by Unknown
“Alright,” he laughed. “I hadn't even thought of that.”
“Oh damn,” Trevor started to laugh too. “That really would piss off Puff, wouldn't it?”
“Don't call Arach that,” I chided.
“You were the one who started it,” Trevor reminded me.
“That's before we were married,” I sighed. “Now I'm about to give birth to a baby Puff.”
“A puffling,” Kirill chuckled and I groaned.
“Isn't that a type of bird?” Trevor asked.
“Nyet,” Kirill laughed harder. “Zat's a puffin. Puffling is baby dragon.”
“Knock it off, you two,” I growled.
“Speaking of weddings,” Azrael slid smoothly into his favorite topic of late. “My mom wants to go dress shopping with you.”
“I have to take my mom dress shopping with me,” I reminded him. “And even that seems kind of ridiculous since I can make my own gown through transmutation.”
I'd told my mother that I was getting married to all of my men and she had nearly fainted from happiness. I think she assumed I'd never get married because of my weird situation. Of course then I had to tell her that the wedding would have to wait until after I gave birth to a dragon baby and she nearly fainted from shock.
“Can't you take my mom too?” Az asked hopefully.
“I guess,” I blinked.
Take the Holy Spirit shopping with my mother the witch, to find a wedding gown for me; a triple trinity being who was pregnant with a dragon baby and was marrying four men all at once? Sure. As one does.
“Thank you,” Az gave me another kiss. “It means a lot to her. She really loves you, you know.”
“I love her too,” I said distractedly.
“Eat your black seaweed eggs,” Trevor nudged my plate. “You look like you might burp fire again.”
“What kind of eggs?” Azrael finally noticed what was on my plate and his eyes went round. “Please tell me we're not all eating that for breakfast. It looks like radioactive sludge.”
Chapter Two
I was in Hell. Literally. Again. Azrael and I were having dinner with his parents, at Luke's home in the Judeo-Christian Hell. The trip there was always a little disturbing but once I was inside the Gothic manor, it became a serene setting of modern but cozy furnishings and elegant décor. The dining room in particular had just been redecorated and there was a lot to take in.
The dining table had been replaced with a carved mahogany monstrosity. Arrogant angels held the top aloft on flung back wings, their chests puffed out proudly and their legs rigid, forming the legs of the table. Each one held a sword, pointed down along the front of their legs but nonetheless ready for action. Rather intimidating really.
A chandelier of draped crystal shards dangled above us, shedding sparkling light over the glossy table top, while a bright crimson carpet lay beneath us. Luke insisted that red was good for the appetite and his color choice had nothing to do with his job as the Devil. I would have believed him, except the carpet was shaped in an oval and wound up looking like a pool of blood. Luke was too talented a designer to not have caught that.
To my right there was a window which I knew overlooked Hell, but the red velvet drapes were shut resolutely across the view. So I transferred my gaze to the tapestry hanging on the wall across from me. It was that one of the fair maiden with a unicorn in her lap but this maiden looked a lot like Holly and the unicorn had red eyes (probably to go with the carpet).
On my left was a Victorian hutch filled with gold accented china and behind me was a matching sideboard. Next to the hutch was a moderately sized fireplace with a happy fire blazing away within it and on the gilded, elaborate mantel were framed photos of Azrael as a child and a central photograph of Luke and Holly at their wedding.
On top of being an amazing decorator, Luke could cook. Like in the way Julia Child could cook. Tonight Lucifer Morningstar had made individual beef wellingtons with sauteed green beans and popovers. I couldn't wait to pop some in my mouth.
“So I had an interesting conversation with Hanuman,” I said to Luke as he handed me a plate of food which looked like it could have come out of a five-star restaurant.
“The flying monkey god?” Luke lifted a brow. “Do tell.”
“He was saying how every religion had an end of the world scenario... well, not every one but a lot of them,” I clarified. “His point was that humans prefer it when things have an ending. They have a hard time with the concept of eternity. But I started thinking about the Christian Armageddon and I wanted to get your take on it. Do you think the prophecy of Armageddon was created to give humans an end or as just another way to use fear to manipulate them? And do you think their belief in it will help bring Armageddon about? Like how Odin's spear tried to kill Fenrir when Odin died.”
