“I believe I was mistaken.”
Now it’s my turn to raise my eyebrows. “You? Mistaken?”
He gives me a sour look. “You stopped focusing on them when they became unconscious and then focused only on me. I think letting my magic go only sped up the inevitable. That you would have been able to push it out of me eventually.”
I can’t help the tiniest of smug smiles. “Is that your way of telling me that even though I’m a half-breed I’m stronger than you?”
He narrows his eyes but doesn’t rise to the bait. “And yesterday, when it was clear that there was no more fight left in me, your magic pulled back. I felt it. I do not believe your magic will make you kill someone but you can hurt them awfully badly.” I can almost see the memory of the pain I had caused him flash over his eyes. “Unlike myself, I believe that is a lesson they will learn quickly.”
I sigh and look at him ruefully. “I’m sorry for all the times I hurt you.”
He shrugs as if it was nothing. “You were only doing as I instructed and neither of us knew what we were doing.”
Wow, he’s a new and improved Kallen. “I wish I could be as confident about this plan as you are.”
“I truly believe it is the best option. I know how unappealing a life of running from them through the mountains is to you.”
I can’t figure out the look on his face now. “Can I think about it for at least a day? Maybe work my way up to thinking it’s a good plan?” I know I keep saying how badly I want to go home but this is putting a lot of faith in magic neither of us truly knows anything about.
He inclines his head in a half nod. “That seems fair. Are you done?” he asks indicating my empty bowl. I nod so he picks up both bowls and the pan and brings them outside to wash them out.
Obviously, we won’t be doing any practicing today so we’re now faced with filling a whole day with something other than magic. Even though the cabin is nice and warm because Kallen has kept a good fire going, I move in front of the fireplace and revel in the heat. After spending so many freezing nights in the mountains, I don’t think I’ll ever truly be warm again.
Chapter 18
I smile at Kallen when he comes in with the dishes. He hangs the pan on the wall and puts the bowls and spoons in the cupboard. “Thank you for making lunch, I really would have done it.”
He turns towards me and shrugs. “I simply warmed a can of soup.” He looks gorgeous standing there. He has changed his clothes, something I regretfully have not been able to do since all of mine are buried in a cave, and he now has on jeans and a dark green long sleeved tee that fits snugly around his muscular chest. The green of his shirt makes his eyes even more amazing. What the hell is wrong with me that I don’t know if I want to kiss him?
Deciding to avoid that subject, I say, “Will you tell me about the Fae realm now?”
He looks slightly embarrassed. “I am sorry I was not more forthcoming the last time you asked me that. I am afraid I was taking out my feelings about never seeing my home again on you when it is certainly not your fault.”
“Must we do this?”
He looks confused. “Do what?”
“Analyze everything that has happened. You already gave me a blanket apology.”
He smiles now so he must be remembering using those words himself not that long ago. “I guess I did.” He sits down next to me and he’s still a head taller than me. I like tall guys. Okay, I need to move off the subject of Kallen’s body.
“What’s it like?”
“It’s different than your realm in many ways. Whereas humans have certainly come a long way with creating things by hand that Fairies are able to create with magic, it has come at a cost. Much of your realm has become ugly because of the facilities and chemicals necessary to create these things. The Fae realm does not have any of that. For those who cannot create something on their own, there are others who can create it for them.”
As much as I want to hear about the Fae realm I have to interrupt him. “Do you mean things like clothes?”
He nods but then he seems to realize his mistake as color floods into his cheeks. He actually looks contrite when he says, “Yes, I could have used my magic to make you your own blanket and myself a sleeping bag. I much preferred sharing with you.”
My mouth falls open. I don’t know whether to be furious with him for lying to me or be incredibly flattered that he wanted to be so close to me regardless of all his half-breed talk. And then another thought crosses my mind. That means that he was most likely attracted to me as early as the first night we spent in the mountains. Maybe it’s not because I’m his only Fairy choice.
That thought makes me smile and then laugh and relief washes over his face. “You are not mad at me?”
Instead of answering, I rise up onto my knees in front of him and wrap my arms around his neck. I can still see a trace of wariness in his eyes as he fears retaliation of some sort. But I don’t retaliate, I kiss him instead. It’s a sweet kiss, not meant to be too intense. Just a promise of things that might come later. I pull back and say, “No, I am not mad at you. But you’re still a jerk.”
“You know, I have been told that more in the last several days than I have been in my entire life. But I have also never behaved as badly as I have over the last several days so it has been deserved.” He smiles and pulls me towards him but not to kiss me again but so I can sit closer to him as we talk. I sit nestled between his legs facing the fire and he rests his chin on my head.
