by Bonnie Lamer
I fling a pillow at him much harder than I did Xandra. “She is well aware of how perfect I am.” This time Xandra snorts and I chuckle.
A loud knock on the door startles her. “Come in,” she says through the fingers still covering her mouth. I do not like the fact she is starting to look greener. I do not believe that bodes well for my clothing or the bed if she is unable to make it to the bathroom.
The sudden sight of Radella seems to take her mind off from her motion sickness. “What do you want?” she demands.
Radella walks stiffly into the room and stops at the end of the bed, her eyes focused only on Xandra. Interesting, her little trip through the carriage walls did not change her attitude at all. She appears just as angry and disdainful as she did before. A smart Fairy would at least learn to school her emotions, especially in her line of work.
After some sort of internal struggle, she finally speaks, “Princess…” She takes a breath and starts again. I bet that was the most difficult thing she has ever had to say. “I apologize for my outburst earlier. I was not respectful…” She coughs and her face twists into something ugly as she continues, “of your honored position as a member of the royal family. I will not make that mistake again.”
Unlike Radella, Xandra is far from stupid. “Did Dagda make you say that?” Of course he did.
The angry Fairy stands up straighter. “Your father, the King, suggested I make amends.” Knowing him, I am sure she has been ordered to grovel if necessary.
It surprises me when Xandra veers off in a different direction. “Did I hurt you earlier?” I look down at her, surprised by the concern in her voice.
Radella is prideful, though. She will never admit to how much that had to of hurt. She inclines her head slightly. “It was not the most comfortable experience. I had heard of your ability to wield magic; I did not believe the rumors to be true. In my position, that was a dangerous mistake to make. I deserved the consequences of that error.”
Xandra frowns and sits up. “You think you deserve to have been thrown through a wall and a second story drop to the ground?”
This conversation could easily take a turn for the worst. “I believe Radella was insinuating that she is lucky that is all she received after such insubordination,” I explain with a warning glance in Radella’s direction.
Her eyes flash with anger but she takes the hint. “Of course,” Radella says. She does not look nor sound as if she means it.
My head swings back towards Xandra when she says, “You know Kallen and I aren’t having sex, right?” What the hell? Even Kegan’s mouth drops open at such a blunt reference to our sex life.
It takes Radella a moment to respond. “Your relationship with Kallen is none of my concern.” She says my name with so much distaste, I would not be surprised if she wipes off her tongue with her sleeve.
Xandra gives Radella a strange look which almost resembles jealousy. Suddenly, magic floods into her. Damn it. Tipping her chin up so she is looking at me, I ask, “Xandra, what are you thinking of doing?”
After a brief struggle with her magic, she says, “Nothing.” She pulls her chin out of my grasp. Following her gaze to Radella, understanding sinks into both of our minds. Xandra thinks Radella and I dated. A smirk crawls onto Radella’s thin little lips.
“Again, my humblest apologies,” she says, suddenly in a much better mood. If she knows what is good for her, she will leave it at that because at the moment, I want to throw her through a wall. But, she has the sense of a gnat. She stops at the door and says over her shoulder, “It is good to know that Kallen still has the option to be hand-fasted with a full blooded Fairy, as he has always preferred.”
I close my eyes and shake my head, listening to the sound of a wall shattering and a screaming Fairy being sucked out of it. I open my eyes just in time to see that not only is she being sucked out of the hole, the door to our room has wrapped around her. I have no idea why. Was Xandra thinking that would soften the blow when she hits the ground? I sincerely doubt that will be the case. I sigh and give Xandra a weary look. There will be no rest for me any time soon. I have another wall to repair.
Kegan on the other hand is laughing so hard he falls off his chair. Alita is now standing where a door once stood with her mouth hanging open, holding a cup of tea. Xandra looks somewhat contrite. She is not proud of her actions now that her jealousy has been somewhat appeased.
“What on earth possessed you to do that?” I ask testily.
Kegan pulls himself up off the floor and still chuckling, he says, “I believe this is a conversation best left in private. Good luck, cousin,” he says, as he walks to the door and steers Alita down the hall, tea and all.
Turning to Xandra, I find her eyes are sparking dangerously. “Obviously, you and Radella dated.”
My look changes from weary to wary. Not understanding the rules of courtship in this realm, it may be difficult for Xandra to understand the reason behind the one date I had with Radella. I shudder at the memory. . “We had one arranged date. It went poorly. Regardless, her family approached Grandmother about hand-fasting and they were promptly turned down.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me about it before she made sure I knew it?”
I feel the blood rushing to my face. “I have tried very hard to wipe the memory from my mind. When I say that it went poorly, I was being kind.”
She just stares at me. Finally, she says, “I’m waiting.”
I have no idea what she wants. “Waiting for what?”
She sighs and gets off the bed, standing with her hands on her hips. “I’m waiting for the rest of the story.”
