Blood of the Exiled (Witch Fairy Book 10) (3 page)

Isla’s face becomes impassive as she says, “Perhaps you should return.
 
I am certain the Dragons would welcome you back regardless of the circumstances under which you left.”
 
Is she insane?
 
They’d cook him with their fire and eat him as a snack.
 

Garren smiles wide and the corners of his green eyes show the slightest hint of crow’s feet.
 
“I prefer studying in depth the fiercest Dragon in this realm.”
 
Isla’s face hardens as her cheeks flush.
 
I think she may be too embarrassed, and angry, to speak, but Garren just laughs.
 
I never said he was a smart Fairy.

Okay, this awkward conversation is making my molars hurt.
 
“Um, can we get back to talking about wedding stuff?
 
Your Dragon innuendoes are making us all uncomfortable.”

Kallen and Kegan both try to cover their chuckles with coughs.
 
Even Flynn has to cover up his laugh with a loud cough.
 
It sounds like there’s a breakout of tuberculosis on the terrace.

This is one of those times that I wish I had a filter between my brain and my tongue.
 
Isla glowers at me for a moment before turning on her heels.
 
Garren, already in the dog house for his own comments, shakes his head and follows after her.
 
He’s
will need to do some major sucking up for the both of us.

Taking her father’s arm and leading him into the house, Alita says, “Father, as Isla said there are things inside needing to be done.
 
Come, I will show you.”
 
Still chuckling, Kegan follows after them.

Kallen puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me close.
 
His teasing voice low and sexy, he says, “You, my love, have an amazing talent for getting rid of people.
 
You know, if you wanted some time alone with me, you could have just said so.
 
I will always oblige you in that request.”
 

I look up at my beautiful husband.
 
His green eyes are sparkling with humor and his black hair is windblown, begging me tame it with my fingers.
 
Or mess it up even more.
 
“What can I say, I have skills.”

He glances to where Garren is trying to cajole Isla out of her bad mood.
 
It doesn’t seem to be going well.
 
He winces and says, “I think the two of them can handle things out here.”

“Coward,” I tease.

“I prefer to think of it as self-preservation.”

I shake my head.
 
“Semantics.”

“Care for a walk on the beach before things get too crazy around here?” he asks.

A quick glance in Isla’s direction tells me that Garren is still far from appeasing her.
 
Tabitha tells me it’s been a long time since anyone dared tease her like Garren does.
 
Maybe with time and a strong appetite for punishment, he’ll eventually get her to take things less seriously.

Slipping out from under his arm and placing my hand in his, I say, “Sure.”
  

We stay out of firing range as we ease past the arguing couple.
 
We don’t want to end up being scapegoats.
 
When we are well away from the house, I say, “Do you think Alita and Kegan really want to come with us, or did they say yes because they felt obligated?”

Kallen shrugs.
 
“From what I can tell, they both seem excited about going.”

“Maybe we should postpone the trip until after they’ve had a proper honeymoon.”

As usual, Kallen sees right through me.
 
“You mean use them as an excuse to put off this trip that you do not want to take?”

I sigh.
 
“Why didn’t I marry a stupid Fairy?”

Kallen chuckles.
 
“Because you would have become bored with him before you even made it to the hand-fasting.”

True, but I’m not going to admit it.
 
“I don’t know, sometimes good looks can be enough.”

“Was that your way of saying you would like me to throw you in the ocean with the jelly fish?”

I laugh.
 
“Absolutely not.
 
My jelly fish sting last week was excruciating.”

He chuckles again.
 
“I am sure it was for the entire twenty seconds it took you to heal yourself.”

“Twenty
long
seconds,” I clarify.
 

He nods.
 
“I am sure they were.”

“Seriously, are we asking too much of Kegan and Alita?
 
I want them to go, but they deserve a honeymoon.”

“Kegan would not hesitate to tell us if that was the case.
 
You have offered them an opportunity to visit a realm that has not been open to them before.
 
I believe you are underestimating their curiosity and excitement.”

“Dagda wasn’t thrilled about losing Alita.”

Kallen shrugs.
 
“Whether it is because she is in the Cowan realm or taking what you call a ‘proper honeymoon’, she will still be absent from the palace.”

I hadn’t thought about it that way.
 
“True.”

We walk in a comfortable silence for a while.
 
The day is beautiful and the air is cool, but not cold.
 
It’s just right.