“Wow, that's some heavy dinner conversation, Carus,” Azrael laughed but Holly was groaning.
“First of all, it's not Armageddon,” Luke began.
“Here we go,” Holly rolled her eyes.
“What?” I looked at her in surprise.
“This is one of his favorite subjects,” Holly explained but she couldn't go any further because Luke spoke over her.
“It's the Battle of Armageddon,” Luke said excitedly. “Armageddon is a place. It's the location where the final battle is supposed to occur.”
“Oh, I didn't realize that,” I looked to Az but he just shook his head with a smile. Evidently he was more tolerant of his father's obsessions than his mother was.
“Yes, the word means mountain range,” Luke continued. “But what really gets my tail in a twist is how silly the whole thing is.”
“Silly?” I lifted a brow. “You find the idea of the end of the world to be silly?”
“It's silly that people think I'm so stupid that after hearing a prophecy foretelling my grand failure, I wouldn't change my plans,” Luke huffed. “Hello! The future isn't set in stone, you don't tell someone how you're going to kick their ass and then expect them to just dutifully show up for the kicking.”
“Good point,” I conceded.
“As if Jerry could even throw me into an abyss in the first place,” Luke huffed. “Please. The Christians don't know their god like I do.”
“Sweetheart,” Holly patted his hand. “It's just human myth. You benefit from all of that, remember?”
“But it's just silly,” he jerked his head back, shaking a lock of golden blonde hair out of his baby blue eyes. “Supposedly Gog and Magog are going to join forces with me. Do you know who Gog and Magog are?”
“Um, no. Honestly, I've never even heard the names before,” I shrugged.
“Haven't you read the Bible?” Luke looked surprised.
“Wi-i-itch,” I sang as I pointed to myself. “I do know parts of it but it isn't my favorite piece of literature.”
“Point taken,” Luke gave a sideways nod. “Anyway, no one knows who Gog and Magog are anymore because that book was written a billion years ago.”
“Lucifer,” Holly chided.
“What? I can't exaggerate?” He looked over to his wife and she gave him an even sterner expression. “Fine, it was written a very long time ago. Anyway, no one knows who Gog and Magog are because they're dead! They were nomadic tribes who everyone hated at the time. So people villainized them further by connecting them to me. Which turned out to be totally unnecessary since those tribes died out... and ironically, none of them ended up in Hell.”
“That is kinda ironic,” I laughed but sobered when I saw Holly's irritated expression.
“Yeah, they're dead,” Luke continued gleefully. “So how are they supposed to join me in an uprising, huh? It's like saying the Trojans are going to join the battle. Ridiculous!”
“But isn't there something about the dead rising?” I asked.
“A grandchild and a wedding!” Holly nearly shouted, startling us all. I guess she'd had enough with end-of-the-world discussions.
Actually, she looked really
excited. I hadn't seen her so animated since her bachelorette party in Vegas. Maybe she hadn't been annoyed by the Armageddon talk but by the delay in getting to what she really wanted to talk about.
Holly was a pale woman. Her hair was platinum blonde and her skin was the epitome of porcelain; so translucent, you could see the veins beneath it in places. Just like you could see the shadow of your hand behind a piece of fine china. She had ice-blue eyes and just a hint of pink to her cheeks, without which, she would have been practically colorless. She normally spoke in a breathy voice which, when combined with her delicate appearance, made you think she would fall apart if you looked at her too harshly. She was like a glass sculpture in an expensive store; you were afraid to touch her. Which made her vibrant energy a little surprising.
“Yes, it's more than we hoped for,” Luke patted Holly's pale hand. “But remember, this child will have responsibilities in Faerie.”
“Oh pish posh,” Holly huffed and I exchanged a look with Azrael. This was exactly what I'd been worried about.
“The baby is not technically our grandchild,” Luke went even further.
