by Amy Sumida
“What are you doing?” I asked him.
“Something I've been dreaming about,” he smiled wickedly.
Azrael sat back and drew first one wing, then the other, across my body. A fluttering touch of feathers over sensitized flesh. A silken stroke over my belly, my breasts, my neck. I sighed as he outlined my face, my arms, my inner thighs. The scent of vanilla orchids lifted around me as Azrael lowered his lips to my chest. And kissed me right above my heart.
My eyes shot open as that simple touch sent something zinging into me. I don't know if it was Azrael's magic or simply the strength of my love for him. Whatever it was, it sent my hands to his head, to hold him to me. He settled against me, his arms sliding around my back, and his wings draped around us. We remained like that for several minutes, Azrael listening to my heart as it beat for him.
“I want you to stay here forever,” I whispered.
“I am here forever,” Azrael lifted his head and laid his palm to my heart. “No one can change that.”
“I love you, Azrael.”
“Isn't that what I just said?” Az gave me a sexy grin and slid into me.
I sighed as he began that ancient rhythm, the pulsing journey to pleasure.
“Scoundrel,” I teased as I clung to him.
“Then you are one as well,” he said softly. “As much as I am forever in your heart, you are forever in mine.”
Then we set to driving the cold away with our passion, and soon our fire raged hotter than the one before us. I didn't discover the rest of Azrael's plans until hours later, when we finally had our fill of each other. He took me ice skating on the lake, and then cooked dinner for us in the little kitchen. Coq au vin with crusty french bread. Azrael had inherited more than his good looks from his father.
We spent the night wrapped around each other, in a modest bed. Cotton sheets and a fluffy down comforter. The snow brushed against the window like Azrael's feathers upon my skin. Wind howled in frustration, unable to reach us. I felt safe and so content, held in the arms of Death.
Chapter Thirty-Two
I'd first met Odin, in this life at least, at his annual Yule Ball. Odin threw an amazing party at Valhalla, but most of his guests had been gods who fought on the other side of the God War from me. Since we'd become an item, he'd stopped the tradition, and we'd begun to have our own celebrations. With my Intare, and all the Froekn, it made sense to have the party at either Pride Palace or Fenrir's Hall. Fenrir and I traded off, and this year was his turn. But with my pregnancy, I didn't want to go somewhere else for Yule (we celebrated Yule instead of Christmas because Horus has issues with it being his birthday and not the J-Man's), and then have to make all my husbands leave with me when I got tired. I wanted to be able to simply go upstairs when I was done. And with all the Froekn stuff going on, Fenrir and Emma didn't have the time to plan a party.
Fenrir, UnnúlfR, and Torrent had returned to where we'd spoken with Vejasmate, but by the time they got there, the goddess and her children were gone. At least the mess with the Yakuza Gods was settled. Fenrir had a happy ally once more and no Froekn businesses were trashed. We had thought that perhaps Vejasmate would begin attacking the Froekn directly, but that didn't happen either. It seemed like she had simply wanted to get Fenrir's attention. But we all knew that it couldn't be so easy. Which left Fenrir on edge and Emma worried.
So Yule was at Pride Palace this year.
Samantha, who was actually Froekn, but was married to Fallon, one of my lions, took care of the planning for me. She'd done an amazing job, decorating our immense dining hall with garlands of evergreens and holly berries. Red candles rose up from elaborate candelabras, spaced evenly apart down the length of the table, and mistletoe hung in prime locations to lure the lovers... or the lascivious, AKA Pan.
An enormous Christmas tree was set in a corner, swathed in ribbons and hung with a multitude of ornaments. Every Intare had added their own ornament to the tree to give it a personal touch. It reminded me of the trees I decorated as a child. I had so much fun inspecting each unique ornament before it was hung. I dreamed about my children having the same experience someday. Christmas trees, or Yule trees rather, weren't a fey tradition, but perhaps I would start to insist on one so the twins could have some of their human heritage represented.
A silver vat of wassail (mulled cider) sat next to one of spiced wine, and an army of alcohol-filled bottles were lined up behind them. The smell of roasting pig (we had a farm now) and prime rib competed with the scent of the warming cider and fresh pine. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace, and all of our friends and family were gathered together.
It was pure Yule joy.
