“What can I do for you?” I asked.
“May I sit?” Cernunnos asked, irritation flashing over his face at my lack of deference.
That was the thing about the old gods. They expected everyone to bow and scrape for no reason. Cernunnos hadn’t done shit for me. Why the hell should I bow to him?
A good part of me wanted to kill him for manipulating Moira, but she knew what she’d walked into. And thank the gods for that. If she hadn’t, I might have tried, even knowing Cernunnos could strike me dead with a snap of his fingers if he wanted to.
“If you want,” I said after a long pause, “though I hope you don’t plan to stay too long.”
Cernunnos smiled at that, more of a teeth baring than anything resembling amusement. “I’m hoping we could talk.”
“About what? Doesn’t seem like we have much in common.”
“I can think of one thing we have in common,” the god said.
My teeth clicked together. Asshole.
“Does Moira know you’re here?”
“She doesn’t. I’d prefer to keep this visit between the two of us, if possible.”
“Keeping secrets now?” I made a humming noise in the back of my throat. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”
“This is for her own good,” Cernunnos snapped.
I learned long ago to beware when I started going down the ‘it’s for her own good’ road. “She’s a grown woman. Maybe she should be the judge of that?”
I planned to tell her as soon as this asshole left. Keeping secrets wasn’t good for anyone, and I was keeping a hell of a secret from her already. I wouldn’t weigh it down with more.
“When I know your answer, I will tell her,” Cernunnos said tightly.
No, he wouldn’t. He’d hover above us, trying to pull our strings and make us dance until someone took mercy on us and cut us loose.
“Ask your question, then.”
Cernunnos’s attention sharpened. “Why do you assume I have a question?”
“You’re only here because you want something. The only thing we have in common is Moira, and you think you’re looking out for her best interests. So you want something from me for her, right?”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t presume you know me, Lord.”
I waved a hand. “Ethan. Let’s not bother with the formalities, Cernunnos.”
The god’s jaw clenched, and I stifled my amusement. He really was an arrogant sonofabitch.
“Fine. Moira has special dietary needs, as you may already know.”
“She’s a vampire. Everyone knows.”
The god shook his head. “Yes, and no. She’s been able to go for long periods of time without blood, but when she has consumed it, she’s chosen to go for bagged human blood.”
I hadn’t known this. Against my better judgment, I listened carefully to what he was saying, eager for any knowledge of Moira I didn’t already have. She trusted me. I could tell in her scent when she was around me, but Moira didn’t volunteer much of herself unless she had to. Occasionally, she offered glimpses into her past and current life, and I gobbled up those crumbs she threw me.
“I believe Moira requires magical blood to thrive.”
I blinked in surprise. “Her diet was the reason she was losing so much weight.” That made sense. She’d grown so thin I was beginning to worry about her.
Cernunnos inclined his head in agreement. “I suspected there were gaps in her diet for a while now. She has solely fed on me for a few months and seems to be thriving.”
