04 Shadow Blood - Witch Fairy (8 page)

Mom’s translucent chest puffs out as she takes a deep, calming breath.  Or at least, seems to.  Ghosts don’t breathe.  “Xandra, I apologize that I overreacted and didn’t give you a chance to explain.”

She isn’t quite looking at me, but I know she means it.  I think it’s her turn to be a little embarrassed now.  She doesn’t usually lose control like that.  “It’s okay, Mom.  I know it sounded bad if you don’t know what left hand-fasting is.”

Mom nods.  “I think I’ll go check on your brother.”  She makes a hasty exit through the now open door.  Dad gives me a reassuring look and then follows her out.

As soon as they’re both out of the room, I say to Isla, “Thanks for helping with that.  I’ve never seen my mom so mad before.”

Isla smiles.  “As your father said, these have been stressful days.”  Changing the subject, she adds, “Dinner will be in the formal dining room in half an hour.  Please be prompt.”  She turns on her heel and follows my parents out of my room.

With a big sigh, I flop back onto the bed.  “I thought I was a goner there for a minute.”

Kallen half chuckles.  “I believe I would have been the first casualty.”

I turn my head so I can see him better.  “Yeah, you’re probably right.  I wouldn’t have been too far behind you, though.”  Sitting back up, I say, “I should check on Alita if she’s still here.  I hope her head is feeling better.”

Kallen stands up and stretches and I can’t help but grin at his lean muscular frame.  Yeah, he’s still gorgeous.  With a smirk to show that he caught me admiring him, he holds his hand out to me, pulling me off the bed.  He keeps pulling until he can wrap his arms around my waist, pulling me close.  “Just one more kiss,” he says with a sexy grin.  “Since you seem to find me so irresistible.”

I give the door a quick glance before lifting my face towards him with a smile.  He is irresistible, and his kiss is gentle and sweet and heavenly.  Nothing anyone would get too mad about if they walked in on it.  Pulling back after a moment, he says, “Alita is just down the hall.  I’ll see you downstairs in a few minutes.”  He can sense the presence of other Fairies.

I nod and follow him out the door to the room next to mine.

Chapter 9

“Come in,” Alita says, answering my knock.

I open the door and peek my head around it.  “Are you feeling up to company?”

She’s sitting in a chair reading a book.  “I’m fine.  Tabitha is just being a bit overprotective.  She sent a message to my mom that I need to spend the night here.”

“What does she think caused your headache?  The stress of being in the same room as Kegan?” I tease.  I come into the room and flop down in the chair next to hers.

Her cheeks pink a little.  “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

I laugh.  “Uh huh.  What are you reading?”  The thought dawns on me that I haven’t been in the library on the second floor yet.  Kallen says it’s huge, but time has kind of been a commodity while I’ve been here.

“A book of sonnets by Luella.  I am sure you’ve never heard of her,” she laughs softly. 

I scrunch up my nose.  “No, can’t say that I have.  There aren’t a lot of books written by Fairies floating around my realm.  There’s a lot of books
about
Fairies, but I’ve learned they’re not very accurate.”

“Yes, my mother has told me some of the stories from her realm.”

I forget that Alita’s mom is a human, not a Fairy.  “Where was she from?”

“She comes from a place called Ireland.  Is that near where you live?”

I laugh.  “No, that’s pretty much on the other side of the world.”

She looks a little sheepish.  “I did not do well in my Cowan geography class last year.”

“You had to take Cowan geography?  Why?”

“Fairies are supposed to have full knowledge of…”  She pauses and bites her lower lip.

“Of lesser realms,” Kegan says cheerfully from the doorway.  “You know, those pesky Cowans and Witches and such.”

I narrow my eyes.  “Aren’t you half Cowan?”  A fact that he likes to ignore.

That sobers him up pretty quickly.  Ignoring me now, he says to Alita, “Are you well?”  He can’t hide the concern in his voice or on his face.

“I am fine, thank you,” she says quietly. 

“I came to see if you will be able to join us for dinner.”

She smiles demurely, or, at least, what I imagine demurely to be.  Watching the two of them is almost painful sometimes.  They’re so careful around each other even though their attraction is plain.  Alita’s mother is human and her father is half human, so she’s what the Fairies call ‘twice tainted.’  Which makes her taboo in Kegan’s families eyes.  I have a hard time dealing with the whole idea of bloodline prejudice.

“That would be lovely.”  I roll my eyes.  That would be lovely?  Did she really just say that? 

Kegan holds his hand out to her and she takes his shyly and stands up.  They start walking to the door like I suddenly don’t exist.  I look down and check my body.  Yup, still there, so I haven’t suddenly gone invisible.  Just in their eyes.  I guess I’ll walk down on my own.  I get up from my chair a little too quickly, though, and I have to sit back down for a moment until the dizziness and vertigo passes, like before.  I hope I’m not coming down with something.

I stand up a little slower this time and I feel much better.  Once I’m sure I’m not going to fall down, I head downstairs.  I’m starving and my stomach growls loudly as I descend the stairs and start smelling the good food coming from the kitchen.

I run into Zac and Kallen in the large living room downstairs.  They just came in off the terrace.  Zac runs over to me and gives me a big hug.  Stepping back, he starts talking a mile a minute.  “Kallen just showed me a crab!  And he said maybe after dinner, he’ll take me swimming in the ocean!  Will you come with us?  Please?  Pretty please?”

I laugh.  “Yes, I’ll come with you.  Providing Mom and Dad say it’s okay.”

He scrunches up his face.  “Mom’ll probably say no, so I better ask Dad first.”

Smart kid.  “Good plan.  Why don’t you go wash your hands for dinner and then maybe Kallen can make you some new magic clothes.”

His eyes light up.  “Really, he can make me magic clothes?  What kind of magic will they have?”

