A Fey New World: A Reverse Harem Magical Romance (The Godhunter Series Book 32)

by Amy Sumida

  “I mean, the flowers,” I clarified. “Someone said the flowers were releasing poisonous fumes. Well, what if other flowers release a sexual stimulant? Then it would only affect those who smell it.”

  “That's actually quite plausible,” Odin murmured. “It makes more sense than magic picking and choosing its victims.”

  “Alaric,” I called out, “any ideas?”

  None, Al said in my mind. But I can tell you that something must be done soon. If this continues, Earth will become Faerie in a matter of months, if not weeks.

  “Closing Faerie didn't work,” I grumbled. “What else is there to do?”

  “If the magic is changing, maybe it will respond to another type of magic,” Odin mused.

  “What type?” I asked warily.

  “God,” he said. “Or witch. Or maybe, a god using witch magic.”

  “Like Adro?” I asked in shock.

  “It worked for him.” Odin shrugged.

  “And we still don't know why,” Azrael reminded us. “It shouldn't have been possible.”

  “Does the why matter?” Odin shot back. “Or do the results?”

  “We've tried warding the sites and it hasn't held,” Re said. “We need to try something else. So, what spell would you suggest, Odin?”

  “I don't know. Perhaps a lessening spell? A spell that drains magic?”

  “Is there such a spell?” Re asked dubiously.

  “I'm not sure,” Odin admitted.

  “Or I could try to drain the magic as I suggested earlier,” I offered.

  “No!” All of my men shouted.

  “Al says that something needs to be done fast or Earth will become Faerie!” I snapped at them.

  Everyone went quiet in dread.

  “If you can find a spell, Odin, we'll try that first,” I said firmly. “But if not, I'm draining the magic myself. End of discussion.”

  A ding sounded and another tray of muffins popped out.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  “V, can I talk to you?” Torrent asked as he came into the reading room off the library.

  After I'd finally found the stop button for the muffin machine, Odin had gone to Asgard to pour through his spellbooks, taking most of the God Squad with him, including Re and Azrael. Lugh and Isleen were off canoodling in the grasslands to celebrate their engagement, the Imps were altering posts in the Inter Realm, and the children were playing with the abandon of their youth. They'd taken the news of the boys not moving in (probably) with some disappointment but Rian and Brevyn's obvious delight was too contagious to be denied.

  Arach and I mirrored King Cian and discussed our options with him. We decided to keep everyone where they were for now. King Cian was going to make further attempts to seal the realm and although he wasn't hopeful about it, we didn't want to be caught in Faerie if he happened to be successful. Currently, Arach was watching the kids with Kirill and Trevor while Viper was lying with his head in my lap as I perused my spellbook for anything that might help.

  “Sure.” I tapped Viper. “Babe, sit up.”

  Viper grumbled wordlessly as he sat up, then collapsed onto the couch after I vacated it. He curled up on a cushion and fell back asleep. I wondered if his lack of worry for the Earth stemmed from the fact that I'd brought him fully-formed to life and he hadn't had the time to form an attachment to the planet. Most of the time he'd spent on Earth had been during my “dark period” when we were kinda wreaking havoc. The other times had been with the Squad, trying to stop other gods from, well, wreaking havoc as we had. In his past life, Viper had been Atlantean and Atlantis was gone so there was no attachment there either. Or maybe he was like my children and had the roll-with-the-punches faith of those who knew that even if they failed, others were there to save the day.

  Whatever it was, it annoyed me. I had to stop myself from smacking him and telling him to get off his lazy butt and do something useful—the freakin' world was in jeopardy, for gods' sake!

  “Let's go outside.” I waved Torrent out of the library and onto the balcony, where a couple of chairs waited for anyone who wanted to enjoy the view. And for those of us who needed to get far away from our sort-of husbands before we smacked them upside their sleeping heads.

  Outside, the land I had grown to love spread out before me. I hadn't been a fan of the African scenery when I'd first became Tima of the Intare. I was raised in Hawaii and loved a lush landscape. But when I was given the chance to change it, I couldn't bring myself to. The lioness in me was connected to this environment. She needed the swaying grass and delicate, lace-leafed trees. She craved the scent of rich soil, golden-green things, and prey. And her love had deviously seeped into my soul.

  I'd once thought of the place as drab and dry but I was wrong. The golden grass had hints of green in it and was spotted by even more vibrant patches of emerald brush. The lake kept it from getting too arid and the mountains that ringed my territory had even more grandeur than the Ko'olau Range of my old home. They added a soft indigo to the palette of the Pride Lands and the numerous animals I'd created from territory magic added even more vibrancy. From Zebras and Antelope to the smaller creatures who scurried through the brush, there was a kaleidoscope of living color that transformed the view from minute to minute. In short, it was paradise.

  We sat down and I looked encouragingly at Torrent.

