Sun Broken (The Wild Hunt #11) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,28
rough?”
“She wasn’t mad at me—nothing like that. But I feel as though I’ve just ended up with a vast data bank of information that I have to process.” I licked my lips, then after a long sip of the wine, told her everything Morgana and I had discussed. After I finished, Angel sat there, looking like she had forgotten all about her pain.
“Crap. Dragons are real?” She paused, then added, “I don’t know why they wouldn’t be, but…what are dragons like? I mean, I know there are Asian dragons and Western dragons, and they’re different, but…what are they really like?”
“I suppose they’re as individual as people. I do know a few things about them, other than some are bad-assed scary and others are incredibly beneficent. They’re all shifters, for one thing. They can walk in human form, which makes them even more formidable. Some hate mortals, while others seem to care about us. And by mortals, I mean, most bipedals—Fae, human, ogres, all of us.” I shrugged. “Anyway, I guess we’d better prepare for a host of changes over the next year or two.”
“They can’t stop Typhon from waking up, can they?” Angel asked, staring at the table.
I frowned. “I don’t think so. To be honest, I don’t think the gods have a clue of how to drive him back into stasis. So yeah, we have the Father of Dragons, his children, and the dead, all looming in our near future.”
Angel let out a sigh, then said, “What about the other thing—your Leannan Sidhe side? Or should we even call it that any more, given what Morgana told you? The water witch side of yourself, maybe?”
“It’s hard for me to know how to integrate the way I think about myself. I can feel each side of my heritage distinctly, yet they’re both a part of me. I wonder if there’s another ritual I can undergo to further merge them together.” I stared at my wine, fingering the stem of the goblet. The Cruharach had been nerve-wracking enough. I couldn’t imagine what it would take to further integrate the sides of myself.
“What are you going to tell Herne? I mean, I imagine he’s had some pretty wild partners over the millennia so—” She stopped, grinning. “You’re about to get kinky, Ember.”
“Kinky is as kinky does. I guess, part of me is worried that he’ll like me better that way and that will make me wonder if he’s been unsatisfied with how…tame…I’ve been till now. I’ve never been little Miss Prim, but it’s not like I’ve been bent, you know?” I realized that was at the core of my worries. I knew logically that I couldn’t hurt him. But what if he preferred the rougher side? But it wasn’t like he’d be cheating on me. It would still be me, just me unfiltered. “I think I’m overthinking this.”
“We both need to chill and rest, though sleep’s going to be a bitch with my neck like this. Come on, finish your cheesecake and wine and let’s get to bed. I fed Mr. Rumblebutt when I got home, so he’s good to go for the evening.” Angel’s phone jangled and she glanced at the screen. “Cooper?” Worry clouding her face, she quickly answered it, letting out a groan as she shifted position. “Cooper, is something wrong?” As she tensed, waiting, I cleared our dishes off the table, but the next moment, she said, “Oh thank heavens. I was worried. So, what’s up?”
Relieved that nothing appeared to have happened to her little brother, DJ—Cooper was his foster father—I rinsed the dishes and stacked them in the dishwasher, then added soap and set the cycle to going.
At that moment, Mr. Rumblebutt jumped up on the counter and rubbed against me. I swept him up into my arms and buried my face in his fur.
“Hello, rugrat. How are you doing?” I held him up over my head, my hands beneath his front legs, and then pulled him in for a long cuddle. He began to purr as he kneaded my shoulder. “Hey little dude, we have to trim your claws soon,” I whispered, ignoring the sharp jabs as his paws worked their magic against my skin.
I loved Mr. Rumblebutt more than I loved myself, and I did everything I could to make him happy. There were two kitty condos in the house—one upstairs and one downstairs—and he had more toys than he knew what to do with. I also made sure that there were at least five