Reluctantly, the crowd shuffles towards the house. More than one Fairy looks back to see if he or she is missing something important, like the demise of their King. They’re like vultures wanting to pick through road kill.
Hands in his pockets, Dagda asks Tana softly, “How are you?” I’ve never heard his voice so tenuous.
Barely meeting his eyes, she says, “I am well.” This is probably not an appropriate time to snort, but I really can’t help it. That was a ridiculous response.
“As well as can be expected,” Kallen amends in a soothing voice when my snort makes Tana’s eyes flash with anger. He gives me a sour look like I’m the bad guy. Hey, she’s the dark magic Queen, not me. But, it’s apparent that he, like Dagda, still cares for Tana. She is his aunt and he loved her growing up, so I get it. Me? I’m not a fan of the crazy lady who can do enough dark magic to infect the entire realm. Well, okay, I’m the one who actually did the magic, but she set me up. My god, I sound like a felon on death row. I’m innocent, she made me do it! Maybe I do need to back off from her a little bit and think about my own role in that whole destroy the realm plan of hers. I could have been smarter, less rash, and not fallen so easily into her traps. I hope she’s done moping by the time we get back from my realm, though. I’d like to meet the Fairy Dagda and Kallen knew before pain and anger sucked her in, chewed on her until she was bloody and then spit her back out to bleed all over the world.
“Will you allow me to escort you to the ballroom?” Dagda asks. He holds his arm out hopefully.
Tana meets his eyes now. “No.” Wow. That was rude.
Dagda’s arm drops back to his side, his eyes dim and his face blanks. He gives her a slight nod and prepares to walk away. Uh uh, no way. She will not spoil this hand-fasting with her need to hurt Dagda.
Laying a hand on Dagda’s arm to stop him, I hiss at Tana, “Look,” I barely move my lips because I don’t want any of the gawking Fairies to figure out what I’m saying, “you chose to come down here for the ceremony knowing that you would cause some kind of trouble but I’m not going to let that happen. Kegan and Alita are going to have the hand-fasting they deserve and that means you not spoiling it with your desire to keep punishing Dagda. So, either knock it off and be polite or I’ll turn into my Pegasus form and trample you in front of everyone until every iota of your body is indistinguishable from the sand.”
“Xandra,” Dagda growls. He is furious at me for speaking to her like this. Kallen doesn’t look happy either. Too bad. I am not going to tip toe around her delicate feelings, or her temper. Alita and Kegan’s happiness means a lot more to me than hers does.
“You have two choices,” I continue, ignoring Dagda and the death rays shooting from his eyes. “Either move forward and decide you’re going to forgive him, or do whatever it is that Fairies do to divorce him, but stop being so wishy-washy and stringing him along. It’s been how many years now? Get over it. I did and he tried to kill me. And it’s not like you’ll be forced to leave if you choose to end your marriage. Isla won’t have any problem letting you stay here if you decide on divorce. So, what’s it going to be?” I know it’s wrong to force this decision on her so soon in her recovery, but her passive aggressive behavior is cruel. I believe that deep down, she already knows what she wants.
Now Dagda’s really pissed at me. My little disclosure about forgiving him has gone unnoticed. I think mostly because I brought up the D-word. He’s moved so his back is towards the house and no one except us can see his murderous expression. Of course. We wouldn’t want the other Fairies to know that we don’t always get along. What a shock that would be to them. I roll my eyes at him.
Tana gives me a long, assessing look. I’m pretty sure she’s trying to decide if I’m serious about the trampling thing or not. She must decide I am because a tight, obviously fake, smile forms on her lips. “I do not want a divorce.”
The relief that washes over Dagda is so great, I’m afraid he’s going to start dancing a jig or something. Or swoon, which would be worse. Neither would do much for his tough guy image, and I seriously doubt he has rhythm. “Thank you,” he says.
Tana meets his eyes. “But I have not forgiven you yet.”
A disgusted burst of air leaves my lungs. “So, we’re right back to where we were a minute ago.” The angrier I get, the more magic I draw. I could level a decent size realm with what I’m holding right now. I’m even starting to shake a little. Kallen and Dagda exchange a nervous glance.
They’re not the only ones who can feel it. Fear has taken root on Tana’s face. “You will strike me down in front of all these witnesses?” she asks, trying to keep the fear from her voice. I have to admit, she’s pretty good at it.
A burst of magic leaves me and a solid wall is suddenly standing between us and the house. Acid leaking from my mouth in the form of words, I ask, “What witnesses?”
“Xandra,” Dagda says sharply, “stop this.” He reaches out to grab my arm, but I move out of his reach. Whatever he sees on my face convinces him not to try again.
Kallen places a soft hand on my cheek, turning my head towards him. It takes a lot of effort not to zap him away with my magic. “My love,” he says softly, “the day still holds promise of joy and good times. Do not let her drive you to using your magic in anger.”
