Page 9 of Cursed By Fate

“I thought Enmesharra only had seven sons.”

“You know how the gods are,” I said. “You can’t swing a cat without hitting a secret love child.” I cringed, thinking of Jinx. “Not that I would ever swing a cat. Anyway, Vale now holds his father’s seat in the southeastern United States.”

Penny appraised him. “Huh.”

“What?” Vale asked.

“I would’ve expected you to be taller.”

I choked back laughter.

“I’m over six feet,” he replied, a tad defensive. I had a sudden hankering for popcorn.

“Aren’t demigods supposed to be larger than life? I met a few when I worked for the Fates, and they were all at least six-five. Must be your maternal genes.”

Vale seemed at a loss for words. “Must be.”

Penny squared her shoulders. “Well, I have security clearance. Whatever you need to say to Maya, you can say in front of me.”

Vale pondered that statement a bit longer than necessary. “We have a problem on the mainland that requires supernatural involvement.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Coranians?”

“Not this time.”

I relaxed. If the problem didn’t involve a faction of ancient fae determined to reclaim the land, then he didn’t need me.

“You’re a capable demigod,” I said, patting his arm. “I’m sure you can come up with a solution without me.”

“We’d manage to come up with one faster with your help.”

Penny bumped me with her hip. “Gondor calls for aid, Maya. Rohan should answer.”

Had to appreciate a solid Lord of the Rings insertion. “Rohan has its own territory to worry about, but Rohan could spare its assistant director of security for a few hours.”

Penny was a former fury, but unlike me, she wasn’t in hiding. She could pop back and forth to the mainland as often as she liked without fear. At this point, I had no idea what that kind of freedom felt like.

“What’s the problem?” the Eager Beaver asked. I pictured her seated at the front of the class, waving her hand in desperation to answer.

A dark cloud passed over Vale’s chiseled features. “There’s a monster in Savannah’s waterways.”

Of course there was. “Those are called alligators, Vale, and we’re the ones encroaching on their territory.”

“Whatever it is, I can safely say it isn’t an alligator.”

“You’ve seen it?”

“No, but a witness described it as a large white snake with horns.”

That eliminated both an alligator and the Aspidochelone.

“Any ideas what it is?” Penny asked.

“Not yet,” Vale replied. “Maya has been indispensable in assisting us in the past. I was hopeful she’d be willing to step up again.”

I wondered how much of his request was genuine and how much of it related to the kiss we shared in his home. The kiss we mutually agreed would never happen again—much easier to honor that pledge if we weren’t in close proximity to each other.

“My job description doesn’t include Savannah,” I reminded him.