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“She’s calculating how many potatoes to eat,” Gun explained.
“White chocolate mousse.”
“Four potatoes it is.” Cam reached for the serving spoon.
I was secretly pleased with the meal. I had a habit of drying out salmon, but I managed to bake this one to Goldilocks perfection.
Cam sliced her potatoes into smaller pieces with delicate precision. “If you were reborn, that means you’re not an avatar, right?”
“Correct.”
“I don’t get the whole avatar thing. Why do gods even bother to show up here anymore? I thought they preferred to use intermediaries.”
“They did for a time, but then they discovered they could return in other forms and have all kinds of fun. No need for a middleman.” I exhaled. “What can I say? Gods are assholes.”
“Melinoe is Greek, right?”
I nodded. “Daughter of Hades and Persephone.”
Camryn swooned. “Hades? Ooh, the ultimate bad boy. I’d hit that.”
Gun shushed her. “Don’t talk about her dad like that. It’s gross.”
“It’s not like I remember him,” I said. “As far as I’m concerned, he’s Melinoe’s father, not mine. Being reborn means I have her powers but not her memories.”
“But her essence is part of you,” Cam pointed out. “Somewhere deep in your psyche, you must know all sorts of things.” Eyes sparkling, she leaned forward. “Have you ever tried to glimpse your past life through a medium or magic?”
“No, my grandfather warned me against that. He thought the more I reconnected to her, the more I’d become her.” It was one of the many reasons he’d insisted that I hide my abilities.
Cam attacked her broccolini with vigor. “What’s wrong with being who you truly are?”
Gun observed me closely. “Because if she becomes Melinoe again, she loses herself. We’d lose Lorelei.”
The kitchen grew quiet.
Cam was first to break the silence. “Does she talk to you like she’s a separate consciousness?”
“No, that’s more of an avatar thing. Melinoe and I are one and the same.”
“Think of avatars as conjoined twins and a reborn goddess as the baby that absorbed its twin in the womb,” Gun offered.
Cam looked at him with disgust. “Why do you always have to take it to a weird place?”
“Because weird is my natural habitat.” He popped a piece of potato into his mouth.
As disturbing as it was, it wasn’t the worst analogy in the world.
Camryn downed her wine. “Can we move on?”
I was more than happy to oblige. “I saw a white stag today. How’s that for moving on?”
“Another one of your gods trapped in animal form?” Gun asked.
Thanks to Addison’s mischief, Fairhaven had been invaded by a small horde of wild animals whose enchanted collars kept deities trapped inside them. We managed to release the gods and helped them escape through the crossroads before The Corporation could reclaim them.
“I don’t think so. I assume it came through the crossroads.”
“White stags are mystical, aren’t they?” Cam asked.
