Page 103 of Shifting Winds
Moira dropped her bag and slammed to her knees before me, Ash not far behind her. Her dark eyes swept over my face and body until a choked cry came from her throat. She reached out to touch the roots and jerked back her hand in horror when she felt what had claimed me.
Ash was more circumspect in his reaction. He sat beside Moira, his eyes roving over every inch of my body, lips pressed tight when he realized what had happened.
“You can’t break free?” he asked quietly.
I shook my head.
Moira dug through her bag, holding and discarding several items before letting out a frustrated cry. “I can’t—I can’t help,” she choked, eyes wide with horror. “I can’t help you.”
Soren came to his knees beside her and brought her into the circle of his arms. Claws slid from her fingers as she gripped the front of his shirt and buried her face in his chest, her mouth twisted into a rictus of grief, bloody tears sliding down her face.
“I’m so sorry, Moira.”
She reached out a hand and put it on my knee as she tried to collect herself. But when she did, she turned to my father and launched herself at him, lethal claws sliding out to gouge his face.
“Moira. No!” I tried to lunge for her, but I was trapped tight.
Cernunnos made no move to attack her. He let her claws slide against his cheek, flaying open his skin. He let her fists pummel his chest and her screams rend the air, and when she’d exhausted herself, my father gathered her into his powerful arms and held her, allowing her to grieve against him even as he knew Moira blamed him for everything.
Ash bowed his head. Magic spooled into his palms, and he touched my heart, his hand splayed over my breastbone. Tiny leaves spouted from his skin as he worked inside me, his power encasing my heart in a cage not even the seed could touch. “Just in case,” he said, his breath coming in gasps when he finished. “Fight, Evie. Like you’ve never fought before.” He lifted his head, eyes sparkling with an emerald glow. “Use everything you have. It’s going to take you, regardless, you might as well go down fighting if you can.”
“I can’t do anything,” I confessed. “Every bit of my power is being funneled away.” Tears spilled down my face. “How can I fight something the Fae King cannot? Something the most powerful fae bow to?”
A sad smile and endless grief etched lines in his face. “You have something none of those people do, Evie.” He leaned forward and murmured in my ear, the words so low only he and I could hear.
“Use everything.Everything.”
I didn’t know what he meant, but I knew I didn’t want them to see me…end. Not like this. Not this horrific, slow purge of my very being. “Take her,” I whispered. “I want you to remember me how I was. Not like this.”
When he pulled back, he withdrew his magic and touched my cheek. A moment later he rose and gathered Moira from my father’s arms.
The vampire screamed my name and fought against him. Ash whispered something in her ear. Moira’s eyes widened, and she turned her attention to Ash. He held a finger to his lips and carried her away.
A drop of pure silvery magic appeared in Mom’s palm. She pressed her hand to my collarbone. “A piece of me,” she whispered and leaned to kiss my brow. “Fight, Evangeline.”
She rose and took her place beside my father who held his hand out. A piece of gold and emerald magic sank into my forehead. Seconds later they were gone.
Soren touched my hair and walked away. Rowan cupped my jaw and gently pressed a kiss to my lips that made me laugh.
Rowan grinned even as I watched his heart break. “This is the one and only time I could get away with that, so why the hell not.”
Caelan’s grief-stricken eyes didn’t waver from me. Soren touched my shoulder and walked away with Rowan. Ben was the last to go.
“For what it’s worth,” he said in a soft voice. “I’m sorry.”
By now my hands were trapped inside the earth, forcing my body into an awkward angle. “Me too,” I whispered.
He bent and brushed his fingers over my cheek, then turned and walked away.
Caelan and I were the only ones left. He sat before me, gold ringing his stormy eyes.
“What can I do?” he whispered.
“Stay with me.” I gave him a wobbly smile. “It won’t be much longer.”
Caelan’s jaw tightened.
“I wish I would have said yes,” I whispered. “I’m sorry I fought you for so long. I’m sorry…for all of it.”
