by Bonnie Lamer
Opening one sleepy eye, I’m startled at first to find two tiny, beady black ones staring back at me. I scowl and murmur, “Go away,” before I roll over and ignore him.
So, he pokes me in the back. Rolling back towards him, I swing my hand out at him. “Go away!”
He backs up a couple of feet on the huge bed and folds out his feathers to shake them off, but he doesn’t leave. Stupid raven. “Kallen, I mean it. You need to leave or I’m going to start using my magic. I don’t want to be around you until you’re ready to tell me everything.”
The air around him shimmers and he becomes his Fairy self again. Quickly clothing himself with a pair of shorts, he says, “Xandra, I want to tell you everything. But, I believe my grandmother should be here, as well. She has more current information on what is going on.”
“You could tell me what you know.”
He doesn’t quite meet my eyes, when he says, “I believe it is best to wait.”
“Then leave.”
“Xandra…”
With a frustrated growl, I stand up from the bed. “Fine, if you won’t leave, I will.” Kallen stays where he is as I walk to the door, open it and close it behind me. Maybe I’m acting childish, but I don’t care.
I find my way back to the beach and I’m happy to find the girl is gone. I spend a second wondering if she swam away or walked away. Then it dawns on me that I honestly don’t care.
Walking up to the water, I let it tickle my toes but I don’t go in. Not with these puncture wounds. They don’t really hurt anymore, but I’m sure the salt water would change that. It was painful enough the first time, I don’t need to repeat the experience. Closing my eyes, I focus on getting rid of them. It only takes a couple of minutes to pull the magic inside of me, imagine it healing me from the inside out, and then let it go as all the pain leaves my legs. Opening my eyes, I look down at them to make sure that I did it correctly. Yup, two legs as good as new. I can’t help but smile with pride.
“You healed yourself.”
I roll my eyes and take a deep breath before turning towards Kegan. “You know, I already have a shadow. See, it’s right there.” I point to it in the sand. “I don’t need two.” Snarky, yes, but I’m not in the best of moods at the moment. Something that resembles hurt shows in his eyes, but he tries to hide it. Great, now I’m snarky and I feel mean.
“Do you like shells?” he asks.
I scowl. “What?”
“Sea shells. You know, the things mollusks leave behind when they die?”
I’m about to get mad at him for speaking to me like I’m a toddler, until I see the teasing glint in his eyes. “Thanks for clearing that up. I thought you meant the kind that annoying Fairies end up in when they get turned into snails.”
Kegan laughs. “I try to avoid those. But I do know a great spot for collecting some rather beautiful specimens of the other kind. Would you like me to show you?”
I look at him for a minute before answering. I guess I could use some company right now. I’m not as gung ho about being left completely alone as I may have implied earlier when I was mad. I nod, and say, “Sure, why not.”
That makes him chuckle. “A lukewarm response to my invitation, my favorite kind. Shall we?” He sweeps his arm towards the long shoreline.
We’ve started walking when I realize I’m still in the tiny black bikini. It was one thing when I was swimming with Kallen, but I’m too shy to go prancing around in it with Kegan. “Um, hold on a minute, I need to try to put something else on.”
“Oh, no,” he says in mock alarm, holding his arms out to stop me. “Wearing both a bikini and a fig leaf in one day is enough for me to know that is not a good idea.” With a smile, he asks, “How is that?”
I look down at the pink and lavender swirled beach sarong that he created for me. “Better,” I say with a smile as I look back up at him.
“Then I will lead you to the most glorious shells you have ever seen.”
I laugh. “Don’t you think you’re overselling it a bit?”
“And risk your wrath when it turns out to not be true? Never.” We start walking again as he says, “I will have you know that I have magically transformed the stretch of beach we are heading towards. Only shells that meet a certain standard of beauty may rest themselves on this particular sand. All others are washed back to sea instantly.”
I raise my brows skeptically as I keep pace with him. His strides are almost as long as Kallen’s. “Have you now? Does that make you a connoisseur of beauty, or a Fairy with too much time on his hands?”
He chuckles. “Probably a little bit of both.”
“Where do you live?” I ask. Obviously, he doesn’t live with Isla and Kallen.
“Not far from here.”
“Do you live near the beach?”
He shakes his head. “No, I live inland.”
I’m getting the impression he doesn’t want to talk about this. “Do you visit Isla a lot?”
“Yes, it is peaceful here. Mostly, I come to wander the beach. It gives me time to think.”
“What do you think about?” I ask.
He shrugs. “This and that.”
“This penchant for not giving out information is a family thing, then?”
He smiles, but it’s kind of a sad smile. “If it makes you feel better, I am often kept out of the loop of information as well.”
