Blood of the Exiled (Witch Fairy Book 10) (10 page)

“Who else is going to be a fly on the wall for you?” she asks cheerily.
 
At least someone is excited about the trip.

I shake my head and can’t help a chuckle.
 
“So, I’m going back to face the Witches with an entourage of three Fairies, one of whom can detect dark magic, an Angel of Death, a Familiar made from dark magic who happens to be a Tasmanian Devil, and a body-less soul.
 
I seriously doubt they’ve planned for that.”

Raziel chuckles.
 
“They have not.”

That’s good to know.
 
“They expect it to be just me and Kallen, don’t they?”

Raziel inclines his head.
 
“That is correct.”
 

“Then there is the potential they will see our group as a significant threat, possibly inciting war.” Kallen counters.
 

I hadn’t thought about it that way.
 
“Meaning we might be making the situation worse just by showing up with such a show of strength?”
 

“With your grandmother gone, your return is not anticipated with jubilation,” Adriel says dryly, as if I needed to be reminded of that yet again.
 
“You could show up with a legion of toads or a bunch of kittens and they would be equally unhappy to see you.”
 
I’d be unhappy standing with a legion of toads, but the kittens wouldn’t be so bad.

“Wow, way to build up my ego,” I mutter.

“Not funny,” a grumpy and tired Kegan says from the doorway.
 
All eyes turn to him as he walks into the kitchen with Alita in tow and punches Kallen hard in the arm.
 
Even Alita looks a little annoyed.
 
It takes a lot to annoy her.
 
I guess having Kallen send a painful telepathic message to her new husband was not the way she expected to wake up the morning after her wedding.

Kallen laughs while rubbing his arm.
 
“I was simply keeping you in the loop of the conversation.”

“You did not need to broadcast the conversation in my head word for word,” Kegan growls.
 
He yanks a stool away from the table for Alita and then slumps onto another one.
 

I shake my head at Kallen.
 
“You deserved to get punched for that.”
 
He shrugs, not looking the least bit chagrined.
 

Tabitha brings more food to the table and after depositing it, she slaps Kallen hard on the back of the head.
 
“You are not too old to take over my knee,” she warns and Kallen tries to look properly chastised as he rubs his sore head.
 
It doesn’t work.

“Are we truly leaving within the hour?” Alita asks through a yawn.
 
It’s pretty obvious neither she nor her new husband got much sleep last night.

I shrug.
 
We hadn’t really talked about a time frame but apparently sooner
is
better than later.
 
“We should leave as soon as possible.”
 
Hesitant to ask this again but knowing I should, I say, “Are you positive you still want to come?”
 

Alita smiles.
 
“Of course.”
 

Kegan looks much less thrilled about it but he still nods his grumpy head.
 
“Though the way you keep asking, I am starting to wonder if you still want us to go,” he says grouchily.

I won’t let the words spill out of my mouth again if that’s the case.
 
“We definitely want you to come with us.”
 
Stealing a peek at the kitchen clock, I say, “How about if we meet out front in an hour.
 
Does that give everyone enough time?”

Isla turns to Raziel.
 
“I assume you would warn them if they are walking into a trap?”

Raziel bristles at her tone but he nods.
 
“I would not send anyone in this room recklessly into danger.”

He said he wouldn’t send us recklessly into danger, not that he wouldn’t send us into danger at all.
 
I’m not sure that really answered her question.
 
Isla doesn’t think so either, but she’s been around Angels enough to know she will not get a better answer from him.
 
To Kallen and me, she says, “I expect the two of you to make sure everyone returns unharmed.”

“But no pressure,” I mutter around my glass of orange juice.
 
I get a glare in response.
 

“We will do our best,” Kallen says, sounding about as thrilled now as Kegan did a moment ago.
 
Everyone is just a bowlful of joy this morning.

“Would you feel better if I accompanied them?”
 
All eyes turn to Tabitha.
 
She puts her hand on her hips and says, “The
lot of you tend
to buy more trouble than you can pay for when you go off on your own.
 
Perhaps you need someone along who will slap you upside the head if you’re doing something stupid.”
 

I, for one, vote that she stays home if
that’s
the case.
 
I can imagine the bruises I’d end up with.
 
My methods are usually trial and error with heavy emphasis on error.
 
Forget the
bruises,
I’d probably end up with a flat head.

Isla puts her coffee cup to her lips to hide her smile.
 
“Though I agree with your sentiment, I am not sure that is a good idea.”

“I think you’d be so busy slapping the Witches upside the head you’d never make it back to us,” Kallen says gleefully.
 
Oh, I’m sure she’d make it back to us eventually.

I should be offended that he’s making fun of one third of my heritage, but I can’t muster it.
 
I put my empty glass down on the table.
 
“So, an hour from now?”

“How is a mate supposed to get in a nap before going off with his temperamental Witch and getting himself killed when given only an hour?” Taz asks from near the stove where Tabitha ‘accidently’ dropped several pieces of bacon.

