Chapter 37
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
Rachel went pale. “It wasn’t my fault! He—he made me! I didn’t want to do it.”
“Lie, lie, lie,” Mom sang.
The shifter shot her a hateful look. “I couldn’t say no. He would have killed me.”
“Lie,” Mom sang again.
When Rachel fell silent, my brows lifted. “No more excuses?”
“You’re a half breed fae bitch and don’t deserve to be Lady,” she snapped.
If she knew I was a Chimera, she would have used it against me by now. Even after everything, Caelan had not betrayed my origins. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
“I’m a half breed fae bitch queen,” I corrected. “An important distinction there.” I smiled down at her. “And you’re a shifter with no morals or loyalty to anyone.”
Simone stepped forward. “I spoke to your father earlier today.”
I glanced back at her, my eyebrows lifted.
“Sorry. We were a little busy,” she said apologetically before refocusing her attention on Rachel. “He said you did not have his permission to leave his territory, and he had no idea where you were.”
Rachel swallowed.
“He was very interested to know you were over here spilling lies.”
“So,” she snapped. “He’s my father. There won’t be any repercussions.”
“On the contrary,” Simone said, her lips curving in a satisfied smile. “He has stripped your title and has told us to bestow whatever punishment we see fit.”
Rachel sucked in a sharp breath. “Caelan would never allow that.”
“Caelan is no longer under your influence.”
At the narrowing of her eyes, I added, “Nor is he under Lugh’s.”
Once it hit home that she was well and truly without allies, Rachel rose. “And what shall my punishment be?”
Simone lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. “Caelan will have to decide.”
The look of relief she wore was short lived.
“After Evie decides what to do with you first.”
Rachel took a step backward. “You—you can’t do that. This is Caelan’s territory.”
I smiled. “The fae do not fall under his rule. I am well within my rights to do whatever I want to you.”
“You’d start a war over losing Caelan?” she demanded. “Over a man?”
The difference in our thought process was astounding. “No, Rachel. This is not about a man. Caelan is only a small factor. You insulted my bloodline and me. You inserted yourself into a relationship you had no business being in.”
Rachel started backing away, heading closer to the forested area and away from the town square, no doubt to make a break for it as soon as she could. Hilarious that she thought she could lose a Floromancer and two wolves in the woods.
Garrett and Simone fanned out on either side of me as we herded her away from Sirena’s business. Mom and Dad stayed some distance behind them, and Moira had disappeared.
A frisson of worry went through me, but Moira would be fine. She was powerful in her own right and had survived this wrong. Taking on a simple shifter would be like eating cake for her. Easy peasy.
Rachel held up her hands. “I’m sure we can talk about this. My father will make amends. Is it money you want? We have plenty. Recognition?”
When I stayed silent, her pleas grew desperate. “Do you have a brother? We could join our families together.”
Simone barked a laugh at that. “Evie would rather open a vein and slide into a warm bath than join your house.”
“And we don’t allow filth like you into ours,” Mom added from the back.
I nodded in agreement. “Sorry, Rachel. We don’t need money. We don’t want anything you’re offering. Why don’t you stand your ground and take your licks like a real shifter would. Are you a coward?”
We were almost away from the business area of town. Only a little more to go.
But my luck had never been amazing. A golden-skinned male appeared in the middle of the street.
“Hello, Evie,” Lugh said.
Rachel stopped in her tracks, a slow, wicked smile curving her lips. She turned to face Lugh. “Took you long enough.”
The look he gave her sent a chill rolling down my spine. That was not the look of an enamored man. In that instant, I knew who was a greater threat to Rachel.
It wasn’t me.
But Rachel, a woman who’d gotten by on charm and her looks all these years, smiled at Lugh and shimmied up to him, settling by his side. “Should we get away from here?” she asked him.
Lugh looked at no one else but me. “No. Everyone should see this.”
I planted my feet into the earth. He’d chosen a spot that would make using my Floromancy a little more difficult, but not impossible. The woods were several feet away, and we stood on concrete. I could tear up the roads if need be, but it would take more effort than I’d like.
“Are you going to dazzle everyone with your illusions?”
A crowd had started gathering around the edges of our party, far away enough to run if they needed to, but close enough to hear our conversations. Not good. Mom turned and walked over to them, but Lugh continued on.
