Blood of Half Gods Read online

  “They were really good at staying in character, but when they knew Xandra was asleep, I did hear them talking about someone named Ellu. I couldn’t hear exactly what was said, but they repeated that name a few times.”

  A thunderstorm is growing on the face of every person in the room except mine and Breena’s. Mine because I haven’t had enough time to get really riled up yet, I’m still too glad to be safe, and Breena’s isn’t because she either doesn’t care, or she doesn’t believe in the talking light on the wall. Probably both.

  “I am going to kill him,” Kallen grinds out between teeth pressed together so tightly, I’m surprised air could even escape through them.

  Dagda’s eyes flash a brilliant green. “Get in line.” I feel like I should mention that he’s being a bit hypocritical here. After all, he’s the one who started the whole ‘kill Xandra’ ball rolling. Then again, he is King and Ellu is supposed to be one of his subjects. Kidnapping the King’s daughter and then lying about it isn’t the greatest way to show your loyalty to the crown. I decide to keep my thoughts to myself on the subject.

  A loud banging can be heard all the way from the front door. Breena uses that as an excuse to escape from the room. She sidles along the wall that Nixie is not on, until she gets to the door and then makes a hasty exit. Everyone’s quiet as we wait for her to come back and say who it is.

  It doesn’t take her long. And she’s not alone; she has Quinn with her. I frown at that. I’m not a hundred percent comfortable with him being in my bedroom. I’m pretty sure there are other rooms in this house that would be more appropriate for talking. Kallen must agree, because as soon as he heard him coming, he got off the bed and stepped in front of me, blocking Quinn’s view when he comes in. I’m too happy to be here to be too annoyed at his overprotectiveness.

  All nine feet of Quinn barrels into the room. “Your Highness, there has been a cave in of an old mine shaft in the area your daughter was last seen. I have my men searching through the rubble as we speak.”

  Dagda manages a tight smile and pats him on the arm. “Thank you, Quinn, but that is not necessary.” He gestures his hand in my direction. Kallen reluctantly moves over a fraction.

  Quinn turns and the shock in his eyes is almost comical. “You are here.”

  I nod in a ‘yeah, obviously’ sort of way. “Yup, I’m here.”

  He comes closer and Kallen’s entire body stiffens. “Are you well?” Quinn asks. Wow, I think he was really concerned about me.

  “Um, yeah, I’m fine.”

  A relieved smile curls his lips upwards and his face is back to being incredibly handsome again. “I am pleased to hear that.”

  “It has been confirmed that Ellu was behind her kidnapping,” Dagda says grimly.

  Quinn’s eyes have not left me. “Then, it shall be war.” He says it so matter-of-factly, all the while giving me the impression that he wants to see me naked. That’s wrong on so many levels, that the only real thought that comes to mind is ‘Eew.’

  I don’t want people killing each other over me, even if I was kidnapped. My own grandfather, King of the Witches, tried to kill me and I didn’t start a war with the Witches. “I don’t want to be responsible for a war. Can’t we just go talk to the guy and I can set him straight?”

  “Xandra, he had you kidnapped and held hostage with broken bones and a burgeoning infection. I believe this calls for more than a stern conversation and a show of magic,” Dagda says, and I have never seen him look more like a King than he does now. He’s standing tall and regal, his face is somber and his entire persona demands respect. I still think he’s wrong.

  “Okay, first, can we move this conversation somewhere other than my bedroom?” I can’t help a pointed look at Quinn as I say this. He’s still undressing me with his eyes. I’m positive of it. “And second, I was the one who was kidnapped. Shouldn’t I have some say in what happens to the person who was responsible for it?”

  “No.”

  Well, that’s an annoying answer. “No, we can’t move the conversation, or no, I don’t get a say.”

  “No, you do not have a say. As King, the decision is mine.”

  I am so tempted to slap him with a big bolt of lightning or something. But, annoyed as I am, I’m smart enough to know that he needs to come off as strong and in charge in front of the Giants. If they suspect him of being weak, any control he has over them will be lost. Huh, maybe I’m actually learning to control my temper and weigh the checks and balances of a situation. Or, it could be that I’m losing all circulation in my fingers again because Kallen is squeezing my hand really hard in an attempt to shut me up without being obvious about it. Though, when my bloodless fingers shrivel up and fall to the floor, I think the others will notice.

  “Oookaayyy, can we at least move this conversation to someone else’s bedroom?”

  I think Dagda’s torn between being impressed that I’m holding my tongue and being irritated by my sarcastic response. Turning away from me, he says to Breena, “We will be meeting in the library. Please prepare the room and provide nourishment for my daughter.” To Radella, he says, “Bring the security team that is not currently patrolling the perimeter to the library.”

  He called the food coming nourishment. That sounds appetizing. And I’m not sure that I want Breena preparing my food. I don’t think she’s above spitting in it or something. Great. I was starving a minute ago, but now I’ve lost my appetite. Maybe for the rest of this miserable trip. I wonder if it would be unreasonable to ask to go home now. I suppose that wouldn’t be very princess-like of me. Being a princess is way overrated.

