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In the trees, the small fae responsible for swapping our food cackled at us. There was another rustle of something larger, perhaps the fae that’d cast the glamour. I pointed Rhoan in that direction and told him to deal with the intruders.
He gave a curt nod before snapping out his hand. A ball of flame appeared in his palm. I yelped and flung myself in front of him.
“You can’t set the woods on fire!” I gaped at him.
He grumbled under his breath, squashed the fireball with his fist, and flicked out his other hand. In it, a sword appeared. The slick metal caught the light and flashed across my face, making me grimace.
Rhoan whispered a soft apology, cupped the back of my head to place a soft kiss on my forehead, and lunged past me into the trees. I stood there, stunned by the show of protective affection. After a heartbeat, I was able to swallow it back down and turn towards the gaggle of drunken shifters…and a drunk anti-christ.
Vi stumbled up towards me with a big smile on her face. Heat radiated off her. It warmed the air and made it ripple. The grass curled and burned beneath every step she took. I scowled at it and raised my arcana from the ground beneath us.
I pulled thick tree roots from the ground and wrapped them around the fumbling bodies so that I could lift them from the ground. While most of the pack shouted in surprise all at once, I knew that Vi would be a bigger problem.
Ness hadn’t eaten the fruit. So, I twisted and found her in Ryder’s arms. Ness tried to push him away, but the man held her tight and turned so that his body shielded her from what was going on. He should have been protecting his pack, but his pregnant wife took precedence—I couldn’t say I blamed him, but Ness would later. She was going to rip him a new asshole.
“Vi, sweetie,” Morgan said softly.
The dark-haired dragon shifter approached his mate with caution. The man kept his distance though. Even he knew just how dangerous Vi could be while drunk on fae wine. Perhaps not from experience, but just because Vi set things on fire while completely sober.
Flames began to lick the ground at the edge of her heat aura. They curled higher and reached towards the tables covered in food. The stupid cornhole panels burst into flames, sending wisps of smoke curling into the air.
“Damn it, you little demon,” Morgan grumbled as he stamped out a small fire at his feet.
Vi chuckled and lurched towards him with her arms open. Morgan seemed pained when he leapt away from her. I got it, though. He wanted to love and comfort his mate, but she would incinerate him with one touch.
“Hey!” Rhoan shouted from behind us.
A hot fireball raced past my face and slammed into Vi’s. She recoiled from the impact. Behind her, the trapped Pack members cheered as if this were a pay-per-view fight. I cursed under my breath. There had to be a way to cleanse their bodies of the fruit and wine.
There had to be…
Ryder had gotten over it, but I could remember how hard it was for him after Beryl tricked him into consuming fae food. She’d done her best to control him with it, and it’d taken days to get it out of his system.
Unfortunately, Vi took precedence. Morgan snarled at Rhoan for throwing a fireball in Vi’s face, but even I knew that was like throwing a pillow at her. It barely even fazed the drunk demi-angel. She staggered and giggled like it’d tickled.
When she lurched in my direction as if she expected me to catch her, Rhoan appeared at my side and swept me out of the way. I raised a soft grass bed to catch her, but she burned through it. Flames erupted around her.
“Ness!” I shouted over Rhoan’s shoulder. “Tell her to turn it off!”
Ryder growled at me, but my request wouldn’t put Ness in harm’s way. His dragon was simply being over-protective. I understood, but it wasn’t helping in this situation. What we needed was Ness’s arcana.
“Vi isn’t going to lash out! Your mate will stay safe,” I called out. To Ness, I said, “Just tell her to go to sleep.”
Ness did exactly what I asked. A smile curled over Vi’s face. She folded her hands beneath her head and curled up like a cat for a nap in the sun. The ground continued to smolder around her for a little while, but it slowly faded until she was only slightly too warm to the touch.
Morgan put a hand on his mate and breathed a sigh of relief…before turning his anger towards me. Rhoan stepped between us and summoned his blade again. This time, it was slick with the blood of fae that he hadn’t had a chance to clean off. Right before my eyes, the blood disintegrated and turned to dust on the wind.
Ryder looked at me with the rage of betrayal twisting his features, too. Ness grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked him back, but the damage had already been done.
“I didn’t do this! I’m not the one who swapped the foods. I would never hurt my friends like that.” My heart thundered behind my sternum.
Silence stretched between us all. It was interrupted by the stray giggle from the ensnared shifters still hanging from my root traps. They would need to detox soon. I could make a potion that would help, but only if my friends and Pack trusted me.
“Cerri handled this like a true queen,” Rhoan declared. “She saw danger and acted in everyone’s best interest. Hardly anyone was harmed. You should be thankful.”
I grabbed the back of his vest and tugged as if that might stop him. It wouldn’t. He rolled his shoulders back in preparation for a fight, like everyone was going to dogpile him. It certainly felt like it.
I bowed my head and turned, defeated.