I say the first that pops into my head. “Why haven’t you gotten married in the last three hundred and sixty seven years?” Another thought hits me that I don’t say out loud. If he hasn’t gotten married, that means he’s a virgin just like I am. I’m glad I’m sitting in front of him because a rush of color washes into my face.
“As I said before, time moves differently in the Fae realm. When I told you how old I was, I was giving you the equivalent of how many years had passed in your realm since I was born. But in the Fae realm, I am not considered much older than your seventeen years.”
“Why does time move differently between the realms?”
He chuckles. “I am afraid I cannot answer that. It is how it is.”
“Does that mean that you will age differently if you are in this realm?”
I feel him nod his head. “Yes and no. When I explained to you that Fairies could live to be a couple of thousand years old, I was again referring to years in your realm. But in the Fae realm, it would only feel like the amount of time an average human life span is.”
“If your realm orbits the same sun, I don’t understand how that’s possible.”
“The Fae realm is much more magical than yours. I do not know how to explain the differences in time in a scientific way. Possibly our realm stays stagnant as your realm turns more often under the sun.”
“Did you have a lot of girlfriends?”
“I had a lot of friends who were female but I am thinking that is not quite what you are asking me.”
Again, I’m glad he can’t see my face. “Were there a lot of girls that you kissed?”
I feel him laughing but he pulls me close. “No, there have not been a lot of girls that I have kissed. I am embarrassed to admit that I really was very much opposed to being with someone who was not full-blooded Fae and as I explained, they are not common. But I was highly sought after because of my blood status. Several Fairy families approached my grandmother about connecting our families through hand-fasting.”
Okay, a sudden surge of jealousy rips through me as I think about other girls wanting him so I ignore that part of what he said. “Why your grandmother?”
“My parents died before the Fae realm was closed. They were killed by humans.” Okay, that explains that prejudice.
“I’m sorry.”
“It was a long time ago.”
“So, your grandmother said no to all these families?” I hate to think that he has a fiancé back in the Fae realm that he wants to get back to. It does
n’t sound like he does but he hasn’t always been upfront and honest with me.
“Yes. She always told me that I was meant for a love match. She also told me that my destiny lay elsewhere. I never understood that until she approached me about coming here.”
“Sounds like she was as cryptic as my mom.”
He chuckles. “Yes.”
“If you wanted to be close to me that first night, why were you such a jerk?” Okay, I didn’t mean to come back to this but it jumped out of my mouth before I could close it.
He takes a moment to answer. “I was angry with you.”
“With me? Why?”
“Because you were not who you were supposed to be.”
What is he talking about? “Who was I supposed to be?”
“The Witch Fairy from the prophecy. The one my grandmother sent me here to stop at any cost. But as soon as I met you, I knew I could not do that. Essentially, I was at war with myself. I was angry that I gave up my world to stop an evil princess and I ended up meeting you instead.”
“I’m not sure if you just insulted me or complimented me.”
He chuckles again. “At the time, neither was I.”
“How are we going to find Maurelle and Olwyn?”
He becomes still. After a moment, he puts a finger under my chin and lifts my face towards his. “Does that mean that you agree to my plan?”
“I can’t think of a better one and I really want this to be over.”
“I will miss you when this is over.”
I’m confused. “What do you mean?”
He smiles sadly. “I have the distinct impression that you do not want to see me again after this.”
I roll my eyes. “And here I thought you had an ego big enough to keep you warm but you’re just as confused as I am about all of this, aren’t you?”
“It seems so.”
I lift my face until I can reach his mouth and I kiss him lightly. “How about if we just take this one day at a time? I’m still getting used to the idea that I like you instead of hate you.”
He laughs. “Well, I guess there is hope then.”
We sit quietly for a while in front of the fire. Finally, I say, “You didn’t answer my question. How are we going to find Maurelle and Olwyn?”
“I am going to call to them.”
“On the phone?”
“No, I am able to project a thought to another Fairy from quite a distance away.”
“Another cool thing I probably won’t be able to do because I can’t control my magic,” I grumble.
“Control may still come with time,” Kallen assures me but I can hear the doubt in his voice.
“Can all Fairies do that?”
“No, each Fairy is somewhat unique in their abilities. Drawing magic from the earth and creating something magically such as clothes is a constant among full blooded Fairies but each of us have our own special talents as well. For instance, I am able to send telepathic messages but I am not able to receive them. I am also able to pull more magic than almost all other Fairies making me stronger and difficult to defeat in a fight.” I remember him saying that the night he was super angry with me. “My grandmother has the power of divination.”
