by Unknown
“Uh huh,” Rain grimaced. “Isn't that like everyday around here? Come on, this is Constantin. Don't you want to help save him? How many times has he come to your aid?”
“See?” I said to Trevor. “I can't abandon Constantin.”
“Are ve going to ask vhy Constantin vas taken?” Kirill inserted calmly.
“Good point, babe,” I nodded to him and then looked at Ilario, since he was the only who had made any sense so far.
“Rhiannon was dating this guy Hanuman,” Ilario began to explain.
“Hanuman, as in the chief of the vanara?” Odin interrupted.
“Yes,” Ilario sighed. “Anyway, Hanuman went ape-shit on her-”
“Ape-shit,” I chuckled. “That's funny,” I looked at the bland faces around me. “Cause he's a weremonkey. Come on, that's funny.”
“It is pretty funny,” Adriano grinned and I nodded my thanks to him.
“Can I continue?” Ilario asked patiently.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“So Hanuman beat up Rhiannon and she left him,” Ilario went on. “Then Rhiannon started dating Constantin and I guess it pissed Hanuman off.”
“So you're telling me Constantin was abducted because he was dating some dude's ex-girlfriend?” I scoffed. “Who is this woman? Does she smell like bananas or what?”
“Tima,” Kirill shook his head.
“It had to be said,” I shrugged unapologetically.
“She's Rhiannon,” Ilario frowned at me like he wasn't sure if I was messing with him or not.
“Am I supposed to know that name?” I blinked. “I mean, I know the song by Fleetwood Mac.”
“Then you kind of know who she is,” Ilario nodded. “The song was based loosely on her.”
Wait, you're saying she's the Rhiannon?” I gaped. “I didn't know she was a goddess.”
“She's Epona's daughter,” Odin added.
“Epona?” I gaped more. “Wasn't Constantin married to Epona?”
“Yeah,” Ilario looked at me blankly.
“And now he's dating her daughter? The daughter of his ex-wife?! Isn't that...” I glanced at Odin and saw his little smirk. “Perfectly acceptable,” I recovered. “Yep, I can totally understand how that might happen.”
“Have any of you been in vanara territory before?” Odin asked.
“Well, no,” Rain admitted.
“So we'll be going in blind,” Odin looked at me. “You're staying behind this time, Vervain.”
“But...”
“No,” Trevor added. “What happens if we don't make it out? You're the only one who will have a way to find us,” he held up his hand with the gold ring on it. I'd made us all matching rings and enchanted them to alert us if anyone was in danger... and to show us where the endangered party was.
“I'll stay behind with you,” Azrael put a hand on my shoulder.
“Fine,” I sighed. “But don't you think we should call the God Squad first? They might be able to help.”
“The more time we waste, the longer Constantin is suffering,” Rain whined. I hadn't seen him act so pathetic since my friend Krystal broke up with him.
“We don't need any help,” Trevor scoffed. “I'm sure a few of the Intare will be happy to join us. That should be plenty.”
“Oh,” I frowned. “It's just that, if this is the trouble Alaric was talking about, wouldn't it make more sense for me to go? I don't think he warned me so that I could hide from it.”
“Perhaps not,” Odin shrugged, “but caution is always best. We'll be better off knowing you're here, safe. I've even got some new witch spells I want to try out.”
“Witch spells?” I frowned. “I didn't know you were still pursuing Griffin's witch abilities.”
“Now, can we go?” Rain asked before Odin could respond.
“I'll go gather some of the Intare and then we can leave,” Trevor gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and then took off.
Within fifteen minutes they'd left for vanara territory. I stood staring at the tracing room until Azrael put his hand around my waist and steered me back into the dining hall.
“Come on, Carus. How about that lunch?”
“Okay,” I said in a little voice.
Then he flinched and looked down at me with wide eyes.
“No,” I whined. “You too?”
“I'm so sorry,” he grimaced. “It's bad enough that Michael has had to run Shehaquim while I'm living here, I can't shirk my duties as Death too.”
“Go,” I gave him a little push. “I understand.”
