The Lion, the Witch, and the Werewolf

by Amy Sumida

  “The Goddess who wanted Narcissus to kill you?”

  “That would be her.” I grimaced. “She's a Fertility Goddess and a Goddess of Death. Then there's Gish, her cohort, who is the God of War.”

  Arach sighed. “Well, at least you know who to kill.”

  “Oh, and I almost forgot,” I added. “She's a psychopomp too; she carries the souls of the dead to their afterlives.”

  “Can you stop her?” Brevyn asked with wide eyes.

  “Sweetheart, that goddess won't know what hit her.” I smiled brightly at him and kissed him on the nose.

  “Your mother has conquered Death numerous time,” Arach added confidently. “She will do so again, do not doubt it.”

  Brevyn smiled and relaxed between us. Arach and I held our smiles long enough for Brevyn to close his eyes and fall back asleep, and then we looked at each other over our sleeping son with grim acceptance.

  “This is war, A Thaisce,” Arach said. “You heard our son. That means; I shall join you.”

  Chapter Fifty-One

  We waited until all the Royals had headed back to their kingdoms; all except for the High Royals, who we asked to stay behind. Then Arach and I had a meeting with the High Royals, Isleen, the God Squad, and my men. Thrud was watching the children so we could talk. Her offer came as a relief to me since I didn't know her well enough to include her in the meeting.

  First, we told everyone about Brevyn's vision. After the uproar died down, we told them about Arach's intention to come to the God Realm with me until the matter with Disani was settled.

  “You can't leave your kingdom ungoverned, King Arach,” King Cian said sternly. “I appreciate that this is a worrisome situation, but your wife has always handled such things with her vast congregation of friends in the God Realm. I'm certain she can handle it again.”

  “Regardless, I will help her,” Arach said firmly. “That's why you're here, High King. I wanted to notify you and ask for your approval on my solution.”

  “And what's your solution?” Cian asked.

  “I will leave Isleen in charge of the Fire Kingdom,” Arach said. “She's run it before, back when I was a child. She's more than capable.”

  Isleen frowned and looked uncomfortable. Lugh took her hand reassuringly.

  “You can do it, Is,” Lugh said. “I know you can.”

  “She can,” I agreed. “But she shouldn't have to do it alone.” I looked at the High King and Queen. “Which is why we'd like Lugh to stay here and help.”

  “Lugh?” Queen Meara asked in surprise.

  King Cian gaped at us and then began to smile. “You show great trust in my son, King Arach.”

  “He has been a good friend to my wife and therefore, by extension, a good friend to Fire,” Arach said. “But, more importantly, he is the High Prince of Faerie and as such, is an acceptable interloper upon my throne. Prince Lugh will get experience running a kingdom, and Isleen will have the support she needs.”

  “I think that's a wonderful compromise,” Cian said.

  “But what do you think, Isleen?” I asked her. “Would you be okay with this? We would take the boys with us so you wouldn't have to worry about them.”

  “You're taking the Princes with you?” Isleen asked in shock.

  “The time has caught up between the realms,” I explained. “That's why everyone was able to visit. That also makes it a perfect opportunity for my fey family to visit the God Realm. I think the boys would love to live with the Intare for awhile.”

  “I'm sure they would,” Isleen whispered. “But I'll miss them terribly. How long do you think you'd be gone?”

  “That depends on how fast we can find Disani,” Odin said.

  Odin's face was still etched with worry for Asgard. Brevyn's vision had hit him hard, of course. His sons sat to either side of him, and they looked nearly as worried as he did. But it was Thor who seemed particularly upset. He was the Protector of Asgard, after all, and Brevyn's vision had portended his failure.

  “Vervain, I recall rescuing you from Disani in that false future,” Re reminded me.

  “Yes; you were with Azrael and the Horsemen,” I said. “It was quite impressive.”

  “Thank you, but that's not why I brought it up.” Re waved off the praise; a very un-Re thing to do. “They had holed up in the mountains outside of Kabul, correct?”

  “The stronghold,” I whispered. “Yeah; that's where it was.”

  “Perhaps they are using the same place.” Thor nodded at Re. “Good thinking, Sun God.”

  “If we find them in Kabul, this could be over with quickly,” I said to Isleen. “But I can't promise you that.”

  “But I can promise that I will return if you need me,” Arach said. “I'm only a trace away. If this hunt draws out, I can come back with the boys.”

  Isleen looked relieved. “All right, I'll watch over the Kingdom for you, King Arach.”

  “Thank you, Duchess Isleen.” Arach smiled softly at her. “And thank you, High Prince.”

  “I'm happy to do it,” Lugh said. “Excited even.”

  “And we're happy to give our blessing,” King Cian added.

  “Then that leaves only us to be irritated by the Lizard King moving in,” Trevor grumbled.

  Shit; the Alpha wasn't happy.

  “If you don't want them with us, I can put them in my house in Hawaii,” I said to Trevor. “That's why you're here and we're talking about this. You all have a say.”

