only considered a proper Green Man when he ascended.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know that I want to ascend.”
Had he even been thinking about it? There was no need for him to. Dev had done it to stabilize our alliance with the Fae. And to prove a point Rhys didn’t need to prove. “Oh, baby, you don’t have to. You never have to. That’s up to you and you alone. I know it feels like you have this grand destiny, but you’re in control.”
He huffed. “It didn’t feel that way when they attempted to kidnap me.”
“Well, that was assault and nothing you could control, but in this, you can. You will learn how to control your powers, and you can give or withhold them, and you should understand that even if they succeeded, your family would come for you.” I had no doubt even had we never gotten home that Rhys would not have been left alone.
“Yes. Lee would have led a charge into the Unseelie and gotten himself killed. It was what I worried about at the time,” Rhys replied. “Of course, I would have felt better had I known he would rise again. You know, now that I think about it, I should have known none of us could ever escape the chaos Lee can bring. Not even death can stop him.”
“Rhys,” I began.
He shook his head. “No, Mom. He’s my brother, and I have to put up with him in a way you do not. I get to throw all the shade I want his way.”
“Fine. Though you should know there’s a sensitive boy under all his bravado.”
Rhys snorted and looked down to the ground. “There are some unforeseen consequences. The stone melted the snow, and now we have mud.”
I glanced down, and he was right. The ground beneath us was getting messy, and we would likely sink into it when we rose. “You can fix it if you want.”
He hesitated. “I shouldn’t.”
“How long has it been since you used your powers?”
“I can’t not use them. It goes badly if I don’t. I do grow things, but I tend to do it in a passive way. I take off my shoes and walk around Frelsi at least once a week.”
And that was why the grass was so green. I wasn’t going to argue with him about this. It was Dev’s place to show Rhys how to control his powers. “I suspect you help in Lily’s garden, too. Her herbs are beautiful. Well, I don’t mind the mud. Do you want a sandwich?”
“I would love one. It’s nice because if I was out with Lee, I would have to fight him for it. I don’t know how he stays so fit because he eats like a wolf. And with Fen, well, he eats a lot. And so fast. A picnic like this would require Eddie to transport half a kitchen’s worth of food.”
I opened my bag and pulled out the sandwiches Albert had packed for us. They were ham with brown bread and butter. I’d been told they were Rhys’s favorite. I started to pass him one and stopped when I saw him leaning over, his fingertips hovering above the ground. There was a look of deep concentration on his face as the ground around us gently began to change. The grass grew, pushing through the earth and blossoming to form a silky emerald carpet under our feet. It formed a circle around us, a patch of spring in the winter gloom.
He sat back up, and I didn’t miss the satisfied expression that crossed his face. “It’s easier with you around. I can feel the energy from the Goddess Chain.”
“I didn’t know it had energy,” I admitted and passed him the sandwich and took out my own.
“Oh, yes. It soaks up the sexual energy from you and Papa’s encounters.” He frowned suddenly. “And now that I am saying those words, I wish I hadn’t because it’s pretty strong today. I wish I didn’t know that.”
I wished he didn’t know it either, but this was one of those “normals” I needed to throw away. “Sex is healthy. It’s a good thing to share when you truly care about someone.”
Rhys’s brows rose. “Has anyone told my brother that? He shares it all the time.”
“Or when you and your partner simply want to have some fun and everyone consents.”
He shuddered. “I don’t need a sex talk, Mom. I get it. Sex is good for the sex god. The