  Dagda heads for the door and Radella is right behind him like his shadow. She’s giving Quinn the once over in what I believe is a security assessment. Good to see she’s doing her job. Or, she could have just been checking him out.

  Kallen and I turn to follow, but Quinn puts a hand on my shoulder. We turn around and both Kallen and I pull magic. Me because I’m particularly antsy right now, and Kallen just because Quinn touched me, I think. “Xandra, Kallen, I would like to offer an apology for my behavior the last we met. I am afraid I did not give you the respect deserved considering your positions in the realm.”

  It’s strange seeing a man this big trying to look humble. And what’s with the heartfelt apology, anyway. It seems completely out of character for him. Kallen clears that up for me. “I see you practiced your speech the King insisted you make.”

  Quinn laughs, but it doesn’t sound cheery. It’s too stained with anger. “I do not make speeches insisted upon by others, even if he is King. I see that my apology is in vain in your eyes.”

  “And I thought I was good at making people mad. Look, I’m going downstairs, and quite honestly, I don’t want you in my bedroom, so please…” I gesture towards the door, and with a curt nod, Quinn takes my oh so subtle hint.

  Chapter 16

  The library is a bit crowded because Quinn didn’t come alone. He has Orwick with him and another of the Giants we saw out by the rocks that first night Kallen and I arrived. Obviously, Giants take up a lot of room. Add them to the five security Fairies that are filing in, and it’s a claustrophobe’s nightmare. I wonder where the security Fairies were on the carriage. I bet they were on top when they were on watch.

  The library is an interesting mix of Fairy and Giant sized furniture and books. Dagda is seated in a burgundy, leather wing back chair and there are several more that size arranged in a semi-circle. Across from him, on a love seat and flowered cloth chair of Giant proportions, literally, is Quinn, Orwick and, for lack of a better name, I’m going to go with…Charlie. I’m not interested enough to ask what his real name is.

  As soon as we’re all seated and Breena has served coffee from an urn almost as tall as me, Dagda speaks. “My daughter has been held for two days in a mine shaft with a broken leg and a concussion. She was sedated and attempts were made to convince her that a different reality existed. In hopes, I believe, that the infection she was suff
ering from would soon kill her before she came to her senses and was able to heal herself.”

  Oh. Wow. My mind didn’t stretch that far, since I didn’t figure out the whole death from infection thing on my own. That would be why fake Mom and Dad tried to convince me we were in a blizzard. So I wouldn’t expect them to get help and cure me. Apparently, I have a lot to learn about psychotics. My life is starting to fill up with them and I need to be better prepared. Maybe there’re some books on them in this library I can look at after everyone’s gone.

  I’m just going to take a moment of self-pity here. How many other seventeen year olds have to study up on psychosis to function from day to day without being killed? If I was a crier, I might have a tear in my eye over that depressing thought.

  “And your people have proven that Ellu is responsible?” Quinn asks.

  Dagda nods. “Yes.”

  “Then it will be war, as I have pushed for,” Quinn says with a grim smile. Not a sincere grim smile. I think he kind of fancies war.

  “What happens to the Daityas if the Devas go to war with them and they lose?” I ask.

  Dagda takes a moment to answer and all eyes are on him. Finally, he says, “Those who do not resist the attempts of the Devas to rid this realm of its traitors, will be allowed to keep their property and homes. They will live under the Charter that will be laid out between me and the Devas. Those who do resist yet still survive, will surrender their property to the crown and will be tried as traitors, which is punishable by death.”

  “What happens to their property?” I push. “Do you keep it?”

  He’s starting to look wary, now. “Yes, it will be mine to do with as I please; though I am likely to divide it amongst the Devas who will have put their lives on the line in defense of this realm.”

  I don’t miss Quinn trying to hide a grin. “That would please my men greatly.” I bet it would. In his mind, winning the war is a done deal, so he’s probably already making a list of things he wants from the Daityas.

  I still don’t want a war to break out because of me. There has to be something that I can do to stop it. I just don’t know what at the moment. What I do know, is that I’m not going to be able to talk about it with anyone here. Since Dagda, Kallen and Quinn have accepted war as the only option and have begun discussing battle strategies. I need to come up with something quick.

  “Do you need me to be here?” I ask, interrupting them.

  Dagda sits back in his chair and assesses me for a moment. “No, not at this stage of the game. But, I do expect you to be involved and fight with us.”

  I don’t laugh. I don’t even snort and say, ‘yeah, right,’ because there is no way I’m participating in a war I don’t agree with. But, I do get annoyed when Quinn says, “It will be an honor to fight by your side.” Amazing how he can make talking about killing people together sound like a come on.

  “Yeah, about that. I’m more of a fight alone kind of person. No offense.” Lies. I meant lots of offense. Standing up, I turn to go.

  “Xandra,” Dagda says before I can reach the door. I turn around, knowing I don’t want to hear whatever he has to say. “Quinn has requested a hand-fasting to further unite the Giants and the Fae.”

