Anomaly (Causal Enchantment #4)(53)

As expected, Evangeline’s eyes darted to it, narrowing. “What are you doing?”

I pushed against the recesses of my magic, compelling the bubble to grow faster, to envelop them so I could get them out of here before anyone had the good sense to fly at me.

In two seconds, it was around Fiona and Bishop; in four seconds, it had grabbed hold of Julian; in six seconds, it had—

“No!” Evangeline commanded in a voice that sounded nothing like her. An authoritative, powerful voice.

My magic burst like a soap bubble, and the spell fizzled as if it had never been formed.

My mouth dropped open.

Evangeline had just broken that spell with one simple word.

How?

By the shocked look plastered across her face, she was just as surprised as I was.

Quickly replacing the look with a nervous mask, Evangeline crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re not sending us away this time. Not unless we agree to it. And we don’t.” Sharing a look with Caden and Julian, she explained, “We’re going in to find Amelie.”

Exactly as I’d suspected. And now I needed to come up with a new plan to keep them out of the way. I tried reasoning. “It’s not safe for you near there right now. You’re distracted, and distraction is dangerous.”

“We’re not distracted. We know exactly what needs to be done,” Julian snapped. “And besides, we’re not safe anywhere.”

“You’re right, you’re not. Which is why I wanted to send you away!” I snapped back, unable to contain my anger. As much as I’d come to like Julian, his hotheadedness made me want to snap his neck on occasion.

A bitter smile curved Caden’s mouth. “Now you’re worried about our safety? Maybe you should just keep focusing on saving the world.”

I ground my teeth against the urge to admit that I’d made a mistake, that I shouldn’t have gone against them. Mage was right. It wouldn’t change anything and right now, it probably wouldn’t help. “Lilly, Mage, and I will go on ahead to scout the situation and the new base. It’s best that you stay here and—”

“Where is the new base?” Evangeline cut me off, her eyes drifting to Lilly.

The child vampiress’s petite body sailed through the air to land at Evangeline’s feet. “We have our pick. Most places on the outskirts have been abandoned. Except for the few idiots who don’t know when to leave.”

“When do we go in?”

Furtive blue eyes looked to me before answering. Lilly’s allegiance was to Evangeline, not me. The only reason Lilly had listened to me before was because Evangeline ordered her to. Would that order be rescinded? How long could I continue trusting Lilly?

“It will be another day or two before it’s safe to enter the denotation site, but if we can get in there before the humans, we can make sure the fledglings in the subway tunnels didn’t survive.”

“You must stay here in the meantime,” I quickly threw in, a desperate attempt.

“And when the fledglings are all gone? Then what?” Evangeline asked Lilly, ignoring me.

Lilly didn’t look at me before answering. “Then we hunt down the last of the witches. The People’s Sentinel will fall into the recesses without the witches’ power. And then we will hunt down Viggo.”

“Or we can rid ourselves of him at the same time. He’s already hunting for me, right?” Caden asked.

“Yes, he will be. Which is why you should stay away,” I hissed. “You’ve already seen what he’s capable of!”

“That’s because you didn’t warn us,” Caden spat back. “But now we know. So we’ll see this through and then I’m taking Evangeline away from you. For good.”

Unable to control my reaction, my wide eyes rushed to Evangeline, her jaw set tight and those odd golden eyes locked on me. To weigh my reaction, perhaps? Ready to battle my argument? “You can’t!” I blurted.

Why hadn’t I expected this?

“The curse is over. There’s no need for you to protect me anymore.” Distress flickered across her features but she stood firm, shoulders back.

As if that were the only reason I was there, always within the shadows, manipulating those around her.

Loving her, like a mother would her daughter.

Eighteen years watching over Evangeline, keeping her hidden, and now she was telling me that I would be relegated to her past.

An intense panic rose inside me. I remembered feeling this as a human. It always coincided with my lungs closing up and me struggling to breathe. I may not need my lungs anymore but I felt my emotional heart breaking. I was losing her. The only thing that had motivated me, the one thing that truly kept me going these last eighteen years, had not been Veronique.

It was Evangeline.

“I can’t just let you go,” I said hoarsely.

“It’s not up to you anymore, Sofie,” Caden responded.

“It’s not up to you, either,” I snapped.

“You’re right. It’s not. It’s up to me,” Evangeline said.

Bishop and Fiona shifted on their feet. They had likely anticipated my reaction.

I grasped at straws. “Even without Viggo and the witches, the humans will not simply forget this. The Sentinel will reform. There will be more wars that we need to—”