“And what about her?” I asked quietly.
“What about her?” Caelan snapped.
“She trespassed on my property, attempted to interfere with my warding, then implied I was gutter trash.”
Caelan stared at me for a long moment. “There were other ways of dealing with her than using your magic to toss her half a mile.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “But none were as fun as that one was.”
He didn’t smile. A moment ago, I’d been annoyed, but now I was full-blown angry. “Why is it that I can get harassed from all sides and yet, when I react, it suddenly becomes all my fault?”
His jaw tightened. “I’m not blaming you.”
“Oh? Just my temper?”
Rowan repacked the plants and seedlings I’d gifted him and nodded at me, a warning in his eyes.
See you later, he mouthed, before slinking out the door.
“You have to admit you have an impressive temper.”
“A temper that never comes out unless someone, nine times out of ten connected to you, decides to do something to violate my boundaries.”
“So, it’s my fault now?”
“It sure as shit is not my fault!”
“Are you saying you are not responsible for what you might do when someone…annoys you?”
I laughed, though there was no amusement in the sound. “We’ve had this fight a dozen times. I will not apologize for defending myself or my property. You are the one who invited that dreadful woman into your home. Why are you here getting onto me for reacting to her antagonizing me?”
“Because I am a LORD!” he roared. “Because there is decorum when dealing with shifters! Because I cannot afford to take a wife who reacts with adolescent mischief when someone pisses her off!”
The words peppered against me like thrown stones, each sentence making me flinch.
When he finished, his eyes widened. He reached a hand out for me. “Evie.”
I stepped away, tears burning the back of my eyes. “Get out.”
“I—I didn’t mean that. I’m frustrated and aggravated, and I’m?—”
“I do not care. Get out of my house before I react withadolescent mischief.”
Caelan closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, a ring of gold swallowed his irises. “Evie. Please. We can sort this out. We’ve already agreed that we needed to do better.”
“That was before I realized my fiancé is someone who will not stand up for me when I need him the most. I understand politics, Caelan. What I do not understand is bending over backward to soothe the ego of someone who is actively trying to ruin our relationship. She is the one who made the error in judgment. The only thing I am guilty of is reacting. But I won’t lie down and let a bully kick me. Politics or no politics, I have a spine. But I’m no longer sure you do.”
Color flushed the tops of Caelan’s cheekbones. Rage flickered in his eyes. “Evie,” he warned.
“This is your last warning,” I said softly. The ground rumbled underneath my feet. “Leave now.”
A phantom wind rose, brushing my hair away from my neck.
Caelan’s upper lip curled into a snarl. “Is this how you want it to be?”
An otherworldly note turned my voice deeper. “I’m not the one who chose this.”
Caelan took a step back and turned on his heel, slamming the door behind him as he exited.
