Witch Fairy book 3 (13 page)

Kallen, not so much.  His tone is mocking when he says to Kegan, “You have spent time with her.  Does she in any way resemble a delicate flower to you?  I believe she is quite capable of protecting herself.  She may not be able to clothe herself, but I would bet on her against the entire Pooka rebellion.”  That’s good, because that seems to be what he and Isla are doing.

“But, what if she’s ambushed?  She can’t be on guard every minute of the day.”

Kallen chuckles, and then, less than a millisecond later, he has a crossbow pointed at me.  And he pulls the trigger.  Just like he did back home.  You know, I was almost to the point where I wasn’t mad at him anymore.  Forget that.

My subconscious mind throws up a wall and the arrow falls to the ground at my feet.  But, my conscious mind isn’t satisfied with just that.  I imagine the wall moving to enclose Kallen within itself.  Immediately, he’s surrounded.  Then, I imagine the fruit in the fruit basket rising above the wall and dropping, one at a time, down on him.  Not gently, either.  He is now being pelted with oranges, bananas, and papayas.

“Xandra, is this really necessary?” he asks, with his hands shielding his head as he tries to avoid a particularly large orange.  “I was simply making a point.”

I have the sweetest, most innocent smile on my face.  “So am I.”

Kegan and Alita didn’t know what to make of this at first, but now that they’ve gotten over the initial shock of Kallen shooting a crossbow at me, they’re laughing their heads off.  Kallen is not laughing.  Then again, I didn’t expect him to be.  After a banana catches him in the ear, I decide he’s had enough.  I pull my magic back through me and then let it go.

He narrows his eyes at me.  “You are going to pay for that.”

I don’t like that gleam in his eyes.  He’s going to think of something really nasty to do to me.  I think it’s time for a hasty retreat.  I hop off my stool and head for the door; I can hear him hard on my heels.  I make it through the main room and to the stairs that would lead me to my room before he’s able to grab my arm and pull me into him.  He laughs at the wary expression on my face.  Then, he puts a hand in my hair and pulls me into him, his lips finding mine in one of the best, most mind blowing, kisses we’ve ever had.

“Wow,” is all I can manage when he lets me up for air.

Pressing his forehead to mine, his face sobers.  “I was afraid to tell you about Xeniaa.  Afraid that you would not want to be with me if you found out.”  The intensity in his eyes speaks to the truth of that.  It’s so hard to remember that he’s as insecure as I am in this new state of love we’ve found ourselves in.

I smile and put my hand on his cheek.  “Thanks for all that confidence in my love for you.  I appreciate it,” I tease.  From the bottom of his throat, he growls before kissing me again, which is awkward because I’m laughing.

“Am I forever going to find you two in an embrace?” Kegan asks sourly from where he’s leaning against the door frame to the living room.

“Go away,” Kallen growls, barely taking his lips away from mine.

Still laughing, I press against his chest.  “Be nice,” I admonish.  But I have to admit, I’m disappointed that Kegan showed up again as well.

Instead of being nice, Kallen pulls me tighter against him, dragging my lips back to his.  My eyes pop open when Kegan shouts, “You bloody bastard!”

Kegan’s being propelled backward as he swings his arms like a windmill, trying to maintain his balance.  He loses the fight and ends up on his butt; still being dragged away by magic.  I’m laughing so hard now, it’s pointless for Kallen to even try to kiss me.  Instead, he puts an arm around my shoulders and turns to watch Kegan as he goes back through the door leading to the kitchen.  He briefly tries holding onto the doorframe, but that only lasts for a couple of seconds.  Then, he’s gone.

“He’s going to get back at you for that.”

He shrugs.  “Probably.”

“Isla sent him out to get us, didn’t she?”

“More than likely.”

“Come on.” 

I grab his hand and start pulling him back to the kitchen, but he resists.  “I could still be kissing you if you were not dragging me back in there.”

“And have Isla be the one that comes out to get us next?  I don’t think so.”  I keep pulling him until we’re back in the kitchen.

Alita and Tabitha look amused and Isla only looks mildly annoyed.  Kegan looks pissed.  I can feel him starting to pull magic.

Giving both of them the evil eye, Tabitha says, “Boys, that is quite enough.  You will not be having one of your wars in my kitchen.  Kallen, apologize to Kegan.”

It’s so weird hearing someone treat Kallen like a little kid.  I always feel like the young one when we’re together.  It’s kind of nice seeing him have to answer to someone.

He places his hand over his heart and with mock sincerity, says, “My honorable cousin, it pains me that I have wronged you in such a way.  I beg you to accept my humblest apology.”

I’m pretty sure that if Isla wasn’t here, Kegan would have a few things to say about that apology.  I’m impressed by the way he’s biting his tongue.  Any minute now, I expect blood to gush out of his mouth from the effort.  I can tell he’s going to come up with something really good to get back at Kallen.

“Are you boys about done with this nonsense?” Isla asks with more affection in her voice than scolding.  Kallen grins and Kegan scowls, but she must take both as a yes, because she continues.  “Xandra, I have arranged for you to meet with Dagda first thing in the morning.  After that, you will begin your training.”

