Page 39 of Shift of Morals
“All gods are dangerous. Especially the one sitting right in front of me.”
“This is not a joke, Evangeline!”
Silence fell in the shop. Magic crackled around Mom’s form. Her hair lifted in a phantom wind.
“Mom? What’s wrong?”
“Neit is here,” she said softly. “I cannot protect you from him.”
Numbness settled in my bones. “Neit, your ex-boyfriend?”
“Evie, I swear to the gods, you are infuriating! He is the god of war. And he hates me. You are a target for him.”
I studied my mother. She seemed genuinely bothered, but her ability to lie with a straight face could win awards if she were in Hollywood. “Neit and I had a decent relationship. Why would he want to come after me?”
“Because you belong to me!” She blew out a breath and picked her teacup back up. “I recommend you vacate this place for a while.”
Ah. Now we were getting somewhere. “This is my place of business. I can’t just vacate it temporarily.”
She waved her hand at Ash and Moira. “You have people to take care of things while you’re gone.”
“And where would I go that Neit would not find me? If he’s so adamant about getting to me?”
“Home, of course.”
“To Seattle?” I asked, deliberately playing dumb. My mother wasn’t as devious as she thought. I knew exactly what she’d suggest, but the question was why?
“No, Evie. Our home is the Otherworld.”
“Your home,” I corrected. “I’ve never been there.”
“You lived there for a period.”
“Mother. No. I lived with humans and then in Seattle. With you. Don’t you remember?”
My mother’s face turned crafty. “I’d forgotten why you don’t remember.”
The fingers of the grave walked down my spine. “Why would I not remember such a large part of my life?” If she were telling the truth, that meant she’d done something to me, somehow manipulated my memories. And if she had, again, the question was why?
The fae had always been manipulative and fickle, even if I were one of them.
“You’ll return with me to the Otherworld.” She drank the rest of her tea and rose. “I’ll be back to collect you soon.”
I gawked at her while I gathered my thoughts. She’d ignored my question and assumed I’d do whatever she wanted. In the past, I would have, but that was before… everything. I was no longer Evie. My body and mind were not my own, notcompletely. And there was no way I’d divulge those secrets to the woman who would do nothing but use them against me for the rest of my life.
“Thank you for the tea. I’ll see you in twenty-four hours.”
Ash, Moira, and Tess wore similar looks of horror.
“No,” I said, the words clear in the quiet shop.
Mom’s eyebrows went up. “Excuse me?”
I rose. “I said no. I’m not coming with you. If Neit wants to come after me, he can. I’ll be ready for him.”
A muscle ticked in my mother’s cheek. “I am your mother,” she gritted out.
“And I am a grown woman. This is my home and my shop, and I don’t plan to run every time someone wants to come after me.”