“Dad,” Azrael cocked his head at his father in a way I knew was meant to be a warning.
“Luke, really,” Holly pouted.
“No,” I held up a hand and everyone looked at me. “Luke's right and I'm glad he said it. You're all welcome to be a part of the baby's life but this is Arach's child. I appreciate your desire to claim the baby because he's mine,” I took Azrael's hand. “But he's not really yours. Let's just call it like it is. The baby will be raised in Faerie to be Prince of the Fire Kingdom. He will have uncles who love him because they love his mother but he has only one father and I don't want to confuse him by saying otherwise.”
“Vervain,” Az looked so hurt, I immediately wanted to take it back.
“We can talk about having children if it means so much to you,” I squeezed his hand. “I love you and I love that you want this baby, no matter who sired him but I'm not a single mother you happen to be dating. I'm married to this child's father and I'm sorry, Az but you know it's not you.”
“A father who also happens to be a dragon,” Luke added. “Best to not get too attached to this baby, Son.”
“This baby is inside of you,” Azrael flat out ignored his father. “It has Ull's soul along with its fey essence but its blood and bones have been formed by you. I'm yours as you are mine. This makes him my son too.”
“Azrael,” I shook my head, overwhelmed by his obstinacy. “I may be yours but he is not. He is of me but is not me.”
“Then what is he to me?” Azrael's face went still. “What do I call my wife's child?”
“Your nephew?” I shrugged. “I don't know. Titles never bothered us before but we can talk about it if you'd like. Hopefully some other time when we won't be ruining your father's beautiful dinner.”
“You were the one who waited until now to tell me this,” Az glanced at his parents. Holly looked horrified but Luke gave me a supportive, if grim, smile.
“I was trying to find a way to tell all of you and then Luke brought it up,” I shrugged. “I wasn't going to ignore the opportunity.”
“She said you could have your own children, Azrael,” Luke offered. “Wouldn't you prefer a child of your blood?”
“This isn't about preference. It's obviously not my choice for Vervain to have another man's child but this is the situation. I love her and so her child is mine,” Azrael got the look I was dreading. His stubborn, Death stare, as I liked to call it. The last time he had that look, our relationship nearly ended.
“Azrael, you cannot tell this child that you are his father!” I shouted and he flinched. “I'm sorry,” I sighed as I held my hands up to my face. “You know what this baby means to Arach and the fire fey. It's the whole reason I agreed to have a child in the first place. I can't present the kingdom with an heir and then tell them that, oh, by the way, he's got four more daddies too. It just won't fly.”
“Fly,” Luke chuckled under his breath and Holly hit him in the arm. “What? Dragons... just won't fly. It's funny.”
“Vervain, don't you understand?” Azrael whispered as we both ignored Luke. “This is the only way we can get through it.”
“What do you mean?” I frowned at Az.
“Do you think I could bear to touch you, knowing you were carrying someone else's baby?” He asked grimly and my face fell. “Do you think any of us could bear it? The only way we can keep loving you, is to love this child too and in order to do that, we have to claim it. We have to think of the baby as ours or we can't have either of you.”
Fire burst inside me and a wave of anger rose up my throat. Call it baby hormones if you like but I have a feeling this was way worse than any normal pregnancy hormones. Even normal dragon-sidhe hormones. I felt claws sprout from my fingertips and had to take a few deep breaths before I could even speak.
“Vervain, are you alright?” Luke leaned across the table. One of Luke's forms was a dragon and in his eyes I saw complete understanding.
“No, I'm not,” I stood up. My voice was deeper than normal, with a dragon's edge to it. “I really wish I could stay and eat what smells like a wonderful meal but I'm afraid I need to leave before I burn your son. Thank you for having me.” My eyes slid to the popover on my plate and my belly rumbled. I snatched it up. “Maybe just one for the road.”
I started walking to the front door and Az got up to chase me. He grabbed my arm but I yanked it away.
“You can't just walk out after that,” Azrael ground out.
