Ty just lifted his eyebrows at her. When she turned that look on Caeles, he had the grace to look abashed.
A flash of him as a baby, abandoned on the porch just outside the door he was facing, came to mind. She’d only found him by chance thirty years ago. He probably would have frozen to death if she hadn’t stuck her head outside to investigate a noise.
Wrapped in a blanket, no note pinned to his chest, no name stitched on his blanket. Just a pair of huge green eyes and those ears that marked him as fauni, one of the shape-changing Etruscan elemental beings.
Most of the fauni had lost their lives during the Purge of 1758 when the eteri of Tuscany had turned on their fellow native inhabitants out of fear and ignorance and nearly annihilated the Fata population, including the three elemental races, the fauni, silvani, and aguane.
To be a full-blood fauni, Caeles had to have a fauni father and a silvani mother. She never even tried to track down his parents. Hadn’t wanted to know why they’d left him for her. She’d taken him as a gift and would have refused to give him up to anyone after she’d taken him in her arms.
“We’re worried about you.” Caeles finally sighed, his hands held out in front of him in surrender. “You’ve seemed kind of… off-kilter lately.”
She controlled her surprise as best she could. How had she slipped up? How had they known?
“I’m fine, boys, really.”
Ty’s eyebrows lifted, and a cocky little grin she’d grown to know and worry about curved his lips. “Uh huh. So your hockey player seems like a nice guy. For an eteri.”
Her back straightened at the sneer she heard in Ty’s voice. How dare he? “And when did you become such an elitist?”
Ty’s grin widened. Damn it, he’d caught her out.
“I didn’t,” he said. “You would have asked me the same thing, Mom. I am glad to see you interested in someone after all this time. We’ve been worried.”
It was her turn for raised eyebrows. “Isn’t that kind of like the pot calling the kettle black?”
He shook his head. “Nope, ’cause we’re not talking about me right now. We want to know what it is about this guy that’s made you come out of hibernation?”
Hibernation? Interesting choice of words. “Why do you say I was in hibernation?”
Caeles snorted. “Maybe because you haven’t shown an interest in a man ever.”
“And that’s a problem why?”
“It’s unhealthy.” Ty set his hands on the bar and leaned closer.
No, it wasn’t. It was an extremely healthy way to keep her sanity. “Sweethearts, I don’t need a man to make me happy. Hell, I don’t even need one to find satisfaction.”
As she knew they would, Ty held his hands up in a T-shape as Caeles blushed a bright red.
“Whoa,” Ty said. “TMI. But don’t think I’m not wise to your tricks. And don’t think you’re going to avoid the subject. You need affection, not only blind worship.”
“I have it. My lucani are extremely affectionate and they—”
“Treat you like the goddess you are,” Caeles interrupted. “But they don’t treat you like a woman. And no matter what else you are, you’re a woman first. And you need to be treated like one occasionally. You’ve been alone too long. You’ve cut yourself off from all emotion and that’s not healthy.”
When had her baby become so astute? And so pushy?
She knew they were only trying to help. She knew her sons would never want to hurt her. But they were rubbing her loneliness in her face, and she didn’t think she could stand much more of it.
“That’s not true. I love you boys so much—”
“We know that, Mom.” Ty shook his head and sighed, running one hand through his short hair and making it stick up even farther. “But that’s not what we’re talking about and you know it. So what is it about Stevenson?”
The honest curiosity in Ty’s voice made her bite back her flippant words about the beauty of his body.
Yes, her attraction had started like that. What attraction didn’t? But sometime last night, it had changed. She didn’t just want to get the man naked and jump his body.
She wanted to talk to him, to hear his voice, to find out what he thought about, what TV shows he liked to watch, what books he liked to read. How perfectly awful was that?
“I don’t… I think…” She bit back a sigh and tried again. “There’s just something about him. From the first moment I saw him step onto the ice, I knew I needed to meet him. There was… something I responded to instinctively.”
The intensity of her reaction to him had actually frightened her a little. So much so, she had gone out of her way not to meet him.
