me and let out a loud purp, reminding me that I had been gone all day and he desperately needed acknowledgment. I kissed him on the nose and scratched behind his ears while Angel opened the takeout bags and began to spread out our meal.
“What am I afraid of? It’s the whole becoming-a-goddess thing. The thought of it scares the hell out of me. I just went through the Cruharach. That was such a huge change. I don’t know what becoming a goddess means. I suppose I’ll ask Morgana tomorrow, during dinner.” I sipped my milkshake, staring at my plate. “Once you marry a god, it’s forever, Angel. I mean, even if we split sometime down the road, there’s no going back. I’d be a goddess, adrift in a world that I wasn’t sure of. There’s no way to reverse the process.”
Angel thought for a moment, then said, “All right, let’s look at that. So, Herne lives here for the most part, on Earth. He doesn’t spend most of his time in Annwn. He goes grocery shopping at the Q-Mart. He eats fast food and watches television and likes to grill steaks. That’s about as human as you can get, god or not. He’s not going to suddenly sweep you off to Annwn, is he?” Angel licked ketchup off her fingers, then picked up her shake.
I blinked, suddenly realizing that was exactly what I had imagined happening. That we’d get married, go back to Annwn, and I’d be lost in a world I didn’t know.
“Um…yeah, I guess not.”
“That’s what you really thought, wasn’t it? That he’d take you back to Annwn and you’d lose your life here.” Angel laughed. “Ember, use your brain. Herne’s been in charge of the Wild Hunt for over two hundred years. He spends most of his time here on Earth. We’re fighting a war against Typhon and that means he’s needed here more than ever. So I don’t think I’d worry myself if I were you. You won’t be going anywhere soon.”
I rubbed my head. “You’re right. But…”
“But what? The house? I do understand. You love this house—you bought it. But nothing says you have to sell it, even if you end up moving in with Herne. Hell, I’ll rent it from you if that happens. I’m sure Rafé would move in, if we’re still together by your wedding. He hates that crappy little apartment of his and I think he’d welcome the chance to move.”
I felt like an idiot. Angel was looking ahead at a positive future. She was seeing possibilities I hadn’t even really thought about. Which reminded me…
“So, how are you and Rafé doing? I know you’re doing better, because…therapy. He’s come a long way in the past few months.”
“We’re good. The Elves are really good with their therapeutic techniques and he’s coping with the PTSD so much better. He’s the Rafé I remember, only more thoughtful. And he’s glad to have a steady job that doesn’t require him to wait on tables. When I asked him if he misses his acting career, he said no. He’s looking into online classes so that he doesn’t have to disrupt his schedule at the office.”
“What’s he want to do again?” Rafé had been a waiter/actor trying to make it to the big time and having a hard time advancing.
“Counseling. The idea of being a mental health therapist for the Fae appeals to him. He’s been talking to his counselor over in Annwn a lot about that. By the way, speaking of counselors, how’s Raven doing with Sejun?”
Our friend Raven had been through a traumatic kidnapping a few months back. While she was Ante-Fae—the race that preceded the Fae—even with her potential and powers, she had sunk into a deep depression. She had been talking to a therapist from Cernunnos’s palace for a couple months now.
“It’s helped a lot. She told me that she’s getting the nightmares and flashbacks under control. She and Kipa are on an even keel again. Her mother has helped a lot, too, although quite frankly, just having the Queen of the Bean Sidhe as my mother would be enough to freak me out. But Phasmoria has been checking on Raven a lot lately.”
We moved on to other topics as we finished our dinner, and then I fed Mr. Rumblebutt as Angel rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. She pulled out some cookie dough she had frozen earlier in the week, and set a couple batches to baking.