“I'm doing you a courtesy by leaving now,” I turned to him and he flinched. My eyes must have gone fiery. “If I stay, I will say things I don't mean. And possibly do things I'll regret.”
“The child is mine, Vervain,” Azrael said simply.
“Do you think I want to be pregnant?” I growled. “Do you think I want to have the hope of an entire race of faeries lying on my shoulders... curled up in my belly? I am dealing with this as best I can, trying to do right by Arach while trying to love all of you equally. I get that you're all alpha males and need to claim the baby inside your wife. I understand the primitive mentality and most of the time I even enjoy it. But you all knew this was coming. You've had years to get used to the idea of me having Arach's child... Arach's, not yours! I don't need this male ego bullshit in the middle of it all. I need your support but if you can't touch me while knowing that this child is not yours, then don't touch me, Azrael. Don't fucking touch me!” I turned and grabbed the gold doorknob.
“You can't just walk through Hell by yourself, Vervain,” Azrael gritted out. “I'll take you home.”
“Oh please. We both know that I'm one of the scariest things in this Hell.” I snapped as I flung open the door. “Besides, I'm not alone. I have my son.”
I slammed the door in his face and started back across the wastelands of Hell.
Chapter Three
I muttered to myself like a madwoman all the way through Hell. Not even the demons dared to approach me. It was a good thing too, I probably would have said something mean and then regretted it later. Like I was regretting what I'd said to Azrael.
Why were we fighting so much lately? It felt like Az had to argue with me over every hard decision I made. I understood his side of it but I had a lot more important things than his feelings to worry about. Still, shouldn't the feelings of the man I loved be more important than anything else? Agh! This is why people should be monogamous.
Maybe I'd been unfair to Az, expecting him to tow the line and support me no matter what. Maybe I'd come to expect that of my men and maybe that was unfair too. Maybe I was too focused on my problems to see how they were suffering. Were they suffering? Was I torturing my lovers by having Arach's child? More importantly, was there anything I could do about it?
I thought I'd done everything I could to ensure that my men weren't hurt by this. We'd planned and talked about it over and over. We knew what to expect and th
ey seemed to be okay with everything. I just hadn't realized they would be claiming Arach's son as their own. A part of me loved them even more for that and it hurt me to have to tell them they weren't going to be a father to this child but the other part of me loved Arach and knew the sacrifices he'd made for me and this baby. That part of me wanted the King to have his heir and for nothing to get in the way of that happiness... and that part of me also happened to be a dragon. Azrael had met the dragon tonight and the dragon didn't care that she'd hurt him but the rest of me did.
I finally made it to the gates of Hell. I stepped through the wards and into Shehaquim, the Third Heaven, with surprising reluctance. The atmosphere of Hell had matched my mood more than the serenely eclectic ambiance of Heaven. I sighed as I looked across the rolling hills with their distinctive rivers of milk, honey, oil, and wine. Surrounding the rivers and the open land they flowed through, stood the homes of the angels; each one unique, inspired by different time periods on earth. At the far end of Shehaquim, an entire territory away from me, was Azrael's palace. The home and prestige he'd left for me.
“Whatchu lookin' at, V?” Salem, the dragon who guards the gates of Hell, had somehow crept up on me and managed to startle me into yipping like a chihuahua.
“You scared me,” I accused as I turned to smile up at him.
“Oops,” he smiled back, sunlight glinting off his emerald scales and sharp teeth. “Sorry about that. Wow! Look at your belly.”
“I know,” I sighed and rubbed it. “Dragon-sidhe grow fast.”
“Yeah,” Salem nodded sagely. “Our women are lucky, they only have to lay an egg.”
“Arach teased me that I would as well,” I chuckled.
“No he didn't,” Salem chortled. “That guy is funny. It's good that you're having his baby,” he lowered his snout to sniff at my belly. “We need more dragons like him.”
“We need more dragons... period,” I laid a hand on Salem's massive snout and smiled gently into those daffodil eyes when they focused on me. “Do you think there are anymore female dragons left? I mean pure dragons, not dragon-sidhe.”