Chapter 30
Chapter
Thirty
“Hello, Evie,” Rachel purred, her painted claws curled around Caelan’s forearm.
I ignored her and tilted my head to Caelan. “Lord.”
Caelan’s eyes narrowed. “Evie.” His sharp gaze took in the confetti littering the ground and the people standing around looking confused. “What happened here?”
“We both know Simone already told you.”
“I’m asking you.” The way he looked at me was like a stab right to the gut. There was no warmth or familiarity in his eyes. I could have been a stranger for the way he watched me.
His eyes strayed to the crown still swirling around my head. A furrow appeared between his brows. His mouth opened, then snapped shut.
“You have a god living in your town. He caused an…interruption. One I took care of.”
His upper lip curled. “I don’t need you to take care of anything.”
I didn’t think I could talk to him again, not if he responded to everything like I was dirt on the bottom of his shoe. “Then you should have gotten here sooner,” I said quietly.
“Bitch,” Rachel hissed, stepping forward.
Caelan frowned and reached up to rub his temples. He jerked Rachel back. “Stop,” he commanded. “I—There’s something—” He lifted those stormy eyes up to mine and I saw something I’d never seen in them before.
Fear.
Moira and I exchanged a look. “Caelan?” I stepped forward and reached out to him.
Rachel knocked my hand away. “Don’t touch him,” she snapped. “He didn’t want you. He doesn’t want you.”
As difficult as it was to ignore Rachel, I watched Caelan. “If there’s something wrong, you can come to me, Caelan. I don’t know where it all went wrong but—”
“Don’t listen to her,” Rachel urged Caelan. “You know she only wants you for your power.”
I snorted and pointed to the still spinning crown atop my head. “Very sorry, but did you miss the glowing thing I’m wearing? I have all the power I never wanted and then some.”
“She’ll take and take and you’ll never get her claws out of you,” Rachel said, every word she spoke a venomous barb.
Moira stepped forward. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I had no idea who she was talking to, but the question was pertinent for both of them.
Rachel opened her mouth.
“Not you,” Moira snapped. “You.” She pointed to Caelan.
“Evie has done nothing but love you. Yes, you’ve had stupid fights, but nothing worth…
this.” Her voice broke. “You are ruining everything. And once you do, once Evie finally steps away and decides you are no longer worth it, you will never get her back.”
She shook her head. “Think about this before you permanently topple the bridge you’ve spent so long building.”
Caelan’s nostrils flared. He took a hesitant step forward, but Rachel reached out for him, stopping him in his tracks. “He doesn’t want her back,” Rachel snapped.
Caelan opened his mouth again, but right before he spoke, his eyes hardened.
“I don’t want to see you again,” he said quietly.
“You can still have your shop, but as far as I’m concerned, you no longer fall under my jurisdiction.
If you need assistance or protection, you will need to ask your parents. ”
Moira sucked in a sharp breath. “You ass.”
Anger burned in the back of my throat, but I resisted the urge to spew poisonous words. He was doing a wonderful job fucking this up all on his own. I didn’t need to add fuel to the fire.
“Fine by me,” I said instead.
A blonde woman walked up behind Caelan and Rachel, her eyes wary. When she saw my face, her lips thinned. “Evie,” she acknowledged.
“Simone.” I nodded. “We were just leaving.”
She held up a hand. “A moment, please.”
When I frowned, a pleading emotion appeared in her eyes. And though she said nothing, I hesitated, then gave her a short nod. Relief filled her face. I held no grudge against Simone and usually called her a friend. She couldn’t help getting caught up in whatever this was.
Whatever I had done to Caelan, I couldn’t guess. Or if I hadn’t done anything and only been usurped by a woman who had something more than me, it still wasn’t Simone’s fault.
Simone’s eyes fell on Rachel, and hatred flared inside the light depths, surprising me with its intensity. “If you’d give us a moment,” she said.
Rachel opened her mouth to undoubtedly argue, but Simone bared her teeth. “Leave us,” she snarled.
Rachel blinked and took a step back, her fingers sliding from their proprietary grasp on Caelan’s arm. With a furious glare at me and Moira, Rachel hurried away, far enough to prevent her from overhearing Simone’s next words.
Caelan’s eyes tracked every step Rachel took until Simone yanked his attention away by digging her nails into his arm and whispering something into his ear.
His jaw tightened, but he tore his gaze away.
Simone sighed and closed her eyes for a brief moment. When she opened them, her eyes snagged on my crown. “It’s true then.”
Something like sorrow flashed over her face, there and gone in a heartbeat. “Congratulations are in order, it seems.” A thin smile. Then, “Or condolences, maybe.”
Moira laughed. “She took me by surprise, too. We haven’t discussed what she gave up.”
As bargains went, it wasn’t the worst. Something to think about later, once I was out of here and safe. And in pajamas with a very large glass of wine in my hand.
“She wanted it all along,” Caelan growled. “Never me. Never us.”
