Blood of Dragons (4 page)

I can’t resist.  I stick my tongue out at her.  “Don’t you have work to do?”

She smiles and nods.  “Yes, I do and I should be getting back.  I just wanted to congratulate you two.  And despite the fact that I am your only choice, I would love to be your Lady in Waiting.”  She leans her tall, willowy frame down and gives me a hug.  She gives Kallen a hug as well and then she’s off, strolling the halls looking for any sign of dark magic.

As soon as she leaves, Kallen puts a finger under my chin and turns my face towards him.  With a look in his eyes that sends warmth through my body, he says, “I am so happy that you are going to be my wife tomorrow.  I love you.”  As he speaks, his lips get closer and closer to mine until there are no more words.  Just our lips and tongues communicating how happy we both are to be getting married tomorrow. 

“May I remind the two of you that you are not right hand-fasted quite yet,” Dagda drawls.

I can think of a million things I would like to do to my biological father at the moment.  None of them pleasant.  That was a really nice kiss and I resent having to end it.  Turning in my seat so I am facing him, I say, “Does that mean that after tomorrow you’ll never make a snide comment about us kissing again?”

Dagda’s brows rise slightly.  “No, it does not.”  Well, that was honest.  “Xandra, this is Clarice, my personal chef,” he says indicating a short Fairy with a hook nose and no smile on her deeply wrinkled face.  Even though she looks as old as time itself, she still has hair the color of tar.  I don’t think it’s natural.  And I don’t want to know what made it that color because I’m pretty sure they don’t have hair dye in a box here.  Probably squid ink or something gross like that.

“So you are the one all the fuss is over.  You look like a scrawny little thing to me,” she says through all the sandpaper that must be in her throat to make her voice sound like that.

I give her a snarky look.  “You’re pretty scrawny yourself.  Is that because you don’t eat your own food?  If that’s the case, maybe we should get someone else to cook.”

I expect Dagda to yell at me, not burst out laughing.  To my greater surprise, so does Clarice.  “Oh, you and I will get on just fine.  Come on, off to the kitchen with you.”  She gestures with a hand so skinny and frail it looks like it’ll blow away with the next strong wind.

“You’re not going to make me do dishes are you?”  She seems like the type that will give me a sponge and tell me I might as well help get some work done while we talk.

Now I get the surly look from Dagda.  “I have a full kitchen staff.  You will not be asked to perform physical labor anywhere under this roof.”

Geez, bite my head off why don’t you.  The cackling from Clarice assures me that my mumbling was loud enough to be heard.  I stand up, still holding my wedding dress picture so that Kallen can’t see it.  “Are you coming?” I ask him.

He shakes his head.  “No, Clarice does not allow Kegan or me in her kitchen.”

Clarice narrows her eyes to slits as she looks at Kallen. “Absolutely not.  There is never anything left when they leave.”

“It is always Kegan.  I would never deplete your pantry of food.”  Kallen is trying so hard to look innocent but no one believes it.

Dagda clears his throat.  “Kallen, you and I can use this time to develop a plan of action for when we travel to the Dragon realm.”

Whoa.  What?  “When
we
travel to the Dragon realm?”  I never even thought that he might be going with us.

The look I get from him is stony and his words drop from his mouth like chunks of lead.  “If you think I am going to stay here while you go off alone to rescue the Fairy who raised me just because you do not want my company, you are incorrect.”

Actually, that wasn’t what I meant at all.  Awkward.  “Um, I didn’t think that you
wouldn’t
want to go.  I guess I thought that you
couldn’t
go.”  That didn’t soften up his look any.  “I mean, you’re the King.  Are you sure it’s a good idea to go off to other realms?  You did have a coup attempt recently.  And what if something happens to you?”

He’s taken aback and rendered silent for a long moment.  Yup, even more awkward now because he’s starting to look at me weird.  “I was not under the impression that you cared.  To answer your question, I would be a poor King if I was not willing to put my life on the line if I am asking others to do so.”

Wow.  Rulers back home don’t think like that at all.  “That makes sense.  I guess I’m just not used to a King or President or anyone thinking like that.”

He smiles.  “I will refrain from commenting on that.”  Yeah, I kind of left the door wide open for him with that one in regards to humans.

“Come on, you,” Clarice rasps.  “The food is not going to cook itself.  I need to get busy.”

I sigh.  “Fine, let’s go.”  I smile at Kallen.  “Clarice, have you ever heard of toaster waffles?  They’re delicious.”  The horrified look on Kallen’s face is enough to get me through the next hour going over menu options that I don’t care about.  All I can think about is the fact that we’re planning a party and not rescuing Tabitha.

I’m also thinking about the barely disguised looks of disdain I am getting from Dagda’s staff.  I can’t figure out if it’s because they don’t like that I closed the realms permanently or that my glowing ring means that I am not going into this marriage a virgin like Fairies are supposed to do.  Probably a combination of both.  But I don’t see Kallen getting the same looks.  Fairies are so hypocritical.  Just like humans.