  “V, I... I don't think I have a soul,” Torrent whispered.

  I blinked. That was unexpected.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “The Adroanzi didn't have souls,” he said. “And they were born, not created like me.”

  “We don't really know for sure how they came to life. But you are not like the Adroanzi.”

  “V, what if I am? What if I'm evil?”

  “Excuse me?” I gaped at him.

  “I can destroy magic,” he said. “But look at what happened with the fey magic. Instead of helping, I only made things worse. I just have this feeling that it's because I don't have a soul. And if I don't have a soul, that means I'm evil.”

  “First off, things didn't go as expected but you were dealing with fey magic and even faeries have trouble with it sometimes. It doesn't mean that you're broken or soul-less, just fallible, like the rest of us. Second, no one really knows what a soul is or if its lack equates instantly to evil.”

  “It's life. Real life. The Intare who died are still so real here. That's their souls. What will happen to me if I die? Will I just disappear?”

  “No, you're not going to disappear.” I took his hand. “Torrent, all I have to do is look at you to know that you have real life inside you. You shine with it—more so than many people I've known.”

  “But how could I have a soul?”

  “When I was pregnant with Rian and Brevyn, they were only Rian at first, remember?”

  Torrent nodded.

  “Rian had fey essence from his father but I was also able to choose a soul for him. It was a piece of my soul and magic. I chose it for him because I was his mother and that was my right.”

  Torrent frowned.

  “Torr, your father made you from Internet magic but he also gave you some of his magic... his soul. His life. It's the same as the giving that happened inside me. That's what made him your father. It didn't matter that you weren't born from a woman's body, you are still his son. Part of Iktomi lives on inside you and you've taken that part and made it yours. You refused to follow his path but instead forged one of your own. That's what children do. They are of us and from us but they are not us. The piece of soul we give them grows into a full entity and gives them a separate identity. Now, do you think the Adroanzi had the option to be their own person?”

  Torrent blinked, comprehension dawning. “No, they had to obey their creator.”

  “Exactly. They didn't have souls to separate their will from that of their master. They lacked a choice. You do not. From the moment I met you, you have proved to me that you are your own man.”

  Torrent let out a
relieved sob and I pulled him into a hug.

  “Thank you, Vervain,” he whispered into my hair.

  “Torrent, you are one of the most amazing people I know. It's impossible for you to be evil.” I leaned back to look at him. “And the very fact that you've questioned your purpose and your morality proves that you have a soul.”

  “It does?”

  I nodded. “It's called existential suffering. It's when you worry about your purpose, your life, or dying. And it's a human condition, Torrent. You can't worry about your soul if you don't have one.”

  Torrent laughed brightly. “I have a human condition.”

  “Yep. Now, let it go because you're more than human. You're a god.”

  Torrent beamed at me in the same way he had when he'd used his unmaking magic on the fey land. I grinned back. Here was proof that it didn't matter where you came from or how you start. Life is full of limitless potential and wondrous possibilities. Anyone can become anything they wish to be. As long as they have a soul.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Odin and the others returned at last—all of them wearing grim expressions. It was as I'd suspected; there was no spell—god or witch—to drain magic. Not even a lessening spell or something of that nature. Generally, spells are about creating magic and infusing things with power, not stealing it. Witches don't think like that and gods don't have the capability. I think Odin had known that from the beginning but didn't want to give up without a fight.

  “No luck?” I asked him even though I knew the answer.

  “No. But, Vervain, you are going to be very careful when you attempt to take this magic,” Odin said sternly.

  “If she even can,” Hades muttered.

  We all looked at Hades in surprise.

  “Are you forgetting that Vervain can take god magic because she's reclaiming something that was taken from humans?” Hades asked. “This is fey magic, not god.”

  Actually, there is no reason for your ability, it simply is, Alaric said. Whether it came about because of a magical injustice or not doesn't matter. You have a connection to all magic through your star and that should be enough to allow you to transfer the fey magic through you. Especially since you've served as Faerie's avatar before and have experience with transferring fey magic.

  “Alaric disagrees,” I said, then repeated what he had told me.

  “I have every faith that you'll be able to take it,” Odin said grimly. “But it's what it will do to you that worries me.”

  “Well, if I start ripping my clothes off, trace me home,” I joked.

  “That might actually happen, Vervain,” Odin said sternly.

  “Here's to hoping.” Re smirked.

  Odin glared at him. Re rolled his golden eyes.

  “At least this time it would only affect me,” I said. Then I went serious, “Odin, this is our only option at the moment and time is running out. I have to try.”

  “I know. It doesn't mean I have to be happy about it,” he gave in. “Which site did you want to visit first?”

  “Let's start with the one in Hawaii.”

  “Before we leave, may I speak with you?” Mrs. E leaned in to ask me.

