“Let’s try together.” Eostre moved so quickly, Destiny fell backward onto her butt. The goddess reached out, but her chains stopped her from grasping Destiny’s hands. “Please.”
“Okay, but I don’t think any angels are going to come to our aid. They’re done with me.” She scooted toward her, lying on her stomach and stretching her arms forward. Eostre did the same, both of them lying prone and reaching until their fingers touched.
“We don’t need angels. Use what little magic I have left to find Pete. He’s looking for you. I’m certain of it.”
Destiny’s fingers tingled where Eostre touched them. The sensation spread up her hands, the pins and needles reminding her of times when her foot fell asleep. It continued up her arm, lessening in intensity the closer it got to her chest.
The magic wasn’t much, but she would use every bit of it to find her fae.
Eostre nodded, and Destiny closed her eyes, focusing on an image of the man she… Loved? Had she fallen in love with the Easter Bunny?
Why not? Stranger things had happened.
“Focus, my child.” Eostre sent a pulse of magic into her. It rolled up her arms and expanded in her chest, making her gasp.
“Pete.” She squeezed her eyes shut tightly. “We need you. We’re in an iron mine. Please find us.”
Her chest heated, creating a series of pops like her heart had turned to bubble wrap and someone was squeezing it. A spark of magic unfurled in the core of her being, but it died as quickly as it had formed.
Frigging Gabriela. She probably had a slew of interns sitting at monitors, wearing their stupid headphones, talking to each other with their stupid little microphones, and watching Destiny’s every move. Hopefully that nanosecond flash of magic was enough to alert Pete.
If not…she couldn’t even think about the alternative.
“Tell me what you felt,” Eostre rasped and folded her arms, resting her chin atop her hands.
Destiny described the popping and unfurling. “But my boss squelched it half a second after it happened. I’m sure she’s got the champagne on ice, ready to celebrate my ultimate failure. Ugh.”
She rested her chin on her hands, mimicking Eostre’s posture. “I feel even worse now.”
The goddess’s eyes held sympathy. “Iron has that effect on the fae.”
“Then remind me not to channel faery magic in an iron mine again.” Destiny closed her eyes. Maybe if she took a ten-minute power nap, she could shake the weariness from her body and find a way out on her own.
But her racing mind wouldn’t allow it. “What did Helga mean when she said she should have been Frigg’s choice? I thought you were the one who chose who would be the Easter Bunny.”
Eostre’s lips twitched. She pressed them into a line, rolling them inward as if trying to stop herself from speaking.
“I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me.” Destiny pushed herself up and sat cross-legged. “Whatever beef you have with the golden vampire goose is your business.”
“If you apologize again, I’ll clip your wings myself.” The goddess winked and sat upright.
“Sorry. Force of habit. I mean…” Her cheeks heated.
Eostre laughed. “The curse of a people pleaser is a hard one to break.”
“No kidding.”
“You’re right. I did choose Pete to be the Easter Bunny.” She gingerly touched the bite mark on her neck. “Helga was referring to Frigg’s choice for a daughter.”
“Choice?”
Eostre nodded. “Frigg had three sons with Odin, while he had many more with other women.”
“What is it about gods and infidelity? They think just because they have penises it’s okay to whip them out and stick them in any hole they want.” Destiny shook her head. “Then again, who I am to judge? My mother wanted nothing to do with me. She abandoned me the day I was born.”
Pained sympathy filled Eostre’s eyes. “I’m sure she had a reason to?—”
“She fell to get away from me. She hated the idea of being my mother so much that she became human as soon as she pushed me out.”