  Arach tensed beside me and met Trevor's stare. But Trevor glanced away and gave my other husbands, and even Toby, a considering look. They seemed to have a silent conversation, and then Trevor finally nodded.

  “All right, Dragon, you can stay with us. It's not as if you haven't already been hospitable,” Trevor relented. “We'll have to make a suite for you and the boys, though; there isn't any room in ours.”

  “That's acceptable,” Arach agreed.

  “Holy hand grenades,” I muttered. “Arach living in Pride Palace. I never thought I'd see the day.”

  “It's about time he learned what it's like to truly share you.” Azrael smirked. “Welcome to our world, Fire King.”

  Arach frowned in sudden realization. No; I don't think he'd really considered exactly what this trip would entail. He looked over at me warily, but I only grinned. Hadn't I just been thinking about the way Arach got the best part of the V-deal? Az was right; it was about time he learned to share. Arach had spent one night with me and my other husbands once—just to let the lioness magic bind him to us—but he hadn't stayed over again since then. He was about to be thrown in the deep end. I just hoped he didn't drown us all.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Brevyn and Rian were beyond excited to be told that we were visiting the God Realm. They immediately ran to their rooms to pack their bags. And by bags I mean; leather satchels that would doubtless contain more toys than clothing if they were left unsupervised.

  What I hadn't considered were Dexter and Deidre; I couldn't take them with me. First off, it would be a risk to take them through the Aether, and second, Nick would throw a hissy fit or a hissing fit, rather. So, while the boys were packing under Arach's watchful eye, I explained to Dexter that we were going to be gone awhile, but Isleen would take care of him and his daughter.

  “Do not run away,” I said sternly to Dex. “We'll come home as soon as we can.”

  Dexter sighed and laid his sleek, fox-like face on his paws. His Winter guise was still upon him and his pale blue eyes gleamed from their border of white fur. He puffed steam at me in displeasure but he understood; I could see that. And that was the most important thing.

  “Look after Deidre and Blossom.” I waved at the flower I'd taken from Alfheim.

  Blossom bowed her vibrant head at me, looking like a lady in her stately pot by the boarded-up window. She always spent Winters inside the castle so she could continue to bloom. And bloom she had; Blossom's stalk had lengthened, sprouting more blade-shaped leaves to fan around he
r delicate, round, yellow petals. I leaned over and blew some fire energy on her, and her petals turned orange, her lacy stamens shivering a second before she began to glow. Blossom may have come from Alfheim, but she'd been born of my magic, and it had made her a fire flower.

  I turned around and lifted a brow at Dexter. He sighed and got to his feet so I could hug him. I did so tightly and kissed his cheek for good measure. Then Deidre hesitantly came forward, and I blinked at her in surprise.

  “Do I get a hug from you too?” I asked her.

  Deidre just stood still and waited. I leaned forward slowly and hugged her. She blew steamy breath on my cheek and nuzzled me before I let go.

  “You two are going to be fine,” I said. “You'll be changing back to normal with the Spring and then the boards will come off the windows. You'll look completely different the next time I see you.”

  They regarded me somberly.

  “I'll look after them, my Queen,” Isleen said softly as she came into the room. “You just look after your little princes.”

  “I know you're close to them.” I went to hug her goodbye too. “I'm sorry I'm taking them away.”

  “I understand.” Isleen eased out of my hug. “And it's not just them who I'll miss. You may be gone awhile too; you and the King.”

  “You mean; your family?” I asked with a smile.

  “I would never presume—”

  “Stop it.” I laughed. “You're family, and you know it. We'll miss you too. But I'm glad Arach's willing to do this. It will be good to have them all together under one roof.”

  “You mean your family,” she said with a kind smile.

  “Yes.” I grinned at her. “Ever think about having some children of your own?”

  Isleen's eyes went wide and she started blinking rapidly. “I... I don't know.”

  “That sounds like a fabulous idea, Queen Vervain,” Lugh declared as he walked in with Arach. “I, for one, would find no greater joy than watching our children play in the halls of Aithinne. Well, no greater than that and the making of them.”

  “Our children?” Isleen whispered.

  “Doubtless, they'll be a bunch of girls,” Lugh said. “With you being a leanan-sidhe and all. You tend to have female children, right?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “And your king and queen gave the Fire Fey back their fertility.” Lugh winked at me before setting his smile back on his girlfriend. “You should be able to conceive.”

  “I...” Isleen started to smile. “Perhaps I'll remove my infertility spell.”

  Lugh beamed at Isleen as he swept her up in his arms and kissed her soundly. Part of me was hoping he'd propose, but another part of me knew that Lugh was taking it one step at a time for a reason. Isleen had been skittish with him from the very beginning. The fact that she was willing to have his child said a lot, but faeries had children out of wedlock all the time. At least, they used to, back when they were more fertile. Children were too precious to limit to the confines of marriage. But, if Lugh had a child with Isleen, it would probably make her more amenable to the idea. It was a smart move on his part.