  “Uh. Of course.” I waved her down the hallway while the others headed into the dining room—our unofficial headquarters. I ushered her into an empty room and closed the door behind us. “What's up?”

  “Tobadzistsini.”

  My whole body flinched as if she'd struck me.

  “I'm sorry, I should have led up to that.” Mrs. E laid her hand gently on my arm. “I didn't know how to bring him up so I thought I'd just say his name and get it over with.”

  “Is Toby all right?” I asked urgently.

  Tobadzistsini, the Navajo God of Darkness and Water, had been my lover once. I'd thought he would be mine forever but we were never meant to be. We'd fought fate and, eventually, fate won. Oddly enough, I was okay with that.

  “He's fine. Both him and Naye are well,” she said. “They want to help. Would it be okay to bring them here?”

  I let out a breath as I remembered the last time I'd seen Toby. I had stood on his doorstep and asked him to come back to me. He had refused. Not unkindly but not warmly either. Toby had made it clear that we were over and that rejection was a sore spot in my heart. I was over him, I really was. I just wasn't sure if I was ready to see him again.

  But this wasn't about me.

  “Yes, you can bring them,” I said. “They're always welcome here.”

  “Thank you, Vervain.” Mrs. E's dark eyes were full of understanding. “He doesn't harbor any anger toward you, you know?”

  “I know. Toby is better than that.” I smiled wanly.

  “I'll go fetch my sons,” she said. “We'll be here when you return.”

  “Okay.” I headed toward the door.

  “Vervain.”

  I stopped.

  “He still loves you.”

  I fled the room.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  I loved Mrs. E but why did she have to say that to me right before I tried to take fey magic out of the Earth? It was a horrible distraction. As I trudged down a humid street, invisible beneath a layer of god magic, all I could think about was Toby. I had let him go and moved on. I had more than enough love in my life to make up for the lack. But being over someone doesn't mean that you stop caring about them. I will always love Tobadzistsini and when Mrs. E had said that he still loved me, it had been like a slap to the back of my head.

  “Damn!” I hissed as I caught my toe on a chunk of loose asphalt and stumbled.

  The hands I held in front of and behind me steadied me before I could fall and a disembodied voice asked, “Carus, are you all right?”

  Azrael was extremely helpful in situations that called for sneaking up on humans. Not only could he go invisible, as all gods could, but he could also move through walls like a ghost and he could take others with him. If the humans had erected any barriers around the MZ that we couldn't surmount, Az would get us through.

  “I'm fine,” I whispered.

  My men knew why I was unsettled. Before we left, I'd told them that Mrs. E would be bringing the twins by to help us. They'd all given me worried looks but I really was fine with Toby. I was at peace with him moving on. I just... there's being at peace with an ex and then there's seeing him. Having him get in your face. With all that Native American hotness. I was a little nervous.

  And the fate of the world depended on what I did next. Great.

  I needed to buck up and put Toby out of my mind. He was seeing someone, or so I'd heard, and he was happy. That was a good thing. We would be able to work with each other without issue. I accepted that and put him out of my mind.

  A few feet ahead of us, a chainlink fence stood, topped by curls of barbwire. It extended to either side, crossing through the yards of evacuated homes to circle all of Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens with room to spare. The entrance to the gardens waited several yards beyond the fence, at the end of the street we walked down. The MZ was a long way off, but we didn't want to trace directly into it and wind up in the middle of a patch of dangerous fey plants. It's never a good idea to trace into a territory that might have significantly changed since the last time you visited but when you added wild faerie magic with a tendency toward grievous bodily harm, it went from not good to exceptionally stupid. The magic had been attacked so many times that it might even lash out at fellow faeries. Besides, we had wings.

  Because of where we had to trace into Hawaii and the distance we had to cover to reach the MZ, only those of us who could sprout wings had come along. We didn't want to take a large group anyway and the wing thing was the perfect excuse to thin the ranks. So, in addition to Azrael and me, there was Arach, Morpheus, and Odin. Finn and Horus could have joined us but Horus wanted to stay with Hecate and Finn didn't want the hassle of getting undressed to shift into a swan; neither of them had half-forms.

  A man with a large gun slung across his arms and a military
uniform patrolled a section of fence about fifty feet long, strolling back and forth with the slow gait of the mind-numbingly bored. I was glad he was there. If he hadn't been, the place would have been clogged with a crowd of people anxious to see the MZ and we would have had to take to the air sooner.

  Before we left Pride Palace, Arach and I had shifted into our weredragon forms and Odin had mimicked us with his limitless shapeshifting abilities. Morpheus and Azrael didn't have to shift—their wings were a part of their usual bodies. In other words, we were all ready to spread our wings and fly over the fence. We waited until the soldier was as far away from us as possible and then took to the air. Even with the distance, he still heard the crack of our wings and frowned in our direction. But then he shrugged and went back to patrolling.