Goddess of the Sea (Goddess Summoning #1)(80)

Dylan opened his mouth to argue, but CC silenced him by pressing a finger against his lips.

"Promise me you'll stay away from him."

When he didn't answer her, the stab of fear turned to panic. Her mind whirred while she searched for something she could say to convince him. Then she knew.

"If something happened to you I would be forced to marry the knight so that I could stay on land, away from Sarpedon's realm," she said simply. She hated that her words caused the flash of pain that crossed the merman's face, but fear for his life overrode her desire to protect his feelings.

"I promise you I will not seek out Sarpedon. But I also promise you I will not allow him to take you from me."

She smiled at him, trying to lighten his mood. "Do you really think it would be so easy to take me?"

Begrudgingly, Dylan's face relaxed, and he smiled back at her.

"No, I believe you would be very difficult to capture." He kissed her quickly. "You must have been a goddess in your old world, too."

CC's laughter sparkled.

"Well, I was a sergeant. I guess that's pretty close to a goddess, at least in some circles."

"What is this, ser-geant?" He pronounced the foreign word slowly, which made CC want to laugh again. "Where was your realm?"

"The Comm Center." She grinned. Then she sighed at his confused expression and tried to explain. "I was in the USAF, the United States Air Force. My, uh, I guess you'd call it my realm, was the United States. The air force is a branch of the armed forces that protects my realm's freedoms. I worked in the communications part of the USAF—making sure different people and countries got the information they needed to make wise decisions."

Dylan nodded his head. "A messenger goddess protecting her realm. Yes, that suites you. I would have guessed as much."

CC opened her mouth to try and explain that there really were no goddesses in the USAF, but she sighed again and stayed silent. Hadn't she just been trying to convince Isabel that there was magic inside of each woman? So why couldn't she take that belief one step further and claim the goddess within every woman?

A wonderful thrill swept through her as her thoughts touched upon a belief so ancient that she could feel the depths of her soul leap in response. That was it! Each woman must hold some part of the Divine Feminine deep within her. CC wanted to shout with the discovery.

"Yes," she said joyously. "You're right. I am a goddess."

Dylan didn't look surprised at all. "I wish I could visit your realm of the United States Air Force."

CC almost choked as a mental image of Dylan in Oklahoma flashed into her mind.

"Well," she said quickly. "It's in the middle of a land that's far from the ocean. There's really no way to swim there." Even if we were in the same century, she finished the sentence silently.

"I would have to have legs again," Dylan said thoughtfully. "Having legs was such an unusual experience."

CC tried not to laugh.

"I do not think we can ever go back," Dylan said.

CC shook her head. "I seriously doubt it."

The merman studied her. "Will you miss it? What of your family there?"

CC took a deep breath. She had been avoiding thinking about her parents. Now homesickness filled her. Yes. She would miss them. She loved them. But… her gaze traveled out over the fog-covered water. The soft fingers of the surf caressed her body.

The realization came swiftly to her mind. She belonged here.

She had left home when she was so young because she had never felt like she really belonged, and she had been traveling all of her adult life trying to find someplace where she truly fit in. The air force had been satisfying, she realized, not just because she enjoyed her work, but because she never stayed in one place long enough to begin to feel the discomfort of not belonging. While her peers were settling down, getting married and having children, she had been living the nomadic life of a woman searching for home. Deep within her she knew she had finally found that home.

She touched Dylan's cheek. "Yes, I'll miss my parents, but it's time for me to grow up and move on." She remembered their Silver Cruise schedule with a poignant smile. "They'll be fine. They have each other. And this is where I belong."

The monastery bells began their lazy morning toll. CC felt each clang as if it was a physical thing.

"I wish you would stay," Dylan said, his voice sounding strained.

CC pressed her head against his chest. "There's nothing I want more." Except to keep you safe, she thought. "But I promised Gaea that I would be patient and wait for her to fix things with Lir."

"You must keep your word to the goddess." Dylan's voice was muffled as he buried his face in her hair.

"It can't be too much longer. You should have seen Gaea today; she was magnificent. There's just no way Lir will be able to resist her. Soon she'll come to me and tell me that everything's fine, and I'll run down that cliff and swim to you, and whatever human is watching can just go straight to hell if they don't like it!"

"Do not place yourself in danger," Dylan said sharply. "You are right. We can be patient."

CC kissed the corner of his mouth. "You'll be waiting here in case I can slip away?"