  I smirked at Arach and found him giving me a similar look. It seemed that everyone was onto Lugh's play except for Isleen. Or perhaps she knew exactly what Lugh was up to and simply didn't care. Whatever the case, she was looking a lot happier than she had a few minutes earlier.

  “Are you ready?” Trevor poked his head into the room. “I have too eager princes here and a ferocious lion princess who want to get going.”

  “Yes.” I looked from Lugh and Isleen to Arach. “I think we're ready.”

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  It wasn't as difficult to settle Arach and the boys into Pride Palace as I'd thought it would be. I transformed a few bedrooms into a suite for them on the floor beneath mine. I gave them their own kitchen, living room, and bathroom, and the boys had a bedroom to share while Arach had the master. I would have given Brevyn and Rian their own rooms, but they hated sleeping apart.

  The Twins and Lesya had come out of the tracing room running. Lesya led them straight upstairs to Zariel, and then the four of them had raced back down, yammering about building a fort. I saw them settled in a spot near the pool in front of the palace. Some of my lions were training nearby and they offered to watch over the children. That left Arach alone so he got to give me his input on the suite and when we were finished, I brought him upstairs to relax with the other men and me before dinner.

  The God Squad would be returning in the morning to plan our attack on Disani and Gish's—possibly even Qaus'—stronghold in Kabul. But for the moment, there was nothing to do. We decided to watch a movie to take the pressure off making conversation. Instead of crowding on the couches in our little entertainment area, we went down to the Pride's private movie theater and put on Venom.

  Halfway through the movie, I looked over and saw Arach's laughing face. The film appealed to him on so many levels. He knew exactly what it was like to have a bloodthirsty beast living inside him. But it wasn't merely his enjoyment of the film that made me smile; it was the way he'd relaxed. Arach wasn't even sitting next to me. I was between Trevor and Kirill, and Arach sat to Kirill's left. And yet, he seemed perfectly at home.

  Maybe we wouldn't drown after all.

  I grinned to myself. Of course, we wouldn't. We are Dragons, and Dragons don't go down easily, not even when we're out of our element. I glanced around me at the strong men I was lucky enough to call my own. Some of my intare had joined us too, and the room was full of their laughter and groans. I didn't even mind the occasional “Shut up, Aidan” they were all sounds of home to me. And I finally had my whole family in my home.

  At that moment, I didn't care that war had brought us all together. I had learned to appreciate the good in every situation. And with all the magic, love, and strength we had, even the bad didn't bother me. I glanced left and right at Kirill and Trevor. Once upon a time, we may have only been a lion, a witch, and a werewolf, but now, we were so much more. And nothing was going to take that away from us. Not a goddess who rode with Death or a bunch of magic-stealing gods.

  Keep reading for a sneak peek into the next book in the Godhunter Series:

  Hear No Evil

  Chapter One

  “I could get used to this,” I murmured as I languished in Arach's arms.

  Arach had returned to the God Realm with me and our twin sons after Brevyn, one of those sons, had shown us a vision of the future. In that future, Asgard had been burned to the ground by a war among the Gods. This wasn't the war that currently raged over humans and their sacrifice, this was a war over magic. A goddess had shown the Gods how to take magic from each other and the knowledge had turned gods into mercenaries and torn apart the realm. I was 99.9% certain that the goddess behind it all was Disani.

  Disani was part of a trio of gods who I'd once fought in a false future. After I fixed the future, I had contemplated killing Disani and her cohorts; Gish and Qaus. But at my wedding, a drunken prophet named Silenus had warned me against it. Ironically, it was yet another prophecy that sent those three gods after me in this timeline; a prophecy that foretold their deaths in that averted future. I know; it's a lot to wrap your head around. Basically, they had gone after me to stop me from killing them when I'd already decided to not kill them.

  But Silenus' prophecy did me right. I had been trapped in a mirror-protected territory by Narcissus, and Qaus, with his rainbow magic, had been the only god who could rescue me. Not only did he rescue me, but he also killed Narcissus before he could rape me. Qaus said it made us even, not friends. So, I was left wondering if he was still working with Disani. I hoped not. I hated it when I had to kill someone who had done me a good turn; even if that good turn had been to make up for a bad one.

  Anyway, the prophecy foretold a war, and I had promised Arach that he could join any war that happened in the God Realm. So, Arach and our sons had returned to Pride Palace with me to live with us until eit
her the war was averted or won. I'd kind of been keeping my dragon in the dark about a lot of things, and I didn't blame him for wanting to be a part of this. The rest of my men agreed to it and so we put him and our sons in a suite just below my master suite on the top floor of Pride Palace.

  Currently, our boys were out playing with their sister, Lesya, and Zariel. That left Daddy alone with Mommy. And Mommy had made good use of the opportunity.

  “Get used to what?” Arach asked with a soft look my way.

  I was lying across his chest, face angled up to look into his bright yellow dragon eyes. The crimson scales outlining his face were fading back into his skin now that our passions had been satisfied, and only a few of them remained on his temples. His blood-red hair draped across his pillow in wide swaths, and I pushed a lock of it away from the sharp angles of his face before I lifted mine to kiss his firm lips.