“Why?”
“That is a very long tale and I promised you beautiful shells. We cannot spoil that beauty with dull stories.”
I can tell I’m not going to get any more out of him, so I drop it. “Where are these glorious shells?”
“We are almost there. It is a fairly secluded part of the beach, so the shells are not as picked over as they are closer to the homes that reside along the shore.” He gives me a mischievous look, “Are you afraid of being alone with me in a secluded place?”
I can’t help but laugh at that. “No, not at all.”
His brows furrow into an exaggerated frown. “I am not sure if I should be insulted or relieved.”
“Neither. I’m just more powerful than you.” I didn’t mean for that to sound like I was bragging, but it did. I look at him a bit sheepishly. “Probably.”
He doesn’t say anything for several footsteps. “Are you really from another realm?”
I hesitate, debating whether I should answer truthfully or not. There has to be a reason Isla hasn’t filled him in on all of this. “Yes,” I finally say.
“Which one?” Kegan asks.
“There’s more than one?”
He chuckles when he sees the surprise on my face. “There are several besides this one. I am surprised you did not know that.”
I shake my head in frustration. “You would be amazed at the stuff I don’t know.”
“Then perhaps we should forget about the things we do not know, and focus on what we do know. For instance, I know I am walking along the beach with a beautiful woman at my side.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Perhaps we should talk about something else.”
“Such as your gorgeous green eyes?”
“Kegan…” There’s a threat in my voice and he definitely picks up on it.
“Okay, okay,” he says with his hands up and palms out. “I will speak of nothing but shells and the weather from this point on.”
I don’t think I believe him, but I’m argued out for the day. Some quiet time collecting shells may be just what I need. And surprisingly, Kegan does keep his word and it becomes a pleasant, worry free excursion that does wonders to calm me down.
We’ve been gone for about an hour or so, and I have several shells that I’m cradling in my sarong, when Kegan holds his head with pain written all over his face. “I bloody hate it when he does that,” he growls.
“Are you alright?” I ask with genuine concern in my voice.
“Yes,” he grumbles but he’s still holding his head.
“What is it?”
“Kallen and his bl
oody mind messages. They do not cause him a bit of harm, but they are quite painful if you are on the receiving end.” Hmm, add that to the list of things that Kallen hasn’t told me.
“What did he say?”
Kegan stands up straight and shakes his head. “You do not want to know.”
I glare at him until he sighs. “He told me what he would do to me if I did not bring you back to the house immediately – untouched.”
I put my hands on my hips, and through a clenched jaw, I manage, “He did not.”
With a hand still at the back of his neck, he says, “I have the pain in my head to prove it.”
“Well, he can just forget it. I’m not going to respond to that.”
His other hand flies to his head again. After a moment, he looks up at me, “He is rather adamant.”
“He’s also a jerk. But you should go before he sends you anymore painful messages.”
He looks as if I slapped him. “I will not desert you on this lonely stretch of beach. I may not know what all is going on, but I know enough to understand that Xeniaa does not like your presence here.”
I take a deep breath as I try to hold back my annoyance. It’s not Kegan I’m mad at, it’s Kallen. Kegan’s just trying to be a nice guy right now. “Look, I don’t need a babysitter, okay? I’ll come back to the house when I’ve calmed down and am capable of reasonable conversation.”
The look on my face must let him know that this isn’t a debate. After a moment, he nods. “I will see you back at the house, then.”
I watch him walk back around the bend of the beach to the long stretch that leads to Isla’s house. When I can no longer see him, I sit down in the sand and begin to look over my shells. They really are beautiful. I’m polishing a bit of seaweed off from a particularly large shell when I feel a hum at the back of my mind. There was a time when I didn’t recognize that as an indication that a magical being is near me.
“I know you’re there,” I say without looking up from the shell. I almost have it clean.
“Yet you keep your back to me when you have no idea who I am or what I am planning to do. Are you brave or senseless?”
Hmm, who would have thought I’d be asked that question so many times in such a short period of time? I don’t think I’ve gone a day recently without being asked that. “I guess we’ll see.”
I feel her getting closer to me, but I just keep working on my shell. “What do you hold in your hands that intrigues you more than your safety?”
I hold the shell up over my shoulder so she can see it. “Have you ever seen a prettier shell than this?” It has swirls of green, blue and purple. “Kegan said it’s an abalone shell.”
“Kegan does know his shells.”
“Are you going to come over here or are you going to make me get up? I should warn you, I’m not in the mood to be threatened.”
“Brave and egotistical. Not the most flattering combination.” She doesn’t sound mean or nasty. Honestly? She sounds more amused and curious than anything.
