by Sumida, Amy
“I know,” I pushed back so I could look at him. “King Cian told me that I would have been stuck in Hvergelmir forever if you hadn't come in after me.”
“What?” He gaped at me.
“He said the purpose of Hvergelmir isn't to reincarnate but to generate souls. That it wouldn't have known what to do with a soul who had lived already and most likely would have just kept me there, swimming forever.”
“Oh fuck,” he whispered. “I hadn't thought of that.”
“So you've been saving me all along,” I kissed him gently. “Thank you for loving me so much. I don't know what I ever did to have been blessed with so much love.”
“You've taken a great weight from me,” he let his forehead fall to my shoulder. “I felt guilty for removing you before your time, for not trusting in you to find your way back to me, but now my actions are justified, my sacrifice valid.”
“I'm glad,” I stood up, removing myself from his lap before one of my other lovers got jealous. Oh, the hardship of multiple relationships. Insert laugh clip here. “I had no idea you felt that way or I would have tried to reassure you earlier.”
“Yes,” Odin made a twisted version of a smile, “but earlier, it would have been a lie.”
“There is that,” I laughed. “Hey, did any of you tell Azrael?”
“Yes, they did,” Azrael walked in with perfect timing, like he did everything else. He came over and hugged me. “I was working but I came as soon as possible.”
“Thank you,” I smiled as I pulled back and eyed my angel. He looked great in worn out jeans and a faded T-shirt featuring the TV series The Walking Dead.
“Yeah,” Vidar smirked, “now we just have to tell him his woman's part dragon.”
“Pardon me?”
Chapter Twenty-One
“You went where?” Krystal shoved her glasses up onto her head. Oh now we were getting serious.
“The Faerie Realm,” I whispered over my coffee as I shot a glance around the crowded mall.
We were sitting at a little table on one of the upper levels of Ala Moana, enjoying coffee and girl talk. Well, I was enjoying coffee, Krystal didn't like the coffee, gasp, so she was drinking a soda, and our girl talk included werewolf weddings, wild hunts, faerie royalty, and dragons. If anyone overheard, they'd probably think we were discussing some new movie but you never know. Better to practice discretion.
“Faeries?” She smirked. “Seriously? Come on.”
“Yes, seriously,” I laughed. “Oh and if you find that hard to believe, wait till you see Rain. He's cut his damn hair.”
“What?” She sat up straight. “For me?”
“No, for the Dalai Lama, he's become a Buddhist,” I rolled my eyes. “Of course for you. You've got him all unsteady, he's off his game cause some woman didn't want him. Oh the horror!”
“That's fantastic,” she laughed. “Good for him, the player.”
“He's not a player, he's just a man who a lot of women throw themselves at,” I shrugged and giggled. “So of course he wants the one who doesn't.”
“You've distracted me,” she pointed a finger at me accusingly.
“Yeah, you caught me,” I grinned. “What do you want to know?”
“Only everything,” she quirked a brow up. “What is Faerieland like? Tell me it all, starting with the dragon hottie.”
“You mean the psycho, blood-licking, super villain?” I scoffed. “He's so not a hottie.”
“You described his face to me, like four times,” her other eyebrow went down, her signature look. “And that's not including the color of his hair, the color of his scales, his eyes, and his wings. His fucking leathery wings for Christ's sake. Oh, and the blow by blow of all your conversations.”
“Aww, fuck me,” I whispered.
“Yes, exactly what you'd like him to do, I suspect,” she pursed her lips and nodded.
“Shut up, Krystal,” I glared at her. “I just realized I have a thing for a psycho dragon-sidhe who wants to skin me and dance around in his new Vervain suit.”
“Or eat you with some fava beans and a nice chianti,” she made a slurping sound.
“I totally almost called him Hannibal,” I laughed and then sobered. “Eating me is not funny either.”
