Wicked Magic (28 page)

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Authors: Cheyenne McCray

BOOK: Wicked Magic
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Rhiannon's scalp began to tingle. Could it have been the Cassia she knew? Could she be that old? And had she made such an important decision in Rhiannon's life?
“I finally agreed.” He rubbed his hand over his face and she wondered if he was struggling to keep his emotions hidden. “You were meant to be a child of the light, not of the dark. Like your mother wanted for you. And,” he added,
“Druid blood runs strong in you from your mother's side and you needed to train to become D'Anu.”
Garran dropped his hand away from his face and gave a heavy sigh. “Now you know the truth of it.” He studied her as if trying to judge her expression. “I wanted what was best for you. What Anna would have wanted.”
Rhiannon closed her eyes for a moment and clenched her hands into fists. She really didn't know how she felt right now. Years of hurt and anger had been balled up inside of her so tightly she wanted to explode. But what her father said changed everything.
And she didn't know what to do about it.
Rhiannon opened her eyes and looked at Garran. He leaned forward in his chair. “I want to know more of you, my daughter.”
There was that word again.
Daughter.
Did she have half-brothers and half-sisters running around? “Do you have any other children?”
“No,” Garran said. “After Anna … I have never taken a wife. There has been no other woman who has
truly
touched my heart.” He glanced toward the door and back to her. “Are you bonded to Keir D'Danann?”
Heat rose within Rhiannon and she shook her head. “No. We, ah, just have a kind of relationship.” Hell, what kind of relationship
did
they have?
Garran gave a knowing smile. “Again, tell me of yourself.”
She shrugged. “I don't know what to say.” She looked around at the monochrome room that she liked despite herself. “This is nice, but I like color,” she said. “Lots and lots of bright colors. I play video games, I love to shop, and I've devoted my life to being a D'Anu witch. I run the Coven's café/metaphysical store.” She frowned and her mood blackened. “When we're not fighting demons, that is.”
He studied her intently and a hard expression came over his face. “Now tell me of this Aunt Aga.”
Rhiannon sucked in a deep breath and told him about her childhood—minus the part about the Shadows. She shared
how cruel her mother's sister had been and how she had turned Rhiannon out when she was eighteen with nothing. Not a cent to her name.
The only thing Aga had done that was not hurtful or hateful was have Rhiannon trained as a D'Anu witch. Rhiannon had put everything she had into becoming a more powerful witch than her aunt. Aga was furious when she saw just how powerful Rhiannon had become.
Garran looked angrier and angrier as she spoke. When she stopped he banged his fist on the arm of the chair. “If I had known, I would have taken you from her, light be damned.”
That statement gave Rhiannon some pause. It warmed her insides that her father had reacted so passionately, but at the same time, would it have been the right thing for her—to grow up as one of the Drow?
It came crashing down on her. Her father was king of the
Dark Elves
. He was
Drow.
She raised her chin. “I have a power. A power that no witch should have. Dark magic.”
Garran didn't look surprised and some of the anger in his expression faded. “What is it?”
It was harder to say to her father than she'd expected. Aunt Aga had been the only person in the world who knew—until recently—and Rhiannon had hidden it ever since.
“Shadows,” she finally said. Her father cocked an eyebrow. “When I was little they would slip out of me and play. But my aunt caught me with them once. She yelled at me. Told me it was black magic and the reason my parents sent me away.”
Rhiannon's throat felt thick as she spoke. “The Shadows attacked her, hurt her. I screamed at them to stop and they came back inside me.” Her chest ached and she felt the Shadows stir within. “I never let them out again … until recently. And even then it wasn't intentionally.”
Garran leaned forward, and braced his forearms on the granite table, his features harsh. “Your aunt lied. You were
not sent away because of any powers. I have told you the story of how you came to live with your aunt.” His jaw clenched. “And if she were before me today, I might let the Shadows have her.”
Rhiannon straightened in her seat, her heart pounding. “So the Shadows
are
bad. They're evil—like the Dark Elves.”
Her father's expression was no less harsh when he answered her. “Drow are not evil. At times we might have dealings with those that are, but
we
are not evil beings.”
“What's the difference?” Rhiannon shot back, feeling heat flush her face. “If you work with evil then that makes you just as bad as they are.”