“I didn’t realize he’d noticed me until a month or so into this season.”
She stopped to smile, calling up one of her most precious memories. “The first time he caught my eye on the ice during warm-up, he smiled at me. It was like the moon breaking over the horizon on a clear night. I wanted him like I’d never wanted another man in my life.”
Caeles’s smile eased some of the anxiety she felt over her reluctance to wipe his memories. “Then allow yourself to have some fun, Mom. You deserve it.”
“Just… be careful,” Ty said, something she didn’t understand lurking in the darkness of his eyes. “Because if he hurts you, I’m takin’ him out.”
***
As soon as he stepped onto the ice that night, Brand skated down the boards to make sure Lucy was where she was supposed to be.
The tight band that’d wrapped around his chest as he’d driven home that morning loosened when he saw her in her regular seat.
Damn, the woman was a beauty. He wanted to tear down the glass and jump the boards to get to her. He wanted a fucking good-luck-with-the-game kiss and if that made him a sap, well, fuck it, so he was.
He felt pretty damn good. When he showed up at the arena, the team trainer took him into his office to check his shoulder.
“It feels fine and I’ve got full range of motion.” Brand demonstrated for the doubtful trainer.
“Holy shit, Brand.” The young guy’s voice held a definite note of disbelief. “What virgin did you sacrifice to the devil to get that to heal so friggin’ fast?”
Brand had shrugged it off like it was no big deal. “Guess it looked worse than it was.”
The trainer continued to shake his head as he told the coach Brand was okay to play.
Now, as he skated by her seat, he acknowledged her smile with a raised stick and a nod. The second time around, he hit up Casey, the young guy who’d been at the bar last night. Casey waved back, his grin wide. Damn, he felt great.
As he stopped to stretch along the boards and bang the glass for the kids in the front row calling his name, he caught sight of the Terrible Twins headed his way, identical shit-eating grins on their identical faces.
As they flanked him, he had to fight to keep a smile off his own face.
“So, dude,” Jason started. “She’s hot.”
“Too hot for you, man,” Tommy chimed in. “What she needs is some young studs to do her right.”
Brand let the guys talk. He knew if he opened his mouth, it’d only fuel their fire. And every man on the team knew not to rile the twins before a game. They wouldn’t shut the fuck up for the rest of the night and someone would end up taking them into the boards. Usually it was the opposite team.
On more than one occasion, one of their own guys had given them a shot. Good thing the kids didn’t hold grudges. And had short attention spans. After a few minutes ragging him, they moved off to bother someone else.
Leaving Brand alone to try and wipe the shit-eating grin off his face before the rest of his teammates decided to start in on him.
Luckily, the game turned physical from the first puck drop.
Hard checking from both sides, a few fights, one of which he started because the guy pissed him off by taking a cheap shot at his goalie.
He had two assists and they won the game
by a score of five to one, which meant the locker room buzzed with adrenaline and testosterone after the game.
“Hey, Stevie,” Lenny yelled across the room, “we’re heading for Third and Spruce. You comin’?”
He should. As co-captain, he should celebrate with his team at the local bar.
But he couldn’t wait to see Lucy. “Can’t tonight. Got a date.”
Every man in the locker room turned to stare, which was kind of ridiculous. You’d think he was a monk breaking his vow of chastity, for Christ’s sake.
So he hadn’t dated anyone this season. It wasn’t like it was a big deal. Jesus, you could hear a pin drop in there. Until Jase opened his mouth.
“Dude, don’t tell me you actually know that piece of hotness in the seats? Whoa, she looks way too good for you.”
He shot the kid the finger as he headed for the showers but he ignored the ribbing from the other guys as his tension melted away under the good-natured and foulmouthed taunts.
He knew they didn’t mean anything by it. He’d be doing the same if it were someone else. Hell, it sent him off in an even better mood, if that was possible. By the time he got to Howling Moon, he had a grin that wouldn’t quit.
Inside, he headed straight for the bar, nodding to a few familiar faces in the sparse crowd. Only eight people sat scattered around the room in pairs tonight. He didn’t see Lucy but he knew she’d be here eventually.
