Chapter 9 #2
Bully for me. I gave him an awkward smile. Too late to deny it. Evie already told on me.
“What happens if we touch it?” I asked.
Cernunnos grinned. “Want to find out?”
Huh. It’d been a while since I had some fun. With the god by my side, we could do a lot of damage without worrying about getting overwhelmed.
But alas, I was here to find out why they were here. Not to fuck up their day.
Maybe I could do both.
I explained what Soren had done, and watched with delight as Cernunnos’s eyebrows inched up, so high on his face, his forehead looked like an artist’s depiction of a sound wave. “Eight?”
His tone sounded so disbelieving it made me laugh. “Eight. In one coven.”
He shook his head. “Idiot. Any male worth his salt should know if a woman is worthy, he won’t have the time or the inclination for another.”
I blinked. Aww. That was surprisingly sweet. “I think this is a number’s game more than anything. Soren has deep-seated issues.”
Cernunnos rolled his eyes. “Your young Lord is addicted to attention, Moira, and terribly vain to boot. His only issue is his ego.”
“I think it’s more complicated than that,” I said quietly. “Soren isn’t one to talk about his past, but I’ve always wondered if there was someone he loved and lost.”
The god shook his head. “If that is true, he should thank the gods for the gift he was given and hold those memories close, not sully them with every pretty thing that comes along. Physical beauty is fleeting in a human, my dear. Most witches are not immortal. Soren seeks those he knows he will never mate with—playthings he can enjoy and discard after a little while.”
I stared at Cernunnos for a long moment, some hard-won realizations slamming into me like a truck.
“Ah,” he said softly. “He tried with you.”
I looked away.
“He did not succeed,” Cernunnos said with certainty. “You would carry his smell.”
First of all, eww. Second, I hated that every paranormal could tell our business based on our smell.
Maybe when the tea shop really got going and I made all the money I invested back, I’d open an apothecary and come up with a potion to hide shit like that.
Who I slept with was none of anyone’s business but my own.
I closed my eyes and exhaled. “He did not,” I confirmed. “Things are complicated between us.”
A warm hand touched my arm. Cernunnos gently turned me to face him.
He lifted his hand and cupped my cheek. “Soren is a fool,” he murmured.
“I do not say this to hurt you, but I believe he genuinely cares for you and does not know how to do anything other than what he’s always done.
If you looked, I am certain you would see the Lord never messes with other immortals.
His conquests have always been humans or witches or those who are not long-lived.
I know it may not feel like it now, but you are special to him.
He just went about it in a terrible way. ”
He was right. Knowing that didn’t make me feel any better.
In fact, it made me feel worse because I suspected Cernunnos was right.
I’d never smelled an immortal on Soren, other than the scents of his Pack or the other Lords when their meetings went long.
However, he carried the faint scents of human women and witches, something I never put together until this moment.
Cernunnos dropped his hand. “You deserve better than a man too scared to show you who he is. Fight for more, little vampire.”
We stared at each other, an unreadable expression lingering on his face. Man. Sometimes Evie’s dad was intense as hell.
“You don’t like him.”
Cernunnos snorted. “Soren is an escape artist. He never makes a stand and sides with the winning party when all hope is lost. The Lord has a gift for saying flattering and ego-stroking things to the right people, and his pretty face helps him along, but there will come a time when Soren has to face what he’s become.
” His voice dropped low. “And trust me when I say you do not want to be by his side when that day arrives.”
I swallowed hard. “Soren and I will never be anything. I decided the day—”
Cernunnos didn’t press. “He will not love you like you deserve to be loved. Mark my words.” He turned and studied the ward once more.
“Would you like to figure out what’s going on?”
“I would, but I’d rather keep my identity and scent a secret if possible.”
Cernunnos smiled and waved his hand. I touched my suddenly curly hair and looked down to see a pair of unfamiliar boots and wool leggings. “They’ll never know you were here.”
“You’re handy to have around.”
The god chuckled. “Now, I cannot interfere.” He rolled his eyes. “Evie’s rules.”
I snorted.
“But this is fae land, and the witches are unwelcome here. I have every right to tear down their wards and investigate what they’re doing.”
“You’re like a deputy.”
His face lit up. “Ah. Yes! Evie should have given me a badge.”
“Bummer. It’s never as cool to make your own.”
He frowned. “True. Maybe I will ask her later.”
This guy. I found it difficult to dislike him.
He lifted his hand and pressed his palm to the ward. His eyes flared with power for a brief moment before the magic collapsed, shattering like glass around us.
Cernunnos held out his hand. “Come, little vampire. Let’s look into the witch’s cauldron.”