“I might be a powerful illusionist, but you know what else I can do?”
“Talk your victims into unconsciousness?” I asked.
He chuckled. “So flippant for someone with so much to lose.”
Moira’s dark head came into view on a rooftop of one of the businesses. It took everything I had not to scream at her to get away. She sank into a crouch and watched us.
Safe for now. That’s all I could ask.
Garrett and Simone remained by my side, both standing loose limbed but ready.
“I’ve always had a lot to lose,” I responded. “Nothing new about that.”
My arm started tingling. The tattoos hiding my true heritage had been repaired some time ago, tweaked to allow me access to my magic when I needed, but still functional enough to hide my true nature from those who could distinguish one’s nature from their scent.
In a way, those tattoos acted as a powerful glamour to—
Oh. Shit.
Fuck.
My fingers started trembling. I clenched them into fists at my side.
Lugh’s amused chuckle slid off my skin like oil. “I love it when a puzzle piece clicks into place.”
Shadows rolled from Lugh’s skin, his eyes flashing that strange pink and violet light. The murmurs of the townspeople rose, but no one had started running yet.
“Evie?” Garrett asked quietly.
“I’ll sever the oath if you’re not prepared to deal with this fallout,” I whispered, hoping he would understand what I was talking about.
A loaded silence fell before Garrett swore. He walked over to Simone and whispered in her ear.
“The thing about having powers over glamour,” Lugh said, “is that not only can I create them, I can also strip them away.”
My arm turned into a fiery hell. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Caelan walked up behind Lugh and made no move to interrupt him.
Rachel’s laugh rang out. I sank to my knees with a hiss of pain, clutching my arm. On the surface, there was nothing wrong, nothing to account for the hideous pain, but inside, I felt like I was being torn apart.
Lugh wasn’t only stripping away my glamour, he was stripping away my self-control, the tight leash I kept on my power. My Floromancy roared to the surface, roots tearing through the concrete as they reached for Lugh.
But the dark shield the god erected was too powerful to pierce. Thorns and poison slapped ineffectually against its surface, and I fought to shove down my Chimera magic.
“Come on, Evie,” Lugh chided. “Don’t you want your friends to know what you really are?
All these people you’ve lived and worked with for so many years assume you’re a simple Floromancer when you’ve been hiding so much more from them.
Right under their noses.” He made a tsking noise.
“Maybe they won’t care. Maybe they’ll see your true form and marvel at your strength. ”
They wouldn’t. We all knew they wouldn’t. They would run and scream and hide until they returned with pitchforks and death in their eyes. My kind would not be allowed to live.
A familiar power stepped into the square, someone who’d chosen to not hide behind their human visage.
Barrett came up beside Garrett. “I overheard the commotion.”
He crouched down beside me. “How can I help?”
“Think you can kill him?” I hissed.
Barrett examined Lugh. “A god?” He chewed on the side of his lip, and I almost laughed. He seemed so nonchalant about the entire situation. “Probably not alone. I can give him a good run for his money.”
He touched my arm. “This is what’s been hiding you all these years?”
A scream tore from my throat as Lugh turned up his power. To my horror, the tattoo began to flake away, my skin burning from the inside.
“This isn’t ideal for you,” Barrett said. “But our kind have been wanting to come out for a while. Maybe it’s time to stop fighting what’s living inside you and embrace it.”
A broken sob bubbled from my lips.
He scrubbed a comforting hand over my hair. “You’re the fae queen, Evie. And you can be ours too. Stop being afraid. I will fight with you.”
The power roared through my blood, its sinister call a siren’s song.
Barrett peered into my eyes and held out a hand. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
A pained laugh broke from me.
I took his hand and allowed him to help me rise.
Lugh’s low laugh sent my hackles up. “Will she do it?” he mused to himself. “Or will she continue to run and hide?”
“Why me?” I asked.
Lugh shrugged. “Why not you? My enemy’s daughter. A town full of luscious new things to explore. Secrets, wounded hearts, shifting loyalties?” Lugh shivered. “It’s all a delicious soap opera.”
The Chimera roared to the surface, tearing through my skin. Barrett’s savage smile was the last thing I saw before I was no longer Evie.
I became a beast of legend and launched myself at Lugh.