Bran beamed. "Agreed."
"Why can't you come?" I asked.
"Reynard and I need to figure out what to do and if we want to work with Eldora and her ilk. I'm not sure what my people will want."
His people. He was their leader in this world, sent to figure out how to integrate the goblins back into the world. It had to mean he was important amongst the Dream Goblins.
Bran gave me a tender kiss before Christian opened my door. He didn't pull away until we were safely inside. I waved from behind the front door.
Now that I had full access to my magic, it was easy to see the two guys sitting in my lobby, casually reading magazines, were goblins under glamour. I stiffened, but Christian touched my arm. "They're on our side."
Well, that was good, but I didn't like the idea of having guards. Still, they wouldn't be in the condo with us. I could live with it.
Could I live with all this? As Christian and I went around my condo, turning on every light and lighting every candle, I thought about what this meant.
I cared about Bran. A lot. I had no idea if it was love, but it was something strong. And if I stayed with him, I would be giving up my entire life as I knew it.
Even worse than that, our time would be limited. As I began to really age, it would be more and more noticeable that he wasn't. How could he care about me when I was all wrinkled?
I was over forty already. I looked good for my age, sure. I'd taken good care of my skin and had some great genes to help, but it would catch up to me eventually.
What then? Would he leave me? If not because of my looks fading, because it had to be incredibly painful to watch someone wither and die over decades. Long term diseases broke up relationships all the time, and no human could avoid aging, as far as I knew.
And what about my sister? I couldn't just abandon her.
I had to think about this. I needed more time. Normally in a relationship this would be the point where I’d decide if we were going to keep seeing each other, but what was going on with Bran had grown so fast.
But it felt right in a way that none of the rest had.
"All set," Christian announced as he finished lighting the last candle.
I nodded. "Thanks."
"No problem." He shrugged and flopped down on my couch. "So, what now?"
"I need to take a shower and then check on my sister. You can watch TV or something."
He snorted. "TV seems to be my life right now."
I frowned. "You're brand new to the human world?"
Nodding, he leaned forward and grabbed my remote. "Yes, but I hope to be here for a very long time."
His eyes met mine and held. In that moment, I saw his determination. He would do whatever it took to stay in the human world.
And that meant he would be a part of my life for a long time, too. Assuming I stuck it out with Bran. Assuming he even wanted me to, long term.
First, get a hold of Tanni. I’d text her I was sending an email, since all the information wouldn’t fit in a text. Texting her led to my discovery she’d changed her number. I used the email I had for her, then I pulled out my laptop and dug around on my alma mater's website, looking for other emails to try.
Tanni had some mental health issues a few years back and had reset her social life. She might have done it again, but she wouldn't ignore emails through the school.
Bingo! It had been updated within the last six months. I copied it and pasted it into an email header, cc’d all the emails I had for her, then carefully crafted a message to her about a close friend who desperately needed a diagnosis. I left her every contact number and email I could think of, even my office number. I doubted I'd be there anytime soon, but it didn't hurt.
Once that was done, I took a quick shower. As I toweled off, a distant knock brought my head up. I yanked on my robe, hating the feel of the silk on my damp skin.
Running out of the bathroom and down the hall, I held my hand up to Christian, who held a sword as if he was ready to lop off everyone's head in a five-mile radius. I skidded to a halt in front of the door, not sure what to do.
"Who is it?" I called, then sagged against the door when a very familiar voice replied.