Garran clenched his fists on the table. “Drow are neutral beings, like the D'Danann.”
“Only the D'Danann do not
ever
side with evil,” Rhiannon said, her tone rising. “But the Dark Elves do.”
Garran's chest rose and fell as he took a deep breath. “We choose to aid whatever side might benefit our people.”
Her chair scraped against the floor as Rhiannon forced it back and stood. “Even if that side is evil. You don't care about anyone but yourselves.”
Garran pushed himself to his feet. His chair fell and slammed against the granite floor, the sound echoing through the chamber.
Immediately Keir strode into the room, followed by two guards.
Garran studied her for a long moment, as if trying to read her. “You did not come to meet me,” he finally stated.
“No.” The word came too fast and abrupt, and an expression of hurt flashed across his features. Immediately a warrior's mask replaced the look.
Rhiannon hardened her own expression and narrowed her eyes. “I didn't want to come. I was told I had to.” Her voice was filled with accusation as she said, “I need to help the D'Danann and D'Anu fight the Fomorii and other creatures
you
helped set free. Our city in our Otherworld will soon be overrun with them.”
Garran turned his back to her and walked to the dais. He climbed up and sat in his throne. He had a casual way of sitting in it, his long legs stretched out as he leaned on his right elbow and stroked his chin with his fingers. He looked deep in thought, as if contemplating her request.
She held her breath, waiting for his answer.
“No.” The word came out of his mouth as sharp as her own had.
Rhiannon fought back the tide of tears. She was too overwhelmed. And to be told no once again—goddess, it was too much.
She turned her back to Garran, pushed her way past Keir and the Drow warriors. She headed toward the stairs that led up and into the sunlight.
It was late afternoon when Rhiannon and Keir made their way back from Golden Gate Park. She wasn't sure what time it was, but when they reached Enchantments, it was open.
The pain in her head had instantly returned when they arrived back from Otherworld, but it seemed as if the Shadows had weakened the goddess's hold on her during the fight at the penthouse because it wasn't quite as bad. But it still hurt like hell.
How can I go from thinking the Shadows are evil to believing they were helping me?
she thought as Keir reached for the store's door handle.
Warding bells tinkled as he opened the door, then stepped back to let her in. She saw the college students busy helping customers in the front and in the café. Rhiannon tried to smile at the employees, but had a hard time as she made her way to the kitchen.
When Keir pushed open the swinging door to the kitchen and she walked through, she was surprised to see all of her Coven sisters gathered together seated at the table, as well as the Faerie. Galia perched on Mackenzie's shoulder.
After everyone said hello, Cassia pointed toward an empty chair for Rhiannon to sit in. “I thought you would be arriving any time,” Cassia said. “I called everyone together so that we can discuss what happened in Otherworld.”
Rhiannon took the chair and tensed as everyone turned to her. Keir moved behind her, rested his hands on her shoulders, and squeezed, and it gave her some comfort.
She didn't want to look anyone in the face but she forced herself to meet her Coven sister's eyes as she looked from one to another.
Rhiannon cleared her throat. “When we went to Otherworld the first time, when we were trying to get the Chieftains to give us more help, we met with the Great Guardian.” She took a deep breath. “The Guardian told me about my—my birth parents.”
Silver gave her an encouraging look that said, “Go on. We're here for you.”
Rhiannon swallowed, her stomach suddenly feeling queasy. “I found out that I'm half D'Anu … and half-Elvin.”
Copper drew Rhiannon's attention when she said, “Really? A full half?” She grinned. “That's too cool.”
“I'm half Drow,” Rhiannon said, looking at Copper. “I'm King Garran's daughter.”
A stunned silence filled the room. Even Galia looked at her with wide eyes.
“You're what?” Hannah finally said, her voice incredulous. “You're the daughter of that traitor?”
Rhiannon clenched her fists and glared at Hannah. Before she could fire back a response, Copper said, “Garran was doing what he thought was right for his people.”
“And look who we ended up with.” Hannah folded her arms across her chest. “Ceithlenn. Bitch of the Underworld.”
Rhiannon winced and gritted her teeth at the pain caused by hearing the goddess's name.
“I was there.” Copper's jaw was tense. “Don't you think I know that? But I also know that Garran started to help
us
once he figured out what was happening.”
