Blood of Destiny (Witch Fairy #6) (2 page)

Kallen drops his hands to his side and steps back away from me.  “If you truly want to marry me, I want it to be because you love me.  Not because you made love to me.”

My brows scrunch together.  “But, we did make love.”

He sighs.  “Xandra, it doesn’t count if I can’t remember it.”

Stupid panic attack.  Stupid tears.  “I’m sorry.”

He shrugs more nonchalantly than I believe he’s feeling.  “It is done.”

Yup, he’s still really mad at me.  He’s never this Zen about things.  “Did you know your clothes are all wet?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood.

He tries to smile.  “That is easily remedied.”  Turning, he grabs a towel off the towel rack and hands it to me. 

“Kallen,” I say, laying a hand on his cheek.  “It was a minute of panic about marriage, not about wanting to spend my life with you.”

His smile just doesn’t want to go past lukewarm.  Instead of responding to that, he asks, “Are you planning to wear the clothes on the floor?”

I follow his eyes to the pile of clothes I threw there.  There’s a light blue pair of flannel pajama pants with yellow ducks on them, a striped red and white tee and a green sweater.  I giggle and look back up at him.  “I’m starting a new fashion trend.”

“Then, perhaps
I
should reconsider wanting to marry
you
.”

I start to panic again, until I see the tiny little teasing glint in his eye.  I drop the towel I’m holding and wrap my arms around his neck again.  Murmuring against his lips, I say, “Sorry, that option is off the table.  But, you can make me some clothes.”

Placing his hands on my waist, he pulls me to him again.  “In a moment,” he says, pulling me even closer while our lips meet.  If he keeps doing what he’s doing with his lips and hands, we are never leaving this bathroom. 

All too soon, he drags his lips from mine again, and suddenly, I’m wearing a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt with a large red heart in the middle.  I smile up at him.  “Give me a minute to comb my hair and we can go tell Dagda the good news.”

A real smile forms on his lips, now.  “I will wait in the other room.”

I don’t think that he’s completely over the hurt or anger about this, but we’re off to a better start than I could have hoped for. 

Chapter 2

“Uncle, Xandra and I have decided to move our left hand-fasting to a right hand-fasting.”

“No.”  Dagda doesn’t even bother to look up from the papers he’s reading while eating breakfast.  He has them spread out over the table in the formal dining room, making notes here and there.

“What do you mean, no?” I ask. 

“It is a common word.  I believe it is even used in the realm you hale from.”

Okay, now he’s just making me mad.  “You can’t say no.  We’re already left hand-fasted, so we get to decide when we move to right hand-fasting.”  At least, that’s how this was all explained to me before.

Picking up his coffee mug, Dagda leans back in his chair and finally looks up at us.  “On the contrary, there are several reasons for which I am able to say no.”

I put my hands on my hips and glare at him.  “Like  what?”  Kallen puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes it a little.  I think he’s warning me to calm down.  Yeah, like that’s going to happen where my biological father is concerned.

“For one, I am the King.  It is my sovereign right to decide whether or not anyone in my realm may marry.  As Princess, you are obligated to follow the rules of protocol in such matters, which means, obtaining the consent of the King.  I am also not a stupid man.  If I allow the two of you to become right hand-fasted while on this trip, I will be forever haunted by spirits and raked over the coals of the High Chancellor’s magic.  As your father, I believe you to be far too young and naïve to enter into a lifelong commitment with the first young man you have ever dated.  Therefore, the answer is no.”

There is so much about his little speech that I find offensive, I don’t even know where to start.  I think I’ll begin with the ‘as your father’ part.  “We had sex.”  Those were not the words I was just thinking.  How in the world did they cut in line and make it through my lips first?

I feel Kallen stiffen beside me and his face is blank again.  I don’t think he wanted me to play that card.  Too late now.

To my great consternation, Dagda chuckles.  “Do you think I do not check your rings whenever I am in your presence?  The magic of a left hand-fasting is powerful, Xandra.  More powerful than even you.”

