by Bonnie Lamer
Another uncomfortable shrug. “You seemed happy. I did not want my anxiety to spoil your happiness.”
Dread laces my next question. “Only I was happy?”
His brow creases as he considers my question. I see the moment the meaning of it sinks in. Reaching out, he gathers me to him. “Oh god, that is not what I meant at all,” he assures me. Pressing his lips to mine, he kisses me long and hard until I am absolutely breathless. Pulling back, he puts his hands on my cheeks and meets my eyes with fierce determination. He wants me to believe his next words. “There has never been a time I doubted our love or the pure, unadulterated happiness and joy I find in being with you. The rest of the world, my love, it was all about the rest of the world. The only thing that has felt right is you. But you seemed happy with the rest of the world and if you were happy, I was not going to try to change a thing.”
A grin spreads across my face and I must kiss him again. He has no idea how much I needed to hear that. I kiss him yet again. Passionately. Before things get too carried away, I force myself to pull back. We have a lot to work through yet. “You really don’t think I’m crazy?”
With a wink, Kallen says, “I believe I understand your extensive use of contractions now.”
I roll my eyes at his grammar police response. “Yes, I know. It’s a living in the Cowan realm most of my life thing.”
He shakes his head in wonder. “We did not grow up together.”
“Nope. You didn’t even like me when we first met.”
“I find that hard to believe,” he scoffs.
“It’s true.” Thinking back to our uncomfortable breakfast, I add, “And seeing Dagda and my mom together really freaks me out. They hate each other. In my world, he seduced her and dumped her. Then tried to kill me.”
Cocking his head to the side, Kallen asks, “Is it not pleasanter to live in a world in which that is not the case?”
I consider for a moment then shake my head. “No. In the real world, they are both happily married to other people. They are also on their way toward getting along now. And Dagda and I made our peace.” Biting my bottom lip, I ask, “Do you think we should tell anyone else about this?”
Kallen is quick to shoot the idea down. “You said no one believed you when you tried before.”
“Well, you didn’t believe me, either, but you do now.”
With a sexy wink, he purrs, “You have special ways of convincing me.”
I roll my eyes but laugh. “I didn’t use those special ways to convince you.”
“True, but I believe it is still different for us. Our bond, our love, brings us closer together.” He reaches out and plays with a strand of my hair, rubbing it between his fingers. “We are connected in a way we are not with the others in our life.”
I understand what he means. “Our shared destiny.”
Kallen nods. “Whatever is going on, I believe it is our shared destiny which keeps us from being pulled too far apart. It is also what helps us find our way back to each other.”
I know he’s right. Even the first day when everyone else was convinced I was, he claimed he did not think I was crazy. He believed there was something going on that we hadn’t figured out yet. “Okay, we keep it to ourselves.”
A scowl dips his brow and he jumps topics. “I am trying to figure out how a crab, a bird and a spider could speak to you.”
“Skin Walkers?” I ask. I would have sensed if they were Fairies in their animal forms. So would he.
“No. Just like Fairies, Skin Walkers cannot speak in their animal forms. Nor do they have the power to alter realities.”
“Who does have the power to alter realities.”
“The Angels are the only beings I know can do such a thing.” From the tone of his voice, it is fortunate there is not an Angel in the room currently. Kallen may not have the power of the Angels, but his growing anger could help make up for that. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Raziel or Adriel in any of these worlds. Why is that?
Still, I am quick to disagree. “I don’t think it’s the Angels.”
“How can you be so certain?”
How can I be certain? “It just doesn’t feel like it’s them.” Okay, that was lame. I try again. “Why would they do this? They’ve already told me that my life could have been different.” I give him a sheepish look. Different because I could have chosen Raziel instead of Kallen. Moving on. “Why would they want to show me little differences? Plus, Angels aren’t supposed to manipulate things like this. Everything that happened in the real world,” at the moment I am assuming my world is the real world, “happened because of freewill. Changing things just for the sake of changing them takes away that freewill.”
