by Amy Sumida
Odin held out his hand, and Viper solemnly shook it.
“One last thing, Carus.” Azrael held up my wedding ring.
“Oh!” I went still as I stared at it, remembering what I'd said to him the day I sent him away with it. “Thank you for holding onto it for me, Az.”
“Putting it back where it belongs is all the thanks I need,” Azrael announced.
I started to hold my hand out to him but then caught a glint of red. I'd completely forgotten about the ring I'd been given that day in the souq. All of this time, it had been sitting there on my hand, waiting for me, and I'd never once been tempted to shatter the stone and summon the help that had been promised.
“Vervain?” Azrael asked warily.
“I... I forgot about this.” I slid the ring off my finger.
“That had better not be a wedding ring,” Trevor growled as he looked from it to Viper.
“I've never even noticed that thing,” Viper said in surprise.
“How could you not notice it?” Odin asked as he peered at the ring. “It's bright red.”
“I have no idea,” Viper murmured in bafflement.
Odin reached out to take the ring and a crackle of crimson magic glinted across it in warning. He flinched away, eyes widening in shock. “Where did you get that thing, Vervain?”
“It was given to me by a child of Tiamat.” I held the ring up to get a better look at it.
It was one thing for Viper to not notice it on me but quite another for it to go unnoticed by me. Why give me a way to summon them and then make it practically invisible to me? It made no sense.
“Who is Tiamat?” Trevor asked.
“An ancient goddess. She was once one of the High Twenty of Atlantis,” Re said softly; reverently. “Tiamat was very powerful and had great magic even before the Fall. After Atlantis was destroyed, she created the very first pantheon but then her people turned on her. It was said that she created dragons and monsters to defend herself but she lost the war. She died, and her children disappeared.”
The other men went silent, staring from Re to me and then to the ring.
“So, who gave you ze ring, Tima?” Kirill finally asked. “Dragon or monster?”
“It wasn't a dragon,” I murmured. “I'm not sure what he was. He wouldn't tell me. But he offered me his help.” I met the worried stares of my men. “To fight another war.”
“Another war?” Azrael asked warily.
“He wouldn't join my army when I was the Dark Star. He said that his people wouldn't fight in that war.”
“Implying that there will be another,” Arach concluded.
“Yes,” I agreed. “He said that when I needed them, I should smash the jewel in this ring, and they would come.”
“Then you'd best hold onto that, Vervain,” Odin said grimly.
“Maybe on another finger?” Azrael suggested with a smile.
“Really?” I looked around. “You guys think I should keep this thing? What if it's been manipulating me? What if it's evil? We don't know who these people are.”
“It's not evil,” Brevyn announced.
We all looked at my son.
“They're not evil, Mommy,” Brevyn said firmly. “I think you should wear the ring.”
I immediately slid the ring onto my right hand. If Brevyn said I should wear it, I was going to wear it. He smiled brilliantly at me.
“Do you know what he is, Brev; the man who gave me this ring?” I asked him.
“I can't see that.” Brevyn shrugged. “I just see light. Bright light that protects you.”
“That's good enough for me,” Viper announced. “I approve of anything that will protect you.”
The other men murmured their agreement.
“I wish I didn't need protection,” I whispered. “I just finished fighting a war, I don't even want to think about another one.”
“I don't either,” Azrael said. “So, let's not think about it now. Instead, let's focus on this.”
Azrael slid my wedding ring onto my finger. The diamond, formed from locks of my husbands' hair, glinted up at me, happy to be home.
As was I.
Chapter Fifty
We spent the day celebrating outside; there were simply too many of us to keep the party in the Palace. My lions took quickly to Viper. Probably because he made an effort to go out among them and ask to be included in their games. Just like a new kid on the playground, Viper made friends through sports. Volleyball, football, he even went swimming. I watched all the activity from the veranda with Vero in my arms, nursing under a baby blanket. I had missed precious baby time with him. The weight of him in my arms, so much greater than when I'd left, served to remind me of that. But he didn't seem to hold it against me. Vero had made gleeful baby sounds when I took him from Mrs. E, and he hadn't stopped murbling happily ever since. Even as he ate, he murbled.
All of my children huddled around me now, including my furry one. Nick had braved the cacophony of the party for me. Although, I'm not sure that being curled up behind my feet and beneath my chair with the wall against his back could be considered brave. Whatever the case, I was glad he was there. It was therapeutic for both of us.
Kirill was with Viper, helping him acclimate to the Pride, and I loved him so much for that. My black lion could be as alpha as any of my men, but he was also the most generous as far as sharing me goes. I think it came with him being Intare. The magic that sustained him was the same magic that compelled me to live this way. Sharing me felt natural for Kirill.
