Blood of Retribution by Bonnie Lamer Read Free Book Online Page B

my words. 
     
    “Mmmm mmm, mmm mmm mm,” he says in return.  Considering he has my personality, I know for a fact I don’t want to know what those words he just muttered are.
     
    The first to speak is Dagda.  “Has it been a lie?  Have you gained my trust only to wreak havoc on this realm in revenge for what I tried to do?”  His words are harsh and his face is twisted into a snarl, a hateful snarl.  I have to admit, he looks pretty damn scary right now.
     
    “Uncle,” Kallen says, but Dagda cuts him off. 
     
    “Do you know what you’ve done?” Dagda shouts.
     
    I close my eyes and count to ten before I answer him.  “Yes, and I’ll fix it.”
     
    “You’ll fix it?  Damn right you will fix this mess.”
     
    I glare up at my biological father.  “It was an accident.”
     
    When Dagda opens his mouth again, Kallen says, “Uncle, let her speak.  Your anger is not going to get us answers.”  Kallen pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes.  I get the feeling he’s been dealing with Dagda’s fury for a while now.  “Xandra, tell us what happened.”
     
    The door to the bedroom opens wide and smacks against the wall.  “What is going on here?  Why are there guards on this door?  You will not keep her hostage no matter what she has done,” Isla says, marching into the room. 
     
    “The guards are for her protection,” Dagda growls.  “The Fairies of this realm will not react well when they find out that evil has been released.”
     
    Isla wants to rip into him and call him a liar, but I can see that she’s torn.  My reputation precedes me.  Turning to me and keeping her anger in check, she says, “Tell me what happened down there.”
     
    “We were getting to that when you stormed in,” Dagda snarls, and the two glare at each other, both just seconds away from pulling magic.
     
    “Xandra, please,” Kallen says.  “We need you to tell us every detail.”
     
    I close my eyes hoping that I’ll slip into unconsciousness again, but no such luck. With great reluctance, I open them again.  “I said a spell.”  My lips clamp closed not wanting to say more.
     
    “What kind of spell?” Isla demands.
     
    I wonder if I can take my own voice away.  Or maybe I should teleport somewhere.  Anywhere other than here.  At the moment, I’d rather be a coward than face the truth of what I did.  My traitorous conscience won’t let me get away with it though.  “I was walking down an aisle and the air got so thick I couldn’t move.”  My teeth bite down on my tongue, preventing me from continuing.  I swear, they did it all by themselves.
     
    Kallen sighs in frustration.  “Xandra, please just spit it out.  You are not helping the situation by saying one sentence at a time.”
     
    Fine.  Here goes.  “I felt a sharp pain in my head, a spell formed in my mind, and then I couldn’t stop myself from saying it.  I tried so hard to stop, but my lips kept moving, saying that terrible spell.”
     
    Dagda’s brows shoot up.  “You seem to have no problem controlling your tongue at the moment.  Why should we believe you did not have the same ability then?”
     
    I want to shove his words back down his throat with my magic but I can’t.  He’s right.  “I don’t know why I couldn’t stop.  It was sort of like someone sticking their hand down my throat and pulling the words out.”
     
    “How graphic,” Dagda snips.
     
    I give him a sour look and continue.  I’m getting desperate for them to believe me.  “You’ve never been down there!  I was surrounded by so much darkness!  I didn’t know what to fight off first; in my confusion, I was compelled to say a spell.”  I look around nervously, trying not to meet anyone’s eyes.  “A spell that set some of the evil from the books free.  I tried to pull it all back, but I couldn’t.  I got most of it, but some of it still escaped.”
     
    “Yes, we know,” Dagda growls.  “Several