Hannah scowled “A little too late, don't you think?”
Copper stood and her cast clunked on the floor as she faced Hannah. “He. Saved. My. Life.”
Hannah stared at Copper for a few moments longer, then turned her attention to Rhiannon. “What does Daddy being
the king of the Dark Elves have to do with this whole conversation?”
Rhiannon thought about letting Hannah have it, but Cassia caught her eye. Rhiannon clenched and unclenched her fists on the table. “On this second trip, I met him and asked him to become our ally.”
Silver reached across the table and rested her hand on top of Rhiannon's. “And?”
“I basically told him he could shove it, as far as being my father.” She looked around at her Coven sisters. “And in return he said no to helping us.”
Hannah flung her hands up. “Well, isn't that just perfect.”
Rhiannon got to her feet, drawing her hand away from Silver's. “First you carry on about my father being a traitor and now you act like I should've played nice. Why don't you get yourself together?”
“If your father is the king of a bunch of warriors who could be on
our
side because he's related to you, then yes, you should have played nice.” Hannah stood, too, and placed her hands on her hips. “Better having him on our side than against us.”
“Oh, for Anu's sake.” Silver touched Hannah's arm. “Let's sit down and discuss this, all right?”
Copper shook her head and grinned. “I can't believe the same Garran who came on to me is your father.”
“TMI,” Rhiannon said, unable to believe her father had the hots for one of her closest friends. “I don't need to know that about my father.”
Hannah's features returned to their normal sophisticated calmness as she seated herself across from where Rhiannon was now standing. Hannah turned her attention to Cassia. “We need to send a more
neutral
contingent to the Drow.”
Before Rhiannon could come back with anything, Cassia said, “That will have to wait for now.” Her gaze returned to Rhiannon's. “There's more you need to tell your sisters.”
Rhiannon sat back in her chair and resisted squirming in her seat.
Sydney nodded. “She's right. It's time you told us what
happened in the penthouse. That black fog that came from you and helped us to fight off Ceithlenn.”
“Black fog?” Copper said, Silver echoing her. Galia's wings beat slower as she braced her hands to either side of her on Mackenzie's shoulder and leaned forward.
“You all didn't see it because it happened when we were in the hallway,” Sydney said to her Coven sisters. “It was like they burst out of Rhiannon's chest and went after Ceithlenn. If it wasn't for that foggy stuff, I'm not sure all of us would have made it.”
Rhiannon's heart and head hurt more now that she had to tell everyone. “They're Shadows,” she whispered.
“Shadows?” Silver studied Rhiannon. “Tell us everything.”
The Shadows wanted to come out—Rhiannon felt it chest deep—it was like the Shadows wanted to socialize or something.
Slowly she began her story about the power, how she had first come upon it and how she'd hidden it because she knew it was bad.
“That's why I never told any of you,” she said quietly. “I was afraid you'd reject me.”
“Oh, honey.” Silver got up to go around the table. Keir backed up as Silver put her arm around Rhiannon and squeezed. “You're our Coven sister, and our friend. We would never reject you.”
“We want to hear more,” Mackenzie said from across the table, looking particularly interested as she rested her elbow on the table and her chin in her palm.
Rhiannon told them about the fight in the penthouse with Ceithlenn. She moved on to how she had confronted her Drow father about the “ability,” and how that confirmed in her mind that they
were
evil.
“But they're not,” Copper stated emphatically. “Not only did they help us fight Ceithlenn, but they're a part of
you
and
you
are not evil. So don't even go there.”
Galia still had an undecided expression on her face, but to Rhiannon's surprise everyone else seemed to accept it with no problem. They talked a little more about how—according
to the Great Guardian—the Shadows would likely help battle the demons and Ceithlenn if Rhiannon freed them.
Rhiannon's friends and Coven sisters were emphatic in the fact that they felt Rhiannon should allow the Shadows out. If the Great Guardian told her the Shadows would help, Silver remarked, then they would help.
By the time the Coven finished discussing the subject, Rhiannon's heart had lightened. She should have trusted her Coven sisters all along.
The witches helped Cassia straighten up the kitchen and helped her make more food for the D'Danann. The way Cassia managed to keep up with the warriors' appetites was beyond magical.