“Oh please,” she rolled her eyes. “He doesn't want to skin you, just cut you up a little, and any eating done would most likely be enjoyable. It's like faerie S&M, right? You can't fault a guy for his DNA or his fetishes.”
“You need help, you know that?” I frowned at her.
“Yes, yes,” she huffed, “says the woman who has four guys already and now wants a psycho dragon top.”
“Top?”
“As in the dominant one in a BDSM situation,” she said loud and clear, like a teacher in Sex Ed. Oh, and perfect, there were even children at the next table over, to pose questions if necessary.
“Krystal,” I groaned.
“What?” She looked over her shoulder and made a moue of distaste. “Must they bring those things out in public?”
“What? The children or the parents?” I laughed, I couldn't help it.
“Both,” she grinned wickedly. “I'm trying to have some girl talk here. I don't need to have to worry about some kid overhearing me.”
“Don't you have children?”
“Two of them,” she grimaced, “but when they're yours, you can beat them.”
“Not anymore.”
“As long as you don't leave marks, you're fine,” she waggled her brows at me. “Also, I never forced other people to have to deal with my kid's issues,” she waved a hand toward the now crying child.
“Well, why don't you just light a cigarette? That might make them move.”
“Shut up, Vervain,” she snarled. “You know I'm trying to quit.”
“Is it harder than turning down hot dragon faeries?”
“No,” she got that wicked look again, “I'm sure your situation is harder, very hard and thick most likely, which is precisely your problem.”
“Hardy har har.”
“Seriously though,” she shot a glance back over her shoulder. “Have you noticed that there's a lot of missing children lately?”
“What?”
“Children,” she nodded her head back towards the mother and her son behind us. “Small people who make annoying sounds and ask too many questions while simultaneously ruining my girl time. They're usually seen wearing stained clothing and snot trails down their cheeks. Most often accompanied by stressed out looking people who haven't had a mani-pedi in way too long and know the theme music to most cartoons better than they know the sound of their own orgasm.”
“Yes, I know what children are, Krystal.”
“Just checking,” she shrugged. “You have so much sex, it's like you don't know what the consequences are.”
“Oh fuck.”
“Yes, that's what I mean by sex,” she rolled her eyes.
“No,” I huffed, “shut up, you ass. It just occurred to me that psycho dragon faerie might want me for making those things.”
“Children?” She drew out the word like she was teaching me to talk.
“Yes, children,” I gave her my duh face. “Except they'd be even more monstrous than the normal human ones. They'd probably have cool wings though.”
“Oh, ew,” she pulled her glasses back down like they were a shield against her catching the monster baby disease.
“Yeah,” then my brain circled back to what she'd originally said. “There are missing children?”
“Like four or five,” she nodded, used to our tangents. “It's like a Maile Amber alert a week lately and there haven't been any of those here in Hawaii in years.”
“Oh, that can't be good.”
“You think it's related to your little side business?” That's what she called my godhunting.
“I don't know,” I frowned, “but I should probably ask the others about it.
“Okay fine,” she sniffed, “but after you spill your
guts about Faerie.”
“Oh, guts,” I grimaced, “I kinda did some gut spilling too.”
“Okay, you can leave that part out.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
I sighed as I drove back to Kaneohe. I'd taken the car to meet Krystal so I could have some alone time. The boys were driving me crazy ever since I'd got back from the Faerie Realm. You'd think there were pixies hiding in every corner, the way they were acting. I mean, what did they expect, the Wild Hunt to come flying out of my vanity mirror?
“Leaping Lizards!” I screamed after I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw Arach's face grinning back at me.
“Where?” He peered through the glass, searching for the jumping reptiles.
“What the hell are you doing in my mirror?” I tried to return my attention to driving but it was rather difficult with a dragon-sidhe staring at me, so I ended up pulling into a parking area along the highway, built to allow tourists a view of the valley.
“I wanted to speak with you,” Arach frowned at me like I was the crazy one. “Everyone knows mirrors are magic. They're the easiest tools of communication.”