Kallen squeezes my shoulder again in an effort to get me to shut up.  Yeah, like that’s going to work any better the second time.  “I promised an Angel two favors in order to keep our rings from glowing so we could decide when to get married.”

Dagda shakes his head and laughs.  “Xandra, even if that was true, it would only serve as more proof that you are not ready to get married.  Now, if you do not mind, I am reviewing the charter with the Giants and making some necessary changes.  I would like to be done with this by lunch so I can sit down with the Chieftans at supper.  Then, we will be on our way home tomorrow.  I believe this trip has been eventful enough without adding an ill-planned hand-fasting.” 

You know, I’m supposed to help Dagda interview new housekeepers later today since his last one tried to start a war.  He can forget that, now.  I want to argue more about getting married but Kallen puts his arm around my shoulders and spins me around.  I crane my neck to look back at Dagda but he’s already absorbed in the charter again. 

When we are out of Dagda’s sight and hearing, I dig my heels in, forcing Kallen to stop propelling me forward.  He drops his arm and scowls down at me.  “He is not going to change his answer,” he grinds out. 

My turn to scowl.  “We can at least try.”

Running a hand through his hair, he waits a few heartbeats before saying, “Perhaps he is right.  Maybe you are too young to make this decision.”

I’m so mad my green eyes have to be the color of lava.  “And you’re some ancient sage with so many more years of experience than me?”

“No, but I didn’t make a deal with a shady Angel to get out of marrying you,” he growls.

I want to scream at him.  I want to vent every last bit of frustration I have running through me.  But, I don’t.  Why?  Because he’s right.  So, instead of railing at him for something
I
did, I need to fix this.  And, I’m going to need help.

There’s only one person I know who can offer it.  Closing my eyes, I call for my wings.  My big, fluffy white Angel wings.  The pinches on my back tell me that they’re here.

“Are you planning to fly away?” Kallen asks in a snide tone that I don’t appreciate.

I sigh as I try to remember that I made him feel this way.  “No, I’m not flying away.  I’m going to fix this.  I want to marry you, Kallen.  I really do.  I wish you would believe me.” 

His arms are crossed tightly across his chest.  If his muscles get any tauter, they’re going to turn into rocks.  “I would have believed that yesterday.  I am trying hard to believe it today.”’

“When you came in when I was taking a shower, I thought you believed that it was just a momentary panic attack that didn’t mean anything.”

He sighs and unclenches his arms.  “I thought I did, as well.  But Xandra, put yourself in my shoes.  If I did the same thing you did, what would you think?  How do we go forward from here?”

Usually, color races into my face.  This time, it’s running out.  “What are you saying?”

Whatever he was going to say, he doesn’t because Kegan and Alita walk into the room we are in.  I didn’t really pay attention when we came in here.  It’s some sort of sitting room with a mix of normal size and Giant size furniture.  We’re standing behind one of the Giant chairs, so they don’t see us at first.

They’re both grinning from ear to ear while holding hands.  That’s not normal behavior for them.  They’re usually trying to act like they don’t want to be together.  Maybe the same Apsaras magic that affected Kallen and me affected them as well.  It takes them a moment to notice us because they are so focused on each other.  When they do, their smiles slowly fade.  “You two look glum this morning,” Kegan says.  “What could have you down on such a beautiful morning?”

Kallen raises a brow in my direction.  Right.  Because I’m going to keep spreading the news of my stupidity.  When he realizes that I’m not going to say anything, he turns his gaze to Kegan.  “What has you so irritatingly cheerful?”

Kegan looks at Alita and it’s pretty clear what his answer’s going to be.  Alita blushes but a grin spreads across her face.  When they finally remember we’re here, Kegan says, “Alita and I are going to announce our engagement.”

