Witch Fairy book 3 (24 page)

“For what?”

“For what you said before I started hitting you with the pillow.”

He glowers at me for several minutes without saying anything.  So, I hit him again with the pillow.  Which he then grabs out of my hand and tosses towards the chairs.  So, I get another pillow from the bed.  There are tons of them.

I turn around to hit him with it and I’m almost disappointed when he says, “Fine, I apologize.”  Hmm, that didn’t sound like he meant it.  I hit him with the new pillow.

“You are not helping my mood.”

“That’s okay.  This is doing wonders for mine.”  I hit him again.

He grabs the pillow out of my hand and tosses it like he did the first one.  I turn around and crawl across the bed to get another one, but he grabs my ankles and drags me back towards the edge of the bed.  I half-heartedly kick at him but I’m laughing too hard to put much effort into it.  Kneeling over me, he grabs my wrists gently and pulls them over my head.  He doesn’t look mad anymore but his face is still serious. 

“I have never felt jealousy before.  I was unable to control it.”  He lets go of my wrists and runs his fingers through his hair.  “I was coming to you and I heard Kegan’s voice.  I didn’t know who to be angrier with.”

“Kallen, I didn’t…”

He places his finger on my lips.  “Let me finish.  I listened to what was being said.  I was wrong in accusing you of anything.  You made it clear that he was unwelcome.”

I smile.  “Finally, a real apology.”

“Yes.”

“Okay, now you have to go get the pillows you threw over there.”

He smiles.  “Why should I have to retrieve the objects of your assault?”

“Because you were the biggest jerk.”

He chuckles.  “I will retrieve them only if I may use one.”

“Does that mean I can finally go back to sleep?”

He gets up and grabs the pillows and brings them back to the bed.  “Move over.”

I scooch up on the bed and pull the covers over me.  He places a pillow under my head, crawls over me, and gets under the covers.  He puts his arm around my waist and pulls me close.  “I love you,” he whispers in my ear as he blows out the lanterns in the room with his magic.  “I hate being away from you.”

“I love you, too.  Not that I want you to leave, but won’t Isla be mad?”

“I do not care.”

That works for me.  I snuggle into him and fall right back to sleep.

Chapter 15

I wake up early the next morning despite the interruption of my sleep the night before.  Kallen’s still asleep so I lay snuggled against him, trying not to wake him.  As I lie here, I think about what Isla said before she left my room last night.  She referred to what she had said to me in my room when I first got here.  Like a ton of bricks, it hits me.  She wanted me to be kind to both of her grandsons and pick the one I thought best suited the woman I will become.  She knew.  She knew that Kegan was going to do that last night.  That’s why she knew to come in and turn on the lights before Kallen’s anger really did kill Kegan.  A rush of blood fills my cheeks as I wonder what else she has seen in her visions.  She must know that Kallen is sleeping in my bed.

As quietly as I can, I slip out from under Kallen’s arm.  He almost wakes up, so I stay still for a moment until his breathing evens out again.  Finally, I am able to get out of bed.  I practically tiptoe to the door, pull it open and head down the stairs.

I find Isla sitting in the kitchen as if she’s waiting for me.  “You knew,” I say as I sit on the stool opposite her.  It’s not an accusation, it’s simply a fact.

She takes a sip of tea before she says, “Yes.”

“Did you really think I would choose Kegan?”

She sighs softly.  “I hoped you would not.”

“Why?”

“Because Kallen deserves to be the one.”  She looks at me for several long heartbeats as if she expects me to say something against that.  Finally, she says, “I have asked a lot of him and he has sacrificed a great deal to keep this, and your, realm safe.  He deserves to be the one you love.”

“Then I don’t understand why you thought I might choose Kegan.”

“I don’t usually share my visions, especially when I have seen two different outcomes.”

“Okay.”  Where is she going with this?

“I had a vision that you chose Kallen.  Then another vision that you chose Kegan.”

“That’s why you put him in my room last night when he was injured.  And why you haven’t said anything even though you know he’s sleeping in my bed.”  I close my eyes hoping that she hasn’t seen
everything
.

Opening my eyes back up, I ask, “If you knew that he’d sneak into my room here, why did you make such a big deal out of us sleeping together on the couch back home?”

She makes a sound that could be a chuckle, but it doesn’t quite merit the term.  “I thought I could change the future.  Sometimes, that is not possible.”

Okay, I’m going to quit while I’m ahead on that subject.  “What about the spider thing?  What did you see that inspired you to find a spell so outrageous, and seemingly unnecessary, considering the amount of magic I can wield.

She takes another sip of tea as if she is letting the words form perfectly in her mind.  Finally, she says, “The house exploded, killing all of us.  I thought that I was going to change that future by having you stay at the palace, but you refused to be pushed into that.”  A sad smile touches her lips.  “Fortunately, I have learned to always have backup plan.”

