by Bonnie Lamer
“Kegan turns into a bird, as well?” It must run in the family.
Alita nods. “His animal form is a sparrow.”
Hmm, that’s a little bird compared to a raven. If the two are as competitive as I’ve been told, that must bother Kegan a lot. “Will this Xeniaa person start trouble with them?” I hadn’t thought about that possibility before. Maybe I should have gone with them.
Tabitha shakes her head. “No, Xeniaa rarely spends time at her parents’ home. They do not get on well. She has a home of her own that she inherited when her aunt died childless.” Kallen has told me that it can be hard for full-blooded Fairies to have children together. I don’t know why, but that’s why many of them turned to humans to pass along their blood line. Unfortunately, that diluted the magic within the children so they aren’t as powerful. When the realms were closed, the Fairies brought these children with them to the Fae realm. But, not the human parents. Apparently, these weren’t love matches. And now, these children are considered lesser than full-blooded Fairies.
“Now, tell me the whole story. Start from the beginning,” Tabitha says before taking a sip of her tea.
I start with what happened in the water and then the beach. I leave out the part about me and Kallen arguing, but I think she suspects that there’s more to the story. She doesn’t push, though. “Do a lot of Fairies turn into sea creatures?”
Alita shakes her head. “No, not many. Rhiannon is a spotted eagle stingray, but she is the only one of her family that is not a land creature.” She can’t seem to help a smug smile when she says, “It is actually considered to be a genetic flaw.”
“Is it too personal to ask what you become?” I ask. I’m not sure if it’s a polite question or not.
“I do not mind telling you. I am a sparrow, like Kegan.”
Hmm, they seem perfect for each other. “Do you live around here?”
She nods but there’s something in her eyes that I can’t place and a touch of pink flows over her cheeks. “Yes, my family has a modest home down the beach a ways.”
Tabitha gives her a nudge with her elbow. “It is a home that would make anyone proud to have.” Looking at me, she says, “Alita’s mother has a natural talent for growing beautiful flowers wherever she digs a hole. I envy her ability, and she has created the prettiest home in a hundred mile radius.”
“Are all Fairies good with plants?” I ask.
Alita’s cheeks are growing redder by the second. Looking down at her tea, she says, “My mother is not a Fairy.”
My brows furrow in confusion. “If she’s not a Fairy, what is she?”
“A Cowan,” she says as if it’s something to be ashamed of.
“And your dad brought her here when the realms were sealed? That’s great.” It’s nice to hear that there were at least some love matches between humans and Fairies.
“As I tell her often,” Tabitha says as she stands up to get more honey for her tea.
“You know, I’m not really half Cowan, but I am half Witch. And I’m proud of it.” I didn’t expect her mouth to drop open and her eyes to look like saucers. I forget that I’m supposed to be a creature of legend – one who wasn’t supposed to be born.
When her jaw can work again, she says, “You cannot be. That is impossible.”
I shrug. “Apparently not.”
“You are the Witch Fairy?” I’m not sure like I the complete and utter shock on her face. Okay, I guess on the outside I don’t look like the big bad monster I’m supposed to be. But, still. “Does Kallen know?” she asks.
That makes me chuckle. “Yes, he knows.”
“But, I do not understand. Rhiannon was correct when she said that Kallen would never be with anyone who is not a full-blooded Fairy.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I know. He was a blood line freak. He’s gone into remission. It probably helps that I’m more powerful than him,” I say with a grin.
Alita giggles. “Yes, that did seem to be the case out by the shore.” Shaking her head, she says, “This has turned out to be the most remarkable day. And to think, I was just out looking for coconuts when I came across you.”
“Yeah, I pop up in the weirdest places,” I tease. Taking a sip of my tea, I’m almost startled off my stool when there’s a loud pop, a blinding light, and two pinches on my back. I have to quickly catch my balance because of the sudden loss of my wings or I’ll hit the floor. My tea cup clatters noisily on the counter top spilling its contents, but at least it didn’t break. Well, no more flying for me today.
