Dark Star

by Amy Sumida

  “Trevor!” I screamed.

  Viper gaped at me and then clutched me against his chest. “Who is Trevor? Vervain,” his voice broke. “Will this man help you? Tell me where to find him, and I will bring him to you.”

  “There's no need,” Star said grimly as she appeared beside us. “He's here.”

  “What? Where?” I panted as the pain finally faded. It would return in waves; that's what happens when a bonded wolf is separated too long from his mate. He begins to die a slow, agonizing death.

  “At the gate,” she said. “Your husbands have brought him. But you told me to keep them from you. Do you want me to send them away?”

  “He's dying!” I sat up furiously and then stumbled to my feet to face her.

  Viper stood and steadied me, his wide, acid green eyes sliding from Star to me warily.

  “Let him die, and you will be free,” Star said reasonably.

  “I'm not letting my husband die!”

  “I thought you left them?” Viper narrowed his eyes at me. “I thought you didn't love them anymore, Vervain?”

  “I left them because they betrayed me,” I said softly to him. “But that doesn't wipe away the past. I can't let him die, Viper.”

  “I don't understand.” He shook his head. “Why is this man dying?”

  “Trevor is her wolf,” Star said smugly to my viper. “Her bonded Froekn Prince. If they are apart too long, he starts to weaken and then will die.”

  “You're mated to a werewolf?” Viper asked as if I'd done it to hurt him.

  “Viper, you know that I had several lovers before you; several husbands,” I said sternly. “You know my magic makes it necessary. I told you all of this.”

  “You told me about the magic, but you never talk about them,” Viper murmured. “I thought you didn't love them anymore.”

  “It's not... I...” I stumbled over the words.

  “I've kept your lioness magic in check, but I can't hold it down forever, Vervain,” Star interrupted crisply. “If you don't return to your husbands, you will have to take more lovers.” She transferred her stare to Viper. “I warned you about this as well. You've had weeks to come to a decision and you chose to love the Dark Star. This is what loving her means.”

  “If I must share her, so be it.” Viper lifted his chin. “But she holds them between us like a shield. It's not the other men who worry me, it's what they mean to my relationship with her.”

  “I'm right here,” I growled. “Stop talking as if—” I screamed again and fell to my knees.

  “My star!” Viper swept me up and carried me inside to the bed. He laid me down carefully and then crawled up next to me. “Tell me what to do,” he begged as he cradled me against his broad chest. “Shall I go and fetch this man for you; your Wolf Prince?”

  “No,” I hissed through the pain and clung to his shirt. “Don't leave me, Viper!”

  “Never,” he swore determinedly. “I will never leave you and never betray you, Vervain. No matter what you choose, I will stand beside you; I swear it. But I can't stand to watch you suffer.” He looked up at Star. “Can't you dampen this pain?”

  “I can end it entirely.” Her glowing gaze met mine.

  “Bring them here, Star,” I gasped through the agony. “Bring them all to me.”

  Star pursed her lips in disapproval but nodded. Viper tensed, clutching me even closer, as my husbands and boyfriend appeared in the room. Trevor hung limp in Odin's arms; body hunched, face drawn into lines of pain, and cheeks sunken.

  “Vervain!” Kirill rushed forward and climbed across the bed to drag me out of Viper's embrace and into his own. “He's dying. You have to help him! Please, sweetheart!”

  “Kirill?” I whispered.

  Viper hissed long and low as he came to a crouch on the bed. Kirill looked up, finally acknowledging the man beside us, and hissed back. Cat against snake.

  “Enough!” Odin shouted as he strode over with Trevor. “Vervain, touch him now! End his suffering. This is cruel!”

  Kirill scooted aside and helped Odin lay Trevor beside me. Long lashes fluttered as honey eyes opened to stare up at me. Trevor shuddered and leaned toward me automatically, the bond taking over. I closed the distance between us, wrapping my arms around him, and the pain vanished. We gasped together and then let it out slowly, trembling within each other's arms. I heard the other men sigh in relief. Even Viper.

  “Minn Elska,” Trevor whispered, his voice rough as if he'd been screaming, “come home. I love you. I don't care what you've done.” He laid his palm on my cheek. “I need you to forgive me and come home. Vero needs you. Lesya needs you. All of us need you. Stop this lunacy and come back to your family.”

  “Honey-Eyes,” I leaned down and kissed him tenderly. “I've missed you so much.”

  “He wants you to give this up, Vervain,” Star sneered. “Are you willing to do that? We've come so far, but they still don't see what we can accomplish. They don't see the good we've done. They think we're evil.”

  “Is that true?” I looked over at the other men; Kirill, Odin, Azrael, Re, and Toby.

  They all glared at Star as if she were a monster or malicious spirit then they looked at me beseechingly.

  “I can't stop now.” I sat up. “The Middle East is at peace for the first time in thousands of years. No bombs going off. No children dying beneath mounds of rubble. No mothers crying for dead husbands. No crying at all. The people rejoice. They are happy under my rule; healthy and prosperous. Can't you see that this is for the good of all? This is what we've been fighting for.”

