by Unknown
“Garuda?” Ananta sat up in attention. “It was Garuda who beat the nagini?”
“Yeah and it was I who killed him,” I announced and the naga court murmured approvingly. “That's how you should be reacting, with vengeance.”
“Vengeance is an empty road, full of disappointment and tragedy,” Ananta sighed. “I'm sorry that you've found yourself walking it.”
“I'm not,” Trevor stepped up beside me and took my hand. “I've never been more proud of my wife,” he winked at me. “She stood up for what she believed in, even though the situation had nothing to do with her. That's what makes a leader, the ability to take action and in so doing, inspire others to take action as well. A leader doesn't just sit on his throne and spout useless platitudes.”
“Yes, I can see how that would be frustrating for you,” Ananta nodded, unswayed. “But our city has lived in peace now that the suparna have a few naga to assuage their anger on. I've no desire to start another war.”
“Who says anything about starting?” I growled. “I want to finish it. No matter what you may think, these guys are not satisfied with a few of your people, they will take as many of you as they can. Even if they were satisfied, how dare you sacrifice your people like that? Are you willing to take their place? Because a leader shouldn't ask anything of his people that he wasn't willing to do himself.”
“I...” he blinked and then refocused. “If needs be, then yes. There is no good or evil, we are merely reflections of each other. If I find something abhorrent in what the suparna have done then it must be a reflection of something I despise in myself. This is my issue, not theirs.”
“Oh will you stop with all the Deepak Chopra bullshit?” A woman slunk out of a doorway behind the throne.
She was dressed in a green silk sari that draped over her shoulder into a long train. The green made her eyes even more vibrant, though they needed no help. Those eyes were large, intense, and mesmerizing. Hypnotic even. They settled on me with surprise, seemed to burrow into my soul, and then brightened as she smiled. Full, red lips pulled back to reveal fangs, sharp and pointed like a snake's. Her chin dropped a little, looking a bit more pointed when she smiled and giving me the impression that she could unhinge her jaw. She sashayed out onto the dais to stand next to Ananta, shifting her attention back to the naga leader and giving us a perfect view of her long hair.
It hung in thick, glossy, black waves down her back, all the way to the floor, and golden snakes were wound through the tresses, all of them flowing upward to form a crown. Her body was lushly curved, her hands tipped in long, red nails, and she oozed sensuality from every pore. Who in all creation was this?
“Mother,” Ananta whined. “We've been over this. I'm the leader now.”
“No you're not,” Ananta's mother scoffed. “It's exactly as the wolf says, you sit here spouting platitudes when you should be out there, getting our people back.”
“It is not my way,” he said stubbornly.
“Then I regret that I must dethrone you,” she narrowed her intense eyes on him and the naga court gasped in unison.
“What?!” He screeched and stood.
“Get out of my throne, you little disgrace of a snake,” she grabbed his upper arm and yanked him to the side, then gave him a push. He stumbled a little toward the back of the dais.
“You can't do this!” He cried.
“I am Kadru!” She shouted at him and I felt the vibrations echo through the room. “I birthed this entire race and I will not sit back and watch you turn my ferocious children into simpering, slithering slaves. We are naga!”
The court cheered and rushed forward to bow to Kadru, reaching hands out to her in joyous supplication, and I exchanged hopeful gazes with my group.
“This is not over, Mother,” Ananta vowed as he skulked away.
“Oh, it so is,” she smirked and looked over at us as she waved off the adoration of the court. “I hadn't been told of your dragonhood, Godhunter.”
“Yeah,” I chuckled and held my arms out. “Surprise!”
“I like you,” she grinned. “I listened to your conversation before I came in and you remind me very much of myself as a young girl. I gave Ananta a chance to man up but it didn't look like he was going to,” she sighed. “I blame you, Brahma,” she pointed to Brahma with one sharp nail and he blanched. “You're the one who told him the suparna were being mistreated. Then he came and begged me to free them. Now look what has happened.”
