Page 98 of Shifting Winds
“Right.” Maybe the red-haired man had been hit in the head too many times.
Silence fell again and went on for so long, I jerked a thumb over my shoulder and said, “Is that all? Am I free to go?”
“Patience, child,” the silver-haired one said. “We are examining your aura.”
“Oh.” Internally, I was screaming. What could they see inside me and were they secrets I wanted them to know? Suppressing my almost overwhelming urge to squirm, I did my best to wait patiently for their perusal to end.
No one had mentioned the tree, so maybe they hadn’t noticed? If that were the case, and I skated out of here without having to answer for that debacle, I was going straight to the gas station and buying lottery tickets.
My mother’s brow furrowed, just a slight mar on her perfect face. I stilled and tore my eyes away. Was it me or something else?
“Enough,” Cernunnos snapped. “You’ve ogled my daughter enough. There is nothing alarming in her aura or her magic.”
“That is for us to decide,” the silver-haired woman said tartly.
Cernunnos turned those strange ancient eyes to her. “Enough,” he said again. “Evie is not used to our ways. She was not raised in our world.”
The furrow in Mom’s brow grew deeper.
I chanced sending a message to her, something I hadn’t done in so long, I wasn’t sure I remembered how.
Mom?
Evangeline. Something is wrong.
With you?
Faint exasperation came down our bond.
No. But something.
I almost sighed aloud.Entirely unhelpful, but okay.
Cernunnos rose.
A shift of air, three gasps of surprise, and a tug at my arm revealed a flustered Tess. Her hair was in tangles, and her skin was chalk white. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
My mouth dropped open. “Tess,” I breathed. “What in the hell are you?—”
“Death,” Tess moaned. “Marked for death.”
I froze. “Me?”
“Evangeline,” my mother snapped. “You must?—”
Tess opened her mouth and screamed.
Chapter
Thirty
I’d never heard a banshee wail. One star. Would not recommend.
The sound was indescribable. It echoed through my bones, vibrating my very cells with a shockwave of power.
Everyone except for my mother went down. In a graceful leap straight out of some kick ass spy novel, my mom vaulted over the table straight for me. Her eyes were wide with terror.
I slammed my hands over my ears and fell. My heart hammered against my chest, and I couldn’t think or do anything. All I wanted was for Tess to stop screaming.
