Page 121 of Court of Lies and Deceit

“You!” a furious voice snaps.

I gasp and whip around towards the source of the voice.

The entire White Faction stalks out of the woods. Anger now mixes with the excitement on their faces as they advance on me.Or at least on five of their faces. The sixth person only looks frightened.

“YoubrokeOleander,” the leader growls.

The words catch me off guard, and I flinch at how unexpectedly hard they hit. My gaze darts to the tall and muscular man on the right. Oleander Darkmane moves with his teammates when they approach, but he keeps another person between him and me, and his red and blue eyes are filled with fear as he watches me.

I swallow against a sudden overwhelming feeling of guilt. I did break him. I changed him with my magic, and now I can’t change him back.

At the thought, a sudden craving, a hunger, stirs inside me. And a small voice whispers there in the darkness.But the pleasure… Remember how good it felt? Do it again.

Blocking out the disturbing thoughts, I shift my gaze back to the team leader while taking a step back. “Look?—”

“No,” he snaps. “Shut up. Oleander was a crowd favorite.” He casts a glance up at the sky. “I hope they’re watching, because now, we’re going to make you pay for what you did to him.”

I raise my hands and take another step back. “You don’t need to do this.”

They continue advancing on me, malice glittering in their eyes.

“Need?” the leader says with a vicious smirk. “No, we don’t need to. But we want to.”

My heart patters nervously as I continue retreating, keeping my hands up, while they stalk towards me.

A blond woman on the left narrows her eyes at me. “Where’s the rest of your faction?”

“Oh.” I take another step back, passing right next to a thick tree trunk. “They’re over there, setting up an ambush.”

The entire White Faction stops dead in their tracks. Blinking, they stare at me in shock.

“What?” the leader blurts out. “What do you?—”

A massive storm wind slams into them from the side. The force of it is so strong, and it catches them completely off guard, that they only manage to cry out in panic before they’re sent flying right into that swirling yellow cloud next to them.

Since I’m standing so close, I’m also in the blast range, but the thick tree that I was passing takes the brunt of the hit. Branches rattle and leaves flutter down as the winds crash into the tree. I dig my heels into the ground, staying firmly behind cover.

Then the wind dies down.

A moment later, loud thuds echo through the forest as the White Faction lands somewhere inside the yellow haze.

Straightening, I peek out from behind the tree to find my friends strolling back out of the bushes they were hiding behind.

From inside the cloud, cries of alarm and panic start to rise.

“Where are we?”

“Why are you blue?”

“I can’t find my hands!”

“I think my hair is on fire!”

“I can’t find my hair!”

I flash my friends a satisfied grin. “Well, that should keep them busy for a while.”

Lyra laughs and elbows Galen in the side. He shakes his head but smiles as well. Next to him, Alistair casts a dubious look at the mass of yellow.

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