The bartender he’d met two nights ago set a full mug in front of the stool he was beginning to think of as his.
“Hey.” Brand stuck his hand over the bar as he slid onto the stool. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. Brand Stevenson.”
The bartender shook and held his gaze. “Ty Aster.”
Brand’s eyes popped wide. Holy shit. Lucy hadn’t mentioned—
“Yeah. She’s my mom.”
Brand opened his mouth to say something… and couldn’t think of a damn thing to say. Ty stared at him for a few seconds, his gaze boring into Brand’s, until a hard grin split the guy’s face.
“Yeah, I know she didn’t tell you, but don’t read anything into it. It’s not something we draw attention to.”
“Why not?”
“Because I could be used to hurt her. Deities are immortal. The Fata and Enu live for centuries. Jealousy, rivalries, the slightest insults can fester for decades and become deadly grudges. Gods and goddesses are notoriously arrogant and easily pissed off, and they’ll use whoever they can to hurt their target.”
“So… you’re a god?”
“Yep.”
“So who—” No, forget that. His mother had raised him better than to ask rude questions. “So what do you do, Ty?”
“I tend bar.”
“No, I mean… what does a god do?”
Ty shrugged. “Impregnate a few mortals. Throw some thunderbolts. Change into a wolf and chase a few sheep. Not much, really.”
Brand blinked, his mouth opening to say something but he had no clue what to say.
The first part he got. Sex was universal. But what was it about thunderbolts? And… “Did you say change into a wolf?”
One second, Ty stood in front of him. In the next, he wasn’t there. Instead, a wolf stared at him from behind the bar. The animal stood on its hind legs, his front paws resting against the edge of the bar.
“Holy shit.”
Brand barely heard himself speak through the rush of blood in his ears. He nearly fell off the stool but managed not to embarrass himself that badly.
“Ty, Mom’s gonna put a chain around your neck and tie you outside for the night.”
Lucy’s guitar player joined the wolf behind the bar. Brand spared him a glance, wondering if he’d just materialized out of thin air, then returned his gaze to Ty.
The wolf.
“You’re a werewolf.”
Holy shit, there were werewolves. Wouldn’t that just blow the twins’ minds? Just last week, they’d been arguing about who would win a grudge match between Bigfoot and the Wolf Man.
“No, he’s an idiot. Hey, I’m Caeles. I’m Lucy’s intelligent son. Mom said to tell you she’ll be down in a few minutes. Just ignore dogbreath. He’ll eventually change back into his even-more-stupid human body.”
Brand nearly choked on air when Ty reappeared in front of him and gave Caeles a grin and a gesture involving his chin and his hand.
“Vaffanculo, Spock.” Ty grabbed a mug and tapped a draft for a man who’d stepped up beside Brand. “Take your guitar and go play with yourself.”
Caeles gave Ty a good-natured shove as he moved out from behind the bar, one Ty returned. They looked nothing alike but Brand saw the smiles they exchanged. Brothers. Two sons.
“So, Gretzky, you gonna hang around for a while?”
Ty watched him with a deceptively easy expression but Brand knew a challenge when he heard one.
He nodded. “Yeah, I am. So what can you tell me about Charun?”
Ty’s eyebrows lifted toward the ceiling. “Why the hell are you asking about Charun?”
Shit. “She didn’t tell you?”
Now Ty’s eyes narrowed down to slits. “Tell me what?”
Goddamn, he had a big mouth. Still, he wasn’t convinced Lucy had nothing to fear from this Charun guy.
He’d done some Internet research before heading out to the arena this afternoon. He’d felt like an idiot Googling “Etruscan Goddess Lusna” and “Etruscan God Charun.”
But once he’d gotten over the “holy shit, I’m Googling a goddess” feeling, he’d lost himself in it.
Not that there was much information out there. Most of what he found was based on Greek myth. But Lucy wasn’t Greek.
