Veretis rolled her eyes. “Mortals are always getting everything wrong. Don’t worry. Give it a few millennia and they'll get the story of how you became a Goddess wrong, too. They did for me. But, really, if the first couple hundred years of corrections don’t stick, you just give up. People will believe whatever they want.”
I gulped more of my drink instead of chasing the rioting thoughts in my head. “I have so many questions.”
“I figured,” she said.
I closed my eyes. “I think you implied I am about to become a Goddess? Frumpy, flailing me—a Goddess? I guess that means I’m never going to be human again.”
“That is the end of the quest,” Veretis said as she adjusted her skirt to get more sun on her legs. “And you were never human. The elves saw to that when they kept their little human colony for their own purposes.”
“Let’s skip that for now because finding out how you became a Goddess is much more interesting than me becoming one.”
Veretis scoffed, but swung her legs over the side of her chair and grabbed my hand. “You really want to know?”
I nodded ‘yes’.
“No one ever wants to know how I’m doing. Sure, I can create worlds like this one, but it’s too depressing to populate it. It will end up all twisted like the ‘leading the shifters to salvation’ thing.”
I shrugged. “Well, you did save them and they kept going… and boning their way through the Harrowlands, so you must have done something right.”
“It’s just a lot of pressure to have that as your origin story. Everyone assumed I was saving my people from life in the Shadow Veil, but it was Steve’s fault. Godds, that guy was so fucking hot.”
I squeaked, trying to hold my laughter. I think I liked Veretis better than I ever imagined possible. Once we got past the using me as her instrument thing, that is. She would fit right in with Mags and Fallon. “Hot guys are usually trouble makers. Mine got me on this stupid quest to begin with.” Oops. Maybe I shouldn’t have said it that way.
Veretis smiled the soft smile again. “This was always your destiny, Evie. Ward couldn’t have stopped you if he tried.”
I wasn’t sure that was true. I was just me. A different me than when I started this quest, maybe more trusting since it was hard to deny my soul mate came through for me, accepted me, loved me. I didn’t know what to say to that, so I changed the subject again. “So how hot are we talking—this Steve?”
“Hot enough for a two-century long booty call. Hot enough to cross forbidden realms. With him in the Harrowlands and me in the Shadow Veil, it was work to even get five minutes together and that man could provide some thirsty horizontal refreshment. I’m talking hours.”
“I got it, girl.” I sipped my drink and tried not to get distracted by the flavor again.
“What was I supposed to do? The back and forth killed our alone time, so I found a Hag to boost my powers and accidentally pulled the rest of the shifter permanently into the Harrowlands when I attempted to stay here, too. The transition between worlds got me a little strange, and I just ended up superpowered, which people thought meant Goddess, like the other Godds who existed here already.”
“What happened to Steve?”
Literal fire sprouted from her eyes, and I recoiled. “Oh, he cheated on me. But I got mine. He became a wrinkly old wizard in no time.”
Wizards weren’t known for their short lifespans, so “no time” was relative, but I related to the need for cheated-on-vengeance. I looked out over the world she created so we might have this little chat, and I realized she had lost a bit of perspective on her power. ‘A little strange’ qualified the croissants at Fallon’s bakery that helped people fall in love. This was a Goddess’ domain and as much as I appreciated the sentiment, I didn’t want to lose touch like that. If nothing else, Ward was too delicious, and too much a part of my soul now to leave behind.
“What happens if I don’t eat this relic? This asshat in the broom closet thinks he’s going to hold me hostage while Ward does his bidding.”
Veretis blinked. “You’ve been eating them?”
I sipped hard through my straw and noticed that my drink was definitely never-ending. That power I could get behind. “Um…”
“I wouldn’t recommend my heart crystal on human teeth, or even dragon teeth for that matter, but you are still a dragon, Evie. I just helped you get there. That’s plenty good enough if you want to stop there.”
I smiled back at her. It was a strange pleasure to “be enough”.
“But if that’s what you choose, youwillhave to guard my heart for the rest of your life. Sounds like the asshat will be your first test.”
“Will Ward be mad if I pass this up?” I asked her.
“The bear?” Veretis sipped on her drink with more finesse than I managed. “The bear loves you unconditionally, in every way. Maybe if Steve had been my mate, he would have been worth becoming a Goddess for. Hold on to that one, Evie. I’ve seen a lot of things in this existence and what you and Ward have is pretty rare. I mean, he’s on top of you, trying to pump his life force into you as we speak.”
That sounded… dirty… and fun. “Should get back to it, then?”
Veretis spelled up a chicken kabob and munched happily. I waited patiently, letting her finish. She conjured another one, and I cleared my throat.
