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 aman?”
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 breakfor 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.
