Page 49 of Power Shift
He shook his head. “You may think I’m cruel, but you have not known true cruelty.” Finn looked away, his eyes holding too much knowledge. “Rhona is the worst of us.”
“I dunno, man. You’re pretty terrible.”
Finn blew out a breath and looked heavenward, as if I were the exasperating one here. “We are creatures filled with ancient magic. Sometimes our basest instincts control us.”
I stared at him for a long moment, rage making me clench my fists. “Is this your idea of an apology?”
His jaw tightened. “Despite everything, I never meant to harm you.”
I blinked. “Which time, exactly? Because I remember multiple murder attempts.”
His dismissive snort pissed me off even more. I rose and stepped away from the bench.
“I never planned to kill you, only convince you that you needed me.”
The sincerity in his voice was galling. People really thought the way Finn did, as if people were their property and they were somehow entitled to their time, their mind, theirbodies. He’d found me at the lowest moment in my life, charmed me, and ruined what little self-respect I had left.
After everything I’d gone through, when I would have taken the smallest crumb of affection or genuine care, and Finn arrived and not only offered it but made me feel I was beautiful,cherished…well, I thought there’d been a boulder to step onto from my place at rock bottom.
And then as soon as I stepped onto that boulder, Finn kicked it right out from under me.
I chewed on the edge of my lips debating how much trouble I’d be in if I stabbed him through the heart in public.
Power rolled through the street, a punch of visceral, violent strength.
Finn froze as Caelan came into view from around the corner, Simone trailing after him.
The Shifter Lord didn’t look at me. His eyes were trained on Finn, eyes blazing with golden magic.
“Uh oh,” I sang. “You’re in trouble.”
Finn glared and stood up, surprisingly not running away. “Your Lord needs to be in the loop as much as you do.”
“Finn.” Horror filled me.
“Do not worry, little Chimera,” he whispered so low only I could hear him, “I will not tell your precious lover what you are.”
“He’s not my lover,” I hissed.
“Tell that to the Lord,” Finn drawled.
Caelan stepped up beside me. “Evie.”
“Lord.”
He shot me a golden-eyed look. I was not calling him Caelan in public. Not with other people around.
“Who’s your friend?” he asked.
Finn grinned, the sharp-toothed smile completely out of place on those feminine features.
“You’ve met before.”
A rise of a dark eyebrow. “Oh? I think I’d remember if we’d met before.” He touched a hand to his chest. “I am Lord Caelan. And you are?”
But then his nostrils flared and that golden magic punched out in a wash of painful prickles that touched every inch of bare skin. “Finn,” Caelan snarled.
Wisely, the Chimera took a step back. “I’m not here to fight.”