His words for once wash through me with the calming effect he intended. Instead of berating me or telling me to mind my own business, he has acknowledged that his aunt is the root cause of the problem, not me. Even if I’m not handling it very well at all. I let a smile form on my lips as I let my magic slip away. Bringing his mouth to mine, he kisses me. This isn’t a tactic he should use often, but in this situation, it was the perfect thing to do. With his lips on mine, I couldn’t care less about Tana.
“There truly is love there,” Tana whispers. What, she had doubts?
“Yes,” Dagda muses, “enough to douse the fires of hell.” Tana starts at his words and Dagda’s face pales. “I did not mean…”
Tana waves his words away, “I know what you meant.” Rising from her chair, she curls her arm around her husband’s and tugs gently to get his shocked body to move forward. “Come, let us join the rest.”
When they are several feet away, Kallen grins against my lips. “Perhaps we can take that walk in the woods we tried to take yesterday.”
I laugh. “I’m pretty sure our absence would be noticed.”
Disappointment clings to him, but he stands straight and holds his arm out for me. “Unfortunately, you are correct.”
“We don’t have to stay downstairs long, though, right?” I ask hopefully. He grins in response.
Chapter 6
All eyes turn to us as we enter the ballroom. I think they’re checking to see if we still have all of our body parts. I’m tempted to amputate an arm briefly just to see their reaction. If only I wasn’t afraid that I wouldn’t be able to put it back on.
Tana makes it about three feet into the ballroom before tugging Dagda to a stop. She whispers something in his ear and he nods. With an apologetic nod in our direction, he leads Tana back out. I guess I should give her some credit. At least she made an appearance on his arm. That will probably go a long way in making people believe she is getting better and won’t be blowing the realm up any time soon. I have to admit, though, it’s been kind of nice having someone else be the pariah in town.
Hoping he says no, I ask Kallen, “Do you think we should check on them?”
He shakes his head. “We should leave them be. They have a lot to sort out.” Yeah, they do. I will gladly stay away from those conversations. Since there are no sudden, loud explosions or screaming, nor is Alita suffering a mind-blowing headache from dark magic, I assume we’re making the right choice.
Dinner is served soon after we enter and Tabitha has outdone herself. I don’t know what half of it is since it’s traditional hand-fasting fare, and I didn’t get to taste any at mine, but the food is delicious. There are meats and pasta and ric
e all richly flavored with herbs and spices fresh from Tabitha’s garden. After I finish everything on my plate, I’m positive I can’t eat another bite without exploding. Except the desserts Alita’s mother made are being brought out. I’ll make room for those. By the time I’m done eating, I feel like I’m made of lead.
Standing, Kallen holds his hand out. “Dance with me?”
I touch a hand to my tummy. “After all that food, I’m not sure I can stand.”
He laughs. “Then I will twirl you around in my arms.”
I kind of like that idea. I put my hand in his and let him whisk me off to the dance floor. Kegan and Alita are dancing as well. They’re whispering and grinning and I bet wondering how long they have to stay at the reception.
After several hours of dancing and drinking, the Fairies begin to totter off. Some of them quite literally because they drank too much wine. Since Fairy laws are so different than in my realm, I am actually old enough to drink here, but I don’t. It’s difficult enough controlling my magic when I’m sober. Besides, I’ve felt drunk on Fairy darts a couple of times and I didn’t like the feeling at all.
Exhausted from all the dancing, I sit down at a corner table and hope no one sees me. Unfortunately, it is considered rude not to dance with the older Fairies of the elite who ask you, so my back is covered in palm sweat from too many old guys touching me. I’ve also received several unappealing propositions. I’m debating whether to share them with Kallen. It would keep me from having to dance with them at the next occasion that requires dancing. But, that would probably be because Kallen killed them. I should probably keep it to myself. Besides, I’m sure more than one female Fairy has propositioned him tonight by the pained look on his face while he danced with some of them. I’m secure enough now to know I don’t have anything to worry about, so I can live without details.
Taking the seat next to me, Kallen says, “If I have to touch one more Fairy other than you, I may commit suicide.”
Nope, nothing to worry about. “I don’t know, the last one with wandering hands seemed nice.”
Irritated, he glowers at me. “Then perhaps you should dance with her.”
I laugh. “No thanks, I’ve had my fill of other Fairies as well. I’m done being polite.” I’m using the word polite as a euphemism for keeping wandering hands from touching my butt. Alcohol and self-important old guys are not a good combination. I suspect most of their attempts at seduction are more of a desire to influence my power than truly wanting me as a lover, though. But, some of them truly are lechers.
Looking around the room, I say, “It’s clearing out. Should we help clean up?”
“No, Grandmother has Fairies coming in for that.”
“Then does that mean we can sneak away?” I ask hopefully.
He leans towards me to purr in my ear, “Only if you want to make love from now until morning.”
A tingle of anticipation travels down my spine. “I can teleport us.”
He chuckles and I can see he likes the idea, but he doesn’t say yes. “We should at least congratulate the happy couple one more time and maybe give them their present.”