  “No, Minn Elska.” Trevor took a strong breath and sat up to face me. “You've become a dictator. They're not happy; they're scared. You're the villain, my love. You've become everything we fight against.”

  “No!” I screamed as fury and power swept through me. “I am not the villain!”

  “Yes, you are!” Odin roared back at me. “You have been infected by evil, Vervain, and I will not watch you drown in it. Death could not separate us and neither will this. You are my wife, and I love you. Fight for that! Fight for us! You know this is wrong. In your heart, beneath that dark star”—he turned to glare at Star—“you know the truth. You've gone bad, my love. You've taken on the taint of Vainamoinen, and I'm so sorry. He was my friend, and I put you in his path. I am responsible for this. Please let me make things right.”

  Odin bent over the bed and pulled me over to him. I fought him for a second, and Viper moved to help me, but Kirill and Trevor tackled my star god and held him down.

  “Let her go! If you hurt her, I will fucking kill you!” Viper roared and bared his fangs, rearing back to strike.

  “Don't, Viper!” I shouted. “Stand down! I'm fine; stand down!”

  Viper hissed but went still in their grip, panting and staring at me intensely as his fangs flicked up. “Choose, Vervain. Choose now! Are you going back to them or staying with me?”

  I hesitated, and while I did, the Oathbreaker took advantage of the opportunity.

  “Forgive me, sweetheart, this is the only way I can help you,” Odin whispered before he began to chant.

  Heaviness filled my body, and I started to go limp, my mind full of mist. The mist brightened and began to seep out, down to my heart. But my heart was having none of that. Suddenly, amethyst light flared inside me and blasted out of my body. It blew away the mist and sent Odin stumbling back. I straightened and leveled my furious stare on him.

  “You think to ensorcell me, Husband?” I growled in a voice as ancient as the sky. “You come here and spout words of love and then strike against me with magic? I am magic!”

  Viper used the distraction to pull free of Kirill and Trevor. He shoved them aside and strode proudly over to stand at my back. But I was too furious to focus on him. I held my hands out as the dark light set my skin to glowing, and I began to lift off my feet to hover in the air.

  “I am the spell you cast,” I declared. “I am all spells!”

  “Lal
a, no!” Re ran toward me.

  I turned and flicked a finger at him, sending Re shooting through the Aether to Aaru in an instant. Go home, silly sun god. The others gaped at me in horror.

  “Get out of here!” Odin shouted at them. “We'll come back for her later!”

  “Come back, and you die, Oathbreaker,” I hissed. “That goes for all of you. Return here, and I will burn you in my light and accept you as a sacrifice.”

  I waved my hand at Trevor, and he dropped to his knees, gasping for breath.

  “Take this as my parting gift to you, lover,” I growled at Trevor. “A magical touch to last you through eternity. The Binding holds no power over you any longer. You will live forever unless I choose to kill you. And I will never have to see your traitorous face again,” I ground the last bit out as I traced him to Pride Palace.

  Before I could do the same to the others, they traced away on their own. Kirill left last.

  “Forever, Vervain,” Kirill vowed. “Zat's how long I vill love you. Zat's how long I vill fight for you. Zis is far from over.”

  Then he was gone.

  I dropped to my feet and stumbled. Viper caught me once more. I looked up at him, my hand trembling as I stroked his cheek, and then I burst into tears.

  “Oh, Jesus Christ. This shit is getting old,” Star muttered and vanished.

  Chapter Thirty

  “It wasn't one thing standing between us, it was six,” Viper whispered as he held me.

  I had started shivering so we were back in my bed, snuggled beneath the covers fully dressed.

  “Seven,” I whispered. “Arach lost me in another time.”

  “Another time? Arach?” Viper frowned down at me.

  “My fey husband. I left him in Faerie and used my ring to jump back in time.” I held up my hand to show him the Ring of Remembrance.

  The oval, cabochon stone caught the light and glowed at me.

  “This ring takes you through time?” He stared at it in fascination.

  “It's tricky, but yes.”

  “And your fey husband. Will you return to him?”

  “I hope so,” I answered honestly. “I left him to protect our boys.” I faltered, remembering the way I had fled because I thought I might hurt...

  No. I had been wrong. Odin was wrong. All of them were wrong. I wasn't the villain. I had become a conqueror but that didn't make me a dictator. I was fighting to help humanity, not repress them. The people under my rule were happy. How could they not be?

  “You have children?”

  I leaned back to look at him. How had we talked about so much and yet I'd never mentioned my children? “I have four. Twin sons with Arach, a daughter with Kirill, and a son with Trevor.”

  “What are their names?” Viper asked softly as he stroked my hair back. “Tell me about them. Do they look like you?”

  “All but one of my children look like their fathers. My twins, Rian and Brevyn, look nothing like each other. Rian looks a lot like Arach; he has red hair, and I don't mean auburn, I mean blood red.” I smiled at Viper's lifted brow. “His eyes are a few shades darker than yours. Brevyn was born blond, but his hair has been getting darker, it'll be my color someday. He has blue eyes though. None of my children got my eyes. I'm grateful for that.”

  “Why? I love your eyes; they're dark and sultry,” he murmured.

