I reached over to rest my hand on her arm. “Now that you’ve been approved to undergo the Gadawnoin, when do you think you’ll go through it? I’ll feel so much better when you’ve crossed this damned chasm that my transition has caused.”
But I hadn’t been entirely upfront about the schism that had formed between us. It wasn’t one of anger, or of growing apart. Instead, it had formed after I had been through the ritual. And I was beginning to think that this would happen with anyone I knew who remained mortal. I hadn’t talked to Morgana about it yet, because I wasn’t sure what to say. And I doubted she would be able to give me advice. She had been through it, but I didn’t see her hanging out with a bunch of mortals in her spare time.
Before Angel could answer, Herne whistled. We turned to see him waving us toward the castle. “Get a move on, women!”
His smile was infectious. Since we had moved over to Annwn, he had blossomed out in a way that I had never expected. It was almost as though he had lifted a glamour that he had worn over on Earth to hide the radiance of his divinity. Now, it shone through him like a light from his heart. At first, I had been worried. While it wasn’t like he had become a different person, I began to see the true scope of his powers, and the reality of how strong he was shimmered through. If I had seen this side while we were just dating, it would have scared me speechless.
“We’re coming.” I mounted Aengus again and clicked my heels gently against his side.
He whinnied, turning around, following my lead. Angel followed, as comfortable on her horse as I was on mine. Over the months we had done a lot of riding. I had come to love it and so had Angel. We had ridden out on a number of summer evenings, taking a picnic with us. Sometimes Herne joined us, sometimes DJ joined us, but Angel and I had spent a lot of time during the summer discussing our new lives, just the two of us.
As we approached the castle, I began to get excited. As nervous as I was, the realization that I was finally home—and this would forever be my home—hit me. I slid off Aengus’s back and handed the reins to the groom.
Herne wrapped his arm around my waist and gave me a quick kiss. “Are you excited to see your new home?”
I looked around, but Angel had set off in search of DJ.
“I am, actually. I need to feel like I’m putting down roots. I’ve felt out of place ever since we moved over.”
“I understand,” Herne said. “But now, you can settle in, and truly make this your home. If there’s anything at all you want to change, tell me and I’ll make sure it happens. Above everything else, I want you to be happy. That matters more to me than anything in the world.”
And with that, we turned toward the castle and led the way into our new home.
Chapter Three
As we entered the Great Hall, I gasped. Last I had seen, it had still been under construction.
Now… The hall was vast, the floor a black-and-white checkerboard tile, the walls white marble with two rows of Grecian columns on either side of the center walkway. There were benches and tables and chairs scattered around, and the room was four times as big as my old house back on Earth. Doorways branched off of the sides, some of them arched openings, while others were actual doors.
I clapped. It was light and bright and beautiful, not at all the solemn gray I had expected. “It’s beautiful,” I said. “I was afraid it was going to be shadowy and overwhelming.”
“It only gets better,” Herne said.
At that moment, Morgana appeared in the central doorway that led deeper into the castle. She smiled and held out her arms. At first, I wasn’t sure to whom she was gesturing, but Herne strode forward to give her a long hug.
After kissing him on the cheek, Morgana turned to me and swept me into her embrace as well. I wasn’t used to being hugged by my goddess, although I had to quit thinking of her in that manner. I was no longer her priestess. I was actually on more or less the same footing as she was, even though I felt like a junior parlor maid compared to the mistress of the house. But here, I was the mistress, and I had to act like it.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, looking around. “Thank you. I know you’re responsible for the décor.”
“I hope you like it,” Morgana said. “I know your favorite colors, so I did my best to furnish Briar Shore the way I thought you would like. If there’s anything you want changed—”
“I know, Herne already told me. If there’s anything I want to change, I’ll let you know.” I looked around at the high ceilings and the windows that were spaced out in two rows—long and vertical—to cover two sides of the castle. “I love how light it is. But the windows can’t be the only thing letting in light.”
While the windows lining the top and mid-sections of the Great Hall were spacious, they couldn’t account for the incredible lightness shimmering through the hall. For one thing, the top row was thirty feet near the top of the ceiling, and the second row of windows was about ten feet up the sides. Outside, it was overcast and gloomy. I loved the weather, but I knew there wasn’t that much light to stream in.
“We have hidden sources of light that shine through the walls. It’s not that difficult, not when you embed magic in the very marble and rock.” She beamed. “Come, let’s go look at your private chambers.”
As Morgana led us through the central double doors, it occurred to me that the castle was so large that it would take me weeks to truly learn my way around. I knew we had private quarters, with a dining room, living room, and kitchen as well as the bedroom and en suite. And so did Angel, DJ and his foster family, Viktor and Sheila, and both Talia and Yutani.
There was also the throne room for Herne and me to preside in, the formal dining room, the ballroom, guest quarters, and then all of the servants’ quarters on the upper floors. Shades of Downton Abbey, I thought. The castle was huge, though it wasn’t as big as Cernunnos’s palace or Morgana’s castle by the sea.
Herne had named the forest downslope of us the Wild Wood. Thankfully, it wasn’t part of Y’Bain, which meant that we could journey into it without any problems.
In fact, we were actually quite a distance from the massive forest that covered a wide swath of Annwn. We were in the northern section of the realm, closer to Arianrhod’s lands than to Cernunnos’s palace. Arianrhod’s lands were to the west. Once you crossed Muir Leathan, to the northeast you would enter the realm of Wildemoone. Direct north lay Kalevala, where Raven and Kipa lived. Beyond Kalevala was Pohjola, and then even farther north led to the realms of Valhalla, Asgard, and the Forgotten Kingdom, where the dragons lived.
Morgana gave us a tour of the first floor of the castle. It was beautiful, all the way through, with elements everywhere that reminded me of home. Although it was far more formal than I was used to, Morgana had given as many cozy touches to the rooms as she could, and the color schemes were colors I loved.
When we finally came to our private living room, I dropped gratefully into the plush sofa. It was Victorian-style, a rich purple velvet, but it had a comfortable throw over it, and the rest of the living room was less formal. It was then that I noticed the rocking chair from my house over on Earth, and I burst into tears.