Shadow Blood: Kallen's Tale (Witch Fairy #4.5) by Bonnie Lamer Read Free Book Online Page B

one a tiny bit.  “Did I really make us both naked?”
     
    I grin.  “Yes, you did.”
     
    She closes her eye again.  “I’m going to crawl under the covers and not come out for a year.”
     
    I put my finger under her chin and tilt it up.  “Xandra, open your eyes.”  I wait to continue until she finally does.  “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.  You are absolutely beautiful, and the fact that you want to be with me as desperately as I want to be with you is the greatest thing that has ever happened in my life.”
     
    Her lips turn up a bit at the corners.  “I’m glad.  Do you think we could keep the whole sleep seduction to ourselves, though?”
     
    The thought of bringing it up over dinner with Grandmother makes me laugh.  “I think that is the wise thing to do.  Now, unless you want to finish what we started before, I suggest we rise and go downstairs.”
     
    She does not seem ready to face the world quite yet.  I am about to suggest she take a long bath when her mother calls softly through the door.  “Xandra, are you awake?”
     
    After doing a quick check that we are both fully clothed, she says, “Yeah, come on in, Mom.”
     
    Her mother floats through the door and stops when she sees Kallen.  A frown scrunches her ghostly forehead into wrinkles.  “I thought Isla had a strict ‘no sleeping together’ policy.”
     
    “Um, Mom, there’s something I forgot to tell you.”  I close my eyes.  I know what she is going to say next and this is going to be ugly.  I guess I wanted to assume that Xandra told her parents, which is ridiculous since I know she has not had the opportunity to broach such a difficult topic.
     
    Because I am not a coward, I open my eyes.  Her mother can already tell that she is not going to like what she is about to hear.  “And that would be?”
     
    Barely above a whisper, Xandra squeaks, “Um, Kallen and I are left hand-fasted.”
     
    Before our eyes, her mother’s form grows until it is twice its normal size.  Her voice loud and angry enough to make the windows come close to breaking, she screams, “You are what?!” Looking at me, she snarls, “How dare you marry my daughter without permission.  She is seventeen years old and in our realm, she still needs a parent’s permission.  This marriage will be annulled immediately !”
     
    “Mom!” Xandra yells over her.  “We’re not married.”
     
    “What’s going on in here?” Xandra’s father asks as he floats through the door.  He looks back and forth between his wife and daughter.  “Julienne, what’s wrong?”
     
    The words tumble out her mouth, stepping on each other to make it out first.  “Your daughter got married!”  I am hoping that if I stay perfectly still, I will escape this situation unscathed. 
     
    Looking at his daughter in disbelief, he says, “Xandra, is this true?”
     
    “No, but Mom won’t let me explain.”  Xandra is using her ‘daddy’s little girl’ voice.  It works. 
     
    Turning back to his wife, he says, “Julienne, why don’t we let her explain so we can get this all sorted out.”
     
    Xandra’s mother crosses her arms over her chest.  I cannot even imagine the evil thoughts going through her mind right now.  It may be wise for me to avoid her for a while.  A long while.  “Talk,” she demands.
     
    “Perhaps, I can help,” Grandmother says from the doorway.  I have never been so glad to see her.
     
    The angry spirit swings around to her.  “Yes, I would like to know why you thought it would be fine to let my daughter get married.”
     
    Only the tightness around Grandmother’s eyes gives away how badly she would like to respond in kind to her rudeness.  “Has Xandra explained to you that she is not actually married?”
     
    “I tried,” Xandra mumbles and her mother shoots her a deadly glance. 
     
    “In our realm, courting is not as…,” Grandmother hesitates a moment.  “As uncomplicated as it is