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“I’ll let them in and tell them you’ll come down in thirty minutes.”
After he leaves, I fire off a million texts to Zinnia’s new phone, a gift from Nick. Once she replies with pictures of the kids plus a rant about Aunt Vi, I go for that shower. True to Valerian’s word, exactly thirty minutes later, after I’ve washed the puke from my body, voices trickle from below. I trail down the stairs in one of his steel-gray tees, a pair of thin black joggers hugging my hips, to see the dining table filled with my favorite people: Mack, Eclipsa, and Asher.
Ruby streaks over the ceiling above them, taunting Valerian’s snow-white owl with a piece of shaved ham.
Valerian is posted against a counter in the kitchen, sipping a cup of tea as he frowns at the noisy intrusion.
Our eyes meet, and I reward him with a grateful smile. I know how much he likes his privacy. Definitely going to thank him later for this.
Surprise flickers over his handsome features, followed by a vulnerable, intimate look that sets my heart on fire and jerks the bond between us taut.
Thank the Shimmer the others are here or that unexpectedly sweet exchange would be enough to undo me completely.
Eclipsa whistles, drawing my mind away from Valerian. “The prince wasn’t lying. You survived your first tormentor spell. Impressive. Not everyone does.”
Holy frick. Valerian didn’t tell me that. No wonder he freaked out.
Mack’s chair scrapes across the floor as she jumps to her feet and wraps her arms around me. Ruby screeches and dive bombs my shoulder, her tiny arms choking me as she joins the hug.
“What about your test?” I ask as I gently extricate my overexuberant sprite.
Something passes over Mack’s face, too quick to read. “It’s fine. After all that studying, I finished in like five minutes. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Relief pours through me, followed by hot, sweeping anger. No matter who actually performed the spell, I know in my gut Inara’s responsible.
And she’s never going to stop. Not unless I make her.
A few hours later, I get my revenge during combat class. Valerian must know I need to punish Inara because after he puts all of us through a brutal session, he pairs me with Reina for another version of the baton game we played last year.
Except this time is different. My months of extra training paired with my seething fury turn me into some badass murder machine.
Whatever Reina sees in my face, she backpedals in terror.
Any other time, I would feel remorse. I hate the idea of anyone being afraid, even my enemies.
But not today. Not when I can close my eyes and still picture Aunt Zinnia and Jane and all the others lying bloody in the grass like a movie playing over in my head. Not when the sounds of those . . . those things feasting on them still echo in my ears.
Screw every one of you Fae-holes.
I stalk Reina. Toying with her. Making her feel the horror I felt. Desperation flickers inside her eyes as she makes sloppy attacks.
Attacks I repel with ease.
I’m faster than I was last year by a landslide. I strike out. The end of my baton connects with her again and again.
When I know she’s almost done, I drop the baton, ram the heel of my palm into her nose, and finish her off with a knee to her belly.
She collapses to the mat, writhing and gasping for air.
Eclipsa is grinning. A few feet away, Hellebore watches me lord over Reina, his eyes bored slits. I think I catch a hint of amusement inside those turquoise depths, but I barely register it.
My mind is fixated on one person.
I find Inara’s shocked gaze. Then, without looking away, I lean down and whisper in Reina’s ear, “I don’t care how much money and influence you have, if you ever screw with my family again, real or imaginary, I’ll end you.”
Reina’s twin boy toys help her to her feet, blood pouring from her nose and splattering on the mat. The shadows and Evermore are quiet as I let my furious gaze sweep over them, daring whoever was responsible to own up to it.
Deep down, I know this isn’t enough to deter them completely. But maybe they’ll think twice before involving my family.