“Stow it, Taz,” I grumble.
 
I’d leave him home but as my familiar, he basically has to go where I go.
 
At least, he has to be in the general vicinity.
 
I look up and Raziel is trying to hide a smile.
 
“You understand him, don’t you?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes,” he says.
 

I suspect that if I asked him to explain that comment my head would hurt, so I let it go.
 
Instead, I push back from the counter.
 
“I’m going to go meditate or something to get my head in the right place.”
 
I get doubtful looks from around the room.
 

“I will join you,” Kallen says, pushing his own stool back.
 
I suspect I won’t get much meditating done with him along, but I’m not complaining.

“Xandra, there is one more thing.”
 
The serious tone in Raziel’s voice stops me from taking another step.
 
I turn and look at him expectantly, somehow knowing that whatever he says next is the reason he wanted to speak to me before we leave.
 
“You will be asked a question in the next few minutes.
 
Your answer will determine the path another takes.
 
Consider your response carefully.”

I put my hands on my hips and narrow my eyes at him.
 
“Your cryptic messages really are annoying.”

He chuckles.
 
“I know.”

I shake my head and turn back around.
 
I am one hundred percent positive that I am not going to like whatever question is coming my way.

In our room, Kallen flops down on the bed, his back resting against the pillows.
 
His hands clasped behind his head, he has a wicked grin on his face.
 
“I hope ‘meditating’ was a euphemism for spending the next hour ‘fooling around’, as you like to put it, with me.”

I crawl across the bed, approaching him on my hands and knees like I’m stalking prey.
 
“We probably aren’t going to get much privacy in the near future.”
 
I nuzzle my lips against his neck.
 

Kallen groans and wraps his arms around me, pulling me on top of him.
 
He then groans in frustration when there is a knock on the door.
 
It’s soft, barely heard.
 
But both of us can sense the power radiating from the Fairy standing in the hall.

I’m tempted not to respond, or tell her to go away, but Kallen wouldn’t appreciate me being so rude to his aunt again.
 
With a sigh, I roll to the side of the bed and sit up.
 
Kallen stands and walks to the door.
 
“Aunt Tana,” he says.
 
“Do you need something?”
 
Yeah, lots of mental
health help
, I think, and for once, the words don’t slip between my lips.

“I would like to speak to…” she glances at me.
 
“Your wife.”

I tilt my head and raise my brows.
 
“I do have a name, you know.”
 
Yes, I’m feeling snarky towards her still.
 
I’m beginning to think I always will.

A flash of anger explodes in her eyes but she visibly pushes it down.
 
Inclining her head, she says, “I know.”
 
Guess I’m not the only one feeling snarky.

“What do you want?” I ask, my tone implying that I don’t really care what she wants.
 
Because I don’t.

Instead of answering me, she looks at Kallen.
 
“May I speak to…Xandra alone, please?”

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.
 
“Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of Kallen.”

Tana’s better this time at keeping the flash of anger at bay.
 
It’s barely visible.
 
“Others do not need to be a part of every conversation we have, do they
?.
”
 
Implying what?
 
I’m scared to talk to her alone?

Sensing the growing tension in the room, Kallen says, “I will wait outside while the two of you speak.”
 
He pretends not to notice my death glare as he moves past Tana into the hall.
 
Tana closes the door behind him.

Standing, I cross my arms over my chest.
 
“What do you want?”
 

The stone mask she has been wearing on her face crumbles slightly.
 
“May I sit down?” she asks, indicating one of the chairs.

I shrug.
 
“Sure, go ahead.”

Tana sits primly in the chair closest to the terrace.
 
Her hands folded in her lap, she takes a deep breath.
 
“I wanted to apologize for my behavior.”

“What behavior?” I ask.
 
There is so much the Fairy needs to apologize
for,
I need to clarify what behavior she means.

Without meeting my eyes, she says robotically, “All of it.”

I snort which makes her eyes zing to me.
 
“Please, lie to me some more.”

Not only do her eyes flash with anger this time, but she begins pulling magic as well.
 
Not a smart thing for her to do.
 
“You doubt me?”

I can’t help an incredulous laugh.
 
“Yeah, I doubt you.
 
Come on, you spent my entire life hating me and everything involved in bringing me to be.
 
Do you really expect me to believe an icy ‘I’m sorry for everything’ line?
 
Be realistic.
 
Do I think you’re sorry for some things?
 
Yes.
 
Do I think you still harbor some major resentment towards me?
 
You prove that every day when you refuse to be around me.
 
I can understand how you feel, even though none of it is my fault.
 
But you are
not
sorry for everything.”

She wants to argue with me.
 
I can see it on her face.
 
With a force of will, she pushes her magic back down to the ground and stares at me for a long moment, considering.
 
Finally, she says, “I like that you prefer to get to the heart of the matter.
 
Niceties are often a waste of time.”

My brows furrow slightly.
 
Did she just compliment me?
 