After Clarice, I am whisked away by the decorators who have already begun the process but need me to okay various things.  After a few minutes, I send them to find Mom so she can do this.  She is much more into it than I am.  A couple of the Fairies seem weirded out that she’s a ghost but they get over it pretty quickly when they discover she’s not an unintelligible angry spirit like most ghosts are.

I go in search of Kallen and find him and Dagda in Dagda’s office behind the throne room.  Isla is with them.  Nice that they left me out of the planning for the rescue.  I think my opinion means a little more
here
than whether or not there should be crab or sea trout on the guest’s plates tomorrow. 

“Is this a private party?” I ask from the doorway. 

Kallen looks up at me sheepishly.  “I was just coming to look for you.”

“Sure you were.” 

I walk into the room and Dagda sits back in his chair and rubs his eyes with the heel of his palms.  He drops his hands to the arms of his chair and looks up at me.  “He is telling the truth.  We are at a critical juncture and need to discuss a few details with you.”

My mouth opens to make a surly comment but I force it closed.  The stress that all three of them are wearing openly on their faces tells me that taking my frustration out on them will not help anything except my own temper.  I need to focus on the bigger issue.  “Okay, where are you at with the plan?”  I walk to an empty chair next to the desk and sit down.

Dagda gives a quick glance to the tight lipped Isla before turning back to me and speaking.  “Providing Garren is willing to work with us, he should be able to help us locate where Tabitha is being kept.  We hope to use his relationship with the Goblins to help us negotiate her release.”

Color me confused.  “Um, negotiations aren’t really my forte.”  I know my limitations and diplomacy falls way outside of the fence.

With a half-smile, Dagda says, “We are well aware.  In order to prevent this from happening again, we want you to seal the realms.”

That restraint I was feeling a moment ago is starting to slip.  “Close the realms and pretend that Goblins aren’t being bred and then fed to Dragons.  Which would then make
us
the monsters?”

“I told you this would not be acceptable to her,” Kallen says to both Isla and Dagda.

“Is it acceptable to you?” I ask him.  There are sparks in my words looking for something to catch on fire. 

My future husband is smart enough to not let it be him.  “I have been arguing against this for the last hour.”

I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding.  Then I take a couple deep breaths to give myself time to find my nice voice.  Or at least an even one.  “I will not seal the realms unless there is peace between the Goblins and Dragons.”

That thing that my words were looking to set on fire turns out to be Dagda.  He pounds his hands on his desk and stands up.  “Damn it, Xandra.  We cannot go barging into another realm and play god.”

I’m trying really hard not to react with magic even though I’m so full of it; it’s knocking on my brain trying to get out.  “I don’t want to play god.  I want to play…”  I almost said human but that wouldn’t be a good example.  “I don’t want to play anything.  I want to use the power that I was given to bring peace between magical beings.  Remember that whole thing with the Angels where
that’s my job
?”  I didn’t even realize that I had stood up and am now leaning across his desks with my palms flat on the surface.  “I’m not going to let you keep me from doing that because you’re afraid and don’t want to think about anyone besides yourself.”  That is horrifically unfair and I know it as soon as the last syllable leaves my mouth.  Dagda is still as stone.  One very angry stone.  With a stick of dynamite shoved into it. 

Kallen moves to my side and touches the small of my back.  “Uncle…”  Dagda holds his hand up in a ‘don’t say another word’ gesture.

I stand up straight and Kallen’s arm slips around my waist.  “I’m sorry.  That was not fair nor do I think it’s true.”  It surprises me that I really feel that way.  “I am just upset and taking it out on you.  I understand what you’re saying, but I can’t leave it like that.”

Isla’s lips are in a grim line.  “Xandra, the Dragons are ancient and powerful beings.  Understand that if we interfere in their realm, they are likely to retaliate.”

Hmm, guess I hadn’t thought of the realm openings being two-way.  A bunch of angry Dragons coming into this realm is definitely something to avoid.  Which was Dagda’s point.

“Can we compromise?”

Isla looks at me warily.  “What do you propose?”

“A week.  Give me seven days in that realm to do my best to save the Goblins.  If I can’t, then I’ll seal the realms.”

Dagda stands up straight and folds his arms over his chest.  Surprisingly calm, he says, “What will you do during this week?”

I’ll just wing it probably isn’t the answer I should go with.  “Well, if this Garren guy has been studying the Dragons, he must know some pretty important ones.  I’ll try to convince him to get me an audience with whoever runs the realm.”  What I’m saying may be like a National Geographic reporter trying to get me an interview with the President of the US, but I had to say something.  I’m still just going to wing it.

Dagda pulls his chair back from the wall it slammed against earlier and sits back down at his desk.  “A week.  And we have your word that you will seal the realms if there is no chance for peace?”

He’s already convinced I can tell, but Isla’s not.  “Xandra, we cannot rely on Garren to agree to help in any way let alone put his life on the line with the Dragons.”

I think she’s lying.  Dagda’s raised brow thinks she’s lying too.  Kallen’s grim lips also think she’s lying.  So, I guess I should verbalize it.  “I don’t believe you.”