“They attacked, and something happened to Jarron. He was injured. He healed quickly, but I could feel it. And then, he cut me off from him, so I don’t even know what’s going on now.”
Their eyes are wide in shock and fear.
I try to force my own panic down. “Was something happening with you guys? You seemed happy.”
“Oh!” Janet’s eyes dart to Lola and back.
“Nothing,” Lola chirps.
“Bullshit. Tell me.”
“You don’t have to be joyous for me when you’re not okay. That’s not how friendships work, Candice.” Lola sounds so serious.
“Just tell me so I know,” I say, shoulders slumping.
“Tyrane asked me out,” she tells me.
“The black male pixie?”
“He’s her mate,” Janet explains. “He hadn’t talked to her most of this year, but since the new list came out—”
“Oh,” I mutter. “How do you feel about that?”
Lola sighs. “Our mates aren’t like Orizians or even fae,” she explains. “It’s really more like an arranged marriage. So, I don’t know really. I’m still kinda mad at him, but he’s been sweet and maintains that he didn’t want to push me away. We’ll see. I intend to give him a chance but make him work for it.”
My lips twitch, despite the pressure in my chest. “As you should.”
“Now,” Janet says seriously, “what are we doing for you? How can we help?”
The pressure in my chest eases slightly, but I can feel the tears ready to break through, and I cannot do that right now. I can’t fall apart with my friends, as much as that’s maybe healthy. So, I reharness my anger and determination.
“Can you go get Manuela? I have a meeting to prepare for, but I can’t do it on my own.”
* * *
Manuela’s judgmental gaze is heavy. “You are not in a state to perform a serious coup on a room full of powerful magic users.”
“I don’t need to be,” I say. “I need my potions to be ready and Bea to be willing.”
She tilts her head, examining me. “She is willing. Are your potions ready?”
I nod and hand her the small vial of black angry liquid.
“You cannot be the one to do it,” Manuela explains. “Jarron will kill us all if we put you in danger again.”
My bottom lip trembles, so I bite it hard. I can’t show my weakness right now.
I have to leave my own fate up to someone else by letting them do this for me.
“She can watch it, though,” Janet says. She steps forward, hands on her hips. “You can make a looking-glass portal for her to watch. They won’t even be able to tell she’s there.”
“I don’t know that Beatrice will feel confident that this potion is enough to complete the assassination,” Manuela says. “She needs some form of backup.”
“You’re not willing?” Lola asks, fluttering closer.
“I am not a fighter,” Manuela says, checking her cuticles. “So, tell me, what happens if something goes wrong?”
“One of us will step in for her,” Janet says confidently. “Candice doesn’t ever need to be in danger.”