Obviously, he misunderstood.  “The clothes won’t be magical.  They’ll just be made with magic.”

“Oh.”  Disappointment shows in the slump of his shoulders.  “That’s no fun.”

“Perhaps I can make you a shirt that glows in the dark.  Would you like that?”

The smile’s back.  “Yeah, that’d be cool.”  With that, he runs off to wash up.  Hopefully.  You can’t trust boys his age to actually wash their hands when they’re told to.

I stand on my tiptoes and give Kallen a light kiss.  “That was really sweet of you.”

He wraps his arms around my waist and grins.  “I am simply trying to stay in your good graces.  Maybe if I tire you out enough swimming, you will become a sleep seductress again.”

I swat at him and step back.  “We agreed not to talk about that.”

“No, we agreed not to tell anyone else.  Personally, I plan to not only talk about it, but fantasize about it as well.”  He grins even wider when I give him a dirty look.

“Well, you two look cozy,” Aunt Barb says as she comes down the stairs.  Oh god, did she hear what we were talking about?  I’m running the risk of foot raisins again.  She winks at me with a wicked grin when she reaches the bottom stair; that is not a good sign.  I might get all the way up to knee raisins with the amount of blood leaving my lower extremities to get to my face.  “I’m just passing through, you two go ahead and finish up your conversation.”

As soon as she walks by, I bury my head against Kallen’s chest.  Which means I can feel his body shake with laughter.  As much as I don’t want to show my face, it’s worth it to push back so I can glare up at him.  He tries to stop laughing, but he’s not able to.  I turn around and stomp off to the formal dining room, not caring if he’s following me or not.

The formal dining room is an 0076 ode to silver.  The white walls are decorated in an intricate, silver laced floral design that continues flawlessly around the room.  The long, Lacewood table is covered in silver dishes and silverware polished to a shine.  Even the water and wine goblets are made of silver.  It’s kind of like walking into an antique store, but it is beautiful, especially when the wall sconces are lit, like now. 

Tabitha is busy carrying dishes to the table.  “Do you need help?” I ask.

She smiles.  “How sweet, but no thank you, dear.  I am about done.”

Apparently, Kegan didn’t get off so easily because he’s right behind her bringing in a large, covered platter.  He gives me a woe is me look behind Tabitha’s back and puts it on the table, right in the middle.  “Whatever is in here weighs a ton, Tabitha,” he complains, feigning exhaustion.  “I do not think I could lift another thing.”  Tabitha ignores him and heads back to the kitchen.

“That is because you are weak, cousin,” Kallen says as he walks in the room.  “Perhaps someone with more strength should help, like Xandra.”

Kegan’s mad now.  He magics a dagger out of thin air and throws it at Kallen, who easily rebuffs it with a shield he creates.  Kegan’s not satisfied, so he creates several more daggers.  Kallen decides a hasty retreat is prudent, and he backs out of the kitchen with his shield high and with Kegan hot on his heels. 

It’s amazing how alike they are.  At least in looks.  Kegan has the same black hair and green eyes, and I have to admit, he has the same lean, muscular body.  If I hadn’t met Kallen first, I wonder…

I shake my head to clear my mind.  Where did that thought come from?  I would never choose Kegan over Kallen.

“They are both quite handsome, aren’t they?” Aunt Barb says behind me and I almost pee my pants.  I didn’t hear her come in and now she’s leaning against the doorframe between the dining room and the kitchen.  “Makes you wish you could date both of them, I bet.”

I can’t help but scowl.  “No, not really.  Are you feeling okay, Aunt Barb?”  Saying something like that isn’t like her.

She pushes away from the wall and laughs.  “I’m just teasing you,” she says.  A little too unconvincingly for my taste.

“Okay.”  My response is as convincing as her statement was.

“Xandra, really, I was just teasing.  What’s gotten into you?” she asks as she looks at me like I’m being overly dramatic.  I probably am.

“Sorry, I guess I’m just stressed.”

“You spent time in hell.  I would be surprised if you weren’t stressed.”

My brows crunch together.  “You spent longer in there than me, but you don’t seem stressed at all.”

She shrugs her shoulders.  “I’m so happy to be free, I don’t think anything can stress me out anymore.”

I wish I could be that Zen about it.  Maybe that comes with age.  I’m about to say that, but fortunately, Alita interrupts before I can make such a rude comment. 

“Mm, that smells so good,” she says as she comes in the room from the doorway I had come through.  “It smells like Tabitha made her lamb chops with deviled banana.  They are heavenly.”

“What are deviled bananas?”

“Deviled bananas, really?” Kegan says as he walks back into the dining room ahead of Kallen.  They’re all smiles now.  Kegan lifts up the lid on the large platter right as Tabitha walks in the room.

“If you want to keep those fingers, you will put that back on the platter.”  Kegan drops the lid immediately.

“I was simply trying to admire your artistry,” he says.

Tabitha gives him the evil eye.  “The last time you and Kallen ‘admired my artistry,’ an entire plate of Pikelets came up missing.” I don’t think I want to know what those are.

My confusion must show on my face because Alita says, “They are like biscuits.”  Oh, good.  Much better than what I was thinking.

“It smells delicious in here,” Dad says as he floats in the room. 

“Mm, it does,” Mom says, as she comes in right behind him.  “Tabitha, you are a fabulous chef.”

Tabitha grins.  “Just a couple simple recipes,” she says modestly.  Kegan rolls his eyes at her, which earns him a swat in the back of the head.  I’m guessing hardly a day went by when he and Kallen were growing up that that didn’t happen to at least one of them.

“Tabitha, it smells wonderful,” Isla says as she walks in the room.  “Shall we be seated?”

Tabitha nods.  “Just have to get the pikelets, and then everything will be on the table.”