Blood of Half Gods: Kallen's Tale (5 page)

Considering the pillow barely tapped her, I do not feel badly.  “I will not be kicked out of my room.”

Narrowing her eyes, she says, “You’re awfully confident that I even want you in here with me.”

With a chuckle, I grasp her right arm and tug until she is on top of me.  “Yes, I am.”  I tilt my head up and kiss her until I am sure she has no more argument left in her.    

“Okay, you can stay,” she purrs against my lips.

“You do realize we are still here, right?” Kegan asks dryly.

Xandra looks at him sheepishly.  “Sorry.”  He just rolls his eyes.

“Xandra, really, I will be alright in the servant’s quarters.”

“No, you will not,” Kegan says.  It is about damn time he spoke up.  I was ready to throw something a lot harder than a pillow at him if he did not.  “You will sleep in my room.  I shall sleep elsewhere in my bird form.”   

A full blush spreads over Alita’s face at his chivalry.  But she does not object.  I know I have a smug smile on my face when Xandra looks up at me.  She understands my objections now.

“Okay, it’s decided then,” Xandra says.  Switching topics, she asks, “What are we supposed to do to entertain ourselves?”  I start to say something, but she cuts me off.  “Other than that.”  Now, she is blushing.

“We could play cards,” Kegan says, pulling a deck out of his pocket.

A sudden jarring movement lets us know that we are departing.  The large carriage sways with the movement.  Sitting up, Xandra holds her hand over her mouth. 

“You look a little green.  You are not going to throw up on us, right?  Do you need to move to the bathroom?” Kegan asks, more disgust than sympathy in his voice.

She sticks her tongue out at him.  “Thanks for your concern.”

“You are several shades paler,” Alita says.

“I’ll be fine in a minute.  I just have to get used to it.  I didn’t travel much in my realm.”  No, she was hidden away in the mountains with no life whatsoever.  It is a wonder that she does not resent her parents for that. 

Alita stands up.  “I believe there are mint leaves in the kitchen.  I will make you some mint tea. That should help.”

“Thank you,” Xandra says and she lays back against the pillows next to me.  “Is it going to sway like this the whole trip?” she asks.

I slip an arm under her and pull her close, hoping she will not be ill all over me.  “I am afraid that it is quite difficult to keep a carriage this size off the ground.  Dagda employs some very powerful Fairies, but I do not know that even your magic could completely remove the swaying.”

“Maybe I should try,” she says, her hand going back over her mouth.

“And blow us all up?  I do not think so,” I say, only half joking.  “It takes a great deal of training to perform this type of magic.  And patience.  Something that always seems to be in short supply for you.”

In a snarky tone, she asks, “Should I start listing your faults?”

Kegan snorts.  “The trip is not that long.” 

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.”