My brows scrunch together.  “Training?”

Isla nods.  “Yes, your training.  We cannot have you going about almost killing people, now can we?”

I guess I can’t really say yes to that.  “What kind of training?”

“It will vary.  I have enlisted Tabitha to work with you on delicacy.  She has the gift of serenity, so she can help you relax and focus better.”

Huh?  “What do you mean by ‘gift of serenity?’”

“That means that my touch has a calming effect on the minds of others,” Tabitha says.  “You may have noticed that earlier.”

So that’s why I felt more confidant and didn’t worry so much when she was trying to teach me how to use my magic earlier.  That’s so cool.  I wish I could do that.  I tend to put people on edge.  Looking back at Isla, I say, “What other type of training will I have?”

“Kallen will be working with you on offensive magic, as you requested.”  Good, they were listening when I said I wanted to learn that.  “Kegan will be working with you on honing your reflexes and hand to hand combat.”

“Um, what do I need to learn that for?”  I’m magical.  I don’t need to learn to punch someone in the face when I can burn them from the inside out.  Wow, there’s a sentence I never would have thought I’d have to use.

Isla smiles patiently.  Or condescendingly.  Depends on your point of view, I guess.  From my point of view, it’s condescending.  “Because not all wars are fought with magic.  Sometimes, the easiest way to defeat a foe is to not use magic.  A well placed sword can do the job very nicely.”

“Oh,” is all I can think to say.  I guess I hadn’t thought about someone walking up to me and just stabbing me in the back with something.  That sucks.  Now I have yet another thing to worry about.  My brain is getting awfully full.  Pretty soon, I’m going to have to start picking and choosing what I’m going to worry about because there’s just not enough room for all of it in my head.

“I am able to teach her those skills.  Kegan need not be bothered with the task.”  Is that jealousy in Kallen’s eyes again?

“It is no bother.  I will be happy to assist,” Kallen says with a grin a mile wide.  Maybe this will be his revenge, trying to make Kallen even more jealous.  I’m not liking being in the middle of their competitive natures.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Alita asks.  She has been quiet throughout this entire conversation.

“Yes, dear, there is.  You would be excellent as a companion to Xandra.  I am sure it will be nice for her to have someone around her own age to talk to and spend time with while she is here.”  By around her age, Isla means in Fairy years.  Time moves differently here than in my realm.  So, in my realm, Alita may actually be three hundred or so years old just like Kallen. “I do not want Kallen monopolizing all of her time,” Isla continues with an accusing look in Kallen’s direction.  He tries to look innocent, but he’s not very good at that.

So, in other words, Alita is my new chaperone.  I guess I’m okay with that.  She seems awfully nice, and I’ve never had a friend to hang out with.  Mom and Dad kept me pretty sheltered in the mountains to try to keep the Witches and the Fairies from finding me.  That worked out just great. 

Alita inclines her head towards Isla.  “I would be honored.”

Tabitha rises from her stool.  She still has her eye on both Kegan and Kallen to make sure they don’t start at it again. “I was going to offer you fresh fruit, bread and cheese for lunch.  That is, until my best fruit was used for target practice.”  Now, I’m getting the evil eye.  I try to look contrite, but I don’t think I pull it off. “Now, it will have to be sandwiches.”

Tabitha starts bustling around the kitchen, getting enough food ready to feed a small army.  I ask if there’s anything I can do to help, but she shoos me back to my stool.  Kallen sits down next to me.  Isla is due in court, so she says her good byes and leaves again.  Apparently, she had only come home briefly to make sure everything was alright after my little Rhiannon incident.  I’m guessing she found out about it through a vision; I can’t imagine that word got out already.

“What does it feel like; being such a powerful Fairy, I mean?” Alita asks shyly.  I’m beginning to suspect that she’s not a very powerful Cowan Fairy.  That makes it even more impressive that she stood up to Rhiannon and her friend to try to save me.

I shrug.  “I don’t know.  I just feel like me, I guess.”  That was a lame answer.  I try again.  “I haven’t known about magic for very long, so it’s all kind of new to me.  It’s frustrating that I can do things like what I did to Kallen when I’m mad or upset, but I can’t do basic magic without blowing something up.”

Kegan grabs an apple from the bowl and takes a bite.  “What’s the most impressive thing you’ve done with your magic?” he asks with a mouth full of apple.  Yuck.

“She created an imbalance and set the air on fire.”  Alita looks shocked and Kegan about chokes on his apple.  That’s what he gets for talking with his mouthful. 

“Really?” he says around the apple.

There’s a teasing twinkle in Kallen’s eyes as he continues telling them about my most embarrassing goof ups, despite the glare I shoot him.  “That was after she buried us in an avalanche.  And almost crushed us with a rock slide.”

“Are you done,” I ask with my arms over my chest.

Apparently, he’s not.  “Oh, and there’s the time she almost threw her grandmother out the window with all the furniture.  She also ripped open the realms and threw Maurelle and Olwyn back here at Dagda’s feet.”  He actually looks proud when he says that last part.