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“I have important news to share with everyone today,” she said.
She wiggled her shoulders and carried the dill dip tray outside before I could ask anything. I sent a wave of magic out behind her to bring more color to the back yard. At first, my arcana met the resistance of the witch’s wards, but my power was unthreatening. I pushed under the wards and suffused the plant roots with life so that everything bloomed anew.
Ness paused and gaped in awe at the flowering garden all around her. I couldn’t blame my friend for what happened in the past. We had to move forward and welcome this new chapter of happiness for everyone. I just hoped there was happiness in my future, too.
Rhoan sidled up beside me and leaned in. “What the Hell is she?”
His sudden appearance didn’t make me flinch, much to my surprise. After today, I thought I would jump at every small sound. Rhoan’s presence wrapped around me and set my jumpy nerves at ease.
“Ness is a Barghest. She’s the Black Hound of Judgement. They’re born into Packs with cruel Alphas to cast judgement and bring about an era of peace.” I watched Ness set down the tray and approach her husband for a kiss. “We had a prophecy of her arrival, and it set Alvin on a witchhunt. When she shifted into a hound and not a wolf, Alvin started to target her. Kind of set off that whole chain of events.”
Rhoan’s upper lip curled. “I don’t like her arcana. It’s cruel.”
I gave a halfhearted shrug. “Then don’t get on her bad side. She’s a good person.”
And I meant it. Ness never wanted me to get in the middle of her war. She didn’t throw me at Alvin. He’d hunted me down all on his own.
Rhoan kept an eye on my best friend..
My mom took the dill dip tray from Ness and touched Ness’s shoulder after setting it on the table. The two stood off to the side, chatting. I wanted to run up to my mom and throw my arms around her, but I was afraid I wouldn’t find the solace I craved in her embrace. That wasn’t the woman who’d given birth to me, and the truth hammered itself against the inside of my skull now.
The backyard filled with shifters. Dad was among them. He raised his beer and cheered when Vi won cornhole. They hoisted Vi high while she waved a bottle of tequila in the air. Their cheer was raucous and filled with so much joy. I marveled at how lively the pack had become and how they’d accepted our little family into the fold.
But then I caught the look etched into Rhoan’s face. He watched with grief darkening his eyes. The lines of his face were deeper than ever. I could almost see memories swirling in the depths of those eyes, dragging him back to a time when the Seelie Court must have been like this.
I touched his arm. “We’ll fix it,” I promised.
There was no way that he could make me stay, but I did want to help him take back his home. That was the least I could do.
While I studied Rhoan’s face, I didn’t notice the little fae flying down from the dark leaves of the surrounding trees. Instead, I heard someone stumble away from the crowd and vomit in the bushes.
I tilted my head. We’d only been here for a short while. The party had barely begun. Were people pre-gaming before a Pack cookout? It seemed a little silly.
The bottle in Vi’s hand wasn’t the cube-shaped tequila bottle. It was a long wine bottle with glimmering liquid inside. I grabbed Rhoan’s arm. My heart stuttered and stopped altogether. His attention went to Vi while I slowly twisted to peer at the tables.
Little cackling fae with ashen wings cackled before shoving off from the tables now laden with fae fruit. A half-eaten golden apple rolled off the table and hit the ground with a sickening splat.
No. No, this wasn’t allowed. Beryl wouldn’t…She couldn’t!
But the Unseelie Queen had, in fact, swapped the party’s food with fae fruits and wine. The red-cheeked faces of the pack were all marked with glimmering eyes as they tripped over themselves in a drunken stupor.
“What’s going on?” Ness asked beside me.
My heart leapt into my throat. My gaze dropped to the pear in her hand. It was whole—she hadn’t yet taken a bite. I had time to slap it out of her grasp. She gasped, clearly offended until she looked down and realized what she’d been holding.
Magic rippled in the air. A kind of glamour had been placed on the fruit to disguise it. That was why I saw Vi’s bottle as a tequila bottle at first. The magic couldn’t hold me, though. It wasn’t strong enough.
Spinning, I turned to Rhoan. “We need to stop anyone from eating anything else.”
My best friend was pregnant. Had she eaten any of the fruit…Ryder would have never forgiven me. I never meant to bring this fight here of all places. I’d thought we were safe. Beryl shouldn’t have gone this far.
His lips twisted to the side. “I can knock them all out, but I don’t think that’s what you really want.”
Past Rhoan, I could see my dad. He stumbled, swaying on his feet. A broad smile painted his rosy tinted face. The gleam of fae magic illuminated his eyes. My heart clenched with anger. When he lifted a hand in the air to capture something that wasn’t there, I knew that the wine was had conjured hallucinations.
When Mom stumbled out of the house with her hands close to her chest, I cocked my head curiously. She extended her arms and held a metal wire up to the light. I watched the sun reveal the fae magic in her eyes, too. Mom pushed the metal wire towards Dad right as I realized what she had.
Rhoan followed my gaze. Between one step and the next, he appeared between my parents and snatched thesilverwire from Mom’s hand before she could press it into Dad’s cheek. Rhoan reappeared beside me.
