by Bonnie Lamer
“I did not mean to imply such a thing,” she says, aghast at my outburst.
“Lay off,” Kegan warns. He puts a protective arm around her making me feel like a complete ass.
I sit back in my chair. “Sorry,” I say to Alita and she smiles sadly.
“You are under a great deal of stress, I understand,” she says.
“That is no excuse for me using you as a scapegoat.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asks.
“I wish there was, but no,” I say, going back to my eggs. I do not want to see the disappointment on her face.
“Will you rest now?” Alita asks.
“We are going back out after we eat.” Sleep be damned. I will not rest until I have Xandra back.
“You have been searching non-stop, perhaps a few hours of sleep will do you good,” Kegan says through a yawn.
I glower at him. “Feel free to rest. I can continue my search on my own.”
“Well, now you are just being a jackass,” he snipes. “I did not say that I was going to bed. You look like you need some sleep so you do not keel over or drop from the sky.”
“Stop it. You are both stressed and going at each other is not going to help.” Interesting how Alita can find the courage to stand up for Kegan but most often finds it too difficult to stand up for herself. Or am I simply being bitter because she is correct?
“Fine.” I give my cousin a stony look. “I will be heading out in five minutes. Join me if you like.”
“If I was not so hungry, I would have already beaten you to the door,” Kegan says, shoveling more eggs into his mouth.
We continue to eat in silence. When we are done, we leave the dirty dishes in the sink for Breena, because we are much less terrified of her wrath than Tabitha’s, and we head back out. But, no matter how many circles we fly in, we cannot find anything suspicious.
By early evening, I am ready to start killing Giants until I get answers. I am no longer content to simply search for Xandra. I want to go on the offensive. I decide to start with Ellu’s guards. Kegan tries to keep me from the Daityas village, but a short scuffle leaves him on the ground and me heading in that direction. I should feel guilty about the cuts and bruises I have given Kegan, but I do not. I have become single-minded, focused only on my quest for Xandra. Everything else is inconsequential.
I am on the outside of the village when I am trampled by a black stallion. Literally. Dagda in his horse form knocks me to the ground as I had Kegan. He holds me there with his leg, his hoof on my chest. I am then covered in a blanket of magic, unable to move. In a heartbeat, a very naked Dagda takes the place of the horse, his Fairy foot on my chest now. This is disturbing.
“Enough,” Dagda growls down at me.
Unable to struggle, I simply glare up at him. “One of us has to look for Xandra and you do not seem to see it as a priority.”
His eyes are blazing, his skin turning a ruddy color from his fury. “I have spent the last day doing nothing but searching for her. I am simply doing it in a more civilized manner than you are.”
“Sending messages back and forth between you and the Giants does not really count as looking,” I growl.
Dagda takes a step back and dons a pair of black trousers and a white button down shirt. “Is that what you believe I have been doing?” he asks, the incredulity in his voice insisting that he has been doing much more than that.
Not wanting to acknowledge that I may have misjudged him, I say evenly, “Will you let me go now?”
He gives me an assessing look. “Do you think you can manage to be civil?” He does not turn around when a sparrow lands on the ground near him and then shifts into Kegan.
I glare at my cousin now. “You could not stop me so you ran off for reinforcements, I see,” I drawl in accusation. Kegan’s face flushes in embarrassment.
“He did what he should have done,” Dagda informs me. “I will not have you threaten the stability of my Kingdom. You are out of control and very close to starting a war of epic proportions. The Giants are furious that they are being spied on as well as being accused of kidnapping.”
I try not to act surprised. I did not realize that my raven form was known among the Giants. Or, perhaps, they simply figured out that it was not a coincidence that each of them had seen a raven in their window several times.
“Will you let me rise?” I ask again. After another long, assessing look, Dagda relents and drops his magic. I get to my feet and meet his gaze. “Thank you,” I mumble.
“You will return with me to the house. I have an entire team of guards searching every bush and clump of grass in a five mile radius. I even have someone attempting a locator spell. You need to get some sleep or you will be no good to anyone, let alone Xandra.”
“No.”
Dagda is not used to being told no. At least by anyone who is not his daughter. He moves closer to me, his nose almost touching mine. “I said, you will return with me.”
Why is he being like this? He is her father for God’s sake. “I will not stop searching for her.”
“Neither will I,” he growls.
“The more bodies searching, the better chance of finding her.” I turn, ready to become a raven once again.
Dagda grabs my arm. “Kallen, I want her back as badly as you do.”
“Do you really think that is true?” I ask. “Do you really believe you love her as much as I do?”
“This is not a contest,” he says.
“You are correct. It is a hunt, and I am going to continue to do just that.” Without another word, I shift and fly away. As I rise into the air, I hear a frustrated Dagda tell Kegan to stay with me.