“I love you,” he kissed me quickly. “Hopefully I won't be gone too long.”
“Well I'm eating lunch without you,” I grumbled.
“Alright,” he chuckled.
“And it's going to be really good,” I continued.
“Okay,” he nodded.
“I'm making pasta.”
“Pasta?” he stopped and gave me a wounded expression.
“I'll save you some,” I gave in.
“Thank you, Carus,” he smiled.
Then his wings extended and I sighed. Even in a pair of worn jeans, the Angel of Death was magnificent. The tattoo on his cheek came to life, proclaiming his name in glowing blue angelic script, and his eyes changed from light blue to a bright, sparkling, diamond white that sent rainbow glints over his sculpted cheekbones. Az winked at me, then he turned and went back to the tracing room, leaving me completely alone. Just as I'd wanted.
“Be careful what you wish for,” I huffed.
Chapter Three
In typical fashion, I was not alone for long. Ull, Thor's adopted son and the Norse God of Justice, showed up. It wasn't a strange occurrence, Ull had a habit of popping up at the palace. He got along well with the Intare and liked to come over and hang with my lion boys fairly often. This time however, he came looking for me.
I had just finished lunch and was washing my dishes in our large but homey kitchen when he came striding in. I gave him a quick grin and told him most of the guys were outside training but a few were in the common room playing pool if he wanted to join in.
“Actually,” he gave a little laugh and brushed his short blonde hair out of his eyes, “I wanted to spend some time with you. I had the oddest feeling that you might be lonely.”
“You what?” I lifted my brows as a little shiver raced down my spine.
“Yeah,” he walked over to the fridge and got himself a beer. “I was just watching TV and I thought to myself; I haven't spent time with V in awhile, I wonder what she's doing? Then I had this feeling that you were alone and needed company. Isn't that weird? It's not like you could ever be alone here,” he spread his hands out to indicate Pride Palace. “There's always at least a few lions roaming around.”
“That is weird,” I narrowed my eyes and turned my thoughts inward. Within moments, I felt the presence of another consciousness. “Al, was that you?” I asked it.
Perhaps, he agreed in a satisfied tone.
“Are you talking to that Void Consciousness?” Ull looked instantly interested.
“Yeah,” I glanced back at him. “Sorry, Sweetie, give me a minute.”
“No prob,” Ull shrugged and leaned back against a counter to wait. “This is fascinating.”
“Why did you bring him here, Alaric?” I directed my attention back to Al.
I thought he'd be good company for you.
“That's all?” I pressed. “It's not because something bad is about to happen here and I needed back up?”
I hardly think one god would make the difference, he laughed. You have plenty of men there already and all of them would defend you to the death. I promise, this was merely about providing you with some company.
“I was fine by myself. You didn't have to do that,” I frowned in confusion. Getting me company seemed a little beneath the consciousness of a realm. “Al? Alaric?” But he was already gone.”
“He didn't give you any answers?” Ull straightened as I went to the fridge and got ou
t a soda.
“Not beyond wanting me to have company,” I sighed. “I'm sorry he dragged you over here just because he thought I was lonely.”
“Please,” he rolled his baby blues. “Like coming here is a hardship. “Why are you lonely, by the way? Where are all you men? I thought they'd moved in?”
“They did,” I gestured for him to follow me out into the dining hall, then took a seat in the sitting area that was off to the side of the main table, in front of the fireplace. He took a chair next to mine. “Constantin has been abducted and they went to help free him.”
“And you stayed behind?” He lifted his thick brows.
“I was kind of pressured into it,” I grimaced. “Alaric has them all worried about my safety, so I had to stay here.”
“Oh, I bet that burns,” he chuckled and took a sip of his beer.
“And not in a good, dragon type of way,” I agreed. “You know what? Let's not talk about it. I could use a little distraction.”
“Understood,” he nodded. “Wanna hear about my new girlfriend or Dad's?”
“Your father has a new girlfriend?” I sat forward.
“Nope.” he laughed. “But now I know that you're not as over him as everyone thinks.”