I shake my head in wonder.  “So you made the house explosion proof.”

“Yes.”

“When was this supposed to happen?”

“Tonight.”

“This had nothing to do with needing to train me or to come up with a plan.  The spider thing was just to keep us alive past tonight.”

She nods. “Yes.”

“Oh.”  I don’t know what to say to that.  Other than that I’ll be a nervous wreck all night waiting for the house to blow up.  “Does that mean I can skip training today?”

She smiles.  “It is a valuable thing to be able to defend yourself without magic.  You still live in a human world where magic is a thing of legend, not daily life.”

I hadn’t thought about that.  I guess if I get into a weird situation, it might be a bit alarming if I started blowing things up.  “Does anyone else know about your visions?”

She shakes her head.  “No.”

“I suppose you want me to keep this to myself?”

“If you do not mind, I think that is for the best.”

I nod reluctantly.  “I suppose.”

“You will be hand-fasted to Kallen one day.”

“Is that from a vision?”

She shakes her head and smiles more brightly.  “No, that is simply a grandmother’s intuition.”  She takes another sip of tea as I try to get my cheeks to stay pink instead of turning bright red.

“I should go back up.”

“Yes, you should.”

I walk out of the kitchen feeling like Isla still knows a lot more than she is letting on.

Kallen has woken up and is stretching his arms and back when I close my bedroom door behind me.  “Where did you run off to?” he asks in a sleep ridden voice.

“I had to talk to Isla about something.”

His eyes go from sleepy to alert.  “About what?”

I walk to the bed and climb back in.  “About how I can keep her grandson from being a jealous jerk.”

He doesn’t respond, he starts tickling me instead.  I’m laughing so hard I know I’m going to pee my pants any second.  “Stop it,” I say through a gasping laugh.

He doesn’t.  He continues to torture me for a couple of more minutes.  Finally, he feels I’ve had enough and lets me go.  I lay on my back trying to fill my lungs back up with oxygen.  “You are so mean.”

Kallen reaches over and brushes my hair back from my face.  “It is often said that Kegan and I could be twins.  His personality is more relaxed, more playful, and he tends to be much nicer than I am.”

“So?”

“Here, it would never be a possibility that he could steal someone away from me because of his Cowan blood.  But, with you, it’s different.  You do not care about any of that.”

“Are you trying to convince me I should date him instead?  Because you’re not doing a very good job, if you are.”

“I am simply pointing out that I would understand if you would prefer someone with a personality closer to your own.”

“Then I wouldn’t have anyone to hit with pillows when they’re being a jerk.  Like now.”  I pull the pillow out from under my head but he grabs it before I can hit him with it.  “And being with someone just like me?  How boring is that?  It sounds like you’re giving me Kegan’s resume for the job of being my boyfriend.  If you’re ready to give up the position, I prefer to find my own candidates, thank you very much.  Being with someone who looks so much like you would serve as a constant reminder of what I lost.  Why would I want that?”

He gets a smug grin on his face.  “Would you truly be heartbroken if we parted ways?”

I grab the pillow back and this time I hit him with it.  “You don’t have to be so happy about it.”  He laughs and grabs the pillow back and tosses it off the bed.  Then he kisses me in a way that is sexy and sweet at the same time.

After a few minutes, I pull away from him.  “Kallen, what is this going to do to your relationship with Kegan.”

Thunder clouds rush into his eyes.  “I do not have a cousin.”

I shake my head.  “That’s not a very mature way to handle this.  You love Kegan, I know you do.  Yeah, he did something really crappy, and I’d feel betrayed, too.  But we’re trapped in a giant spider web for at least a couple more days, so you’re not going to be able to avoid him.”

Kallen’s mouth sets in a firm line.  “He came into your room in the middle of the night to try to seduce you.”

“Yeah, and I’m really mad about that.  But I don’t hate him.  I just think he did a really stupid thing without thinking it through.  To be honest, it probably has more to do with your competitive natures than it does me.”

“Then you do not give yourself enough credit.”

A knock on the door and then it opening prevents me from responding.  “Isla told me you were up.  Kallen, you need to scoot on out of here so Xandra can bathe.  Go on now,” Tabitha adds when he doesn’t immediately stand up.

Reluctantly, he gets up.  He leans over and gives me a quick kiss and then walks towards the door.  He gives Tabitha a kiss on the cheek as he walks by.  Wow, he really looks good in pajama pants and no shirt.

“Up, missy.  Stop looking all moon eyed.  You need to take a bath and then come down for breakfast before your training.”

Training.  With Kegan.  That won’t be awkward at all.  With a sigh, I get up and trudge to my bathing room.