When the light fades and we can all see again, Alita gasps. “Where did they go?”
Hmm, good question, I think as I watch the spilled tea disappear under Tabitha’s gaze. Do my wings sit in a closet somewhere in the Angel realm until they sense that I’m in trouble? I’ll have to ask the Angels that question if I ever see them again. “I’m not sure. I only have them when I really need them. They help protect me.” And keep me from killing people, apparently. That seems appropriate for Angel wings.
“Perhaps now you could enlighten me about who you really are,” Kegan says as he and Kallen walk into the kitchen. He must have missed me telling Alita. “My dear cousin has absolutely refused to do so.”
Kallen walks up behind me and folds his arms around my waist, giving me a kiss on the cheek. “Uh uh, you go over there,” I demand, as I untangle myself from his arms and point to the other side of the table. “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 in a flash and smacks Kallen in the back of the head. Not hard enough to really hurt, just hard enough to get his attention. “Of all the things not to tell her, you pick the most important thing?”
“Ouch,” he exclaims as he rubs his head. “I am going to explain right now.”
Tabitha doesn’t look appeased; she looks like she’s going to hit him again. Kallen must think so, too, because he moves to the other side of Alita.
“I’m waiting.” My fingers have started drumming on the countertop as I become more and more impatient.
“Do you not want to know if Rhiannon and her friend saw your wings first?”
“No.” There’s a lot of feelings in that no. And not a lot of good feelings.
He sighs. He’s probably trying to think of another way to stall the inevitable. He must not be able to think of anything, or maybe it’s the threat in Tabitha’s eyes that she’s about to get up and hit him again, because he starts talking. “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 Xeniaa person being hand-fasted?” Patience – not a virtue of mine.
“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 Xeniaa’s mother. Xeniaa’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.”
He pauses a moment, long enough for me to see the anger burning a hole in his retinas. “What did they do?”
“They performed a blood bonding ceremony, attempting to unite mine and Xeniaa’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.”
My brow crinkles. I don’t like where this is heading. “So, it’s like a love spell?”
Kallen shakes his head. There’s an inferno in his eyes now. I almost want to back up from the table before he spontaneously combusts. “No, the two are drawn together out of compulsion, not love. They may hate each other, but still find they cannot be with another.” From what I’m picking up in his body language – the white knuckled grip on the marble island top, the tense muscles in his arms, neck and jaw, and the face that looks like it wants to kill somebody, I’m going to go ahead and assume that this is one of the situations where they hate each other. At least, I’m pretty sure that Kallen hates Xeniaa. That makes me feel a little better.
“So, you’re drawn to this Xeniaa?” Please say no.
“No.”
I let out the breath that I didn’t realize I was holding. “The blood bonding didn’t work? Was that because you were from different Fae blood lines?”
He shakes his head. “No, neither my mother nor Xeniaa’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. Xeniaa’s father was very much in favor of the idea, but my father was furious. Isla even more so.”
“She doesn’t want the blood lines to combine?”
“It is not that. Isla 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.” His face softens as he says this, which makes me smile. I’m still not getting married at seventeen, though. “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.”
Yeah, I agree with that. “What happened when Isla and your dad found out?” Here, his eyes turn sad and he looks down at the marble for a moment.
“As High Chancellor of the judicial system, I had no choice but to banish both women from the Fae realm.”
Holy crap, I about pee my pants she startles me so badly! I wonder how long Isla has been standing in the doorway listening. “You’re the High Chancellor of the judicial system?” I ask stupidly. That seems like another one of those things that someone should have mentioned to me somewhere along the way.
Isla 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.” Hmm, that explains the huge house. She’s obviously pretty important in this realm.
“And you banished your son and his wife from this realm?” Who could be that cruel and heartless?
Like she read my mind, she says, “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.” There’s a lot feelings fighting for space on her face. The ones I can decipher seem to be guilt, sadness, anger and maybe a little touch of shame. “Xeniaa’s mother left this realm alone. Her father as since hand-fasted with another.”