“I am over him,” I sighed and sat back. “It doesn't mean I've stopped caring about him. I'd be happy to hear he was dating again. That last fiasco really did a number on him.”
“You're telling me,” he huffed and then starred into the fire pensively.
The light glimmered in his hair and cast shadows that emphasized the breadth of his chest. He suddenly looked like a different man, someone older and less vibrant than Ull. A man who'd seen horrible things which had left their imprint on him... a man more like his father. That's who he looked like, Thor. Which was truly strange since Thor wasn't his biological father. But then again, none of the gods looked as they had upon birth. Human belief changed them into what they are.
“Are you alright?” I leaned forward and touched his arm lightly.
“Yes, of course,” he blinked and looked over to me, dispelling the strange image of Thor. He was Ull once again.
“Are you?” I narrowed my eyes on him. Now that I wasn't distracted by the similarities between him and my ex-boyfriend, I was able to see the tension around Ull's eyes.
“I started seeing someone,” he went serious again.
“And this upsets you?”
“No, she's wonderful. I love her,” he shrugged.
“She's human, isn't she?” I knew that look, Thor used to wear it all the time. Perhaps this was why Ull was reminding me so much of his father.
“Yes,” he whispered. “She knows what I am and she's okay with it. So I proposed.”
“And she said no,” I whispered back.
“She said no,” he nodded. “She doesn't want to live forever. She says death is necessary for the soul. Without it stagnation occurs and without growth, the soul will slowly die anyway.”
“Wow,” I blinked, “that's profound.”
“And very frustrating,” he agreed. “I don't know what to do.”
“Enjoy the time you have together,” I said gently.
“I can't,” he gave a huffing laugh. “It's tainted with the knowledge that she'll die someday and leave me alone.”
“Everything dies,” I took his hand and squeezed it. “Even us.”
As I spoke the words, a shiver raced over my skin. The prospect of death had changed so much for me. Once, I had been okay with it but now, it scared me. Not for myself but for all of those I'd leave behind. My death would not be about growth but chaos.
“I don't want to live without her, Vervain,” his bright eyes settled on mine and he lifted his angled jaw with determination.
“So what are you going to do?”
“Convince her,” he deflated. “Beg her. Force a damn apple of immortality into her mouth,” he made a frustrated sound. “I don't know.”
“This is not your decision, honey,” I smiled softly. “Speaking as someone who once felt the same way, you can't change her mind with any of those tactics. She must come to it on her own.”
“So what should I do?” He asked like a lost little boy.
“What's her name?”
“Kaitlin,” he breathed it, like a prayer.
“Then my advice is to love Kaitlin as best you can in this moment,” I kissed his cheek. “Even for us gods, life is only the present. The past is a memory and the future is mere possibility. All we have, all we'll ever have, is now. Love her now and let go of all the rest.”
“Wow,” his face lost its tension and he took a deep breath. He released it and said, “I think I can do that.”
“Good,” I leaned forward and gave him a hug but as I did, I realized that there was something bugging me.
What I'd said to him hadn't been entirely true. The past wasn't just a memory for me, I had the power to go back to into it, but what I'd never considered was the possibility that my ring could also take me into the future. It warmed on my hand, as if in response, and another shiver coasted over me.
Chapter Four
The next day, I woke up in a big pile of bodies... lion bodies. Evidently, my Intare had missed spending more time with me and were thrilled to have me all to themselves. The addition of Ull was even better, so we'd stayed up late playing games and watching movies while bingeing on junk food and wine. Even Fallon, Samantha, and baby Zariel had joined in. Then we'd all slept in a big puppy-pile, well, kitty-pile and I woke up with a mouth full of fur.
Azrael still hadn't returned.
“Ugh,” I groaned and pulled myself out of the mass of lions.
It was actually pretty impressive, seeing them all together, and I just stood and stared a minute at them spread out across the floor in all their furry glory. Shades of gold and tawny browns mixed with even lighter tones, all the way to a startling white. A patchwork of colors that was missing the one spot of black I really wanted to see; Kirill.
