“Please,” Thorvin said, rising from the long table. “Have a seat.” He pointed to two chairs facing the Lords’ table.
It was then I noticed the table the Lords were sitting at had no room for Rowan. They’d made him an outsider. And I knew at that moment, this was all my fault.
Rowan’s gaze took in the chairs and the table. A wicked chuckle rumbled his chest. “So it has come to this.”
Thorvin sighed. I liked the Lord, and though I found his slightly harried and harassed countenance amusing, I knew, just like the others, he was not someone to take at face value. He’d proven himself deadly enough when Moira, Garrett, and I had trespassed on his land.
“Rowan, you’ve expanded far beyond the boundaries of your agreed-to territory.” Thorvin sat back down and rubbed his temples.
“So?” he asked.
Caelan snorted. “You think just because Evie is an ally now that you can take our land from us?”
“Your land was taken by might,” I interjected. “Won by skill and taken by power, the land is mine to do with as I see fit.”
“And you believe Rowan is fit?” Caelan said, his eyes burning molten gold.
Fury burned in my chest, and I reveled in my rage. “More than others,” I said, knowing how much the words would infuriate him.
Soren chuckled. “Evie, darling, you do know how to keep a bonfire burning long after it has turned to embers, don’t you?”
Claws slid from Caelan’s fingers, his jaw tightening. “Be careful who you speak to,” he warned.
“You should take the same advice,” I snapped. “All of you. Dario is not a Lord and not entitled to the territory. Even if you did make him a Lord, I’ve already proven I can strip the land from one if I need to.”
“Are you threatening us?” Ethan asked. His tone wasn’t angry for once. He watched me with a healthy new respect, a look I was not used to seeing from him.
“I’m telling you to let sleeping dogs lie. I shared the land with Rowan because he is a good and decent Lord, and our powers complement each other. He has no designs on encroaching on anyone else’s territory.”
Rowan slid a look my way, one that heated my blood. “Which is another reason we are here,” he said. “A darkness creeps among our lands, driven by what we think are the gods. It begins as a dark poison, killing everything it touches, until it affects the Lord who walks the land. We are here to ask you to allow Evie to come onto your lands and purge the poison. She will need to temporarily claim the borders until the magic is completely purged.”
Caelan burst out laughing. “She’s already tried that once. Absolutely not. Evie is not here on a goodwill mission. Donovan’s lands have already fallen to her. She seeks to claim more until the Lords are no more.”
“I could have left that darkness rotting inside your body,” I snapped. “Instead, it continues poisoning your lands until it will eventually claim you, your land, and your people.”
Rowan tugged me into the seat next to him and wove our fingers together. Caelan’s lips curled with disgust when he noticed. His touch brought me back to reality, sending the anger deep inside. “Have any of you started feeling poorly over the last few weeks? Fatigue, weakness, dizziness, or emotional outbursts?”
No one admitted to anything, but Soren’s eyes narrowed. He studied me with intensity, and I can almost see the wheels turning in his mind.
“That’s what the magic does. I do not know its purpose yet. Moira has a certain talent, and she’s using her powers to help us track down the magic source. Once we find it, we will know more on how to control it and destroy it for good. My magic has proven successful against it, as your Lord—” I inclined my head toward Caelan, “will attest to.”
“Provided he’s not being a little bitch,” Rowan said, showing his teeth to the other Lord.
Soren choked on a laugh.
Caelan said nothing, color touching high on his cheeks.
“Caelan?” Ethan asked. “Is she telling the truth?”
For a moment, I thought he would lie, but after a long moment, Caelan gives a begrudging nod. “She trespassed on my territory, told me of this spell, and forced a healing on me.”
Soren’s eyebrows flicked up. “Good gracious, man. You’re so hardheaded you’d turn down a healing from the godsdamned Fae Queen?”
Caelan ignored Soren, but the others stared hard at him, making me wonder what they were thinking. Was this the first sign of a fracture between them?
“Up until a few days ago, she was your fiancée, man,” Thorvin said. “If you cannot trust her, who can you trust?”
“You know what she is,” Caelan said.