Whoa.  That’s big news since Kegan’s father is going to flip out.  He wants Kegan to marry a full-blooded Fairy and Alita is nowhere close to that.  I’m really happy for both of them, though.  I really am.  Even if there is a voice in the back of my mind that is pissed that they’re happier than me and Kallen at the moment.  That self-centered, jealous voice is just going to have to shut up.  Walking to Alita, I give her a big hug.  “Congratulations,” I say.

“Why are you all winged out?” Kegan asks.  “Have you brought about another round of catastrophes that we should know about?  Someone new want to kill you today?”

He says that as if he’s talking about the weather.  ‘Today will be cloudy with a ten percent chance of rain and a ninety percent chance that Xandra will be attacked by a random stranger.’  How sad is it that I have had so many people try to kill me, it’s not even something my friends get worked up over anymore?  Instead, they tease me about it.

“No one except Kallen,” I mutter under my breath.  Which of course everyone can hear because I can’t let a thought stream through my head without verbalizing it.

“Um, are we interrupting something?” Alita asks, looking a little closer and seeing how unhappy Kallen and I are.

“No, I was just going for some fresh air,” Kallen says.  Apparently, his lungs didn’t get enough when he did that earlier.

“Okay, then.  We will see you both later,” Kegan says and he steers Alita around us.  They walk quickly out of the room.

Kallen looks down at me.  “I will be back later.  I need to cool down.”

I put my hand on his arm.  I don’t care if he goes for a walk, but I need to know this first.  “Are you breaking up with me?”  Yes, call me insecure.  I’m okay with that at the moment.

Again, he runs his hand through his hair and it takes way too many heartbeats for him to answer.  Finally, he puts his hands on my cheeks and leans down to give me a light kiss.  Leaning his forehead against mine, he says, “I have forgotten how to live without you.”

I’m going to go ahead and take that as a no.  At least, I hope it’s a no. “You’re not planning to remember, are you?”

He laughs, but there’s not a lot of humor in it.  He straightens up, but his hands are still on my cheeks, and he’s rubbing his thumbs gently over my skin.  “I am going for a walk to blow off some steam.  I am hurt, and I am angry, and I need to be alone right now.  But, once you let a Witch Fairy get under your skin, apparently no matter what crazy things she does, it is impossible to get her out again.”

Okay, that’s a no, right?  “I love you.”

“I love you, too.  I will see you in a little while.  In the meantime, please refrain from harassing the King.”

I give him my best innocent look.  “What makes you think I would do that?”

His hands drop back to his sides and this time there is a little bit of humor in his laugh.  “Because you are even more stubborn than he is and it is driving you insane that he said no to you.”

That is true.  It is.  Kallen narrows his eyes at me.  I think he’s actually waiting for me to say I won’t harass Dagda.  What, he wants me to lie to him?  I’ll compromise.  “I’ll try.”

He lifts one eyebrow.  I guess he’s not buying it.  With a shake of his head, he kisses me on the cheek and walks to the door on the far side of the room where Alita and Kegan had come in.  At least this time he doesn’t slam the door when he goes through it.

Okay, I really need to fix this.  There’s only one person I can think of who could help me.  Well, Angel, actually.  I’m going to try something that I haven’t done before.  To put myself in Angel time.  I concentrate really hard for a moment imagining myself gone from here.  I open my eyes.  And there’s Dagda staring at me like I’m insane, so obviously I’m not in Angel time. 

“Whatever are you doing?” he asks.

Ignoring him, I close my eyes again.  This time, I imagine being with Adriel.  The one Angel I can call myself friends with.  Sort of.  She may actually think of me more as a pet project.  I don’t have very many friends though, so I’m not too concerned with classifying them.

“Do you plan to stand there all day with your eyes closed?” a familiar voice says. 

I open my eyes to find my favorite Angel of Death smiling at me.  “Give me a break, this is my first trip here on my own.”

“Yes, and you caused such a racket, I am sure the whole of the Angel population heard you coming.”

I’m not sure if she’s teasing me or not.  “I didn’t make any noise.”