“I didn't expect him to turn into a pussy,” Brahma huffed and Kadru laughed.
“Yes, well, I suppose that one's on me,” she shrugged. “I introduced him to a mystic who taught him all this dribble. I thought meditating would be good for him, he used to be quite violent, but it's thrown him to the opposite extreme I'm afraid.”
“So will you help us?” I stepped forward to the edge of the dais.
“Go to war against my enemy with a dragoness?” She grinned wickedly. “How could I refuse?”
The naga court and the God Squad cheered while I shared a secret smile with the Mother of Nagas.
Chapter Thirty-Three
We returned to Pride Palace later that night, exhausted but delighted that we had allies who would more than even the odds for us. Kadru had promised that every naga of fighting age would join the battle but she felt that they needed time to prepare. They hadn't been to war in ages and she wanted them to be in top shape so there would be as little fatalities as possible. I didn't blame her, in fact, I was impressed by the decision.. She wasn't as impulsive as she initially seemed, just tired of her son's inaction.
On my way out of the tracing chamber I nearly ran into Azrael. I jerked to a stop, causing a pile up behind me, and gaped at him. He took my hand and led me out of the way of the others with a serious expression. I vaguely noticed Odin standing off to the side.
Without a word, Az pulled me into the elevator and pushed a button. The whir of machinery was the only sound until a little ding announced our arrival at the top floor. Az pulled me through the narrow hall and into our bedroom but then kept going through the French doors that led out into the central butterfly garden.
He remained silent all the way through the lush garden, past the bubbling streams and hanging masses of butterflies, who were already bedding down for the night. I admired their sleeping communities, looking like monstrous blooms of wisteria, as we followed the path to the open lawn in the middle of the garden. It was a spot that held a lot of memories for me, most of them of the intimate variety, and I wondered why he'd chosen to bring me there.
“Is it true?” He finally let go of my hand and faced me.
“What?” I frowned, totally confused.
“Are you pregnant with a child who might be mine?”
“Oh that,” I whispered, recalling how Odin had looked downstairs. A little guilty and a little pleased with himself. He must have gone and blabbed to Azrael.
“Yes, that!” Azrael lifted his hands in an amazed gesture. “Were you not going to tell me? Just let me think we were over while you bore my child?”
“First of all,” I growled. “You're being a dick, so no, I didn't want to talk to you. Second, I've been a little busy. Now that I've saved you, I have to try and save Constantin, who I had initially set out to rescue, in case you've forgotten. Third, the baby could have been fathered by three other men so don't go all crazy about it. Fourth, I just realized that I think of you as my husband, so I knew we were going to have to work this out eventually. Fifth, you're being a dick!”
“I know,” he whispered and rubbed a hand over his face. His shoulders sagged and I immediately wanted to go over and comfort him but my anger prevented it. You don't call a guy a dick and then turn right around and tell him it's okay.
“Good,” I said with a little less vehemence.
“That doesn't change the way I feel,” he looked up with a little spark of anger in his eyes. “The woman I saw in that basement was not the one I fell in love with. The woman I love stands up for ju
stice and saves lives. She doesn't torture people. That's what her enemies do.”
“The woman you love is dead,” I whispered. “She was killed a long time ago, somewhere within all the torture her enemies heaped upon her.”
Azrael gaped at me.
“She's gone,” I continued, “and I don't mourn her loss. My actions may have been monstrous to you but my definition of a monster has changed significantly since we first met. I know what real monsters are now and how true monstrosity lies within. Maybe my actions were monstrous but I don't think that monstrosity has tainted my heart. I didn't enjoy what I did to save you. I endured it for you. I would have done anything to see you safe, anything, and now I know that you do not reciprocate that feeling. You wouldn't have tortured her to save me and to me, that is monstrous. You are the one who has betrayed our love, not I.”