“You do have a point,” Kallen admits but I hear the disappointment in his voice. It would have been so easy to blame the Angels. Not that we could have made them fix things, but it would have been a positive step toward figuring out what is going on.
“Unless it is a rogue Angel.” Not certain how many shared memories Kallen and I still have, I ask, “Do you know who Belial is?”
“Psychotic Angel who has tried to kill my wife on several occasions? I may have heard of him,” Kallen says dryly.
I give him another sheepish look. “Sorry, I don’t know what events occurred in both the reality I know and the one you now remember.”
Sighing, Kallen nods. “You are right, of course. You do need to clarify these things.”
“Anyway, do you think he could be behind this?”
Kallen shakes his head adamantly, but stops suddenly. “In your reality was he carted off and stripped of his wings?”
“Yes.”
He goes back to shaking his head adamantly. “Then no, it is not possible.”
“He had friends,” I push.
Raising a skeptical brow, Kallen asks, “Friends willing to end up with the same fate?”
“Probably not.”
“Have you pissed off any other Angels in your reality?”
I give him my best glare. “No,” I huff. But, I do take a second to think about it. Have I? Not that I can think of, but I do tend to piss other beings off on a regular basis. It’s hard to keep track.
“Nor have you in this one. At least, not to the degree necessary to make someone want to change your entire world.”
“Glad to hear it,” I mutter.
Kallen chuckles. “Would you rather I pretend you are tactful and demure in this reality?”
“Lord no,” I scoff. “I seriously doubt my own personality could change that much.” Now that I think about it, no one’s personality changed that much. Not really. Not even Dagda’s. What I saw of him yesterday was probably what everyone in the Fae realm saw when he was angry with the Witches and wanted me dead. In yesterday’s reality, he never got over it like he did in mine. I just never personally experienced him being like that. I share this theory with Kallen.
He’s not one hundred percent convinced, but mostly because his perception has been skewed by this reality. “It is difficult to imagine the King that way.” I notice he says King, not uncle. Because in this reality, his mother’s sister never married Dagda. He’s not related to the King by marriage. Well, he is. Through me. So, Dagda is not his uncle by marriage anymore. “Still, if that is the case, it is useful information. Whoever is doing this can alter the realities, but not the beings themselves.”
“What about the natural disasters?” I ask abruptly, my mind jumping topics on a whim.
Pursing his lips, Kallen says, “I believe those must have been imagined.”
I glower in his direction. “Are you calling me crazy again?”
With a grin, he says, “Not any crazier than you normally are.”
“That was not a compliment, nor did it make me feel better.”
Leaning forward, Kallen kisses me softly. “Better?” he asks.
I smile. “Yes. Wait, no. What did you mean?”
“About you being crazy or about the natural disasters?”
/>
I roll my eyes. “The disasters. I know I’m not crazy.” As much as a person shifting realities can know such a thing.
“They marked the end of a reality, right?”
“Yes.”
“Perhaps it was a way to reset the day.”
“Destroying the world is one hell of a way to reset a day,” I argue.
Kallen glances around the room. “I do not believe the world was ever actually destroyed.”
He does have a point. I reluctantly acknowledge it. “I suppose you’re right.”
This elicits a soft chuckle. “Please, try to sound less excited about it.”
“But to make me think that a world has ended? To fake a natural disaster? That takes a lot of magic. What about gods and demigods like Zeus or the Apsaras? They probably have the power to make it appear as if the world is ending.”
Kallen looks at me askance. “Why would Zeus take an interest in our life?”
I open my mouth to make a snarky remark reminding him of how Zeus recently hit on me, when I snap it closed again. Kallen has no idea I know Zeus. That he knows Zeus. Because we met him through Hades who we met through Tana. Tana isn’t in this reality, or, at least, not in the capacity of betrayed wife, so she never went to Hades and Kallen and I never went to the underworld to rat him out to his wife.
