Blood Lines: Kallen's Tale (Witch Fairy #3.5) (20 page)

I have to school my face because that came out of nowhere and now I am the one who does not believe his sudden change of heart.  Xandra seems to be struggling herself with not calling him out on it in front of Rhiannon.  If Dagda is serious though, there may actually be the man I knew in childhood hiding under all the anger and pride that has dominated his personality for the last few years. 

Whether she believes him or not, Rhiannon is not stupid.  Falling to her knees, she grasps at Dagda’s hand.  “My King, I beg your forgiveness.  I only followed my sister because she is stronger than me.  She threatened to do terrible things to me and my parents if I did not do what she wanted.”

Dagda doesn’t even bother to look down at her. Looking at Xandra, he says, “I believe that I can aid Kallen and Kegan with your physical training.  I will meet you in the training room in five minutes.”  He shakes Rhiannon’s hand off and walks away.

Rhiannon is left crying in the doorway.  Maybe she can be useful for something.  “There may be a way for you to regain some of King Dagda’s good graces.”  Xandra makes a sound that resembles a snort so I narrow my eyes in her direction.  Turning back to Rhiannon, I say, “You have knowledge of Xenia’s plan.”

She looks crestfallen.  “I am afraid that my sister has not been forthcoming with details regarding what she plans to do.”

She looks so miserable that I believe her.  I am sure she would tell us anything she knows right now if it will mean that Dagda does not try her for treason.  I believe that is why Xenia kept vital information from her.  She knows that Rhiannon is weak of character and would rat her out in a heartbeat if she could save herself.  Xandra tries a different direction.  “What about how she fights?”

Rhiannon looks at her blankly.  She has no idea what Xandra is talking about.  Barely resisting an eye roll, she clarifies.  “Physically.  Did you and she train physically as well as magically?”

Now she seems to be getting it.  She nods.  “Yes, father taught us well.  It is important to the Pooka to be warrior trained.”

Xandra grabs my hand and pulls me out the door.  “Come on then,” she says to Rhiannon.  I am not convinced this is a great idea but I hold my tongue.  There is not anything Rhiannon can do until the spider web is down.

For the next six hours, we put Xandra through the ringer with Rhiannon as her sparring partner.  It is a good thing Xandra can heal herself because she needs it every hour or so.  As the day goes on, I have to let Kegan know to back off some because he is taking his role as instructor a little too seriously.  This is the first time she has ever trained.  He cannot expect perfection.

Dagda stops Xandra on occasion to show her a different technique or a dirty trick.  He is good at those.  Xandra was resistant at first to his suggestions until they proved to be instrumental in her getting Rhiannon down on the mat.  I think Kegan and Dagda would be happy to go all night, but eventually Grandmother takes pity on Xandra. 

“Dinner is in ten minutes,” she says from the doorway.  Xandra looks like she has just been saved from death.  Her mouth curves up into the first smile I have seen on it since the training started. 

I walk Xandra to her room and I am tempted to stay.  But that would be pushing things.  So, I head on down to my room and shower then walk back to her room.  Either Grandmother or Tabitha has already beaten me to helping her get dressed. 

Dinner is delicious as usual.  I do not know how Tabitha has the frame of mind to cook with everything else going on.  After dinner, Grandmother insists we all go upstairs to relax.  Tomorrow will be another long day. 

At the top of the stairs, Xandra stops and turns to Rhiannon.  “Rhiannon, you’re welcome to join us if you want.”

I think she is actually tempted, but she still shakes her head no.  “I do not believe that would be for the best.”  Considering her sister would kill her if she found out, I understand her decision.  Though, she has proven to be better company over the last few hours than I can ever remember.  Perhaps all she needs is to get out from under her sister’s wings to mature into a reasonable adult.

“Should we sit out on the terrace?” Xandra asks as she opens the door to her bedroom.

“No way,” Alita says firmly shaking her head.  “The less I see of that spider web, the happier I am.”

We all laugh but we also all agree.  I will admit to some squeamishness about it.  “Yeah, it is pretty disturbing,” Xandra says.  “I still can’t believe Isla came up with something so dark and potentially fatal.”

As if to prove its worth, an explosion of sound echoes around the spider web. We all rush outside to see what caused it.  Looking up, we can vaguely see the red glowing light of some sort of missile attempting to penetrate the web.  The web doesn’t even dip in with the impact. 

Kegan lets out a low whistle.  “You are one amazing Fairy.”

“Witch Fairy,” I correct him.  Xandra is in front of me and I wrap my arms around her waist and she leans back against my chest. 

We stand outside for a little bit listening to the sounds of Xenia’s followers trying to penetrate the web.  Several more attempts are made but not so much as one piece of silk detaches.  When it is finally apparent that whoever is doing this is giving up for the night, we go back into Xandra’s room and spend some time just hanging out and talking. 

