Page 16 of Shifting Winds
Cernunnos shoved the rest of his taco in his mouth. “I don’t care,” he said through a mouthful of meat.
I realized a while ago arguing with him would get me nowhere. “Can I buy a Lambo now?”
“Buy whatever you wish. Though I don’t know why you’d want a lamb. They’ll eat all your grass.”
“A Lambo is a car—a really fast one.”
He grunted. “Why would you need a car? You can turn into any animal you wish.”
“Good point. But no animal can run two hundred miles per hour.”
Cernunnos shook his head. “You have so much to learn, child. A Peregrine falcon can dive much faster than your lamb.”
“Lies,” I said hotly. “A falcon?”
“Almost two hundred and fifty miles.”
“What about regular flight? I’m not going to be diving all the time.”
The Fae King rolled his eyes, surprising a laugh out of me. “You are fae and my daughter. If you want to go two hundred miles per hour, just do it. Save your money for a fortress in the sky or something.”
My taco fell out of my hand. “Can I get one of those?”
His look held censure.
I held my hands up. “Fine. But don’t get all weird when I get a floating castle.”
We finished up the tacos, and after I cleaned the mess up, Cernunnos held up a fancy dry cleaning bag. “Wear this.”
I frowned. “Is this a fancy dinner or something? What’s wrong with what I have on?”
“Are you going to argue with me over every little detail?”
“Probably,” I muttered.
Cernunnos closed his eyes and exhaled. “In this, I know best. Please wear this daughter before I strangle you.”
I clicked my tongue. “That’s not very kingly of you.” But I took the bag and headed to the back.
Good gracious. I looked like a fae queen. As soon as I put the dress on, the damn crown appeared on my head again. I glared at it, but since it matched the dress, I didn’t try to take it off. The dress was a slim fitting, glittering concoction strewn with blush pink living blooms and dark green ivy.
I looked good, though my hair was a different matter. If my father was correct, I could mojo it into submission, but doing so right before dinner seemed like a bad idea, so I settled formundane means, i.e., a curling iron, what felt like a thousand pins, and a shit ton of hairspray.
“Shoes?” I called out. “I don’t have anything to match.”
A shimmer in the air and a pair of golden slippers appeared from nowhere. Thank the gods they were flat. They held the same flowers and ivy, but the straps wound around my ankles and calves.
After I put them on and added a few cosmetic touches, I stepped outside. Cernunnos waited for me, dressed in completely different attire. His pants were the same dark gold as mine, but he wore a crisp, white button up shirt with the first four buttons undone. His antlers were gone, but he wore a crown similar to mine.
“Dang, Dad. You look smoking hot.” It was true. Cernunnos was the most beautiful being I’d ever seen, but where Caelan was warm, Cernunnos’ features held an ancient coldness. Power cloaked his skin, held in check but evident inside the room. As it was, I’d have to trim my plants back. Every time he visited, I wound up with dozens of new cuttings, some of them I’d never seen in nature before.
Even if he hadn’t given me money, I’d be rich just by virtue of all the cool new plant life he was giving me.
“Hot is not what I was going for,” he said dryly, eyes narrowing on my appearance. His eyes dragged down my body in a cursory inspection, and he lifted his finger to zap the dress in certain areas where it didn’t fit as perfectly as he felt it should.
The entire thing felt very much like I was a runway model about to step onto stage.
“Your hair,” he murmured. “Wear it down, please.”
