Page 15 of Shifting Winds
“Which means I’ll be subject to requests for favors and people sucking up to me to get closer to you?”
Cernunnos grinned. “Clever girl. The choice is up to you. Your power will always be accessible, and that’s why I’m here. I won’t show you how to ‘use it.’ Magic is instinctive. I will show you your responsibilities and introduce you to the fae world.”
“What if I screw it up?”
“Intent is everything, Evangeline.” He stood. “Now come inside. I have a dress for you. We have an engagement this evening.”
I blinked. “Erm. Tonight is Tuesday.”
One eyebrow went up. “Time is a construct.”
My lips thinned. “It means I have tacos. Taco Tuesday. Every week.”
“Tacos?”
I rubbed my face. “You’ve never had tacos?”
“We’re scheduled for dinner at ten.”
I gawked. “Ten p.m.? Am I in hell?”
He gave me a dark look. “First lesson. You need to learn to measure your responses. The fae do not take well to glibness.”
“And I do not take well to eating dinner past my bedtime!”
The Fae King sighed. “Fine. We have time for you to eat your tacos. If you make them now.”
I huffed and uncurled myself from the couch. “You’re eating with me.”
“What if I don’t like tacos?” My father held the door open for me.
“Then I denounce your claim as my father.”
“Serious words for human foodstuff.”
“Tacos are serious business, Pops.”
The Fae King sighed again.
Cernunnos not only liked tacos, he stuffed a baker’s dozen down his greedy gullet.
“You’re lucky I made extra,” I grumbled. “You have the appetite of a frat boy.”
“I do not know what that means,” he said with his mouth full, “but I approve of these meat shells.”
“Yeah well, my grocery bill doesn’t.”
Cernunnos’s hands paused in mid-air. A strange look crossed his face. “You are the heir to the throne. Money is no object.”
I snorted. “Only if I take the crown.”
Cernunnos’s eyes narrowed. “When was the last time you checked your bank account?”
“I never check my bank account. Everything is set up for auto pay and direct deposit. I have no hobbies, and I don’t go anywhere. As long as I have enough for groceries and the mortgage, I’m good.”
Cernunnos looked like he was counting in his head. It took him a long moment to speak. “Even if you decide not to take the crown, you are still my daughter and, as such, will suffer for nothing.”
I stared at him. “I don’t want your money.”