It is not long before Tabitha pokes her head in the door.  “What are the four of you doing?  Do you have any idea what time it is?  You head on back to your own rooms now.”  She looks pointedly at me for that last part.  “Scoot, you two.  These young ladies need to dress for bed.  Do not make me tell your Grandmother that you are harassing her guests.  And you are to stay out.”  Again, she looks pointedly at me.  I try to look offended but her expression tells me she is once again not buying it.  I feel it is best to leave without argument.  My head has been through enough today.  It does not need another smack.

Of course, Tabitha is insane if she thinks I am going to sleep in my own bed tonight.  I wait in my room reading a book until I am sure that everyone else is asleep.  Then I slip into my raven form and fly above the house from my balcony to Xandra’s.  But when I land, I discover that I am not the only one who decided to pay her a visit.

 “I am sorry, Xandra.  I just had to feel your kiss at least once,” Kegan says and my heart misses a beat.

It starts again when I hear Xandra’s reply.  “You know, there are laws against stuff like this!  At least, there are in my realm.”

“I am sorry I invaded your privacy, but you have turned my life upside down.  I have never been so affected by a girl before.  I believe I am in love with you.”

“Are you kidding me?  You just met me yesterday.  What did you think would happen here?  Did you think you would come in and wow me with a kiss, I’d dump Kallen and we’d live happily ever after?  Not going to happen.”

That is all I need to hear.  I am back in my form and next to Kegan in a heartbeat.  I grab him by the neck and push him against the wall.  Hard enough to crack the plaster.  “You accost the one I love in the middle of the night?  You have crossed a line, cousin.”  I pull him forward and then shove his head into the wall again.  Kegan is pulling at my hand but my strength is fueled by betrayal and anger.  He does not have a chance of removing it from his neck.

I hear Xandra say, “Kallen, you’re going to kill him.”  I do not care.  I smack his head into the wall again.  “Kallen, you have to stop.”

Suddenly, the room is flooded with light.  Now I can see the face of the cousin who has betrayed me and it is purple.  “Kallen, let him go,” Grandmother says sharply from the doorway.

I do not know if I can.  All I want to do is smack his head into the wall again.  But a sideways glance at Xandra and the horrified look on her face makes me let go.  Kegan slides down the wall gasping for the oxygen I have been denying him. 

“What is going on?” Dagda says loudly.  He stops in the doorway and assesses the scene.  “Xandra, why are they in your room?”

“Hey, how did I become the bad guy in this?  What a bunch of chauvinistic crap.  I’ll have you know, I was sound asleep until five minutes ago.”

Dagda takes a few deep breaths before he responds to being spoken to that way.  “I apologize for assuming the worst.”  Even Grandmother gives him a quizzical look for that comment.  “I still would like an explanation.  Kallen, why are you in Xandra’s room?”

I turn around and the expression on Dagda’s face tells me that I look as angry as I am.  “I am preventing any further advances on her from my
cousin
.”  That is the last time that word is going to pass through my lips when speaking of him. 

Thunder clouds are forming in Dagda’s eyes.  “Kegan, is this true?” 

Kegan’s vocal chords are having difficulty at the moment.  Xandra steps in for him.  “Okay, this is getting blown all out of proportion.”

Is she serious?  I cross my arms over my chest to keep from throttling her.  “What proportion of anger do you think finding Kegan in your room in the middle of the night merits?”

“So, you’re mad at me now?  How does that work out?”

I will not let her twist this into making it my fault.  I have every right to be angry.  “I apologize.  I was under the impression that you did not want him in here.  Perhaps I was mistaken.”

She gets off the bed and stands in front of me.  “You’re being a jerk.”  Rounding on Kegan, she says, “Get out of my room.  Now.”

Kegan stumbles to his feet and begins to walk.  He is teetering as if he might fall any moment but he still gives me a wide berth as he goes around me to the door.  His eyes are cast downwards as he walks by Grandmother and Dagda.

“Kegan, wait for me in the kitchen,” Grandmother says and he gives the slightest of nods and then grimaces in pain.  His neck is already bruising.  Turning to Xandra, she says, “Xandra, do remember what I said to you on the stairs yesterday.  Dagda, Xandra and Kallen need some time alone.”

“I am not leaving them alone together in her room in the middle of the night,” he growls. 

Grandmother raises a brow.  “You seem to have forgotten that you are not in your home.  In my home, I make the decisions regarding my grandson and our guest.”

“She is my daughter,” he practically shouts which elicits a snort from Xandra.

Fire dances in Grandmother’s eyes.  “A claim that you failed to make until it served your purpose.”  With a glance towards us, she turns back to Dagda and says, “Do you really believe you have a choice in this matter?”

Dagda turns towards us now.  After assessing the look on Xandra’s face, he turns and walks away.  With a slight nod, Grandmother leaves the room closing the door behind her.

I cannot stop the words as much as I know they are not true.  “Did you enjoy his kiss?” I sneer.

I expect an angry retort but what I get is a pillow slapped against me.  Then another.  And another one.  Has she gone insane?  “How long do you plan to continue this?” I ask.

She shrugs.  “Until you apologize for what you said.”

“You want
me
to apologize?”  She has gone crazy.

“Yup.”

“For what?”