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Authors: HC Playa

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"He was raised by the
Danua. They think they are masters of time. I can see how that
leads to some massive egos."

"And that's where they are
wrong," she said with a quiet sigh.

He frowned, regretting he'd
opened up this path of conversation. He sought for something to say
to lighten the mood, but when he glanced down, Katarina's eyes were
closed in sleep.

Chapter 22

Zane lounged beside
Katarina, an arm holding her snug to his side. In the two days
since they arrived back on Earth, Zane allowed few moments to pass
without touching or holding her. Katarina didn't mind, as she felt
the same need. Their near brushes with death were still fresh, and
Zane wasn't the only one who woke in the middle of the night from
nightmares.

She reveled in his
strength, in his ability to keep the demanding cries of the
diplomats and Fae from reaching her. They needed time together.
Others possessed the skills needed to police the world. That was
not her job, as Zane often reminded her.

Katarina traced her
fingertips along the hand Zane rested on her thigh. Across from
them Robert scanned the plasti sheet in his hand. He sat in a
recliner with Naia perched on his lap. Off to the side, a good
distance from them, Kieran straddled an old ladder-back chair and
wore a cloudy expression.

"I can’t believe you know
that many Mages," Robert said.

"It’s not like I really
know t
hem. I just know
of t
hem because of Mom’s
research. Naia kept her old notes and contact lists," Katarina
explained.

"What good does that do?
Nearly everyone on the list you gave me disconnected before I could
say more than hello," Kieran groused. Katarina counted to ten in
her head. Only two days and his sour attitude already grated on her
nerves.

"Next time block the video
feed," Katarina said.

"Why?"

Everyone joined her at once
in answering, "Your eyes."

"What the hell is wrong
with my eyes?"

"Nothing," Katarina said.
"They just announce loud and clear that you’re Fae. A lot of these
people are paranoid about keeping their talents a secret. You
spooked them."
Not to mention they consider the Fae one step up
from Satan.

"That bad?"
Zane
asked in her head.

"That bad."

"Joy."
His sarcastic
reply eased the tension inside her because it reminded her she had
a partner now. Good or bad, she and Zane would face it
together.

Kieran shook his head.
"Okay, I suppose it can be alarming for a faerie to call you up,
but why are they still worried? It’s not as if magic is a secret
anymore."

Given his disgust and total
incomprehension of humanity, Katarina avoided mentioning the eons
old hatred between Mages and the Fae. Instead, she hedged, "People
need time to adjust."

Zane chimed in. "I figured
out the best way to get them to listen was to simply say Katarina’s
name as soon as they came on-line. Saves time."

"I always wanted to be a
celebrity," Katarina rolled her eyes.

Naia squealed and clutched
her hands to her chest, "Ohmygod, it’s Katarina! Can I get your
autograph?"

The grandfather clock
struck eleven o'clock as Katarina tossed a throw pillow at Naia.
"Robert, you best take Naia home before I strangle her." Katarina
said with a laugh.

Robert grinned as he
dislodged Naia from his lap, who stood up wearing a pout. "Fine.
Don't give me your autograph."

Katarina giggled as Naia
acted the rejected fan-girl.

"Work beckons bright and
demanding tomorrow. Saving the world is fun and all, but my boring
day job pays the bills." He winked at Katarina as he rounded the
coffee table, leaned over, and kissed her cheek. "We don't all have
loaded faerie fathers." He clapped Zane on the shoulder and sent a
wave in Kieran's direction. "See you guys next weekend."

"Goodnight," Katarina said
as she stood up to hug Naia goodbye.

"I’ll miss you at work,
Kat."

"I know, but hey, now
you’re in charge."

Naia smiled a little.
"Yeah, but it still won’t be the same." A small crease formed in
her brow. "When are you going to start meeting with the Mages in
person?"

Katarina glanced back at
Zane. The stern look on his face told her he wasn’t going to budge
on their compromised date. "In a month. Zane wants me to rest
before I go running around the globe. In the meantime the Mages and
my father are managing damage control. It gives me time to convince
General Westing and the others for the need of a separate detention
facility. Given the current explosion of crime and escaped
prisoners, I don’t think it will take them long to
acquiesce."

"A few weeks won't make
that big of a difference. They owe you a little time," Zane
said.

Naia leaned down,
hesitating only a moment before she kissed Zane on the cheek. "I'm
glad I was wrong about you."

Katarina swallowed the lump
in her throat at Zane's flustered look. He lifted a hand to pat her
on the head, changed his mind, and patted her back. Katarina
smiled, unable to quell the brimming love and happiness inside her.
She walked Naia and Robert to the door. Despite everything, she
felt absurdly normal now being able to invite them over, to go out
shopping if she wanted, to do things and not forever fear that she
might turn into a human bomb. Zane made that possible.

The scrape of a chair
startled her out of her reverie. She turned as Kieran got up. "I’ll
be in my room."

Her heart twisted a little
watching his retreating back disappear into Naia's old room. The
door closed with a sharp retort, just under a slam. She held her
breath a moment, but thankfully the twins didn't wake.

"He feels isolated. It irks
him that I’m an alien and I fit in with more ease than he does,"
Zane said.

Katarina sighed as she
crossed the living room and sat back down. She rested her head on
Zane's shoulder. "I know. I feel bad for him, but he’s got to find
his own way. I know that’s one reason Da told him to stay here." Of
course, her father used the political reasons when he told Kieran
of his decision. She still felt a hint of guilt at not telling her
father about the human government and the Dedanaan connection.
Getting the Fae to work with humans in even a small capacity would
vanish if they knew their old enemies allied with humans. She
sighed, realizing that eventually all of that would come to light
and the resulting mess would be hers to contain. "I have a bad
feeling that curing
Reaper w
as child's play in comparison to
what I'll have to deal with from now on."

"You’ve got me, love. No
matter what, you will never have to go it alone ever again." He
took her hand in his. Their matching wedding bands reflected a
golden image of the two of them.

Katarina looked up at Zane
and smiled. "Same goes for you."

"I’m yours forever," Zane
said as he bent his head toward her upturned face. Katarina's heart
swelled with love as his lips closed over hers.

THE END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

HC Playa is a writer, a mad
scientist in training (translation: full –time graduate student), a
mother of three, and an animal wrangler. Although, some days she
wonders if maybe she's the one being wrangled.

An avid reader since the
precocious age of four, she devoured books from numerous genres,
but science fiction and fantasy hold a special place in her heart.
A rambling, late night phone conversation with her sister sparked
an idea, which led to discovering a new passion. Bitten by the
writing bug, at last count she had seven novels in various stages
of completion, and a growing collection of short
stories.

Her favorite activity is to
play in fantastical worlds, as it's the best adventure there
is.

You can find out more at
hcplaya.wordpress.com
.

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DAUGHTER OF DESTINY

By HC Playa

Edited by Nikki Nelson-Hicks and
Thomas Fortenberry

Editor in Chief, Pro Se Productions
- Tommy Hancock

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Reese

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