Trevor had calmed down too, following Kirill's lead for once, and was at the grills with Horus and some of the Intare. But the rest of my men sat around me, still processing this new turn of events as well as my abrupt homecoming. The fact that Vainamoinen's evil was gone, along with all of the horrors I'd wrought as the Dark Star, was enough to make anyone's head spin. But add Toby's dramatic exit to Viper's even more dramatic entrance and it made for a very rough ride. Odin was right; it would take time for the dust to settle and true acceptance to come, but I had confidence that it would.
I just wasn't sure when the ache of Toby abandonment would pass.
“He'll be back,” Re murmured.
“What?” I looked over at the Sun God.
“Toby,” he clarified. “He'll be back. Don't cry for him yet, Argentina.”
“I'm not crying.” I laughed despite myself. “I'm happy to be home, surrounded by the people I love. I'm relieved that the Star was able to fix everything. My magic sacrificed a lot to make things right, and all of you sacrificed your anger to make me happy. How could I cry after I've been given so much?”
I glanced at Mr. T and Mrs. E, huddled together by the pool in a spirited conversation. They had taken the news of Toby's departure well. A little too well in fact. They never liked the idea of their son being with me. Oh, they loved me, but they didn't want this life for their child. Now, they were starting to look a little upset. I assumed that they were beginning to realize that even though they had wanted this, Toby didn't, and he would be hurting. They seemed to come to a decision and started walking back to the palace.
“But you lost someone you love,” Arach noted. “We understand, A Thaisce. It's okay to be sad.”
“Are you sad, Mommy?” Lesya asked me, her father's big blue eyes staring up at me from her solemn face.
“No, I'm not sad. I have you with me. Sadness is impossible when I have my babies beside me.”
Lesya grinned, completely accepting my answer, but Brevyn slid his arm around my calf and leaned against me supportively as he stoked Nick.
“Hey, you three.” I leaned down to look at the older children. “Shouldn't you be in that pool while you still have the chance?”
“I can swim anytime I want,” Lesya said in confusion.
“But not with your brothers,” I reminded her. “And they don't have a pool at their house. Not one made of water at least. The closest thing to a pool is the Tine, and it's too far away to go every day.”
“Oh.” Lesya looked at the twins, and they looked at Arach.
“Go on,” Arach said indulgently. “You can swim in your underwear. No one here will care that they're not proper swimming attire.”
The boys whooped and rushed off, Lesya chasing after them.
“Wait! I'm a girl; I need my swimsuit!” Lesya shouted and then raced back inside the palace.
“Grab their swimming trunks while you're up there, Lesya,” I called after my daughter. Then I looked at my men. “I have to tell you something.”
“By the flame, what now, Vervain?” Arach huffed.
“I think I damaged my star when I set everything back to rights,” I whispered. “I wasn't being dramatic when I said it sacrificed a lot. It's holding together my magic but that's all. I won't be able to rely on it anymore.”
“Do you think it will heal itself?” Azrael asked.
“I don't know.”
“It's connected to the Void and the Nine Great Magics,” Odin said. “It will heal.”
“That's the thing.” I grimaced. “It isn't connected to them. Not anymore.”
They all gaped at me.
“Is this similar to how things were when the Star was broken?” Arach asked urgently.
“No, it's not broken, just weakened,” I explained.
“Okay.” Odin nodded and looked around at the other men. “We can deal with that.”
“It's not as if you were all-powerful or anything.” Azrael winked at me.
“The important thing is that you're you, A Thaisce.” Arach took my hand and kissed it. “And that you're back home with us. Magic doesn't matter as much as you do.”
“I love you too, Dragon.”
“More than the Snake?” Arach lifted a blood-red brow at me.
“He's a viper. Snake went back to the Void.” I smirked at him. “Just admit it; you like him.”
“He's a reptile.” Arach shrugged as if that said it all. “At least now maybe your other husbands will stop calling me the Lizard King.”
“I'm sorry to break this to you, Arach, but that's never going to stop.” Odin slapped Arach's shoulder supportively while we all laughed at the Dragon King's doleful expression.
Chapter Fifty-One
That night, Viper slept beside me in my massive bed with my husbands stretched out to either side of us. At first, he laid there tense, his breathing low and wary, but when it became clear that we were only sleeping, that he wouldn't have to watch or be watched, he began to relax.
“Just go to sleep.” I kissed Viper's forehead and then snuggled down between him and Trevor. “Things will be better in the morning.”
“I'm lying here beside you and you're whole again,” Viper murmured. “Things are pretty fantastic as they are.”
“Is he going to keep talking?” Re grumbled.
“Stop pouting,” Azrael chided Re. “You know you're just disappointed that Vervain didn't want to welcome him into the fold with an orgy.”