“Okay, thanks I guess.”

Her lips form a small smile.
 
It’s amazing how her face changes when she is not being choked by evil thoughts.
 
“You have a lot of your father in you.”

It takes me a minute to figure out she’s not talking about Dad.
 
She’s talking about Dagda.
 
I grimace.
 
“Yeah, I hear that a lot when I’m being stubborn and rash.”

A laugh actually breaks through the ‘I will never have a sense of humor again’ blockade that has been in her throat for as long as I’ve known her.
 
It sounds a bit rusty, but it’s still a laugh.
 
“He is both of those, yes.
 
But I also see his strength and determination in you.”

I raise a brow and cock my head.
 
“Are you starting to feel all warm and fuzzy for him again?”

A blush touches her cheeks and she doesn’t meet my eyes for a moment.
 
“I may find my way back to him.”

She looks so miserable, I take pity on her.
 
Letting my arms drop down in a relaxed position by my sides, I say kindly, “He still loves you, you know.
 
I think if he could take back what he did, he would.”

She raises her eyes to me again.
 
“No, he would not.”
 
The words aren’t spoken with anger or accusation.
 
“He did the right thing, even if he did it for the wrong reasons at the time.”

Whoa, I may need to sit down now because I must be hallucinating.
 
“You really believe that?”

She nods and tears are forming in her eyes.
 
“I have spent many hours with Isla and Tabitha and they often speak of your destiny and what you have already accomplished.
 
A lot was sacrificed for you to fulfill the prophecy and bring harmony amongst the realms, but it was done for the best of reasons.
 
Never to be cruel.”

The next words tumble out of my mouth like acrobats who didn’t wait for their cue and fall all over each other.
 
“And you’re okay with being collateral damage?”

There’s that spark of anger again.
 
But she’s not angry with me this time.
 
“I am not happy to have been a pawn in the process, but I finally understand why it happened.”

Do Tabitha and Isla have her in a twelve step program like Alcoholics Anonymous, or Evil Crones Anonymous in Tana’s case, and this is the step where she apologizes to those she hurt?
 
Whatever it is, I’m starting to feel really uncomfortable.
 
“Look, I appreciate that.
 
I would like us to be friends,” I say, ignoring the fact that she is technically my stepmother.
 
My evil stepmother.
 
Stupid Fairy tales are always coming true.
 
“But we’re leaving soon, and I’d really like to spend some time alone with Kallen before we go.
 
I don’t think we’ll get a lot of privacy when we’re with the Witches.”

“I desire to accompany you,” Tana blurts out.

I think my mind is playing a round of ‘what’s the worst possible thing you could hear at the moment?
’.
 
“Um, what?”

“I want to help you.
 
I want to prove to you I am not the Fairy you first met.”
 
Her words run together as if she’s afraid that if she doesn’t push them out all at once, she won’t say them.

My mouth is hanging open like a fish that just got hooked.
 
“No freaking way,” I finally say.
 
Trying for something a little less harsh, I add, “You can prove that to me when I get back.”
 
If I am able to come back, that is.

Tana will not be deterred.
 
“You need me.
 
You need my knowledge of both Witches and dark magic.”

I shake my head, not believing we’re having this conversation.
 
“Kallen is knowledgeable about Witches and no offense, but going anywhere near the topic of dark magic with you seems like the equivalent of asking an alcoholic to describe the taste of her favorite drink.
 
It would only leave you wanting to taste it.”

Emotions are fighting a war on her face.
 
Determination seems to be the one that wins.
 
“Kallen is young.
 
He is knowledgeable but not as I am.
  
As for my knowledge of dark magic, I know you are well aware of both my abilities and my past indiscretions.”
 
She has the decency to blush with embarrassment here.
 
“But, understanding how to perform dark magic also means that I understand how to counter it.”

My tone a little defensive, I say, “I was able to counter yours.
 
Why would it be different with the Witches?”

“Because their hatred of you runs deeper than mine did.”

Ouch.
 
That was a direct blow to my self-esteem.
 
I didn’t think it was possible for someone to hate me more than she does.
 
“I think I can handle them.
 
I did before.”

A tiny smile touches her lips again.
 
If she keeps this up, she may eventually work her atrophied muscles into a real smile someday.
 
“I did not mean to imply that you could not,” she says softly.
 
“Though knowledge of the magic behind their actions does make it much easier and helps prevent, as you say, collateral damage.
 
I was told of your first encounter with them.
 
I have an idea of what you are up against and I know I can help.”

A new, unpleasant thought strikes me.
 
“How do I know you aren’t planning to take revenge on the Witches for everything that happened?”
 
I’m not fond of them, but I don’t want Tana to go crazy evil and torture or kill them.

I think she was expecting this question because she nods sagely.
 
“You are wise to suspect this.” I can’t stop the eye roll that overcomes me from her condescension.
 
“The only thing I can do is assure you that you are powerful enough to stop me if I veer off the path of light magic.”