I run a hand through my hair and stands up as well, pacing the room like a large cat. What more can I say about it without getting myself into more trouble? Or keep Xandra from killing Radella. Nothing.
Xandra is getting impatient. “Kallen.”
Finally, I stop pacing and stand in front of her. Here goes. “I was asked by her father to go on one date with her. Initially, I objected. Repeatedly. She is quite a bit older than I am, and I do not find her attractive; but her father was relentless. To make him stop harassing me, I agreed to one date.”
She will not let me stop there. “And?”
I run my hand through my hair again. “I will admit, I was not on my best behavior. I was surly, bordering on rude. I did not want to be in her company. Yet, that did not seem to bother her. If I behaved that way with you, it would be me lying on the ground wrapped in a door.” I smile when I see her anger lessening just a little bit.
“What did you do on your date?” she asks.
“We had dinner with her parents. Afterwards, we went for a walk.” The most horrifying walk of my life. “I explained to her that I was not interested in a hand-fasting.”
Xandra relaxes a bit more. “How did she take it?”
Oh god, I do not want to tell her this part. “She took me by surprise…” Even more blood rushes to my face. She is not going to like this. “She pushed me to the ground, climbed on top of me and made her clothes disappear.”
To my surprise, Xandra tries to choke back a laugh. “She did not.”
“She did. When I pushed her backwards with my magic, she screamed for her parents. She attempted to make them believe that we had…compromised each other.”
“Did they believe you?”
I am surprised how confident she is that no such thing occurred. I appreciate her trust. I shake my head and think back to those horrible few days that followed. “Not really. Even her father had to eventually admit that she was lying when confronted by Grandmother and Dagda, and threatened with a truth serum.”
“And Dagda still hired her as head of his security?”
“Her determination to marry my nephew has nothing to do with her ability to manage security,” Dagda says dryly from the frame that used to have a door. “Do you mind telling me why my head of security has once again been thrown from the carriage?” He leans out the hole in the hallway. �
��And why she appears to be wearing a door?”
Embarrassed now, Xandra says, “Um, she said something that made me mad.” Her eyes drop to her hands. She expects Dagda to be angry with her.
To her surprise, Dagda starts laughing. “Xandra, look at me,” he says after a moment, humor lingering in his voice. She does. “My only concern with you, is that you did something to cause yet another delay, as my problems in the south truly are pressing. Now, my concerns with Radella are another issue altogether. I am finding her tact and diplomacy to be lacking in regards to you, and her personal feelings are interfering with her job. I am assuming she was trying to make you jealous?”
Xandra obviously does not like the fact that he figured out the cause of her anger but she answers with the truth. “Yes.”
He inclines his head. “I am impressed with your honesty.” He looks at the hole again. “Not to mention the creativity of your revenge.”
“I’ll draw my magic back,” she says, not one iota less embarrassed by his speech.
Dagda purses his lips. “No, not quite yet. Perhaps an hour or two of being wrapped up like that will do her some good.”
Even I am surprised when these words tumble out of Xandra’s mouth. “That’s kind of mean.”
Dagda’s brows rise in surprise. “And wrapping her up to begin with was not?” An excellent point.
Xandra does not respond verbally, but I feel her pull her magic back. Dagda glowers at her for not obeying him, but then he turns to go. I do not believe their relationship has been improved by this little interaction.
Chapter 5
Coming up behind her, I put my hands on her shoulders and turn her around. I need to make her understand that there is no reason for her to be jealous of anyone. Especially Radella. “Xandra, I am sorry that I did not tell you about my experience with Radella. I was not trying to hide it from you; I simply try not to think about such things. We have spoken before about my being popular amongst other families looking to tie themselves to my family. As much as I would like to think it is my charm and good looks, most of it was political. I have never cared for anyone like I do you, but I have dated other girls. Do you want me to tell you about them?” Please say no.
Her eyes widen and she shakes her head adamantly. Thank god. Instead, she says, “How about if you just warn me if someone I meet is someone you dated, okay? That way, I’m not taken by surprise.”
Fair enough. But now that she has relaxed, I do feel the need to tease her a bit. I grin and say, “So you can throw them through a wall?”
She gives me a sour look. “No.” Liar.
“You are beautiful when you are jealous. And I do believe you are almost as jealous as I am when anyone looks at you in a way I do not like.”
“How do you keep from throwing them through a wall?” she asks. I do not believe this is a rhetorical question.
Cupping her cheeks, I lean down and press my lips softly against hers. “I know in my heart that I am who you want.” I kiss her again. “I can assure you, there is no room in my heart for anyone but you.” I can tell by her smile that she believes me.
Standing up straight again, I say, “Now, I have to get us back on the road. Do you want to lay down for a bit? It might help with your motion sickness.”
She sighs. “Good idea. Sorry you have to clean up after me again.”
