Blood of Sirens: Book 13 of The Witch Fairy Series (7 page)

Laying my head against his chest, I sigh.  “You’re right.”

“You will find that is most often the case.”

“Don’t push it,” I warn grumpily.  He chuckles.

After a moment, he says, “We should go inside.”

I study his face.  “Why?  Are you responding to their call?”

Now I’ve made him angry.  “You can read my darkest secrets.  Is fearing the Siren call one of them?”

I feel terrible.  “You don’t have any dark secrets,” I admit.  We don’t keep things from each other. 

Forcing his anger back, Kallen says, “I promise you, the Sirens will never, ever control my heart.  Do you believe me?”

The depth of truth in his green eyes is too powerful to ignore.  “Yes.”

“Thank you.  Now, we should see what Dagda has planned for us next.”  I nod and we go back inside.

We find Dagda and Arie together in the Great Hall.  We come up just as Arie is saying, “I shall retire to my room.”

With a frown firmly in place, Dagda says, “I thought we could spend more time strategizing this evening.”  He glances at his watch.  “It is still quite early.”

Arie wants to argue.  She wants to check on Kai.  Regardless, she says, “Of course.  Your office?”

Still wearing his scowl, Dagda says, “The family sitting room again will be fine.”

Why is he being so nice?  My biological father is generally strict regarding the rules for entering the family area.  Namely, you must be family.  No foreign powers are ever invited there.  Does he have a thing for Arie or something?  I narrow my eyes and assess his behavior.  Okay, I can’t read anything from his face.  It would be so easy to step forward and touch him.  Which would show me his deepest secrets.  But I promised my family and friends that I wouldn’t do that without their permission.  If I do come in contact with them long enough for the vision to start, I step away before I see the full picture.  But in this situation…

Kallen is reading my mind.  I can tell by the slight shake of his head and the hand on my shoulder when I innocently take a step toward Dagda.  Innocent is a relative term, after all.  I am innocent of wanting to cause him harm.  Maybe not so innocent in wanting to pry into his psyche.  But, I take Kallen’s not so subtle hints and back off.

Sweeping his hand in the direction of the elevator, Dagda says to Arie, “After you.”

“We’ll take the stairs,” I rush to say.  My nerves are too on edge to dangle in the air at the whim of an ancient Fairy.  Dagda rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything as he and Arie make their way to the elevator.

Climbing the long flights of stairs, I ask, “Isn’t the elevator woman old enough to retire?  Maybe she has a great, great grandchild who would like to learn her trade.”

Chuckling, Kallen shakes his head.  “You face down Dragons and Archangels yet you fear you will die in an elevator accident.  Does that not seem a bit ridiculous to you?”

I stop and put my hands on my hips.  “Hey!  Are you saying I’m ridiculous?”

Kallen stops walking and turns, a wide grin on his lips.  “I find it to be one of your most endearing qualities.”

If he wasn’t so damn gorgeous, I’d turn him into a sloth.  The lack of physical exercise would drive him insane.  “Then you must be ridiculous for loving me.”

Reaching out and pulling me to him, he murmurs against my lips.  “I am lucky to be able to love you and have you love me in return.”  The kiss he gives me erases any trace of irritation I may have had flowing through me.  I find his ability to do this to be one of his most endearing qualities. 

“Do you think Dagda would notice if we didn’t show up?” I ask between kisses.

“Yes, he would, but I would like a word first,” an extremely angry voice says from the landing above us.  I turn to find Kai wide awake with murder in his eyes.

“Um, why aren’t you asleep?” I ask stupidly.

Kai cocks his head and from his expression, he clearly believes me to be as stupid as my question sounded.  “I am not the one who owes an explanation,” he grinds out.

My mind begins replaying the spell.  What went wrong?  I am about to tell Kai I’ll try again when Kallen says, “There was nothing wrong with the spell.  I believe it is your perception which is skewed.”