“Yes, of course,” I growled. “How could I have not expected your call?”
“Exactly,” he smiled. “Especially after the way we left things.”
“Uh, I think we left things pretty clear,” I glared at him. “You tried to hunt me down, then you tried to burn me to death, and then my lover showed up and threatened to kick your ass before he rescued me and brought me home. The end.”
“Not the end,” his eyes got larger, filling the mirror. “I courted you, proved that you were a dragon-sidhe by giving and accepting fire, and then you were stolen from me by that upstart Viking cad. Him and his ridiculous justice. That's not what the Hunt is about. That's a human ideal he's allowed to twist the pureness of the Hunt, just because he wanted the power of human sacrifices.”
“Okay, Puff,” I tapped the glass. “Back the fuck off Odin. I happen to be in love with the man. Why don't you find little Jackie Paper and go blow yourselves?”
“I fail to comprehend anything you just said to me,” he leaned back so I could see his whole face again.
“I'm not interested in anything you got,” I pointed at his arrogant mug. “Leave me alone.”
“Now you are failing to comprehend me,” his eyes narrowed. “I will not leave you alone. I cannot leave you alone because you are the only hope for a continuation of our race. We are the last, A Thaisce, there are no more dragon-sidhe if you deny me.”
“But don't you live forever?”
“I am undying, yes, but like anything alive, I can be killed.”
“And I'm the same,” I shrugged. “So there will be two of us forever. I think that's good enough.”
“It is not good enough,” he huffed, a thin trail of smoke spiraling out of his left nostril. “You only say that because you have not experienced a full mating with a dragon-sidhe. There is nothing like it. You're not truly alive until you've joined with another of our kind.”
“Yeah, you know what? I'm good as far as the joining thing goes,” I nodded. “I got werewolf loving, which is fucking mind-blowing; a werelion with hair past his ass, who knows how to use it; a Viking god, you might remember him as the guy who wants to kick your ass, who can create invisible mouths and other appendages to pleasure me with; and an angel of death who not only knows how to make love mid-air but who also has access to the Garden of Eden. Ever have sex in a pool of holy wine? It's pretty damn fabulous. I think I can live without your fiery dragon sex.”
“Listing your sexual activities to me is not going to sway me,” he scoffed. “You think a dragon-sidhe is afraid of a little competition? We are encouraged by it. Your praise of your lovers only inspires me to try harder. Now, before I go, tell me, what kind of chamber are you in? It looks most uncomfortable.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
I was never going to leave Pride Palace again if any of my men found out about Arach's little stunt. So I kept my mouth shut during the debate we had about my recent troubles. Most of the God Squad was shocked enough to need a few minutes to collect their thoughts before exploding into queries, so there was a kind of quiet before the storm. However, when the storm hit, it was loud and very confusing for me.
I couldn't follow the rapid fire questions, much less the annoyed answers my men were shooting back, in between tolerant glances at me. So I just sat back, in my favorite wingback chair, and waited for there to be a lull. I had to wait a good thirty minutes. So it wasn't my fault that I fell asleep.
“Vervain!” I was rudely awakened by excessive shaking and shouting.
“What?” I blinked up at Trevor. “Did I miss anything?”
“Just everything you already knew,” he mushed his mouth up in an irritated shape. “Didn't you say you wanted to talk to everyone about something?”
“Huh?” I scrunched up my forehead, trying to remember. “Oh right. Have you guys noticed that there's a lot of missing kids in Hawaii?”
“Missing from where?” Horus cocked his head at me.
“I just said,” I was too tired to figure out Horus, “Hawaii.”
“But where in Hawaii?” He persevered.
“From where they're supposed to be,” I glared at him.
“Well I don't know these children,” Horus scoffed. “How would I know where they're supposed to be? And if I don't know where they're supposed to be, how would I know they're not there?”
