That’s right, and this tiny human had had enough of this bullshit. I walked away without looking back.
31
The problem with insidious lies is that even though your logical brain tells you they aren’t true, they still manage to burrow in and leave poisonous seeds. With my emotions still on edge, I walked a little farther around the back of the ballroom. I sat down on a bench amongst the climbing roses. A raven dropped down from the sky. It hopped along the ground in front of me. It was pretty small as far as ravens went.
I opened my hands and laid my palms up to the sky. “Sorry,” I said. “I don’t have any food on me.” It turned its head to the side and peered at me as though it could see into my soul.
A second bird swooped down beside it. I didn’t even know Seraphina cultivated a raven population. Swans I could see, but ravens? It didn’t really seem their style. I could hear music and chatter coming from the ballroom. The ravens opened their beaks and squawked.
“Tell me about it,” I said. “If I never have to attend a ball again, it’ll be too soon.”
I wondered if I could get away with sitting out here all night. The ravens hopped along the ground pecking at errant weeds. The first one flew up onto the edge of the pot to my right. It rooted around in the topsoil for something to eat. When it saw me watching, it stared at me and squawked again. I reached out my hand tentatively.
To my surprise, the raven allowed me to draw my finger down its shiny tail feather without flying away. They must be enchanted birds. I sat there raven petting and staring off into space. I would not let any of what Chanelle said settle in my subconscious. So what if Kai and I really had nothing in common? Yeah, he did kind of fly off the handle if I put myself in danger. I didn’t see how that would be any different to me having a relationship with Max or one of the shifters. So what if Chanelle was right and if Lucifer threatened my friends and family, I would willingly go with him to keep them safe. That didn’t mean any of it was actually going to happen. I sat there clenching my jaw and trying to dispel the logic behind the prophecy.
I wasn’t good at regulating my own thought patterns. Tonight, it kept replaying Kai and Max’s deaths over and over again.
If I could get away with it, I would have sat out here all night. But I knew Sophie was probably getting worried.
I heard voices coming from around the corner. The music had died down just a little bit so that I could make out words. “...how did she get here?” someone was saying.
“Just remove her and be done with it!”
“We can’t make a scene while the humans are present!”
Frowning, I came around the corner to find a group of guards trying to wrestle a hunched-over woman in a threadbare brown cloak away from the doorway. A bitter scent filled the air. My nose twitched.
“Come away,” one of the guards said to her. The difficulty was that she wasn’t frail. Her arms and legs were thick and robust. I thought for a second she might be a dwarf. But then she turned her head in my direction. The hood of her cloak slipped to reveal a face halfway between human and reptile. I swallowed the shock but refused to look away. I bet that’s what she was expecting. One of the guards snagged her arm. She rooted herself to the floor. Unless they were willing to use force, she wouldn’t budge.
“For heaven’s sake!” I heard a sonorous voice say. “Who let her out of the clinic?”
I turned towards the sound of that melodious voice. My gaze landed on a woman who would be Chanelle in a different light. The cut of her dress and the air of authority clinging to her denoted age. If it wasn’t for that, I would think she was Chanelle’s older sister.
“She’s not moving,” a guard said.
“Then move her!”
“Raphael’s orders are not to hurt any of them.”
“Raphael isn’t here! And you wouldn’t be hurting her. But she’s not fit to be seen. Never mind this stink that she’s dragging through the place.” Chanelle’s mother gave me a death stare on the way past. “Just like some people.”
Every muscle in my body wanted to scream. I was so tired of being treated like crap because I was human. Kai had said if someone pissed me off, I was welcome to punch them. Slugging Chanelle’s mother at a fancy party probably wasn’t what he had in mind.
Instead, I stepped up to where the guards were manhandling the old woman. I used the tiniest bit of magic to rip them away.
I almost doubled over at the strength of the stink that clung around her. My eyes watered. I began to breathe through my mouth.
“Hey,” I said. “I guess we know when we’re not welcome.” I looked up to find Chanelle’s mother pinching her nostrils shut.
“Are you hungry?” I asked the old woman. The thought of food made me want to gag at the moment. I could feel the stench sliding down my throat.
The old woman spoke in a harsh rasp.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m really terrible at other languages. You wouldn’t by any chance know any Angelical?” It was a joke. I was half kneeling to be at eye-level with her. That was a feat considering how short I was. It was no wonder the guards couldn’t move her. That was a low centre of gravity. Somebody gasped behind me.
The music inside had died. I didn’t notice that there were so many people watching me until I turned around and all I saw was wide eyes.
The old woman began to shake. I clung tightly