“But Kallen’s dad chose to go with her? Even after she tried to do that?” Wow, that’s a lot of love – and forgiveness, after she tried to do something so awful to their son. I don’t know that I’m that good of a person. I hope I never have to find out.
“Yes,” she says simply.
Looking at Kallen, I ask softly, “Is that why your parents were in my realm when they were killed by humans?”
He nods slightly. I don’t push it. I turn back to Isla. “I’m not sure that I understand. If the ritual didn’t take, why is Kallen hand-fasted with this Xeniaa person?” I’m getting mad again just thinking about it.
“Unless you plan to use that magic, dear, you should let it go. I understand there has already been another incident today,” Isla says calmly.
I give her a sheepish smile, but I’m not ready to change subjects yet. Even though Kallen looks like he really wants to. I let the magic slip back out of me and look pointedly at him. “Kallen, why?”
“Because Xeniaa’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.” I’m assuming that his mother swearing on her life should be taken literally. There was probably some type of blood oath involved to make sure she wasn’t lying. If she was, she would die.
“So, they think you two are married?”
He nods slightly and that anger from earlier is having a party in his eyes again. “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 Xeniaa.” I think he added those extra adjectives for my sake.
“If that’s true, then why didn’t you tell me this before?”
His lips turn up into a smile. “Because, my little Witch Fairy, you have a nasty temper and I know what happens when you get angry.”
I raise my brows. “You mean, all those arguments we’ve had have been you trying not to make me mad?”
“Did you say Witch Fairy?”
Kegan has been quiet as Kallen filled me in on the whole Xeniaa business. But now, he has that same open mouthed, saucer eyed look that Alita had a few minutes ago. Rounding on Kallen and Isla, he says, “You brought the Witch Fairy here? Where every Pooka Fairy wants her dead?”
“That was my thought exactly,” I grumble but I get scowls from both Kallen and Isla.
“Yes, it needed to be done,” Isla says in her matter-of-fact way. “She is the only one who can stop the rebellion.”
“How will she do that if she is dead? How is she supposed to protect herself?” I really appreciate Kegan’s concern for my safety.
Kallen, not so much. His tone is mocking when he says to Kegan, “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.” That’s good, because that seems to be what he and Isla are doing.
“But, what if she’s ambushed? She can’t be on guard every minute of the day.”
Kallen chuckles, and then, less than a millisecond later, he has a crossbow pointed at me. And he pulls the trigger. Just like he did back home. You know, I was almost to the point where I wasn’t mad at him anymore. Forget that.
My subconscious mind throws up a wall and the arrow falls to the ground at my feet. But, my conscious mind isn’t satisfied with just that. I imagine the wall moving to enclose Kallen within itself. Immediately, he’s surrounded. Then, I imagine the fruit in the fruit basket rising above the wall and dropping, one at a time, down on him. Not gently, either. H
e is now being pelted with oranges, bananas, and papayas.
“Xandra, is this really necessary?” he asks, with his hands shielding his head as he tries to avoid a particularly large orange. “I was simply making a point.”
I have the sweetest, most innocent smile on my face. “So am I.”
Kegan and Alita didn’t know what to make of this at first, but now that they’ve gotten over the initial shock of Kallen shooting a crossbow at me, they’re laughing their heads off. Kallen is not laughing. Then again, I didn’t expect him to be. After a banana catches him in the ear, I decide he’s had enough. I pull my magic back through me and then let it go.
He narrows his eyes at me. “You are going to pay for that.”
I don’t like that gleam in his eyes. He’s going to think of something really nasty to do to me. I think it’s time for a hasty retreat. I hop off my stool and head for the door; I can hear him hard on my heels. I make it through the main room and to the stairs that would lead me to my room before he’s able to grab my arm and pull me into him. He laughs at the wary expression on my face. Then, he puts a hand in my hair and pulls me into him, his lips finding mine in one of the best, most mind blowing, kisses we’ve ever had.