I sat in a chair before the fire and watched Zariel (Samantha and Fallon's daughter) playing on the rug at my feet. She had a enormous Ever After High dollhouse set up before her, and was bouncing her dollies around it. We'd just finished opening presents, and the Intare were currently cleaning all the piles of wrapping paper using a ploughing technique with their wide brooms. Nick, my tabby cat, was jumping merrily through the mess, making my lions both laugh and groan. Everyone else was admiring their gifts while drinking their holiday beverages, including myself.
I rubbed my fingers over the jewelry box Kirill had carved for me. It had a scene of a lion family on the lid. Mommy, Daddy, and baby lion all lying together in familial bliss. The inside of the box was lined in black velvet and had several removable trays. It was a beautiful example of Kirill's work, and a perfect memory for this year. I had a feeling that I'd be saving Lesya's mementos in it instead of jewelry.
Another, much larger, wooden box sat beside my chair. In it was an antique tea set from Trevor. I'd been slowly transitioning from coffee to tea, and had recently become interested in collecting tea related items. This particular tea set was previously the property of Louis XIV, and had spent its early years in the Palace of Versailles. I was kind of afraid to touch it, much less pour hot liquid into it.
Azrael had given me a painting by one of my favorite modern artists, Jennybird Alcantara. It was a surreal piece, as all of her art was; a mix of animals, flowers, lace, and jewelry. Azrael had commissioned the artwork and it was titled Vervain. It centered around a pair of delicate, female legs, encased in lace stockings. They were swathed with a dripping bouquet of peonies, roses, and wisteria. Over that rose two animal heads; a snowy wolf and a golden lioness. They stared out to the sides regally. Above them, a jaguar head dominated the scene, cream colored fur with golden-brown spots and soft brown eyes. Upon its head was a nine-pointed star, gleaming through the shadowy background of the painting. Then, at the base of the piece, was a golden dragon's head, topped with a gold crown of flame shaped jewels, the Fire crown. The dragon's neck wound around the legs, back into the darkness, where the rest of its body lurked. The painting was amazing, and it was going to go up on my bedroom wall very soon. For now, it leaned against the stone wall beside the fireplace.
Odin's gift was too large to bring inside. It was floating in our lake, moored to the new dock he had built to go with it. I was impressed he'd been able to pull it off without me finding out, but Odin was good at hiding things. He'd erected a massive tent out on the plain, to cover the construction of the pleasure ship he'd made me. It was a dragon ship of course, the head of the beast rising up proudly at one end and gilded gold. The entire body of the ship was carved to resemble scales, and a tail curved up at the back. Although it was clearly made to resemble a Viking longship, it actually had more of a faerie feel to it. It was very feminine-looking, with billowing, white sails, and glittering, crystal lanterns adorning it. On the deck, there was an Arabian-style tent with a dining set inside it. Below deck, spread one long, lavish room with a golden dragon bed in the center of it. Yes, definitely a pleasure ship.
Then there was Re's gift. Honestly, I had expected Re to give me something more along the lines of what Odin had. Something to do with sex or at least pleasure. But Re never ceases to surprise me. His gift had nothing to
do with lust. Actually, it was the most useful of all my Yule gifts. A yellow diamond carved into a stylized sun. Just about three inches across, it lay upon a bed of white silk in a gold box. Re explained how it was for me to use in times of emergency, when I'd run out of energy. My recent issue had inspired him to create it for me.
Basically, the diamond sun was a link to the actual Sun. I could use it to pull fire energy directly from that burning star to fuel my own, nine-pointed star. I don't know what kind of juju Re had to do to establish the link, but I suspected that it had been an immense amount of spellwork. Re was a sun god, so I knew he had a connection to the Sun, but to transfer a bit of that connection to an object... I had no idea how it could be done. And if I'd had any doubt over how brilliant Re's creation was, Odin's reaction to it would have cleared things up for me.
The Allfather was impressed, and that was something which rarely happened. Especially when it came to spellcraft. Odin wasn't just a god, he was a god of the occult. There are several types of magic; faerie elemental magic, the innate magic a god is born with, magic a god acquires through human belief, human witch magic, and god spellcraft. Odin was an expert practitioner in all of the god versions and an avid student of the others. And he had been blown away by that little, diamond sun.
In fact, Odin was holding it now, feeling out the magic, and trying to get a spiritual read on what Re had done. Re was so pleased by this, he couldn't stop smiling. He kept glancing at Odin with smug looks, waiting for the Oathbreaker to simply ask how he had managed it. Which Odin finally did.