Chapter 23
We fly all night again. Kegan keeps himself at a safe distance from me and my volatile mood, but he stays with me. I cannot muster the words to tell him how much I appreciate this. I can see the toll it is taking when we are in our Fairy forms. His eyes have dark circles under them and his skin is pale. He looks as if he will drop any second. If he looks that bad, I do not even want to know what I look like.
Morning comes eventually. A new day begins and still no trace of Xandra. For what seems like the thousandth time, Kegan and I decide to search the area again where she disappeared. I expect to find the same unscathed land that has been here every time I have looked previously, but instead, there is a gaping hole in the ground exposing what appears to be a forgotten mine shaft. Damn it! Has Xandra been trapped in there for the past two days? If I had tried just a little harder, dug a little deeper, would I have found her?
I am about to climb into the caved in mine when Kegan grabs my arm, holding me back. Before I can tug my arm away, there is the pounding of feet behind us and the next thing I know, Xandra appears. She grabs both Kegan and myself by the arm and teleports us.
I do not care that I am suddenly tumbled onto a bed. I do not even care that I painfully roll off the bed because of the momentum Xandra had going when she ran to us. But I cannot help cringing at the piercing scream that is coming from Breena’s mouth. My beautiful Xandra solves the problem by taking her voice away.
“Thank you,” Dagda says, his hands coming down from his ears. “I was just about to gag her myself.” Breena glares at him from the corner of the room she’s backed herself into.
Disentangling myself from Kegan, I am on my feet and have Xandra in my arms before she can disappear again. Is this real? Or am I hallucinating from lack of sleep? Her body certainly feels real pressed tightly against mine. Her arms that wrap around me like they belong there are definitely real. My mind could not imagine anything that could feel this good. “If I was not so happy to see you, I would kill you for making me worry so much,” I murmur into her ear.
She hugs me tighter. “I know. I’m sorry.”
Pulling back but keeping my arms around her, I ask the most important question first. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, but how about you?” she asks, studying my face. She pushes a strand of h
air from my forehead. “You look exhausted.”
“That is because he has spent the last two days trying to tear the realm apart looking for you,” Kegan says, putting his hand on my shoulder. “We are all happy to see you back in one piece.” Asking the second most important question, he says, “Where have you been?”
Xandra moves out of my arms so she can speak to everyone, but I grab her hands before she can get too far away. From now on, wherever she goes, I am going until we get to the bottom of this. Or until I die. Probably the latter. She tugs me onto the bed with her and she sits with her legs pulled under her.
“Yes,” Radella drawls. I am startled to hear her voice. I had not even noticed she was in the room. “That is a question we would all like answered.”
“She was in a mineshaft,” Nixie says, making her presence known. She is bouncing up and down on the wall near Radella, who jumps at the sound of her voice.
“Who is speaking?” Radella asks the wall, her body tensed with fear.
“It’s just Nixie,” Xandra says.
“She’s a tiny lost soul,” Dagda says impatiently. “Enough about Nixie. Where. Have. You. Been.” He says each word as if he is waiting for a name so he can kill someone. He will have to beat me to it.
“Nixie’s right. I fell into a mineshaft. She followed me in, and then the hole closed on top of us.”
I nod but I am still confused. “It did appear as if you sunk into the ground, but there was no indication of a hole after you disappeared.”
“Yeah,” Xandra says, “she said it closed magically and she couldn’t get out to go for help, just like you couldn’t get in.” I assume she means Nixie.
“She broke her leg when she fell,” Nixie blurts out.
Xandra glares at the spot Nixie is taking up on the wall. “Tattle tale.”
I narrow my eyes at her, not letting her skip over this part of the story. Resigned, she says, “It’s true. When I fell, I broke my femur. And I got a concussion.” Her hand goes to a spot on her head.
“But, you were able to heal yourself?” Radella asks. She sounds almost impressed.
“When I finally woke up enough, yeah. I was unconscious for most of the last couple of days.”
“You haven’t told them about the illusion, yet,” Nixie says impatiently. Before Xandra can say anything, she continues. “Two magical creatures created images from her mind. They created her childhood bedroom and pretended to be her mom and dad. I couldn’t get past the illusion so I could help her. I kept trying until she finally woke up.” She says the last part firmly, in case any of us dare to question her dedication.
“I remember waking up once, and it was like I was in my old bedroom, and Mom and Dad were there. Or, at least, whoever was imitating them were there. They were trying to convince me that I was injured by hikers and that I had a no-good boyfriend who was leading me into trouble.” I do not realize my grip on her hand has tightened until she scowls up at me.
“How did you finally escape?” Kegan asks.
“Once I woke up enough, I started noticing little things. The colors were slightly off. There were gifts from my grandparents.” Her grandparents were nonexistent in her life before recently. She shrugs. “I knew something was wrong, and little by little, my memories started coming back to me. As soon as I realized it was just an illusion, I was able to dissolve the magic. Turns out, I was really just lying on the ground of the mineshaft.”
