Blood Lines: Kallen's Tale (Witch Fairy #3.5) by Bonnie Lamer

the first time in my life that I have wanted to smack her in the back of the head.  I never would, of course.  Though, give me a week in this bikini and I may be willing to do a lot of things I thought I never would.  Like strangle Xandra.
     
    Kegan walks into the room wearing – surprise – a black bikini.  In the far reaches of my mind, I can see the humor in that.  He looks as confused as I am angry.  “Is this some strange punishment for our sword fight from earlier?  We were in the process of making reparations,” he says to Tabitha.
     
    Tabitha’s loud chortles of laughter keep her from responding.  Her face is now an alarming color of red as her amusement is heightened by Kegan’s appearance.  She wipes at her tears of hilarity and manages a shake of her head.
     
    “Tabitha did not do this,” I growl.
     
    Kegan looks at me like I am crazy.  “If not Tabitha, then whom?  Whoever did this obviously wields a great deal more magic than most, but I am assuming it was not you since you would not have put yourself in a bikini.”
     
    “No, it was not him.  Nor was it me or Tabitha.  It was Xandra.”  Grandmother strides into the room in her new black bikini.  I am surprised that she is not spewing lava of anger from her mouth.  Instead, she looks calm and collected.  “Apparently, your first lesson in subtle magic has gone slightly awry,” she says to Xandra.
     
    “Slightly awry?” Tabitha manages and then is lost to laughter again.
     
    “I’m so sorry,” she says to me, not Grandmother.  “I swear, I didn’t do it on purpose.”
     
    “Of course you did not,” Grandmother says.  Then Grandmother turns to me and gives me a harsh look as if I have done something wrong for being annoyed about sporting a bikini I cannot remove.  Turning back to Xandra, she says, “Now, we will need you to reverse this.”
     
    Xandra is miserable when she says, “I’m not sure I can.”
     
    Kegan, ever the suck up, says, “Grandmother, perhaps you or Kallen could assist in the process if Xandra needs time to rest after using so much magic?” 
     
    Grandmother gives him a tight smile.  “If I was able to reverse this, I would not be strolling around the house in a black bikini.  I suspect, neither would Kallen.” 
     
    Kegan looks at Xandra in shock.  “You can create magic that Grandmother cannot reverse?”  Xandra’s response is an uncomfortable shrug.
     
    “Tabitha, if your mirth subsides sometime soon, we would all appreciate your assistance in guiding Xandra’s reversal magic.”
     
    “Of course,” Tabitha says, still wiping tears from her eyes and gasping for oxygen between words.  She gives a last look at me and Kegan and barely restrains herself from diving back into the ‘I am too amused to speak’ pool.  Still grinning and shaking in silent laughter, she places her hands on Xandra’s temples and says, “Alright, dear, I need you to focus now.  Though, I must admit that I have not had such fun in a very long time.”
     
    “Tabitha, if we could move this along, I have a meeting at the palace in an hour.”  Impatience seeps out of every one of Grandmother’s words.  It appears her calmness is simply a ruse to make Xandra less nervous.  I am not sure I could manage that at the moment.
     
    “Fine, fine.  Xandra, this is very simple.  All you need to do is imagine the bathing wear disappearing from everyone but you.  Return us all to our previous state of dress.”
     
    Xandra pulls way too much magic and then flings it out at us making us all stagger backwards a couple of steps.  Funny, I have never found getting dressed to be painful before today.  Something else I have never done before today is wear a giant fig leaf.  Like the stupid pictures in the books in the library at Xandra’s house.  The Cowan version of a Fairy. 
     
    Her small ‘Oops’ is not at all comforting.
     
    Kegan has converted to the amused camp headed by Tabitha.  He is