Dragon Blood

Chapter 12

Twenty minutes later Nolan joined Rhia in the kitchen. The smell of coffee and sausages drew him as powerfully as the sight of the stunning redhead leaning against his counter. He walked past her to pull open the curtains to the enormous windows, letting in the full blaze of the late morning sun. She raised an eyebrow. "U.V. filtered glass?" she asked.

"Yes, but it's more for Cameron and the kids when they come over. One of the advantages of being so old is that the sun stopped affecting me a while ago."

"Do you sparkle?" she teased.

He scoffed and took the mug of coffee she offered. "I sort of look like a cross between Skeletor and Bill Nighy in those Underworld movies."

"Oh no," she grimaced. "Unless you get his voice too. Mmm, please tell me you get that sexy Nighy voice."

"If only." He smirked and slid into a bar stool. "Just grey skin, bony face, and really weird things going on with the eyes."

"Damn." She pouted. "I guess I'll just have to accept normal, out-of-this-world sexy you."

"You poor, poor thing. How ever will you get by?"

She matched his laugh and checked the cooking sausages in the oven. "Hey, by any chance do you have an iPhone charger? Mine died last night."

"Oh, come on, iPhone? You're better than that."

"I got it half-price! Sorry, I can't afford top of the line technology, Mr. I-have-twenty-thousand-years-worth-of-savings-in-my-account." She tossed the phone back into her purse and leaned across the counter, facing him. "So, now that we're caffeinated and clothed, will you tell me if you've ever bonded with someone?"

"Not happening. It's your turn."

"What are you talking about?"

"All I know about you is your name, your job, and that your dad is a complete ass."

"Ha! Rhia's not even my full name. I shorten it to keep the fae from wanting to rip my head off!"

"I think you just proved my point. Why would the fae be upset about your name?"

"My full name is Rhiannon." Nolan's mouth opened in an 'oh' expression of shock. "Alright, that explains a lot. Why would someone like your father name you after her?"

"Technically he didn't. It was embroidered on my baby blanket before I was abandoned. I think he kept it to spite them, though. She was a queen, right?"

"She was the queen. The last queen before the fae were divided into the Seelie and Unseelie courts."

"Did you know her?"

"No, she was before even my time. But I knew of her. She bonded with a Celtic human king. Their son inherited the human throne. But they only had one child, and the fae would never let a half-blood rule anyway. The thing is, Rhiannon had no other blood-heirs and who was supposed to rule after her was a little... unclear. It split the kingdom in half. The current Seelie king thinks he is directly descended from Rhiannon and the Unseelie queen thinks he's full of shit and the crown should be divided even further, sort of like how the elves run things. But the one thing you don't do when dealing with the fae is bring up how the elves manage shit."

Rhia nodded slowly. "Given that, I think I'm going to stick with Rhia."

"It suits you. I'm still curious to why your birth parents named you Rhiannon."

"I'll add it to the list of questions I have for them if I ever meet them. I hope you don't mind that it takes second place to why." 

She practically threw the tray of sausages on the counter, making a harsh clattering sound that echoed off the tiles of the kitchen. Nolan winced. Okay... birth parents were a sore subject. She leaned against the counter without looking at him.