Her true parents have given their blessing. We do not need his.
He raises a brow. “Considering I am both her father and the King of this realm, I believe I have the final say here.”
“We do not have to stay in this realm,” I counter in anger. Xandra will feel the same way when I discuss this with her.
Dagda studies me for several heartbeats, sadness peeking around the edges of his eyes. Perhaps he did not expect this response from me. “No, I suppose you do not.” I expect him to continue, but he remains quiet. We sit in an uncomfortable silence for quite some time.
After a while, Sindri comes into the room. If he notices the tension between Dagda and me, he ignores it and asks, “Any word, Sire?”
Rising from his chair, Dagda shakes his head and starts pacing, his drink in hand. “No, word yet. Please let the Giants know that we have yet again been unavoidably detained.” He gives Sindri a fierce look. “Do not tell them why. Make up whatever you would like, but leave Xandra’s name out of it.” Sindri nods and backs out of the room.
Dagda and I do not speak. We wait in this awkward silence for any word that Xandra has been found and is okay. Or for her to turn up on her own which I expect her to do.
The longer I sit here, the more I fume. I am angry with Dagda for his plan to separate Xandra and me. I am angry with Xandra for simply leaving when things got hard. I am angry with the universe for everything else that has gone wrong today. It takes everything I have to hold my tongue, for I would love nothing better than to tell my uncle exactly how I am feeling and what he can do with his opinions regarding Xandra and me.
Amazingly, all that anger temporarily dissolves when Xandra is suddenly standing before us again. “Xandra, where the hell have you been?” Dagda shouts.
I am out of my chair in a flash. Placing my hands on her cheeks, I search her face for any sign of trauma. “Are you okay?” I ask. She nods and my heart lets go of the angry knot of fear it has been holding. Relieved, I bring my lips to hers and give her a demanding kiss, a kiss filled with the worry and fear and love that I felt every moment she was gone. “You had me going crazy,” I murmur against her lips. “Please do not do that to me again.”
Her brows furrow. “How long?” she asks.
I know what she means. I check the clock hanging on the wall. “An hour and a half. We had no idea where you were. Radella and her team have been searching for you.”
Her only response is, “Oh.” .
I step back from her and run an annoyed hand through my hair. Now that I know she is fine, some of my previous anger washes through me again. I find I cannot hold my tongue. “I cannot believe you were gone so long simply because you wanted to avoid a difficult conversation. That was not fair to me.”
Her look is incredulous. “You think I left because I was embarrassed? You think I left you to deal with that because I was too much of a coward?” Her anger is rivaling mine now. “And you didn’t think for a moment that maybe, just maybe, I would be having a hard time controlling the teleporting just like all my other stupid magic?”
Guilt and shame creep over me. She is right, of course. All those thoughts did go through my mind. “I apologize for thinking the worst,” I say quietly.
As if to prove the point that she had not run away out of embarrassment, she turns to Dagda and says, “Kallen and I didn’t have sex earlier, but we did come close.”
Now, it’s Dagda’s turn to look uncomfortable. “Yes, we covered that while you were gone,” he says dryly.
Feeling awkward having this conversation again, I say, “When we were…otherwise occupied earlier, two hours had passed.”
She is even more incredulous now. “That can’t
He raises a brow. “Considering I am both her father and the King of this realm, I believe I have the final say here.”
“We do not have to stay in this realm,” I counter in anger. Xandra will feel the same way when I discuss this with her.
Dagda studies me for several heartbeats, sadness peeking around the edges of his eyes. Perhaps he did not expect this response from me. “No, I suppose you do not.” I expect him to continue, but he remains quiet. We sit in an uncomfortable silence for quite some time.
After a while, Sindri comes into the room. If he notices the tension between Dagda and me, he ignores it and asks, “Any word, Sire?”
Rising from his chair, Dagda shakes his head and starts pacing, his drink in hand. “No, word yet. Please let the Giants know that we have yet again been unavoidably detained.” He gives Sindri a fierce look. “Do not tell them why. Make up whatever you would like, but leave Xandra’s name out of it.” Sindri nods and backs out of the room.
Dagda and I do not speak. We wait in this awkward silence for any word that Xandra has been found and is okay. Or for her to turn up on her own which I expect her to do.
The longer I sit here, the more I fume. I am angry with Dagda for his plan to separate Xandra and me. I am angry with Xandra for simply leaving when things got hard. I am angry with the universe for everything else that has gone wrong today. It takes everything I have to hold my tongue, for I would love nothing better than to tell my uncle exactly how I am feeling and what he can do with his opinions regarding Xandra and me.
Amazingly, all that anger temporarily dissolves when Xandra is suddenly standing before us again. “Xandra, where the hell have you been?” Dagda shouts.
I am out of my chair in a flash. Placing my hands on her cheeks, I search her face for any sign of trauma. “Are you okay?” I ask. She nods and my heart lets go of the angry knot of fear it has been holding. Relieved, I bring my lips to hers and give her a demanding kiss, a kiss filled with the worry and fear and love that I felt every moment she was gone. “You had me going crazy,” I murmur against her lips. “Please do not do that to me again.”
Her brows furrow. “How long?” she asks.
I know what she means. I check the clock hanging on the wall. “An hour and a half. We had no idea where you were. Radella and her team have been searching for you.”
Her only response is, “Oh.” .
I step back from her and run an annoyed hand through my hair. Now that I know she is fine, some of my previous anger washes through me again. I find I cannot hold my tongue. “I cannot believe you were gone so long simply because you wanted to avoid a difficult conversation. That was not fair to me.”
Her look is incredulous. “You think I left because I was embarrassed? You think I left you to deal with that because I was too much of a coward?” Her anger is rivaling mine now. “And you didn’t think for a moment that maybe, just maybe, I would be having a hard time controlling the teleporting just like all my other stupid magic?”
Guilt and shame creep over me. She is right, of course. All those thoughts did go through my mind. “I apologize for thinking the worst,” I say quietly.
As if to prove the point that she had not run away out of embarrassment, she turns to Dagda and says, “Kallen and I didn’t have sex earlier, but we did come close.”
Now, it’s Dagda’s turn to look uncomfortable. “Yes, we covered that while you were gone,” he says dryly.
Feeling awkward having this conversation again, I say, “When we were…otherwise occupied earlier, two hours had passed.”
She is even more incredulous now. “That can’t
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