I give her another quick kiss and grin. “It is worth it to see you get jealous.” She just shakes her head and I walk out of the room laughing.
I stop when I see the damage. I shake my head as I study the wall that is now gaping. Closing my eyes, I think of how the wall looked before Xandra’s jealousy and temper got the better of her. I think of its light color and its smooth surface until my mind’s eye sees it clearly. I open my eyes again and seek out the various pieces on the floor and on the ground near the carriage. Pulling magic, I concentrate on the larger pieces first, willing them back into place. Slowly, they heed my command as my magic works to make sure each is where it belongs. The hole is bigger this time. I have to pull more and more magic until it feels as if I will drown in it as I am still feeling the effects from before. The larger pieces are easy. It is the small ones that take more time and effort. Each tiny little piece must be located and swirled into place; torn molecules mended. My magic cannot be used as glue or else I would have to hold the magic in place the entire trip. I will my magic to keep searching for every single piece until the tiniest speck has been salvaged. By the time the last is in place, I feel as if I have been fighting a magical duel. For three days. And lost. My mind is exhausted by the amount of magic I have had to use in such a short period of time. I believe I will join Xandra and take a nap.
I head back to our room and stumble when the carriage makes a sudden lurch to the left. I am drowning in magic again, but this time it is not my own.
It is enough magic to drop me to my knees, gasping for breath. It seems impossible to fight my way through it. This much magic can only be coming from Xandra. Forcing myself to my feet, I hug the wall as I fight the waves of magic wafting from our bedroom. What could have happened in the last ten minutes that could make her lose control like this? No one has passed me in the hall, so she cannot be angry with anyone. Unless she is still angry with me for not telling her about Radella? No, one thing Xandra is not is passive aggressive. She would have told me if that was the case. Another lurch to the left drops me to my knees again, but with great effort, I get up and push my way through the magical energy until I am at our bedroom door. A journey that should have taken mere seconds has taken me at least five minutes.
There she is, curled up on the bed. I start to say something when I realize Xandra is asleep. She is asleep and emitting enough magic to overcome that of the experienced drivers of the carriage. All of them. How is she doing this? Why is she doing this? Is she having a nightmare?
I inch my way to the bed and I shake her shoulder. Nothing. She does not move at all. I can see her eyes dart frantically under her lids, so she has to be dreaming. It must be a nightmare. What else would cause her to pull magic in her sleep? I try shaking her again, a little harder this time. Nothing. No mumbled complaint about being woken up, no movement away from my hand. She just lays there.
“Xandra, you have to wake up,” I say loudly, shaking her again, a little rougher this time. “Xandra, you have to let your magic go!” I am shouting now, but still no response. I am even rougher when I shake her this time. “Let it go! You have taken control of the carriage!” I am yelling directly into her ear now and it is as if I have said nothing.
The sound of someone falling in the hallway as the carriage lurches again turns my head towards the doorway that is still missing a door. A loud oath is uttered and then a hand grabs hold of the sill. My uncle’s body follows a moment after.
“What the hell is going on?” he demands when he has forced his way through the magic into the room, but he is still pressed against the door frame.
I shrug. “I have no idea. She is sleeping. She must be having some sort of nightmare.” I shake my head wonderment. “How can she be doing this in her sleep?”
Disbelief rings clear in his voice. “It is impossible. She must be awake. Shake her; shout in her ear.”
“I have done that,” I say dryly.
“I will wake her up,” Dagda says as he slowly crosses the room to the bed, stumbling once. I have heard the expression ‘a sea of magic’ but I never thought I would experience one.
Dagda shakes Xandra and shouts her name over and over. He pulls her into a sitting position and the sight of her head lolling onto her chest is truly frightening. Is she in a coma? Can she not awaken? Dagda lays her back down and looks to me, my own fears are mirrored in his eyes.
“Has she had anything to eat or drink in the short time we have been travelling?” he asks, suggesting poison could be behind this.
I shake my head. “She has not had anything today other than Tabitha’s breakfast. There would certainly be no poisoning fr
om that. She was feeling queasy so Alita went to make her some mint tea, but she never had a chance to drink it.”
“Who has been close to her?” he asks.
“Myself, Kegan, Alita and Radella.”
Dagda’s eyes cloud with fury. “Did Radella come near her?”
I shake my head. “She was in the room but she did not touch Xandra, nor do I believe she has the magic to put her into a coma.” I said the word out loud and now I am even more terrified that is what has happened.
“Go and get Alita. She will be able to tell if black magic has been used, but she will not be able to push through Xandra’s magic on her own.”
I nod and struggle to my feet. The carriage seems to have found a clear path again, so no lurching affects my progress, but we are clearly not heading towards Giant territory anymore. I make my way to the door and out into the hall. I can see Radella at the top of the spiral staircase clinging to the handrail, her ability to come any closer checked by Xandra’s magic.