I shrug again. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Walking around so that she’s facing me, she kneels down to examine the shell more closely. “If you rub a little sand over it and then wipe it, it will clean up better.”
I take her advice and rub some sand on the shell before rubbing it with my sarong. She’s right. The seaweed comes right off. I smile up at her. “Thanks.”
“My name is Alita. May I ask yours?” Alita is tall, with a waiflike frame, and is dressed in a gauzy, seemingly weightless dress of deep blue. Her black Fairy hair is shoulder length, and her eyes, while not the vivid green typical of a Fairy, are a pale green that give her face an ethereal appeal. She reminds me of the Angels in the way she holds herself and the kindness that dances in her eyes. I like her instantly.
“Xandra,” I say with a polite smile.
“I have never seen you here before.”
“I just got here this morning.”
“Are you staying long?” she asks.
I shrug. “I really don’t know. I like it here, though.” The place. Still not happy with the people. One in particular.
“Are you staying with Isla?”
I nod. “Yes. Do you know her?”
Alita laughs softly. “You cannot be a Fairy and not know Isla. She is a force of nature.”
“Yeah, she is, isn’t she?”
She doesn’t say anything for a minute as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “Are you…”
She doesn’t finish her sentence. I hate that. “Am I what?” And then a thought hits me. Great, she knows who I am. I was hoping to stay anonymous.
“Nevermind,” she says with a shake of her head.
“I’m kind of having a bad day, Alita, so please, just ask me, okay?”
She nods as she lets her lip slide out from between her teeth. “Are you here to be Kegan’s bride?”
“Good lord! Why does everyone want me to get married? Have I fallen back in time to where it’s normal for teenage girls to be forced into wedlock? Am I going to have to start popping out babies, too?”
Alita’s brows knit together. “Does that mean you are not here to be Kegan’s bride?”
Underneath her confused façade, I see a little kernel of hope. Finally, I understand. She’s hoping I’m not getting married. That’s refreshing. “No, I’m not. He’s all yours.”
Her eyes fly to her hands folded in her lap. “He is not mine.”
Interesting. “But you want him to be?”
Her lip is back between her teeth. “Of course not,” she says after a moment. “That would not be proper.”
“What’s not proper?”
Color floods her cheeks. “I am not of pure enough blood.”
Okay, now I feel like I’ve been thrown into a medieval caste system. “You’re joking, right?”
Her eyes meet mine again. “Why would I joke about that?”
I close my eyes and shake my head. For a race that’s supposed to be so superior, they sure have some backwards ideas. “Where I come from, blood doesn’t matter.” Okay, in some parts of the world it still does, but not where I’m from.
She smiles sadly. “I would like to live in a world such as that.”
Suddenly, her eyes dart over my shoulder. I feel them too, as the gentle hum that was Alita turns into a bongo drum solo in my head. So, I’m pretty sure these Fairies aren’t going to be as friendly as Alita is. Dropping my shells to the ground, I stand up and face them.
Two women, one thick set with wide shoulders and a nose that looks like it’s been broken a couple of times, and the other petite, with short cropped hair and an attitude big enough to make up for her short stature. Hmm, she looks different with her clothes on.
When they’re close enough to be heard, the one I had sent flying onto the beach earlier, says to Alita, “Why, Alita, you always seem to be talking to people you are not supposed to be talking to.”
“Hello, Rhiannon. I am surprised to see you walking on two feet and without gills.” I can’t help but chuckle at that.
A dark shadow falls across Rhiannon’s face. “At least my blood is pure, not a drop of Cowan,” she says with a nasty smirk which has Alita nervously folding her hands together and looking at the sand instead of Rhiannon.
Good lord, this is ridiculous. “What’s wrong with being part Cowan? I’m half Cowan and I’m proud of it.” Alita’s head shoots up as she tries to figure out if I’m telling the truth or not. Okay, I’m not really half human, but I can’t tell her I’m half Witch, that will blow my cover.
Rhiannon snorts. “Listen to the way you speak. Do you not understand proper grammar? Words are meant to be spoken in their entirety. And Kallen would not have been caught dead with a person who is any part Cowan, so do not lie for the sake of this mutt.” She looks Alita up and down with disgust clear in her eyes.
I roll my eyes and shake my head. Yes, I use contractions. So sue me. And I know that my boyfriend (ex-boyfriend
?) used to be a major blood racist. At least he had been honest with me about that. And he’s reformed. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to have a little chat with you while Kallen is not here to protect you.”
I practically burst out laughing. She thinks Kallen threw her on the shore? Instead, I keep quiet. No sense in giving away all my secrets. Let her think it was Kallen. “What do you have to say to me that Kallen can’t hear?”