  “They're brown and boring,” I corrected but smiled as I did. “Brevyn and Rian were one child in the womb, but then we were attacked by an Egyptian god. His magic started to separate my soul. It would have killed me, but my unborn son absorbed it instead and let it separate him into two boys. Since I'd given him a god soul to go with his faerie essence, he was able to split himself. Then my human blood filled in the gaps. Rian was born with a faerie essence and a human soul while Brevyn was born with a god soul and a human soul.”

  “Your unborn child saved you?” Viper whispered in awe. “Wait... they have multiple souls like you?”

  I had told Viper all about my souls. As he'd mentioned, we'd shared very intimate things about ourselves. Viper had told me all he could remember about his past life. He had lived on Atlantis and died when it fell. He must have lived other lives after that one—Atlantis was destroyed thousands of years ago—but those memories seem to have been taken by the Void. It didn't matter to me. I enjoyed hearing about his old life but it had no bearing on this one. Viper wouldn't have had any memories if he had been reincarnated in the usual way. He would have been born with a fresh slate to write his new experiences on. Either way, it didn't change who he was; an amazing man who I'd been pushing away for no reason.

  Oh, I had shared my past with Viper, told him about everything that had led me to where I was now, but I hadn't gone into detail about my lovers and I'd skipped over my children entirely. I had held myself back in numerous ways. I didn't want to do that anymore. I wanted to tear down the barriers between us. All of them. But I hadn't talked about my children because it was simply too difficult. Too traumatic. Even now, I could feel my chest constricting with panic. Speaking about them was like summoning the Kraken; it made everything inside me rumble.

  Despite the battle going on inside me, I tried to answer Viper. “That's right,” I whispered and then cleared my throat and tried again. “Brevyn also acquired some faerie essence so he technically has three souls like me.”

  “Following in his mother's footsteps.”

  “Yes,” my voice was just a breath of sound.

  “Vervain?” Viper's expression went worried. He pulled me up into a sitting position. “Just take a deep breath, baby. I'm here with you; you're not alone.”

  I drew a shaky breath and my whole body shivered on the release. Viper's hands on my arms steadied me and his steady stare helped me calm the tremors. I took another breath and felt the panic fade.

  “I'm sorry.” I took his hand from my arm and held it in my lap. “I want to tell you about them but it's...”

  “Just go slowly.” Viper shifted me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me. “You were talking about how Rian and Brevyn began two boys to save you.”

  “Yes.” I smiled proudly and leaned back against his solid chest. Pressed up against his warmth and surrounded by his love, I felt safe. The words came easier, “My twin sons were heroes before they were born. And then came Lesya; she got my lioness magic.”

  “A little lioness?” He grinned against my cheek. “I'll bet she's as wild as her mother.”

  “Even more so.” I chuckled. “She saved her father less than a day after she was conceived. Lesya brought Kirill back from the dead; held onto his soul and lured him back to us.”

  “And Trevor's son? Did he do something heroic before he was born?”

  “Vero? No; he's the most like me. A late bloomer.” I scowled suddenly. “If I don't change things and stop the God War, he'll become a godhunter too. He'll get cynical and cold; hiding his pain with humor.”

  “You can't know that for certain,” Viper said gently.

  “I can,” I assured him as I held up my hand to showcase my ring of remembrance. “I've been to an alternate future. I've seen my children fully grown.”

  “An alternate future? You've lived an amazing life, Vervain.”

  “It's only just beginning.”

  I turned to straddle him and lowered my lips to his. And I finally let myself fully enjoy our kiss. I let myself feel it; feel everything I'd been denying. I moaned into Viper and rubbed against his sleekly muscled chest. Viper's breath quickened as he rolled me onto my back, covering my body with his. We both knew it was time; there had been enough waiting. The barriers were finally down and there was only one more line to cross.

  I ground up against his hardening shaft as I squeezed his ass to draw him forward, and Viper started to undo my robe as he settled between my thighs. The passion that had been building between us trembled along my skin, driving me into nearly mindless need. But then Viper pulled back and stared down at me.

  “Do you love me,
Vervain?” Viper asked urgently, his gaze roaming my face. “Have you finally accepted us? Or are you doing this to get back at them?” His jaw hardened. “I love you too much to waste this moment on vengeance. If this isn't love for you, I'd rather wait.”

  “I just needed one last push,” I whispered gently. “I needed to see their treachery once more before I let them go and let myself love you.”

  “Say it,” he growled and brushed his lips over mine. “I need to hear the words.”

  “I love you, Viper.”

  Viper made a rumbling, satisfied sound deep in his chest as he flung my robe open then reared back and tossed the covers aside. With anxious hands, he pulled the robe out from beneath me and tossed it away too. I waved a finger and his pants disappeared in a much easier fashion. Viper chuckled, a deep, masculine, virile sound, and then kissed me again. Triumphantly. Ferociously. Adoringly. So much emotion was in his kiss that I couldn't translate it all. I reeled beneath his love, thoughts jumbled as he eased out of our kiss to make his way down my throat and to my breasts. I sighed as he took his time there, caressing and kissing me until I writhed beneath him.