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Wynter felt her breathing begin to pick up. “I haven’t done anything wrong. It isn’t my fault that my magick is different.”
“No,” agreed Lailah, “it was your mother who shamed the coven.”
“She didn’t shameanyone.”
Lailah’s face hardened. “She used forbidden magick to bring you back from the dead, knowing it was unnatural and that one should not interfere with fate; knowing it would twist and warp your magick.”
Wynter was about to spit out that, no, actually, Davina had done no such thing and that something else had brought Wynter back. But then a familiar otherworldly breeze ruffled over her, one that carried a gentle warning.
Lailah frowned and glanced around, her extraordinary golden eyes narrowing. After a few moments, she seemed to shrug off the slight disturbance in the air. “As I was saying, what your mother didwasshameful, whether you wish to face it or not. It was a selfish decision on her part. You have paid for it most of your life. Where was the point in what she did?”
“Where was justice when two teenage boys killed me?” Wynter shot back.
Lailah’s smile was brittle. “You took care of that yourself, did you not?”
Sort of. Wynter hadn’t been behind the wheel at the time. She had no clue what exactly went down; she only knew of the aftermath.
Lailah laid her hand on Wynter’s head. “Do not think of this as an ending. Think of it as an opportunity to have a fresh start.”
Thethinginside Wynter stirred, uneasy. Well, at least it was paying attention. It didn’t always seem present. As if it slept a lot or just saw no need to concern itself with anything unless the circumstances warranted its attention or intervention.
She thought about unleashing it on these people here, but that unnatural breeze returned, carrying that same warning—one that the entity within Wynter automatically heeded.
Squinting, Lailah again looked around, taking a more thorough scan of their surroundings this time. She exchanged a look with Wagner, who merely shrugged. Turning back to Wynter, she elegantly flapped her hand. There was some sort of weird suction from the ground. A suction that locked Wynter’s feet in place with such force she swayed.
Fuck.
There’d be no running. Not that she’d have gotten far. Instinct almost had her calling to the sword she’d bound to her magick, which enabled her to conjure it whenever necessary. But she was massively outnumbered right now, and she didn’t doubt that the blade would be easily wrestled from her grip. It might even then be turned on her. She’d rather have her memories scrambled than be impaled on a sword.
Staring at Lailah, Wynter lifted her chin slightly and said, “If you do this, there’ll be consequences.” It seemed only fair to warn her.
Lailah looked the height of amused. “Excuse me?”
“You don’t have to take my word for it. But you should.”
Wagner snickered. “Strange little thing, isn’t she?”
“Strange indeed.” Lailah looked at Esther. “What is her full name?”
Well, of course she’d forgotten it.
“Wynter Dellavale,” Esther replied, her expression one of pure resolve.
Lailah nodded. “Wynter Dellavale, you are officially banished from Aeon. May your new life be plentiful.”
May your new life be plentiful? Like the woman gave a damn? What a load of absolute shit.
Wynter opened her mouth to call the Aeon on her crap, but then an unnatural lethargy snaked through her. It was thick. Heavy. Drugging. It sucked every bit of energy and enthusiasm from her body like a goddamn hoover.
Her vision blurred. Her senses dulled. Her face went slack. She felt both light as a feather and heavy as dead weight at the same time.
She tried fighting the exhaustion. Tried digging deep for the strength to move. But her eyelids drifted shut and her body slumped. Strong arms caught her.Wagner.The suction beneath her feet faded away.
“I got her.” He unceremoniously tossed Wynter over his shoulder and then strode away.
She was braced for sleep to pull her under … but it didn’t. She was wide a-damn-wake, lethargic but not at all sleepy. More, her memories weren’t fading or fracturing. No, they were still clear and intact. Hope blossomed in her belly—
She inwardly flinched as blobs of wetness hit her when Wagner shrugged through the crowd. People werespittingon her. No doubt the mages. She heard “good riddance” and “should be dead” and something like “finally some justice.”