“I keep telling you, Angel; it's not an orgy unless there's more than one woman,” Re grumbled.
“Well, I'm not referring to sex with my wife as a gang bang,” Az shot back.
“Vhat do you vant to call it? An eightsome?” Kirill propped himself up on his elbow to talk across Trevor and me.
“This is not happening,” Arach muttered and pounded his pillow as if it were a face.
Then Odin grunted, and I looked over at him to see a huge, gray tabby cat climb across his belly, then Kirill's, and Trevor's before finally reaching me.
“Well, hello, Nicholas,” I said as I drew the tabby cat down on my chest. He started kneading and purring, and I sighed contentedly. “This is my eldest boy, Nicky,” I introduced Viper to him. “Nick, this is Viper. Don't bite him; he might bite back.”
The Cat eyed the Viper and a tense staring contest ensued until Viper blinked slowly, and Nicky laid his head down on my chest in acceptance.
“I think you've passed the test,” I informed Viper.
“A Thaisce, can you please stop referring to that cat as your first son?” Arach whined. “That honor goes to Brevyn.”
“Hey, there was a time that it was just Nick and me,” I chided. “I bottle-fed him when he was a baby; he is my child. Just like Dexter is.”
“Who's Dexter?” Viper asked.
“He's a nurial I found as a baby in Faerie,” I said. “Kind of like a fox and a wolf and a lion all in one. I raised him too.”
“Nick and Dex are both animals, Vervain,” Arach protested. “You're being unfair to your actual children.”
“Shh!” I covered Nick's ears. “He might hear you.”
“Vervain!” Arach growled.
“You love Dexter so stuff it, Dragon.” I resumed petting my cat-baby.
“Please tell me that we won't be sleeping like this every night,” Viper begged me.
“We won't,” I assured him. “I promise; this is only to settle you into the lioness magic.”
“You can take Toby's room tomorrow,” Re offered. “We'll clean it out for you.”
I went still.
“Ow!” Re shouted. “You could have broken a rib, Azrael! Keep your death angel ways out of the marital bed.”
“I'll break your jaw if you keep flapping it,” my angel shot back.
I looked over and saw the men sharing a heavy look.
“Too soon?” Re asked innocently.
“I'll make Viper his own room,” I announced. “No one touches Toby's stuff. I'm going to his territory tomorrow, and I'm bringing him back.”
Everyone looked at me, their stares softening with pity.
“Stop looking at me like that. I'm fine. It's not as if I haven't lost him before.”
“Not like this,” Trevor said gently and kissed my forehead. “It's going to be okay, Minn Elska. We love you. We understand if you need some time to mourn him.”
I sighed and relaxed against his broad chest. “I don't have to mourn, I'm getting him back.”
“I know,” Trevor murmured. Then he lifted his head to growl, “Now, everyone shut up. I'm looking forward to getting a good night's sleep for the first time in what seems like forever.”
The other men mumbled in agreement, and we all let out a relieved breath together. That's when I realized that Viper was already asleep. I smiled and stroked his sharp cheekbone. He was going to do just fine here. And with that thought, I was finally able to relax as well. I nestled down between my alpha and my newest lover with my purring cat on my chest and closed my eyes. Trevor wasn't the only one looking forward to some peaceful dreams.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Viper and I woke to the scent of breakfast. My husbands were already out of bed, cooking in our kitchenette, off to the left. I waited anxiously for Viper to say something, to give me some kind of sign that the lioness magic had done its thing and eased any feelings of jealousy or anxiety he might be having. Then he smiled, and I knew it had worked.
We got dressed and had breakfast with my husbands and children, Viper sliding into my family as if he had always been there. After we'd all been fed, I led him out onto the balcony to break the news that I'd be returning to Faerie with Arach and my boys.
“You're leaving?” Viper gaped at me.
“You won't have time to miss me,” I promised. “Remember how I told you about visiting the future?”
“Yes,” Viper said warily.
“My fey father left me a ring of remembrance. It's a faerie charm that was created to allow Faeries to relive moments in their past that they may have forgotten. They're immortal like Gods. Well, not exactly like Gods; they don't need anything to sustain them.”
“Really?” He lifted a dark brow. “They just live forever?”
“Unless someone kills them, yes.” I looked away, memories of a Faerie war rising to haunt me.
“Vervain, are you all right?” Viper took my hand.
“I'm fine.” I smiled brightly at him. “Anyway, if I use the ring as it was
made to be used, I'd return to a time I had already experienced and would simply relive it. I wouldn't be able to function freely. It would be like living in a movie with my lines and action already scripted. But each realm has its own timeline so if I travel to a realm and a time that I haven't lived through already, I can experience it fresh.”
