I still felt as if we were being watched as we got lunch, followed by ice cream, at a small cafe in Central Park. Then we went to the Met.
“We’re being watched, aren’t we.”
I nodded. “That Kieran guy and his coven, I suspect. They aren’t sure of us, and I don’t blame them. Especially if he knows who I am.”
“Fathers,” Kanesha grumbled. “Although I’d rather have yours than mine.”
She had a point.
Loki hadn’t abandoned me. Even when he was supposed to, even when I didn’t know who I was, he had still been there, in the background.
Still watching me. He wasn’t a bad father, I thought. And he hadn’t been to the others either.
Except for my full brothers. But had that been his failure?
What had he done, I wondered suddenly, to ensure my safety. Had my exile been in part his choice? A way of keeping me from their fate?
“I have a surprise,” I said, finally. “You know how I made sure we had nice clothes in my bag?”
“What is it?”
I pulled out the tickets.
“Oh! You…I’d say you didn’t have to, but I know you.”
I grinned. “And we have dinner reservations too. Why do you think I cheaped out on the hotel?”
Because, well, I’d rather spend the money on food and entertainment than a larger room we only intended to sleep in.
She laughed. “I was expecting you to choose Wicked.”
“Nah. I figured you’d like this better.”
And if it got ruined, then whoever was responsible was dead.
She threw her arms around me, not caring about the PDA. Of course, anyone who recognized us would be witches or the like and from what I’d seen, far less likely to care than the general population.
Anyone else would see, yes, a pair of lesbians, but they wouldn’t know who we were. Or maybe nobody noticed, because she planted a kiss on my lips and nobody challenged us to get a room.
Maybe people in New York really minded their own business as much as their reputation said. I grinned and tucked the Hamilton tickets back into my pocket before we headed out of the museum.
Before I ended up dropping them.