We ordered another drink and made small talk for a while, but I’m distracted by Ethan’s words. He was right, but everything that happened led me first to Caelan and then to Rowan. How could I ever be sorry for that? I found my father and was rebuilding bonds with my mother and had a new place to live. I’d discovered unfathomable things about my power and had taken the fae crown. My life had done a complete one-eighty. Not all the changes were good, but no one, not even the fae, lived in a perfect world.
The same young man from before came over and announced the Lords were ready for us once more.
The air was decidedly more hostile when we entered for the second time. If Caelan could kill us with a glare he would have.
We retook our seats. Ethan steepled his fingertips and opened his mouth to speak.
The door flew open and slammed against the wall, the loud crack of wood shattering the silence. Moira stumbled in. Her hair was in wild disarray around her head and her dark eyes wide with horror.
“Joy Springs,” she croaked. “The magic is?—”
A banshee scream sent us all to the floor. Shouts of alarm rang through the room, but not a single shifter could rise against Tess. The banshee floated in, pale hair floating around her head in a haunting corona of silver light. Her mouth was open wide, an empty cavern of darkness and sound, her scream reverberating through our bones.
Tess’s eyes glowed an unearthly silver as they swept over me and Rowan, her scream fading into a soft echo. My shoulders sagged with relief. Her eyes fell on Ethan, then Soren…
My heart stuttered with terror.
“No,” I breathed.
She bypassed Thorvin, then Ben, and slowly lifted a pale hand and pointed at Caelan.
“Marked,” Tess moaned. “You are marked for death.”
Chapter
Thirty-Three
Tess collapsed. Chaos reigned in the room. Moira scooped the banshee up and rushed over to me, grabbing me by the elbow.
“We have to go.” Her voice was low and urgent.
“We can’t let Caelan die,” I snapped.
“I don’t give a shit about Caelan. I care about you.” She looked at Rowan. “Help me.”
Rowan looked torn but slowly shook his head. “I won’t force Evie to come with us.” He looked at me. “What do you wish to do?”
Another piece of the stone surrounding my heart broke off. I touched his chest, then turned to hurry to Caelan still lying on the ground.
Like the others, he was having trouble shaking off the effects of Tess’s scream. He pressed a hand to his head and groaned.
I touched his elbow. “Caelan. You need to come with us. Now.”
He jerked away. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
I bit down my scream of frustration. “A banshee is never wrong. You will die if you don’t allow me to help you.”
His brow furrowed. “There’s no one here.”
“Tess is down for the count and won’t wake up for a while. I have no information. If you return to your land, you very well might die. I can hide you in the fae lands for a little while until we figure out what’s going on.”
His storm eyes flashed with gold. “How do I know this isn’t some ploy to take my lands?”
Rowan swore under his breath. “For god’s sake man. I need to get you a tinfoil hat to wear because all you spout is conspiracy these days.”
I let out a slow breath and tried one more time to reason with him. “Caelan, at one time, you trusted me with your life. I’m asking you to trust me now. I don’t know when or where death is going to come for you, but it will come. Please. Let me help you.”
Once upon a time, Caelan would have taken my hand and gone with me. He would have trusted me, and we would have won every battle we fought together. But now, with Rowan by my side, with that bond growing stronger every day, he looked at me with distrust and more than a little bit of disgust.