“And her leg was infected. It was almost green,” Nixie says and my hand has tightened over Xandra’s again as I look down at her anxiously. Is she fully healed?
Xandra glares at Nixie. “But I healed it,” she says firmly.
Turning to Nixie’s light, Dagda asks, “Did you see the ones impersonating her parents in their true forms?”
“No,” she says, a touch of anger and frustration in her voice. “They never appeared in any other form while they were with her, and they didn’t come back after Xandra woke up.”
“Did they say anything that would give you a clue as to who they really are?”
Radella is looking at Dagda like he is crazy, wondering why he is speaking with a non-corporeal being. “Is that thing real?” she asks him. He just gives her a dirty look and then ignores her again.
“They were really good at staying in character,” Nixie says, “but when they knew Xandra was asleep, I did hear them talking about someone named Ellu. I couldn’t hear exactly what was said, but they repeated that name a few times.”
I knew this would come back to Ellu. “I am going to kill him,” I grind out between my clenched teeth.
Dagda’s eyes flash a brilliant green. “Get in line.” I am barely able to hold back an accusatory ‘I told you so’, but he sees it in my eyes and color flushes into his cheeks.
A loud banging can be heard all the way from the front door. Breena uses that as an excuse to escape from the room. She sidles along the wall that Nixie is not on, until she gets to the door and then makes a hasty exit. Everyone is quiet as we wait for her to come back and say who it is. I spend the time touching Xandra, continuing to make sure she is real. She does not seem to mind.
It does not take Breena long to return. And she is not alone; she has Quinn with her. As soon as I hear his voice, I am off the bed, blocking his view of Xandra.
Quinn barrels into the room. “Your Highness, there has been a cave-in of an old mineshaft in the area your daughter was last seen. I have my men searching through the rubble as we speak.”
Dagda manages a tight smile and pats him on the arm. “Thank you, Quinn, but that is not necessary.” He gestures his hand in Xandra’s direction and I reluctantly allow him to see the barest hint of her form on the bed.
Quinn turns and the shock in his eyes is almost comical. “You are here.”
Xandra nods in an ‘obviously’ sort of way. “Yup, I’m here.”
He comes closer and my entire body stiffens. If he tries to touch her, I will blast him with magic again. “Are you well?” Quinn asks, false concern in his voice.
It makes Xandra uncomfortable. “Um, yeah, I’m fine.”
A relieved smile appears on his face. I want to roll my eyes but will not give him the satisfaction. “I am pleased to hear that.”
“It has been confirmed that Ellu was behind her kidnapping,” Dagda says grimly.
Quinn’s eyes do not leave Xandra as he says, “Then, it shall be war.” Considering the way he is ogling Xandra, it is amazing that any other thought can form in his head. I want to punch him in the face.
Xandra is quick to say, “I don’t want to be responsible for a war. Can’t we just go talk to the guy and I can set him straight?”
Dagda is every bit the King when he says in a sharp edged voice, “Xandra, he had you kidnapped and held hostage with broken bones and a burgeoning infection. I believe this calls for more than a stern conversation and a show of magic.” Xandra is slightly taken aback by his regal tone. She has never really seen this side of him.
“Okay, first, can we move this conversation somewhere other than my bedroom?” She gives Quinn a pointed look and a simpering smile forms on my face. “And second, I was the one who was kidnapped. Shouldn’t I have some say in what happens to the person who was responsible for it?”
“No!” Dagda booms.”
His explosion surprises her. “No, we can’t move the conversation, or no, I don’t get a say?”
“No, you do not have a say. As King, the decision is mine.”
I take her hand again and give it a warning squeeze. She wants to throw him through a wall, I know she does. But with amazing self-control, she does not. She understands that making him appear weaker than her in front of Quinn is a bad idea. As soon as the Giant leaves, Dagda is in trouble.
“Oookaayyy, can we at least move this conversation to someone else’s bedroom?” she asks.
Hiding the shock on his face that Xandra has let his authority stand, he turns to Breena. “We will be meeting in the library. Please pr
epare the room and provide nourishment for my daughter.” To Radella, he says, “Bring the security team that is not currently patrolling the perimeter to the library.”
Dagda heads for the door and Radella is right behind him like his shadow. She gives Quinn the once over on her way out. The lust in her eyes speaks volumes of her ineptitude for her job. She seems to be busier wondering what he would be like as a lover than seeing him as a threat.
Xandra and I begin to follow, but Quinn puts a hand on Xandra’s shoulder, daring me to break every bone in his fingers. “Xandra, Kallen, I would like to offer an apology for my behavior the last time we met.” Obviously, he does not mean the meeting between just the two of us. “I am afraid I did not give you the respect you deserve considering your positions in the realm.”