It’s a good thing my husband is strong both physically and magically because most guys would be terrified to have someone like Kai bearing down on them.  Not Kallen.  He stands firm and meets the Merman’s eyes as he moves closer.  “My perception of what?’ he demands to know.

Calm as ever, Kallen replies, “Of your feelings for your wife.”

This stops Kai in his tracks.  “Explain,” he says, suddenly interested in something besides connecting his fists to our faces.

“Xandra’s spell called out to those whose hearts are not true and those who have not been touched by love.  It seems you do not fit either of those categories,”

“But…” Kai’s voice dwindles as he ponders Kallen’s words more thoroughly.  After a moment, a grin begins to spread over his face.  It manages to wipe some of the sociopath out of his eyes.  Always a good thing.  “Where is Arie?”

“We are headed her way right now,” I tell him, relieved no violence is going to take place. 

“The sitting room we were in earlier,” Kallen adds.  Kai doesn’t wait for us.  He turns and takes the stairs two at a time.

Kallen and I walk at a slower pace.  “How could he not know he still loves his wife?” I wonder aloud.

Kallen shrugs.  “My guess is they got so mired down with the politics, he couldn’t see past them.”

“Do you think that will happen to us?”

“No,” he says with a shake of the head. 

“How can you be so certain?” I push.

His smile is liquid gold to my heart.  “Because with everything we have already been through, I have never once doubted our love.  We’ve faced trials Kai and Arie haven’t even dreamed of facing and come out on the other side fully intact.  Besides, I don’t see you getting mired down in politics.  Your diplomacy, as you would say, sucks.”

I can’t help but laugh.  My diplomacy does suck.  “I appreciate you finding a positive side to that.”

We’ve reached the floor we need and we find Kai and Arie in an embrace in the hall.  We duck past them.  I don’t believe either of them even notice us, though, as they are so wrapped up in each other at the moment.  In the family room, we find a vaguely confused Dagda.  “Any idea what that’s all about?” he asks.  Tana is as puzzled as her husband.

Kallen and I look at each other then back at him.  “No,” we say in unison.  Dagda doesn’t believe us but instead of pushing the subject, he pours himself a glass of scotch.  We have a seat and wait for the Mercouple to finish making up.  And making out.  I’d get annoyed at the latter if Kallen and I weren’t often in their shoes.  I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve kept people waiting because we can’t keep our hands off each other.  A smile sets up residence on my face as I think about it.

“Later, you need to tell me what is making you smile like that,” Kallen whispers in my ear.  The light touch of his breath sends a thrill from my ear to my toes.

“I will,” I assure him.  I turn and give him a quick kiss.

Clearing his throat to get our attention, Kai says, “I apologize for the interruption.  The Queen and I had…personal business to attend to.”  Wow, Mermen can blush.

Dagda doesn’t press for details.  Does the man have no curiosity?  I’d want details if I didn’t already know what’s going on.  That doesn’t mean I’d get them, but I’d still want them.  “We need to discuss plans for tomorrow night if a way to stop the Sirens is not discovered,” Dagda says.  He sits in the chair next to Tana’s and offers the Mercouple the other couch.

Kai nods but says, “Our time with two legs will be coming to an end soon.  We will need to retire to our rooms shortly.”

I wondered if they would be joining the others in the river or not.  Their guest room must have a bathing room similar to the one Kallen and I have at home.  Ours could easily accommodate the couple and their tails with plenty of room left over.  “How does the magic work?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.

Arie touches her necklace.  “We can use the magic during the day.  When the moon is high in the sky, we must return to our natural state while the magic…” she pauses, searching for the right word.  “Recharges, I guess you would say.”

“So, it’s tied to the moon somehow?”

She nods.  “Yes.”  Interesting.

“Since your time is limited, we should get to the point,” Dagda interrupts.  “What plans have you made with your people regarding the growing intensity of the Sirens’ call?”

Arie’s mouth presses into a firm line for a moment.  “As you no doubt know, it becomes more complicated now.  How does one assess the depth of love he or she has for another?  What scale can be used to determine if a male will hear the call tomorrow night or three nights hence?”