Feigning innocence, Kallen says, “Have I shown you my favorite spot in the forest?”

I narrow my eyes at him.
 
“You seem to have a lot of ‘favorite’ spots.
 
I think you’re just trying to get me to follow you into the woods so you can take advantage of me.”

He shrugs.
 
“I suppose you could take advantage of me.”

I laugh but it is so tempting.
 
“The last time we tried making out in the woods some kids found us.”
 
Though, it wasn’t random.
 
They were actually following us.

“I cannot sense anyone close to us,” he says, already leading me away from the shore to the forest that lines it.
 
“I will be extra vigilant.”

“If you can still think about other people then I’m not taking advantage of you properly,” I purr.
 
He growls low in his throat and pulls me into a mind-blowing kiss.
 
We haven’t even made it past the first line of trees.
 

When he growls again, it’s not due to passion.
 
Dragging his lips from mine, he looks over my head at something.
 
Or someone, I suppose, since the back of my mind is vibrating as it picks up on the power and magic the person holds.
 
I turn to look for myself and am startled to find Adriel walking towards us.
 
Recovering quickly, I rush to her and give her a hug, almost knocking her down.
 
“What are you doing here?” I ask when I finally let her go.
 
“When did you get back?”
 
She and Raziel had gone on an ‘exploring our feelings for each other’ trip, though that’s not what they called it.
 
Maybe they didn’t like what they found?

My heart plummets and a frown tugs at my lips.
 
“Nothing is wrong, right?
 
You and Raziel are still together?”

Her expression is nothing less than haughty when she says, “Of course we are still together, and very much in love.”

I feel badly now for jumping to conclusions.
 
“I just didn’t expect you back so soon,” I say lamely.

Pushing through the awkwardness I’ve created, she says, “I have come to accompany you on your journey to the Cowan realm.
 
Raziel insists upon it.”

Now I frown in confusion.
 
“Is he going?”

She shakes her head.
 
“He says he cannot.
 
Only I may go with you.”
 
I can see she’s not thrilled about going without him.
 

“It’s the whole omniscient thing, isn’t it?
 
He’s afraid he’ll say or do something that changes things?”

“Yes,” she says with a frustrated sigh. She has an eternity ahead of her dealing with such things.

I hook my arm in hers and give Kallen a ‘come on’ gesture with my head.
 
If he looked any more disappointed, he’d make a kid who dropped his ice cream cone in the dirt look ecstatic.
 
I’m disappointed as well, but hopefully I’m hiding it better.
 
I was really looking forward to taking advantage of him in the forest.

In an effort to make her feel better, I say to Adriel, “You can be as bitchy to the Witches as you want while we’re there.
 
I’m sure at least one of them is planning to kill me, if not all of them.”

“Well, there is that,” Adriel says, sounding a little happier.
 
I’m not sure if it’s because she can be bitchy or because someone may try to kill me.
 
I’m going to assume it was the former.

“Has Raziel accompanied you here?” Kallen asks, trying not to sound as if he’d rather eat a dung beetle than see the Fallen Archangel again.
 
He’s going to need more practice before it actually works.

“Yes, of course,” Adriel says as if Kallen’s an idiot.
 
The reason I like Adriel so much?
 
She makes my snark seem almost non-existent.
 
Okay, maybe that’s not the main reason.
 
She has also been a good friend and has had my back on several occasions that could’ve gone terribly wrong without her help.
 

“Fantastic,” Kallen grumps, his mood sour now.
 
I scowl at him.

“Yes, he feels quite the same way about you,” Adriel says.
 
“You were not quite friendly to him during the whole body swapping debacle.”

Whoa, this conversation is going to spiral out of control in another second or two.
 
“Kallen, stop being such a grump.
 
Raziel is a nice guy and there’s no reason for you two not to like each other.”
 
I get that it’s hard for him to be around the person I was originally meant to spend eternity with, and I would probably feel the same way in his shoes.
 
I’ll keep that to myself and hope he’s a better person than I am.
 

A hundred yards from the house, I can see someone napping on the hammock that Isla recently had installed on the terrace.
 
I immediately sense it is Raziel even though I cannot see any of his features from here.
 
Some part of me is still tuned to him and I guess it always will be.
 
By the way he rouses and turns his eyes in our
direction,
I guess the same is true for him.
 
Or he just knew exactly when we’d be coming since he’s omniscient.