I look up at him quizzically. “What’s that?”
“She can see bits of the future. They are out of context and sometimes very brief but she is good at deciphering her visions. But as with all glimpses into the future, they are not certain to happen because millions of decisions and choices have to be made precisely for that end result. Any shift could alter the future.”
“So, when she has a vision she doesn’t like, does she try to prevent that outcome?”
He’s quiet for a moment. Finally, he says, “Yes.”
“Did she see me?”
Again, it takes him a moment to answer. “Yes.”
He’s moved back to monosyllabic answers like when we first met which is making me extremely nervous. “What did she see?”
“Something that will not come to pass so it is not worth discussing.”
I turn around and kneel in front of him again so I can see his face better. “Really? Come on. You’re going to go with that answer and expect me to just say, yeah okay whatever?”
I glower at him with my arms crossed over my chest as he stubbornly refuses to say anything else. We sit like that for several long moments. Finally, I demand, “Tell me what she saw, Kallen. It’s only fair that I should know.”
His eyes move away from mine for a moment and when he looks back at me I see sorrow there. Well, that’s just a little bit foreboding now isn’t it. “Just spit it out for god’s sake. It can’t be any worse than the things that are already running through my mind now that you said that much.”
He sighs. “As much as I do not want to keep you from knowing anything else, telling you about a path that has already been altered seems moot.”
“I like to hear about moot things. Then I can feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside knowing they’re not going to happen.”
He runs his hand through his silky black hair nervously which for just a quick second makes me think about me doing that instead of what I’m asking him to do but I force my mind away from his numerous physical attributes. Lots of time to dwell on those later. I hope. I think I hope. I still don’t know where I want this to go.
Kallen pulls me out of my mental conversation with myself by finally speaking. “She saw you forcing the gateway to the Fae realm open.”
“Oh.” I thought he was going to say that she saw me die a horrendous death by Kallen’s hand. The thought that I would deliberately open the gateway so Fairies could come through and wreak havoc on this realm somehow seems worse. “She specifically saw me choosing to do this, not being forced?”
He nods and puts his hands on my waist as if he thinks that I’m going to collapse. “She even knew the color of your aura.”
Oh, yeah. I forgot that my aura becomes visible when I’m using my magic. My clashing aura.
“Where is the passage way to the Fae realm?”
“It can be in many different places. When the two realms were open to each other, a Fairy could enter this realm through anywhere there was a light.”
I gasp as I completely lose track of the conversation for a second. “That explains my name!”
He chuckles. “Defending men from light, it was rather clever on your mother’s part.”
“Which light did you use to get here?”
“Over the years, King Dagda continued to come through to this realm during the spring equinox and he would use those three days to hunt for your mother. She must not have used much magic in the first few years because he would come back angry and frustrated and even more determined. As you got older and were not discovered, your mother must have felt that she could begin using her magic again and the last few of your years, he was able to detect her magic.”
“Because he could taste it?” I asked recalling him telling me this when we first met. Was that really just a matter of days ago?
“In a manner of speaking, yes. Last year, he was able to track her magic to the base of the mountain you live on so that is where he sent Maurelle and Olwyn through, and where I followed them. It took them several days to locate you but as your mother is the only Witch using magic in this area, she made finding you inevitable.”
Poor Mom, it really was her fault. “So, when do you want to meet them?” My confidence in his plan hasn’t really grown any but Kallen’s right, I don’t want to keep running and hiding.
“Do you still want a day to rest and prepare?”
I laugh but without humor. “Not really much to prepare. My magic has two settings, dormant and destructive.”
“If you are ready, then I will call to them now. It may take them some time to find us as I cannot give them exact directions.”
Now? Oh boy, am I really ready for this? My heart starts racing and I’m suddenly too warm by the fire. I stand up moving out of Kallen’s embrace and s
tart pacing the cabin. In a matter of minutes or hours, I could be facing two Pooka warriors on the theory that I am better with my magic than they are. It’s kind of like having a pop quiz on something you haven’t bothered to learn and instead of failing someone could wind up dead. I miss my schoolwork. I would take a pop quiz on physics rather than this any day.
“It’s done,” Kallen says quietly behind me.
I bite my bottom lip as I turn to look at him. “How do you know they got the message?”
He smiles half-heartedly. “I just know.”
I wish I could know things with his level of certainty. The only thing I know right now is that I am scared out of my mind. “Okay.”
True of Blood (Witch Fairy Series) Page 20
