Page 6 of Destined to Fight

“Elizabeth.” Kade nodded slightly at her. “I’ll kindly ask ye to give her the same level of respect that ye would anyone else here, and yes, we will continue. Kelly will be joining us; ye may speak freely in her presence.” He turned to Kelly then. “We have business to attend to, and then I will answer any questions ye have. I apologize, but these matters cannot wait and will take some time to address. May I get anything for ye before we begin? Water? Food?”

“I guess water, please,” Kelly managed, questions still clouding her mind.

“Very well then, I’ll be back. When we are done here, I’ll take care of the bumps and bruises ye have, and we’ll get you comfortable so we can talk.”

“Thank you,” she said, wondering what he meant because all of this would heal in time. What would not heal was her general understanding of the world. She could only hope he would have answers for all of her questions.

Kade left the room, leaving Kelly to sit there with everyone else. She didn’t look at them, not wanting to see their contempt or disgust for her. This would surely go down as the most embarrassing night of her life, not to mention an epic failure. So much for her master plan to expose this big story. Now what was she going to do? Without a big story, her blog would surely fail, and she’d end up living in her car for the rest of her days. Turning to face the giant conference table, she crossed her arms and laid her head down on them to cry.

A hand touched her right shoulder, and a man spoke in a soft, almost musical voice. “Do not lose hope yet, young one. What surely feels like the end of your life is simply the beginning of another. Your struggles will be many, but fate will be kind to you along the way. This is where you are meant to be.”

Looking up, Kelly took in the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen. Before, all that caught her notice was his almost white braided hair and his pointed ears. Now, she stared into eyes of the lightest blue—so light they were almost white. His skin was pale and so smooth it seemed like he had makeup on. He smiled at her gently, and it put her at ease.

“You’re wasting your time, Fabian,” Goody Two-Shoes said. “Kade doesn’t know what he is talking about. She is clearly a human, and a bloody stupid one at that.”

One more of those remarks and Kelly was going to tell that woman exactly where she could shove her opinion. Fucking bitch.

Fabian came to her rescue, though, saving her the trouble. “Oh Elizabeth, I do tire of your constant drama and your inflated opinion of yourself. Had you paid any attention, you would have noticed every clue that Kelly is in fact an Arcane, and a very special one at that. Kade’s judgment has not failed him in this matter, nor in any others recently. You must let your bitterness over his appointment to the position of Jarl go, or you will find that it hinders your own ability to lead your people. I, for one, will not stand for any more comments toward her unless they are helpful or kind.”

Elizabeth chuckled at him, giving him the same look she had given Kade earlier. “You bore me, Fabian. Do you plan to offer her your protection? That is the only way you have any right to protect her from anything, including my harmless comments.”

Fabian looked at Elizabeth, seeming to weigh something in his mind. When he finally spoke, his answer made the others at the table stare at him in awe. “Yes, that is exactly what I plan to do.”

“Fabian, I really appreciate it, but I don’t need protecting.”

“You don’t understand, little girl. He just offered to watch over you full time and to die for you, should the need arise. He offered to be your Guardian,” Elizabeth explained.

Kade came back with her water and set it in front of her. “Is that true, Fabian, ye offered to be her Guardian? Why is that necessary? No one here will harm her.”

“Sir, if you would permit, I would like to have that conversation privately. My offer for Guardianship stands for forty-eight hours, during which time I will act as her Guardian until she accepts, formally declines, or that time expires.”

“Aye then, as ye wish.” Kade turned to Kelly. “Are ye comfortable, lass?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she answered, cradling her head in her hands.

“If ye would like to go and lie down, I can arrange for Fabian to take leave from the meeting and watch over ye. Or if ye need anything else, just let me know.”

Kelly nodded to appease him, but she really didn’t feel like moving, so she happily stayed in the chair with her head down on the table, preparing herself to listen to whatever they planned to discuss. This was all too much, and with any luck, they’d lull her to sleep.

“Right then, let us get started,” Kade began, “It is 1:44 a.m. on December 12th, 2020, and I, Kade MacCabe, call to order this official meeting of the North American Region of the Council.”

4

Kelly came out of what felt like the deepest sleep she’d ever experienced as someone held her in his arms. He wasn’t moving, just standing with an arm under her knees and another behind her back. Her left arm was draped behind his neck, and her right hung freely. A soft ding sounded, and she heard elevator doors opening. Then the man started to walk. The soft hiss of the building’s glass doors sliding open was followed by the sound of someone opening a car door.

“Please place her in the back seat, Fabian, and ye may take the front,” Kade said.

“As you wish, Jarl.”

“Just Kade, please.”

“Yes…Kade,” Fabian answered. He buckled Kelly in, gently closed her door, and then got into the seat in front of her.

“To the Lux please, Asmund,” Kade said to the driver.

“Yes, sir,” Asmund replied simply.

Kelly rubbed her eyes, slowly pulling herself away from the dream-filled state her body so desperately wanted to go back to. “Where are you taking me?”

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