“Xandra, what are you not telling me?” I close my eyes, hoping if I can’t see him, he can’t see me. “Xandra? You know I can see you, right?”
Hmm, guess I’ve tried this before in this reality. Opening my eyes again, I say, “It’s a long story. Suffice it to say, we know Zeus. Though, he seems to like me well enough, so I doubt it was him.”
It’s the blush which gives me away. “He likes you? How much does he like you?”
“Um, enough that I had to drag you away before you punched him.”
To my surprise, Kallen grins. “Good to know I am not a coward in your reality.”
I roll my eyes. “Being jealous of a god does not make you brave.” Narrowing my eyes, I add, “And it’s our reality, not just mine.”
Shifting uncomfortably, he admits, “I am not quite used to the idea as of yet.”
I can’t blame him. Reaching over, I cup his cheek with my palm. “Any reality we are in together is our reality.” I lean forward and kiss him lightly.
Before the kiss has a chance to carry us away, a thought slams into my brain. “Oh my god, the spider!” I practically shout. I scramble off the bed and start pacing. “With the crab there was a tsunami. With the bird there was a meteorite.” I whirl to face Kallen. “What kind of natural disaster can be associated with a spider?” The world is going to end again soon. How can we stop it? I do not relish the idea of waking up to a new reality and having to convince Kallen all over again that the realities are shifting.
For the first time since we began, Kallen looks at me as I if I may truly be insane. “I do not follow.”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Crab, water. Bird, sky. The rhyming creatures were precursors to a natural disaster. Since the spider talked to me, a disaster is coming. Soon. So, what kind of disaster could a spider be associated with?”
I watch the wheels in his brain spin. Emotions play over his face so clearly, I can see each step of his thinking process. Unusual as Kallen is generally good at poker faces. So, this is a treat. It starts with believing his wife insane and passes to light disbelief to ‘it could be possible’ to ‘shit, she’s right.’ I would feel more gratified when he gets to the last one if it wasn’t for one, it took so long, and two, this reality is going to reset.
Kallen starts listing possibilities. “Earth? They live in dark, dank places. Maybe an earthquake? Spiders spin webs, so possibly a tornado of great magnitude?”
I grimace. “Either of those would suck.”
Cocking a brow, my charming husband asks, “Suck worse than a tsunami or a meteorite falling from the sky?”
Just because he has a point does not mean I need to be gracious in accepting the fact. “Right now, you suck,” I grumble under my breath.
Eyebrow still cocked, Kallen does his own grumbling. “Switching realities makes you rather mean spirited.”
Okay, that shames me. “Sorry.” It’s a one-word apology, but it’s heartfelt.
Kallen realizes this because he leans forward and kisses me. “Apology accepted.”
“So, back to the spider. We should be on the lookout for an earthquake or a tornado. Which one do you think would be more likely to kill us all?”
“Hard to say. Either can be devastating on a grand scale.”
As if we asked for it, the wind begins to beat against the windows. It quickly picks up speed and is soon pounding against the walls of the mansion like a thousand battering rams. The sound is deafening. The walls begin to creak and shake, the house rocking on its foundation. Tornado it is then.
“We should try to stop it!” Kallen calls above the crashing wind.
“It’s no use!” I call back. I really hate to sound so defeatist, but I have been through this a couple of times already. Besides, he is the one who first taught me long ago on a mountain in Colorado that magic is no match for natural disasters. Not to mention, we know that this isn’t going to actually kill us. Just change the reality. I hope. I really, really, hope.
Reaching for me as the walls begin to tear apart, Kallen presses his lips to mine and he kisses me like this will be our last kiss ever. I kiss him back, matching his passion with my own. We are still caught in our embrace when the ceiling collapses upon us and the world goes black.