Rhiannon's Coven sisters insisted that she leave and get some rest since she'd had a long day. Even though she was tired, she argued, but lost when Keir steered her out of the kitchen. Galia stayed behind with the other witches.
When Rhiannon and Keir reached her second-floor apartment, she used a brief flare of her magic to unlock the door and let them inside. A pair of lamps brightened the room as soon as she flipped the switch by the door. The rooms normally looked so cheerful to her and made her feel better sometimes when she was down, but did nothing to change the way she felt right now as her thoughts turned to her father again.
Spirit appeared out of nowhere and started rubbing himself against her jeans and gave meows that told her that he sensed her pain and was trying to support her. And that he was hungry.
“Sorry, guy.” She dropped her duffel on one of her kitchen table chairs as she eased out of Keir's hold. “I'll get something for you to eat, Spirit.”
She made her way to the kitchenette side of the apartment. Her arms ached—for some reason her whole body ached—as she drew a can of tuna out of a cabinet and a can opener and a spoon from a drawer. After she finished plopping the tuna into a bright blue bowl, she set it down at her feet. Spirit mewled, his gaze fixing on hers, before he turned his attention to the tuna and began eating it.
Rhiannon looked at Keir and gestured toward the fridge. “I'm not up to entertaining right now so you'll have to fend for yourself.”
After dropping his pack on the floor with a thump, he shrugged out of his long coat and laid it over the back of a chair. Instead of heading for the fridge, he came up to her and surprised her by taking her into his arms.
He pressed her head against his chest with one hand while wrapping his other arm around her waist. At first Rhiannon felt stiff, the disappointment and pain of the day almost too much to bear. But then she allowed herself to sink into him, to enjoy the feel of being in his embrace and letting him comfort her.
“One thing after another.” Rhiannon's voice was tight as she spoke. “First the Chieftains, and now my—the Drow King—telling us that he won't help us either. Who do we have left to go to?”
Keir pressed his lips to her hair and just held her close.
“I didn't know what to expect when I met my father.” Rhiannon swallowed, hard. “I didn't expect it to hurt so much. Especially when he said no.” The backs of her eyes stung. “It feels like he abandoned me as a child, and he's abandoning me now.”
“I believe he hurts, as well,” Keir said, his voice soft and low. “I believe he reacted from that pain.”
“Damn it, Keir.” Rhiannon drew away from his embrace. “He's the one who left me. I've done nothing to him.”
“I know,
a stór.
” He grasped her upper shoulders and massaged them as she looked up at him. “His decision regarding helping our cause was impulsive. He did not give time for thought.”
“Because I rejected him,” Rhiannon said and rubbed her hand over her eyes. “He expected me to just forgive and forget and to embrace being part Drow. Well, it wasn't that easy!”
But … now that she'd talked it over with her Coven sisters, could she find it in her heart to accept who her father was, to forgive him, and to ask his forgiveness for the way she acted? Could she accept that part of her that was Drow?
Rhiannon took a deep breath. “I didn't even ask you how you felt about meeting your mother.”
A pang gripped Keir's chest as he let his hands slide away from Rhiannon's shoulders. His thoughts turned back to the blond woman with the beautiful grayish blue eyes. Keaira. His mother's name was Keaira.
“I am not certain how I feel.” He stared over Rhiannon's head at the brightly colored kitchen wall. “If what Keaira says is true, then she had no choice. I do not doubt her words, as there is no love lost between my father and me. He is powerfully controlling, and he treats concubines like cast-off towels.”
Free Mystwalkers. His mother, forced to stay away from him. His father being the dark curtain between him and the other half of his own heritage.
One myth he had heard time and again, was that a man or woman should never kiss a Mystwalker. Fuck them, yes, kiss them, no. Legend had it the Mystwalker kiss could be deadly, yet his father had taken a Mystwalker as a bed partner.
Keir brought his thoughts to the present, and to Rhiannon, who had pressed herself into his arms again.
“It must have been hard for you, too,” she was saying. “Yet you did what I couldn't. You accepted your mother and I rejected my father.”
“I do not think it is as simple as that.” Keir cradled Rhiannon's face. “Let us speak of this no more tonight.” Rhiannon sighed again, this time a deep, heavy sigh. “You are tired and need rest.”

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