“I don't know,” now I was just as confused as he was.
“She means zat zey have been stolen,” Kirill sighed. “Abducted children.”
“How many?” Blue seemed to perk up, which perked me up.
“I'm told about four or five,” I stared hard at him. “What are you thinking?”
“I'm not sure,” he frowned. “It may be nothing. I'll check it out and get back to you.”
“Okay,” I nodded, “fair enough.”
“There's something else,” Mrs. E added and everyone looked toward her. She rarely had something to say but when she did, it was best to listen. “There have been droughts all across the nation.”
“Droughts?” I was confused again.
“Droughts which could lead to damaged crops,” she prompted. “Which in turn could lead to a rise in food cost. Which in turn could lead to anger and resentment in the populace. Which in turn could lead to rioting. Which in turn...”
“I'm sorry to cut you off,” Pan held up a hand, “but that's a lot of contingencies for it to be labeled a possible god plot. Do you really think some god is planning that far ahead?”
“I did,” Blue was frowning even harder now. “It's brilliant actually. Virtually untraceable and impossible to prove. Fry up some farmland and watch the humans start to fight. Nothing makes people angrier than starvation and loss of income.”
“But we won't starve,” I tried to work it through. “There are crops all over the world that we fly in everyday.”
“Local produce has become a big issue for most Americans,” Ull mused. “Take that away and there might be a lot less food than you'd expect. Then there's the farmers to consider. People can get desperate when their whole livelihood is at stake. If done properly, this could really escalate into a global issue.”
“So who do you think may be behind it all?” I asked the big question.
“It would have to be some kind of weather deity,” Mr. T shrugged. “It takes one to know one.”
“Perhaps a sun god,” Persephone said, “but it could also be a harvest goddess. Mom's still missing.”
“Oh damn,” I groaned. “I hadn't thought of her. That would make perfect sense. Demeter's revenge, not just on me but on every happy family in America.”
“But what about the missing kids?” Hades didn't look convinced.
“Could be unrelated,” I shrugged. “Or it could be multiple people messing with us.”
“And let's not forget Phonoi and his lovely mother,” Hades added.<
br />
“Could they be behind the child disappearances?” I wouldn't put it past any relative of Ares'.
“Possible,” that got Hades thinking. “They are most definitely evil enough but to what purpose?”
“Who knows?” I sighed and sat back in my chair again. “Maybe they're planning on leaving the bodies of dead children on my doorstep and framing me for their murders.”
“That's a little dark,” Pan blinked at me.
“You're right, I'm sorry,” I rubbed at my aching head. “I guess coming in contact with the fey has had an affect.”
“Not exactly Disney cartoon characters, are they?” Ull asked.
“Nope,” I thought about Arach's eyes filling my mirror. “Nothing funny about them at all.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
So it turns out that there's not a whole lot of planning that needs to go into a werewolf-werelion wedding.
I was standing in the forest surrounding Fenrir's Hall, off to the side of an aisle made of rose petals that led to a clearing in the trees. Persephone had decorated and it was magical, literally magical. The trees to either side of the clearing had been coaxed to grow inward, their branches stretching across to each other like reuniting lovers. They formed a curved ceiling intertwined with blooming vines that Persephone had grown up and over the trees. Pure white roses hung from the vines, reminding me a little of my room in the Castle of Eight, though these flowers didn't feel so alien to me.
Hanging from the branches were crystal chandeliers, the old fashioned kind with lit candles instead of electric lights. The roses were wound through them as well and the heat from the candles was releasing the flower's sweet scent. Along the aisle, little white flowers grew, edelweiss I think, as if Nature herself was leading the bride to her groom. In a way, I guess she was. I smiled and nudged Persephone, who was standing in front of me, waiting for her cue as bridesmaid. She looked at me over her shoulder.
“It's beautiful,” I whispered.
“Thanks,” she whispered back. “This is the first wedding I've done.”