11 Chapter
My eyes open to the streaming sun again. Kallen is curled around me and I snuggle into the warmth of his gorgeous body. His arms tighten around me and he growls low in his throat before pressing his lips to a very sensitive spot behind my ear. He kisses a trail along my jaw until he reaches my lips. After a long, deep kiss, he murmurs, “That was one hell of a storm.”
Shocked, I practically knock him out with my elbow in my haste to sit up. “What did you say?”
Pressing a hand against the eye which will probably turn black and blue if I don’t heal it soon, Kallen sits up, as well. “I said, that was one hell of a storm.”
“You remember it?”
Understanding seeps into his expression and he drops his hand from his eye. Oh, that is definitely going to leave a mark. “I do.”
“Does that mean we’re in the same reality?” I glance around wildly as if I am going to find the answer to that question on the walls of our bedroom.
Throwing back the covers, Kallen rises, dressing as he goes. “We should find out.”
I find myself not as eager as he is. “Must we? Maybe we can skip today. Hang out here and just wait for the disaster to hit.” I’m not a coward, I’m just tired. This blacking out when the disasters hit isn’t very restful. I feel like I haven’t slept in days.
I get a scowl for my reluctance. “Or, we could figure out what is happening and stop it.”
Sighing, I push the covers back. “Fine, if you’re going to be all reasonable about it.”
Kallen chuckles softly and comes around to my side of the bed. “I am.” Pulling me off the bed, he holds me close. “After I kiss you senseless.”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I smile. “Much better.” He proceeds to kiss me senseless which, I admit, does nothing to further my motivation to leave the room.
I have no choice, though, when he ends the kiss and steps back. “Ready?”
“Sure.” I sound like I’m on my way to my own funeral with my utter lack of enthusiasm.
Trying to be encouraging, he says, “We could be back in our own reality.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he stops and stares at me with wide eyes.
“What?” I demand, suddenly very worried.
“I remember.” He shakes his head as if to clear it. “I remember our reality.” Bringing his eyes to mine, he continues. “Not the reality where you grew up in the Fae realm, but our re
ality. The one with your Dad and your brother and my aunt. The other reality is fading in my mind.”
I am so happy to hear it, I throw my arms around him and kiss him again. When I let him up for air, I am grinning from ear to ear. Not literally. That would involve some lip stretching exercises I simply haven’t done. “We must be back in our reality.” I grab his hand and yank. “Come on, let’s go see everyone!”
I pull him to the door and throw it open, not caring that it hits the wall. We take the stairs at a run. Even though I have seen almost everyone daily, I miss all of them terribly. The real them, not the creepy versions of them I have met these past few days.
I stop mid-step when I hit the living room. Literally. Not a wise thing to do. Actually, I didn’t even know it was possible. Technically, it’s not. I don’t stop. Which is how I end up tripping and falling to my knees rather painfully.
Every last bit of furniture in the living room is covered in white linen. I’ve only seen this in movies. When a house is to be left without inhabitants for a long time, people cover the furniture to keep it from getting too dusty. But why was it done here when there are obviously enough people living here to keep things from getting dusty? Our room wasn’t dusty, nor were there sheets covering everything. “What is going on?” I whisper more to myself than Kallen. Getting to my feet, I hurry from room to room with him on my heels. It’s the same everywhere. White linens draped over every piece of furniture. The only room not like this was our bedroom.
In the kitchen, I pull open cupboard doors and check the pantry and fridge. Nothing. There is nothing in all of them. Not one bit of food. I turn wide, scared eyes to Kallen.
His expression is grim and he says the words I don’t want to admit are true. “No one lives here.”
I lift my hand to brush at a tear which is determined to form in my right eye, but stop with my arm hanging in the air. I tense as I feel the magic swell around us. Not natural disaster magic. Fairy magic. Kallen feels it, too. He comes forward and puts his hand in mine as we both draw our own magic, ready to repel whoever is coming. For the magic we feel is most definitely hostile.