  I’m pretty sure the look on my face says it all. If not, I’ll be happy to put my thoughts into words for him. “Your response was?”

  He gets a smug look on his face. “That my daughter has the right to refuse any suitor who does not please her.”

  Oh. That’s not what I was expecting to hear. And why is he telling me this in front of Quinn, who now looks angry. Seems like Dagda would want him to be calm as they plan their little war together. Unless he doesn’t like Quinn hitting on me, either. Huh, Dagda the protective father. Not sure if I like it.

  I don’t know what to say, so I just smile and turn back around. I really need to get out of this room. Kallen stays with Dagda and Quinn, and I don’t miss the satisfied gleam in his eyes from Dagda’s attempt to put Quinn in his place. I’m assuming Kallen’s going to participating in the war, as well. I know he’s upset that I was kidnapped, and I’d probably want revenge, too, if our roles were reversed, but it still bothers me that he’s all gung-ho war like the other two. I guess I expect more from him.

  As I exit the room, I nearly run into Breena, who is carrying a tray laden with food. Towering may be a better description. There are sandwiches on her tray that are almost as big as my head. Yet another reason not to marry a Giant. I don’t want to watch him eat food this big.

  “Where are you going?” she asks me. Her voice is snippety. I’m a little taken aback, and the phrase none of your business is right on the tip of my tongue, about to fall off. “I have prepared food for you.”

  I crinkle my nose. “Those sandwiches are a little big for me.”

  She looks at the food, then at me. I think she sees my point. “Let me set this down for the others and then you can come to the kitchen with me. I will prepare something more your size.”

  If I watch her prepare my food it would be a lot harder for her to do something to it. So, I nod. “That sounds good.”

  Without responding, she disappears into the library and then is back out after just a moment. “Come to the kitchen,” she says.

  I have to almost trot to keep up with her, but I don’t think she’s doing it on purpose. She’s a brisk person, and she walks like it. Her legs are just twice as long as mine. In the kitchen, we find the old man that had opened the door for Kallen and me when we first arrived. He has a spoon and is holding it to his mouth, full of liquid he scooped up from the boiling pan on the stove.

  Breena rushes over to him. “You are going to burn your mouth, old man,” she says, more affection than irritation in her voice. “Sit down and I will get you a bowl and a proper spoon.”

  The man grumbles a few words but he gives her the spoon without argument. He shuffles to the wooden table in the middle of the room and pulls up a chair. The table is old and worn, just like him, and looks like it’s been used as a cutting board more than it has been used for eating. The whole kitchen has that feel. Rustic, old fashioned, medieval. Is Dagda too cheap to shell out the money for a new table and upgrades for the appliances?

  “It was my mother’s,” Breena says as she moves around the kitchen. She must have seen me staring at it. “It is the only thing left of hers, the rest burned in a fire years ago, with her.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  She shrugs but she is far from indifferent. “It was a long time ago.” She’s cutting a slice of bread into quarters to make them the right size for me. So far so good for her not poisoning my food.

  “I got them,” the old man mumbles almost unintelligibly.

  “What was that?” I ask.

  “Dad, you stop with the crazy talk,” Breena admonishes. “You do not need to make the Princess think you are a raving lunatic.”

  At least he’d be the first nonviolent raving lunatic I’ve met. Then again, “What does he mean, he got them?”

  Breena is slicing some meat to put on my sandwich that I don’t recognize. I really hope it’s not kangaroo. Or crocodile. “After my mother died, Dad sort of lost his mind. He started imagining enemies that were not there. One day, he claimed to have ‘got them.’ That is all he will say about it.”

  A man of few words and he’s harmless. I think I may grow to like him. Breena puts a plate in front of me with the mystery meat sandwich and something that looks like potato salad on it. I tentatively take a bite of the sandwich. It’s not bad. I take another bite. It’s tolerable. Now, if only I had a comfortable place to eat it. I’d sit down, but the chairs are too big. It’s a stretch to see over the table.

  As I chew, Breena leans back against the counter she just finished wiping down. “How do you control the spirit?” she asks me.

  “Do you mean Nixie?”

  In surprise, she asks, “You control more than one?”

  I chuckle but I try to cover it up with my
napkin. “No, I don’t control any, actually. Nixie has a mind of her own. My parents are ghosts and I help anchor them to this plane, but I don’t control them, either.” I give her a brief explanation of how both things came to be. She doesn’t say much, just listens until I’m done.

  After a few minutes of silence, Breena sets down her cloth, and asks, “May I ask why you do not want war?”

  I sigh. “In my realm, war never seems to solve anything.”

  “Don’t need war, need to get rid of them,” the old man grumbles angrily. Wow, he really hates the Daityas.

  “How would you handle the situation?” Breena asks, ignoring her father’s outburst.

  I stop eating and look at her a minute, wondering where her curiosity is coming from. “Like I said earlier, I would rather meet with this Ellu and find out what’s going on. Is he really crazy? If so, maybe the Daityas don’t want to follow him and if he’s removed as Chief of the tribe, then maybe there will be peace again.”