“How?” Odin put the sun away, and handed the box back to me. “How did you do it?”
“Egyptian god magic,” Re shrugged.
“You have books?” Odin's eyes sparkled from blue to green to purple. He loved books.
“I have scrolls,” Re corrected.
“Odin, honey,” I laughed, “wipe the drool from your chin.”
Odin grimaced at me before looking back to Re, “Would you be willing to share information? It would be an exchange, of course. I'll share my library with you.”
“A look into the Allfather's collection?” Re mused. “That may be worth divulging a few of my secrets.”
“Wonderful,” Odin held his hand out to Re. “Thank you.”
“You're welcome,” Re nodded, his features softening. “Happy Yule, Odin.”
“Happy Yule, Re,” Odin smiled.
“Happy Yule, Everyone!” Azrael held up his glass, and we all leaned together to clink ours together.
“Happy Yule!” Zariel joined in, lifting a doll up to tap our glasses.
“Zariel, look at this mess,” Samantha scolded as she tried to corral her daughter's toys.
“Let it be, Sam,” I shooed her off. “It's Yule, there should be toys underfoot. Go grab yourself another glass of cider and join us.”
“I suppose you're right,” Sam sighed, rubbing her daughter's riot of curls before getting to her feet.
Zariel was gorgeous. Due to the help of some fertility magic, she had been born pure Intare, even though Sam was Froekn. However, the little lioness had still benefited from the racial mix of her parents basic genes. Fallon was originally from Rwanda, with dark mahogany skin and shocking hazel eyes, while Samantha had Fenrir's Nordic looks. This combination gave Zariel her golden-brown complexion, bouncy curls, and ethereal features. She'd also lucked out and got her father's eyes.
Her looks were deceiving though. Zariel was a strong-willed child, and already showed signs of becoming a fierce lioness. I had seen just how vicious she could be, when I'd gone into the future. I had died in that wrong future, and Zariel had challenged Lesya for the Pride. Zariel had also done some unforgivable things to my lions, things which haunted me still. I knew that future had been wiped away, and hopefully Zariel would never become that woman, but it didn't change the fact that she could. That it was possible. Somewhere inside that beautiful child was a seed that could sprout into a nasty weed. Part of me screamed at myself to pull it out before it threatened the rest of my garden. But the other part of me loved Zariel, and I clung to the hope that the seed inside her would remain dormant.
I'd never told her parents.
I looked to Samantha as she returned with her glass of cider, and smiled softly. Sam was one of my best friends. I couldn't tell her what sort of potential resided inside her daughter. Or that her husband had chosen to side with Zariel in the end, letting Sam leave Pride Palace with the rest of their children. The rest... that brought a brighter smile to my face. Sam and Fallon would probably have more babies, and I was anxious to see if the Froekn and Intare magic would blend as beautifully as their genes.
My eyes drifted to the mantle over the fireplace, where another gift sat. This one had surprised me nearly as much as Odin's boat and Re's miniature sun. The gold cat beamed broadly at me, like it knew something I didn't. It was fat, and stylized, all round belly and soft paws. One hand held an oblong disc with some Asian writing on it, and the other was lifted high, waving at me. It's eyes were black slits, all squished up by its smile, and the inside of its ears were painted red. The red was mimicked in its collar, which boasted a gold bell. A maneki neko, a Japanese luck cat. Amaterasu had sent it to Fenrir for me, along with a note saying she viewed our relationship as lucky, for the both of us, and hoped our good fortune would continue.
“On this Winter Solstice,” Fenrir's voice boomed out, and everyone went quiet, “I'd like to offer a wassail. Not to a bunch of fruit trees, as the humans did, but to you... my family. My very own bountiful harvest. Thank you for your love, loyalty, and unending support. Blood binds some of us, and I love you dearly, my children. But the rest of you have become family to me slowly, through acts of bravery and compassion. We are bound with blood as well, though it be the blood of our enemies,” he paused to smirk, and we all chuckled. “To you, all of you. Happy Yule! Wassail!”
“Wassail!” we all shouted.
I was blissfully happy, but, as usual, my happiness was dimmed just a little. I rubbed my belly gently as I pondered how I would never have what Fenrir had, his entire family with him at once. I would always be split, always missing people I loved. But I suppose, in the end, it's better to have absent loved ones than a lack of them.
“Happy Yule, A Thaisce,” