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 fromtheir 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?”