“Vervain,” he whispered. “I attacked the Seventh Heaven for you. I brought the denizens of Hell into those sacred streets to save you. How can you think for one second that I wouldn't do anything to free you?”
“Then why don't you understand?”
“I don't know,” he whispered. “Perhaps I've always believed that you were better than I. To see you sink to such evil destroyed the pure image I had of you.”
“You're an angel and you thought I was the pure one?” I gave a little laugh. “Az, you can be really twisted sometimes, you know?”
“It doesn't matter,” he closed the space between us and knelt, placing his cheek to my belly. “I can't let my disappointment in you keep us apart now that you may be carrying my child.”
“Azrael,” I stroked his dark hair. “Get up, honey.”
“Vervain,” he looked up at me. “Let's just forget this for now.”
“Get up,” I said in a firmer tone and he got to his feet with a look of shock. “I don't want to ignore something like this just because I'm pregnant. We have to work this out. Do you really want this child to be born while we're not at peace with each other?”
“No,” he whispered. “You're right.”
“So what do we do?”
“I guess I'll have to try and get over it,” he sighed. “I'll stay in my tower until we can work this out.”
“You know the child is probably Arach's,” I said in a warning tone.
“It doesn't matter,” he shook his head. “Your child is my child.”
“That's pretty much what the others said,” I sighed. “It's a lovely sentiment but if the child is Arach's, it will be raised in the Faerie Realm and all of you will have very little to do with it.”
“Then perhaps we should think of having another,” he gave me a little smile and I groaned.
“See? Now this is what I didn't want to happen,” I huffed. “I'm not going to start popping out babies so each of you has your own offspring.”
“Why not?” A little of the old Azrael showed through and I grinned at him before shaking my head.
“What happens when the baby is born and things still aren't right between us?”
“Then I'll leave,” he whispered grimly.
“Just go now, Az,” I sighed.
“What?” He blinked.
“I don't want you here unless you want to be here,” I shook my head. “Go home and get your head together. Maybe being without me for awhile will give you some perspective and you can make a decision on whether or not you want to be with me.”
“Seriously?” He gaped at me. “I come here to try and work things out with you and you kick me out?”
“I'm not kicking you out,” I growled. “I'm telling you that I only want you here if you want to be here. There's no point in you moping around that tower while you let your anger fester. You need to figure this out on your own because I stand behind what I did and nothing you say will change my mind about it. Either you change your mind or we're over.”
“Now who's being a dick?” He growled and stomped off.
“Valid,” I sighed and sat down in the soft grass to have myself a good cry. Damn these pregnancy hormones.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“You sent him away?” Odin stared at me aghast. “I brought him here so you two could make up and you sent him away?”
“He's not ready to make up,” I sighed and sank into the couch in the little entertainment area of our bedroom. “I don't want a sullen angel of death stomping about the place when I'm already on edge. If he decides he can get over his issues, I'll be happy to welcome him back.”
“We need all the protection we can get right now,” Odin groaned.
“What?” I frowned at him.
“Remember your friend Alaric?” He made a duh face. “The whole trouble is coming stuff? If this baby is that trouble then we need Az here. What if he's the father? There are just too many variables right now and we need to have all of our bases covered.”
“And here I thought you brought him back to make me happy,” I grimaced as Trevor chuckled and sat beside me.
“Relax, Odin,” Trevor clicked on the TV. “There's nothing we can do about it now. When did you become this twitchy?”
“I've always been twitchy,” Odin growled and plopped into an armchair. “When did you become this calm? I thought you were with me on the whole preparing for trouble issue.”
“I am but we've done all the preparations we can,” Trevor shrugged and caught the bottle of beer Kirill threw across the room to him. “We've got the nagas on our side and that's a hell of an accomplishment. I say we celebrate.”
“I'm down for that,” I grinned. “I need a little celebration.”
“Sparkling cider?” Kirill called to me.
“I guess,” I sighed. “Damn, being pregnant is a downer.”