Simone’s nostrils flared. She shot him an angry glare. “Just…” she paused and exhaled. “Just shut up, Caelan. For the love of the gods, I do not know what’s gotten into you, but you’ve been insufferable these last couple of weeks.”
Caelan blinked in surprise and reared back like Simone had slapped him.
And she had. Verbally.
Moira’s lips twitched.
“This changes things,” Simone said, ignoring the way Caelan looked at her. “Since you and our Shifter Lord are no longer…involved—” She slid an accusing glare his way. “There must be boundaries. And if you decide to repair this rift—”
“Unnecessary,” Caelan interrupted. “And unwanted. Rachel and I will be married within the month.”
Simone’s head snapped to focus on Caelan. She blinked once, twice, before slowly shaking her head. “Oh, Caelan,” she murmured softly.
All the air was sucked out of my lungs. I swayed, Moira reaching for me, steadying me with the grip of her hand.
My gaze went to his face, memorizing the lines and planes of his cheekbones and jaws, remembering every time I traced my fingers over them when we lay together. Hot tears burned the backs of my eyes,
“You sonofabitch,” Moira hissed, eyes flashing crimson. The only reason she didn’t lunge for him was because she was holding me upright. “What was all of this? All the chasing and begging and pursuing just to cast her away when she didn’t bat pretty green eyes at you?”
“A Lord can never resist a challenge,” he said, a defiant look in his eyes.
I shrugged Moira off and straightened. Before I opened my mouth, Moira leaned over. “Be sure,” she whispered, her eyes imploring.
I was more than sure. “The Caelan I knew would have never spoken to me like this, would have never hurt me or embarrassed me in public. I don’t know what’s happening or what has changed to make you so cruel, but I do not deserve it.”
Simone bowed her head, her slender hands trembling. She, like Moira, knew where this was going.
“I never should have pursued someone who could not bear pureblooded children,” he sneered.
Another stab to my heart, another cruel jab forcing me to close the door on something I thought could not be destroyed.
“Perhaps not,” I agreed. Proud of myself for keeping my voice steady and my hands still, I looked at Simone. “Regardless of what’s happened with your Lord, you are always welcome in my home, Omega. As is Garrett, provided he does not have the same attitude as Caelan.”
“He doesn’t,” blurted Simone, sliding a horrified look at Caelan.
I nodded. “When I return home, I will adjust my wards. Seymour can visit me any time he wishes, though if your Lord is cruel to him, I hope you will return him to me.”
“I would never be cruel to Seymour,” Caelan snapped.
I gave him a sad smile. “No. Only to your former, tainted blood fiancée, it seems.”
Simone let out a breath of dismay. “There are few of us who do not admire you, Evie. Please don’t let this taint your view of our people.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve long been able to differentiate one person’s prejudices and separate them from the whole.”
I tilted my head. “I will see you around, Simone. Best of luck with your new Lady.”
Simone’s lower lip wobbled. She lunged for me and pulled me in for a tight hug.”
“I am so sorry,” she whispered. “I have no idea what is happening.”
I patted her back and stepped away. “It’s okay. Better to know now, I suppose.”
Caelan’s eyes swirled when our gazes met. “Goodbye, Lord.” I tilted my head in acknowledgment. “I will ensure my parents know my situation has changed.”
The smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Perhaps they can find a better genetic match for you. Someone who will not care about your tainted blood.”
My mind went silent for a brief second, every thought in my head disappearing into the black hole that opened underneath my feet. I stared at him for a long moment, this man I had loved more than myself, and laughed.
The sound was a harsh crack, not a lick of amusement anywhere.
That silence roared back like a wildfire and power crackled in my veins.
The earth rumbled underneath our feet, and vines slid from the ground, tearing up the sidewalks and road, damaging the very infrastructure under Joy Springs, but I couldn’t care.
I was too angry to care, the realization of what I had done once more, loving a man who loved himself more, sending a tearing pain through my soul.
“Attack me,” Caelan said quietly. “Begin the war between our people. Be the spark that tears everything apart, Evie. I know your blood roars for vengeance. Do it and prove me right.”
The words struck something inside me, some deep, desperate part still looking for a peaceful resolution. Moira’s cool fingers touched my arm. The vines withdrew into the ground.
A familiar shimmer of power from behind told me my parents had arrived.
Cernunnos and Cliona stepped up beside me. With a wave of her hand, the roads and sidewalks repaired themselves. She smiled thinly at Caelan.
“I think you’ve done enough damage,” she said quietly. “No reason for our tainted blood to cause more.” She reached for me. “Come, Evie. Let us leave Caelan to the mess he’s created.”
I let her lead me away, Moira quietly walking by my side. She trembled with fury, her jaw held so tightly I thought her teeth might crack.
My father didn’t leave with us. I glanced back to see him and Caelan speaking, but I was too far away to hear what was being said.
Whatever it was didn’t look friendly.
Mom tugged me once more. “Never look behind you,” she said quietly. “Nothing lives there but pain.”
She had no idea how true her words were.