“I’m afraid not. Fae magic, even that of a goddess, cannot undo what an angel has done. Not when Fate has willed it to happen.” She straightened her spine, giving Destiny a pointed look.
“Helga, the golden goose, has offered help with the eggs,” Eostre said. “Her flock will provide enough this year, but Pete must be the one to deliver them. He can’t do that until you undo the bind you’ve put on him.”
A lump the size of a goose egg formed in Destiny’s throat. She tried to swallow it, but she couldn’t force it down. “I don’t know how,” she whispered.
“Can’t someone else deliver them this year?” Sophie asked. “Surely Pete has helpers. Or what about Santa? Maybe he can do it.”
Destiny shook her head. “Santa wouldn’t hide the eggs. He’d just leave them beneath a tree.”
“That’s no fun.” Sophie tapped a finger against her jaw. “The tooth faery?”
“The eggs would get squished beneath the kids’ pillows,” Crimson said.
Sophie shrugged. “I’m just spitballing here. Help me out.”
“It must be Pete.” The goddess crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one leg. “He is theelfenI chose, and I granted him this power. My life is tied to his, and they are both at stake.”
“It’ll be okay.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure something out.”
Destiny held her breath, waiting for his memories to come flooding back. No one in any realm would assume themselves so familiar with a goddess that they could touch her. Yet Pete did so as if he’d known her for millennia.
Which he probably had.
Eostre placed her hand on his. “Do you truly not remember me at all,mijn elfen?”
He blinked, his brow furrowing as if her words had knocked loose a shred of memory before he tugged from her grasp. “Why are our lives at stake?”
“If the Easter celebrations fail to happen, you will lose everything.” Sympathy rounded her eyes. “No more human or rabbit form. You’ll become a mortal robin.”
He nodded, his mouth tightening. “And you?”
“I’ll be cast out of the realm, and…” She looked at Destiny. “If I no longer hold my seat in the pantheon, the balance will shift.”
“And bring about the end of days…thanks to an angel’s mistake.” Destiny pressed a hand to her chest. “Did I just start a war?”
“I have already said too much and been here too long. Pete must deliver the eggs on Easter morning.” Silver sparkles gathered around her. “Together is the only way you can make it happen.”
The goddess disappeared, the glitter fading until no remnants of her presence remained.
Heat crept from Destiny’s chest to her neck before spreading across her face and making her ears burn. She truly had committed the flub to end all flubs. Forget her own immortality. That paled in comparison to the consequences Pete and Eostre…the entire fae realm…would face. She’d written them death sentences.
“Destiny.” Pete strode toward her, his arms extended like he wanted to hug her, and for half a second, she considered letting him.
But she didn’t deserve his sympathy.
She held up her hands to stop him, and tears gathered on her lower lids, her throat thickening until she could barely force out the words, “I have to go. I’ll figure out a way to fix this if it kills me.”
She darted toward the staircase and stopped on the first step. “Thank you for dinner and for trying to help,” she muttered before racing down and returning to her home.
CHAPTERTEN
Pete stoodin Crimson’s kitchen, staring at the empty doorway. Whew, that was a lot to unpack. A goddess had traveled to the earthly realm to talk tohim. And then Destiny… How could…? Why would…?
He blew out a hard breath and shook his head. “Fluff if I know.”
“Running away seems to be a common theme with y’all.” Sophie laughed and brushed her hair behind her shoulder. “Should we follow her?”
“No.” Crimson rested her fingertips on the counter. “I recognized the look of mortification on her face. She’s embarrassed. We need to let her wallow for a bit before we figure out what to do.”
