“Are you having a stroke?” I asked her.
Evie’s eyes shot daggers over my shoulder but no one stood there but Declan, who looked just as confused as I was. Evie’s face twisted for a second like she mind-spoke to Ward, but Declan jumped instead.
“It might be the dead of winter.” Evie mimed a cloak. I couldn’t figure out if I was witnessing one of the worst plays I had ever seen. “And the middle of the night.”
Okay, I knew Evie took the Queen stuff seriously, but she was usually smoother about announcing her decisions than this.
“Evie. Don't.” Ward crossed his arms over his chest.
Evie flapped her hands again looking over my shoulder, but Declan wasn’t there anymore. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose as if the weight of the Harrowlands rested on her shoulders. The entire performancehad me cracking a laugh until her face fell into severe lines.
“I’m terrible at this,” she whispered. Straightening to her full height, Evie looked me right in the eye. “I love you, but you’re banished, Fallon.”
The laughter died in my throat. The room tilted. Could you pass out from shock? My heart beat out of my chest, adrenaline curing the heavy ache in my joints.
“She deserves more than banishment. Clarus is edible.” The panther shifter lunged forward and my life flashed before my eyes along with those claws.
Only Ward’s paw of a hand kept her from stripping my meat from my bones.
“Ha ha, Evie.” My voice wavered as I backed up. The other shifters moved toward us as well, scenting violence in the air. The terrible play had turned into the worst joke ever.
Her head was held high, mouth tight. She wasn’t joking. I’d never seen her look more like a Queen and less like my friend. “Clear your head, and not just from your magic. Fallon, you need a break.”
“You’re serious!?” I almost screamed it. My world crumbled and it was everything I could do to keep standing. Never mind the claws trying for my throat, my best friend was kicking me out. Which way was up?
Evie straightened her spine to steel. “You can't stay in our territory if you can't control your magic. That was how the Goddsreigned.”
Yeah, maybe like a million years ago. She couldn’t be serious.
Evie’s face was dead serious. “I can’t have you risk this territory. It’s my duty to protect everyone. Including you. Someone will escort you off the grounds.”
My best friend looked around the room as if she had someone in mind, while I reeled into a dark spiral of fear. Banished? For one mistake? I scrabbled for something to hold on to, some magic answer I could produce to change her mind. In times of genuine panic, I never escaped the truth that I was never really in control. My body, my mind, my power would always betray me in the end.
Noth clapped a few times before Maggie snatched up his hands, pressing them together.
Ward leaned over her. “Viper, that's a little?—”
One piercing glare from his mate and Ward shut his mouth immediately. Even the panther stood a little shocked. Still, the rest of the room extended claws and sharpened tongues. I could already hear the whispers about Evie’s rule. I hadn’t meant to make them question her.
The tension pulled tight in the room as I took Evie to the side, refraining from shaking her. “Bestie. What the fuck? Where do I go?”
How was I supposed to not turn someone into a bowl of soup? I'd just have to work harder, but at what? If I laid out a five-point action plan, would she let me stay? Evie’s eyes said ‘no’. She patted my shoulder.
“Let everything calm down. Ward will reverse your magic eventually, but I’m serious. You need to get it together, Fallon. Find help to control your magic. It will be like your lessons with the cheese dragon. You’ll master it in no time and be back in the kitchen. Godds forbid you do something like go on a date.”
My love life was the last thing on my list. She glanced at the room brimming with fury. Shifters gathered around Ward like waves crashing on a rock.
“Viper?” Ward’s voice rose higher than I’d ever heard it.
“It’s for the best right now.” Somehow the softness with which she said it made it worse.
My breaking heart turned to anger. I knew they didn’t want me here. One too many dinners where I was the third wheel. An inconvenient request to hang out when she had Queen things to do and I got no second chances. She could hang her good advice. And I didn't stay where I wasn't wanted.
“Declan will–”
I didn’t need Declan to wheedle me back into their good graces. This had been a long time coming.
Turning on my heel, I didn't stop to pack or feel. I grabbed whatever was in front of me and a cloak, and disappeared into the winter night.
