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“Yours?”
“No. I killed the baku.” I tugged the talisman from my pocket and set it between us. “You saved me with this. Thank you.”
He kept his gaze firmly on the road ahead. “You’re a goddess,” he finally said.
“Sort of.”
“Sort of? You either are or you aren’t.”
I resisted the urge to vomit all over his luxury interior. “I am.”
He briefly closed his eyes, appearing to digest all the information. “This is why you avoid touching me.”
“A woman needs a reason?” I thought the joke would ease the tension, but Kane’s jaw only tightened.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Lorelei Clay.”
His mouth pressed into a thin line.
“I’m Lorelei,” I insisted.
He raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t understand. Are you a paladin? An avatar?”
“I’m a freak of nature.” I sank against the seat. “I’m Melinoe reborn. She doesn’t share my consciousness or control me. Sheisme. I am her.”
He looked struck by lightning. “A natural-born goddess.”
“That’s me. An incarnation.” An uncontrolled birth that happens spontaneously in nature—to human parents. “Rare, but it happens.”
He seemed unable to form words as he parked outside the Castle gate. I’d never seen him so disquieted. “Goddess of the dead and nightmares. This is why you can communicate with spirits.”
“Among other things.” My heart pounded. “Listen, Kane. I know you don’t owe me anything, but I am asking you to keep this to yourself. Not even Josie can know.”
“Why?”
“Do you really not understand? If word gets out, I’ll have a target on my back and a hefty price on my head.”
His brow furrowed. “If you’re Melinoe, why can’t you…?” He stopped abruptly. “You can.”
“I choose to dull my shine. I didn’t ask for these powers, and I try not to use them.” I reached for him, intending to reassure him, but he recoiled.
“No, don’t. You can’t.”
Confusion threaded through my thoughts. “I don’t understand.”
“And I can’t explain it to you. Now you know how it feels.” He reached across me and opened the door, leaving the scent of musk, sandalwood, and pine in his wake. “Good-bye, Miss… Melinoe.”
“My name is Lorelei,” I insisted, as I exited the car.
Without another word, he pulled the door shut and drove away.
CHAPTER20
Afigure in a black coat awaited me on the front porch.
Naomi Smith.