And according to most of the sources he’d been able to find online, the Etruscans hadn’t left behind a whole hell of a lot of written material. He’d also ordered a few books on the Etruscan culture from Amazon but those wouldn’t be here for a few days and—
“Yo, Hockey Stick.” Ty smacked him on the arm. “What didn’t she tell me?”
Fuck, he’d totally forgotten that Ty had asked him a question. Brand couldn’t exactly take the words back now.
“Lucy had visitors last night. Tessa and Cal. They told her Charun is hunting down Etruscan goddesses and consuming them for their powers. He’s trying to break out of wherever the hell he is.”
“Aitás.” Ty’s expression darkened. “Charun is in Aitás. Shit, that’s not good.”
“Lucy doesn’t think she’s in any danger but I’m not convinced she’s safe. Then again, what the hell do I know about Etruscan gods and goddesses?”
Tim’s expression lightened a little as he shook his head. “All this must seem pretty strange to you, huh?”
Brand just shook his head. “Yeah, you could say that, considering a few days ago I still thought deities were something you read about in textbooks.” Brand caught Ty’s gaze. “So what are you?”
Ty’s mouth tilted up in a smile that must make the girls fall at his feet. “What makes you think I’m any different from you?”
“I mean, what do you do as a god?”
Ty didn’t look like he was going to answer at first. Then he sighed. “I’m the Etruscan God of the Moon.”
“So your father is…”
“I don’t have any idea. Mom’s never told me. I only know he’s a full god which is why I’m not a demigod.”
“That means half god, right?”
“Yeah. You’ve been doing your homework. You heard of Hercules, right? He’s a demigod. Human mom, deity sperm donor.”
“And Caeles, is he a demigod?”
“No. Mom adopted him about thirty years ago. He’s fauni, one of the elemental races of the Fata.”
Brand shook his head and sighed. “Yeah, ya know, I never went to college. The closest I got to studying mythology was watching Clash of the Titans about twenty times when I was six and stuck at home with a broken leg for a few weeks.”
Ty laughed, the sound bursting out with
an almost magnetic pull. Brand knew if he looked over his shoulder, all of the women in the place would be smiling at the kid. The god.
Aw, fuck it.
“Yeah, I can see your dilemma,” Ty said. “Okay, so, the Fata are Etruscan fairies, though I suggest you don’t use that word unless you want to start a brawl.” Ty tapped a beer for a guy who’d walked over from a table. “They’re a separate race from humans, older, longer lived and more powerful. The race originated in Europe about a millennium or so before humans showed up. So did all the elemental races. In the beginning, there were three races, the fauni, silvani, and aguane. Over the years, through interbreeding, there are now more than fifteen races of Fata.”
Brand nodded, as if he understood what the guy was talking about. And maybe he did. Kind of.
“The Enu are humans who can work magic, and that’s where the Etruscans came from.”
Enu. Humans who can work magic. Got it.
Damn, he’d always thought he had an open mind, but this… Hell, he needed brain surgery to open a hole in the back of his head to be this open-minded.
But the way he felt about Lucy…
He’d never been so damn infatuated so fast in his life. Not even as a teenager when his hormones had been raging.
But it wasn’t just infatuation. That would’ve been easy to ignore. What he felt for Lucy he couldn’t ignore.
“So, what makes someone fauni as opposed to, uh…”
“Aguane and silvani. Well, fauni have more of an affinity for animals. They can shift into any animal, as opposed to the lucani who worship Lucy.”
Worship, huh? Well, she was a deity. “Lucani. Those are the werewolves, right?”
“Hey, dude, good job on the pronunciation.” Casey slid onto the stool next to Brand and held his fist out for a fist bump, which Brand obliged. “Not many people get our name right. How’s it going, Brand? Good game tonight.”
“Thanks.” I think. Brand wanted to shake his head to make sure his marbles were still there. “So you’re a werewolf.”
“We call ourselves versipelli. It’s Latin for skin shifter.”
Ty snorted and Casey gave him the finger. Obviously Casey didn’t feel the need to kowtow to Ty.
How to Worship a Goddess Page 11