“Vas she zis annoying vhen she vas pregnant before?” Kirill asked Odin as he joined us. He handed me a champagne flute filled with sparkling apple cider before taking a seat on my open side.
“Yes actually,” Odin frowned. “She really milked it. Even Vali ran around fetching things for her. All of Valhalla was in an uproar every time she had a craving.”
“Craving?” I blinked. “Now that you mention it, I could really go for a pizza with pineapple and ham.”
“That's not really unusual,” Trevor laughed.
“And anchovies and ranch dressing,” I added and he started to frown. “Extra anchovies... and a steak. A bloody steak. Steak tartare.”
“And now she's a vampire,” Odin sighed.
“It's not uncommon for Froekn women to crave raw meat,” Trevor shrugged, “but the fish and salad dressing is just disgusting.”
“You haven't even begun to hear disgusting yet, my friend,” Odin chuckled. “Wait till the pickle cravings come.”
“Pickles aren't zat bad,” Kirill laughed.
“With paté?” Odin asked and we all looked at him in horror.
“I don't like paté,” I made a disgusted face.
“You say that now,” Odin shook his head. “But soon you'll be asking for that and worse. Or maybe I should say wurst, as in liverwurst.”
“Eeew,” I scrunched up my nose.
“And headcheese,” Odin continued. “Beef tongue, kidney pie, haggis, mustard greens topped with orange marmalade, and runny eggs.”
“No!” I shouted and stuck my fingers in my ears. “I refuse to believe I've ever eaten runny eggs. La la la la la la la,” I intoned so I couldn't hear anymore.
I saw Odin laughing and motioning to the others so I pulled my fingers out and narrowed my eyes on him.
“I was just telling them that you also get very immature,” he shrugged. “With any luck though, this pregnancy won't last nine months, so maybe we won't have too long to deal with you and your strange eating habits.”
“I'm barely pregnant at all,” I huffed. “Should I even be feeling anything yet?”
“If it's a Froekn child then definitely,” Trevor answered. “I can't speak for the other types but with werewolves, the baby makes itself known pretty quickly.”
; “Vhen are you going to find spell to determine paternity?” Kirill asked.
“You're going to do a spell for that?” Odin looked immediately interested.
“Oh right,” I blinked, “you weren't there.”
“We filled him in,” Trevor said before I could launch into a description of Rain's prophecy.
“Oh, so then you know I need to make a choice soon,” I said and Odin nodded. “I don't want to do that without knowing who the father is and I figured a spell would be best for that. Do you know of any?”
“Not off the top of my head,” Odin considered. “Let me trace over to Asgard and take a look through my books. I'll text you if I find anything.” He got up.
“You're leaving already?” I blinked. “You just got back. I feel like I haven't seen you in a bit.”
“I thought this was important?” He paused.
“Oh, yeah, okay,” I sighed. “Thank you.”
“I love you,” he came over to kiss me goodbye. “Don't worry, I'm not the one being a dick. I'll be back soon.”
“That's exactly what I said to Az,” I laughed.
“Yeah, we know,” he chuckled as he left.
“How do you know?” I turned to Trevor.
“Super senses,” Trevor looked at me like I was being an idiot.
“Oh right,” I laughed, “so you were eavesdropping.”
“We just happened to be in the bedroom,” he scoffed. “There was no eavesdropping. We are not children.”
“He vas eavesdropping, I vas downstairs,” Kirill smirked. “I vanted to give you privacy.”
“Only because you knew I'd tell you everything that happened anyway,” Trevor rolled his eyes.
“I take no responsibility for vhat you do,” Kirill shrugged.
“You're such a kiss ass,” Trevor stretched a hand behind my head to push at Kirill.
“You are trouble maker,” Kirill pushed back.
“Children!” I sat forward. “You better nip this behavior in the bud right now. I will not having you teaching it to the baby.”
“Yes, Tima,” Kirill said.
“Yes, Minn Elska,” Trevor added.