Still, they were amazingly beautiful and achingly sweet when they were asleep like that. Zariel was curled up atop her father's back while Samantha, the lone wolf in the sea of lions, slept tucked into Fallon's side. She, like Kirill, was easy to spot but only served to make me miss Trevor too. Around Sam and Fallon, the rest of the Pride slept like they were guarding the new baby, though in sleep they looked more adorable than intimidating.
For example, Aidan's foot had somehow made its way up onto Lucian's head and Lucian kept twisting about in an unconscious attempt to dislodge it, which only made things worse. The foot moved from Lucian's ear, to his cheek, to his jaw, and then finally it slipped right up into Lucian's nose. This proved enough to wake the sleeping lion and Lucian pulled back his head, gave Aidan's foot a nip, and then went happily back to sleep as Aidan whined.
I shook my head and made my way through the lion jungle and past Ull, who had chosen to sleep on the couch instead of among the pride. I guess it could be a little much for someone who wasn't a shapeshifter. Still, he had slept in the same room as us, which I thought was sweet. I replaced the blanket that he'd kicked off in his sleep and then went out into the hall.
I remembered changing into my lioness form to sleep but I must have changed back during the night because I'd woke up in my human form. It was a good thing everyone was still asleep or I'd have been a little embarrassed. I still wasn't as comfortable with my nudity as the other shifters were. Yet another one of my issues. I sighed and headed back to my bedroom.
I took the elevator up to the top floor and walked down the narrow hall to the main room. I went past the empty bed with just the barest trace of unease. Why hadn't anyone returned yet? My ring hadn't alerted me to any trouble though, so I decided not to worry. I'd go and take a hot shower to relax.
Just as I was coming out of my shower, I heard Daryl from The Walking Dead say You got something to say to me? in an aggressive voice. It was my message tone indicating that I'd received a text message. I dried off in a
hurry, concerned that it was one of the guys, and ran into the bedroom with only a towel wrapped around my head. I found my phone and opened the message to see that it was from Darius.
Darius had been helping me out by looking after Lorna, King Guirmean's baby mama, or rather, soon to be baby mama. Guirmean's unborn child was already too powerful for Faerie and had been causing horrible water spouts whenever Lorna got upset. So we'd moved her to my home in the Human Realm to wait out her pregnancy in relative safety. Safety for the faeries I mean. There had been a theory that since the Human Realm wasn't made out of magic, the child would be less inclined to use his but I hadn't been so sure about that. Turns out, I was wrong. There hadn't been a single episode of water spoutage at all. So moving her to the Human Realm had been a good call. As had putting Darius in charge of Lorna's personal safety, apparently.
Lorna's in labor, taking her to Faerie, the text read.
“Son of a biscuit!” I cried out. “What do I do?”
I looked around the room in a panic and my eyes settled on the calender hanging in our kitchen area. I used the calender to keep track of time between my visits to Faerie. Things could get a little tricky when you time-jumped a lot and the calender helped to sort it out. I had one in Faerie too. It had pictures of dragons on it, which Arach loved.
I looked over the notes I'd made in red ink on the calender and sighed. I wanted to go with them to Faerie but if I went back now, I'd lose time with Arach and I hated to worry him. If I used my Ring of Remembrance to go back to when I'd last left Faerie, I'd be two weeks early. Which I guess wasn't all that bad considering the other option.
I looked around the empty room again. It was the first time in a long while that I got to make a decision about the time thing without consulting my men. I smiled and nodded, enjoying the sense of freedom. I'd go back and spend a couple of weeks with Arach, then I could meet Lorna at the End of the Road and be there for the birth of Guirmean's child. I could stay as long as I wanted and return to the exact moment I left, so what was the big deal?
I smiled and made a notation on the calender. I also made a mental note of the date and time so I'd know when to go and meet Lorna. Then something else occurred to me. Baby gifts. I had to get a gift for both Guirmean's child and Dahlia's. Dahlia, one of the new dark-sidhe, was also pregnant. Something which I think kind of pissed off a lot of the other fey while simultaneously encouraging them to become more open to change.