallen, stop!” I cry between laughs. “You’re going to make me pee my pants.”
“Well, that’s our cue to get off the bed,” Taz snarks. He and Felix jump to the floor. I suspect it is less about believing they will be sleeping on a pee stained bed than their fear of being kicked by my flailing legs.
To my relief, Kallen stops tickling me. Giving me a quick kiss, he gets out of bed. I love watching him stretch in the mornings. All of his muscles ripple and bulge. He doesn’t have the same modesty issue I have about the Tasmanian devils, so I get to see every detail of his body. It is quite a show.
“Sure you don’t want to come back to bed?” I purr.
He grins at me. “I would like nothing better.” He starts to move toward me but a knock on our door has him turning around. On his way to opening it, he uses his magic to create a pair of jeans.
I’m not surprised to see Dagda standing in the door frame. “It is almost dawn. Meet me downstairs in five minutes.” Without waiting for a response, he turns and walks away.
“He’s cheery in the morning,” I say, getting up and doing my own stretching. Mostly because Kallen likes checking me out as much as I do him.
Staring after him, Kallen says, “I would be surprised to discover he slept at all last night.”