Kallen is the one to respond.  “The impossibility of such a thing will force us to take necessary but potentially dangerous measures.”  He glances at Dagda.  “We are looking at the majority of the male population needing to be put to sleep at dusk tomorrow.”

“Leaving our lands vulnerable,” Dagda growls.

I frown at the two of them.  “Um, aren’t you forgetting something?”  When they both look at me like I’m stupid, I glare at them and continue.  “Half the population will still be wide awake come dusk tomorrow.  Why do you think it has to be the males who defend the lands?  Can’t female Fairies do just as good of a job?”

Affronted by my question, Dagda practically growls, “I expect every Fairy to fight if ever it comes to war.  Gender is not a consideration in that regard.”  Good to know.  “That does not change the fact that the number of people available to fight will have been cut in half.” 

“Xandra is still relatively new to our culture,” Tana says, her condescending words like metal bristles across my eyeballs.  “She is still learning the intricacies.”

I know where she can shove her intricacies.  Before I can tell her where, Kallen says, “The Merpeople are well aware of Xandra’s history.  Getting back to the topic at hand, what word did you leave with your people?”  It’s Tana’s turn to bristle.  Good.

Arie sighs.  “That depends on whether or not the Siren call is heard in our realm this evening.  If it is not, no action must be taken.  If it is, then we must ask all of our males to submit themselves to the spell, as well.”

Sweat begins to accumulate on my brow.  “The entire male population of your realm as well as all the Fairies from here?  That’s a big spell.”  I drew magic from Kallen and others when I put the Centaurs and Sasquatch to sleep.  It seems too dangerous to do that now.  It could weaken them to a point of vulnerability.  It doesn’t matter, though.  I think my head is going to explode from the pressure long before tomorrow night.

“I believe in you,” Kallen tells me, all seriousness in his expression and voice.

I half grimace, half smile.  “I know you do.”  It’s me I’m worried about.

Dagda stands up.  “Did you hear that?”

All I heard was the whining going on in my head.  “No.”

Kallen is on instant alert.  “What did you hear?”

Dagda strides to the window and throws it open.  The Siren song floats into the room.  But that’s not the only thing which comes in.  A winged scroll follows the words of the song.  When it is through the window, it falls at Dagda’s feet.  He bends down to pick it up and then snatches his hand back.  “Damn it,” he growls.  He closes the window and then nudges the scroll with the toe of his shoe.  “I assume this is from the Sirens.  It is not addressed to me so I cannot touch it.”

Confused, I ask, “Why not?”

“The Sirens like to spell their messages so if anyone touches it other than the intended party, he or she will be burned,” Kallen explains.

“Then who is it for?” I ask, dreading the answer.

Turns out, I dreaded it for the wrong reason.  Dagda glares at the offending scroll.  From his expression, it’s pretty easy to determine what he wants to do with the nasty thing.  “It is for Kallen.”

My heart is pounding against my ribs and I’m convinced I’m going to suffer internal bruising from it beating so hard.  “Why would the Sirens send Kallen a message?”

“I had better find out.”  Kallen crosses the room and picks up the scroll.  He doesn’t flinch like Dagda did.  He unrolls it and reads over it silently.  He carefully rolls it back up and whips it across the room toward the fireplace with a fierce growl.

“Um, I don’t think so,” I exclaim.  No way is the thing going to burn without me reading it first.

“Xandra, don’t,” Kallen warns.  I can’t tell if he doesn’t want me to touch it for fear I’ll get burned or if he doesn’t want me to read it.  I suspect it’s more the latter.

“You know me better than that,” I tell him.  I carefully pick the scroll out of the fireplace.  My fingertips get a little singed.  I’m not sure if that’s due to the fire or the scroll, but a little burning flesh is not going to keep me from reading the stupid thing.

Kallen is by my side now and he stoops to pick up the scroll.  “You will not like it,” he says quietly.

“Yeah, I gathered that when you threw it at the fire,” I snark.  “What does it say, Kallen?”