Neither of us has had much opportunity to talk to the bride or the groom tonight. They have been pulled into a thousand directions by the Fairy guests. Other than the dancing, I spent most of the night talking to Kallen, Adriel and Raziel. Those two left about an hour and a half ago. Isla would have killed us if we left that early.
Getting to my feet, I say “True.” Kallen stands as well and wraps an arm around my waist. “They look like they need rescuing anyway.”
A rather large Fairy with gray hair and several disgusting warts on his face is laughing and slapping Kegan on the back. Hard apparently since Kegan is propelled forward a foot or two. Alita has a smile pasted to her face that seems to be past its expiration date. It’s curdling around the edges.
Rudely interrupting whatever the Fairy is saying to them, I plant myself between him and my friends. “We’re going to head upstairs,” I say, ignoring the huffing down my neck by the offended, wart ridden Fairy. “Would you like to walk with us? Kallen and I can give you your wedding present.”
If relief was measured in weight, theirs would be equal to that of an orca. A pregnant one. “Of course we will walk with you,” Kegan says graciously, as if he’s doing us a favor instead of the other way around. I try not to smirk. Leaning around me, he says to the flustered Fairy, “It was nice speaking with you. My bride and I will cherish your advice for a long and happy hand-fasting.”
Shocked, I mouth ‘he’s married?’ and Alita nods subtly, trying not to laugh. “Yes, thank you,” she adds to Kegan’s comment. The warty Fairy huffs off, presumably to find the woman who would marry someone whose face warts must touch her every time she kisses him.
Amused, Kegan says, “You know you just pissed off the Minister of Economics, right?”
I feign ruefulness. “I’ll call him back right away and apologize.”
“No,” three voices say at once.
Smug, I say, “That’s what I thought.”
“So, about this gift you mentioned,” Kegan says.
Grinning like a fool, I say, “Come on, we’ll show you.” It took Kallen and me a while to decide what to get them and I’m excited to show them what we decided on. Turning, I take Kallen’s hand and we walk out of the ballroom and then to the stairs.
“Give us a hint,” Alita says. They are both dying of curiosity now.
“No,” I say and Kallen chuckles at her disappointed look as we climb to the second floor.
At the top of the stairs, I say over my shoulder, “Come to our room, it’s in there.”
“Was it too heavy for my cousin to carry down the stairs and put it with the other gifts?” Kegan asks and Kallen narrows his eyes. If this wasn’t his wedding day, Kegan’s arm would be sore right now from Kallen punching it.
“It’s so small, even you could carry it,” Kallen retorts.
“Then why keep it up here?” Kegan asks.
“Because it’s something we need to give you in private. None of the guests can know,” I explain, opening the bedroom door.
“It is not something that will explode or anything, right?” Alita asks, a twinge of nervousness in her voice. “Did you make it with your magic?”
Only half offended, I say, “No, and thanks for the confidence in my abilities.”
Walking to the night table, I open a drawer and pull out a small, gold giftwrapped box. Kegan and Alita sit in the chairs near the terrace and Kallen on the end of the bed, leaning back on his arms. I hand the box to Alita. She opens it and looks up at me in confusion while handing the box to Kegan. “A key?” she says.
I nod. “Mm hmm.”
“A key to what?” Kegan asks.
“It’s a key to my old house. In the Cowan realm,” I explain.
They obviously think I’ve lost my mind. “Why would you give us a key to your old house?” Alita asks.
“So the two of you can go there anytime you want some privacy.”
“What?” Alita gasps as Kegan says, “And be killed crossing through the passageway to the Cowan world?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, we’re giving you a gift that will kill you if you use it.”
“Xandra has made it possible for you to move between realms. You will not be harmed when crossing over,” Kallen explains.
Alita’s eyes are open so wide I’m pretty sure she’s going to lose an eyeball. “What? Really?”
“You are not serious,” Kegan says.
I nod. “Yes, we are. We know privacy can be hard to come by here.”
“Do Grandmother and Dagda know about this?” Kegan asks.
“Sort of,” I hedge. “I ran the concept past Isla and she thought it would be nice.” She did not, however, say go ahead and do it.
“But you did not tell her you were planning to give us the key regardless of what she thought?” Alita guesses.
Hands on my hips, I ask, “Do
es she really need to know everything?”
“What a curse that would be,” a deep voice says from the doorway. I turn to find Raziel and Adriel standing there.
Surprised, I say, “Hey, I thought you two went to bed ages ago.”
For some reason, that brings a blush to Adriel’s cheeks even though the two of them sleep in separate rooms. At least, they give the appearance that they do. ses himed. at she would cause a stir and she needs to deal with the consequenI consider it for half a second and then decide I don’t want to know anything about their sex life. Or lack of one if that’s the case. I’m not up on Fallen Angel premarital sex etiquette, nor do I want to be. Do Angels even get married?
Blood of the Exiled (Witch Fairy Book 10) Page 5
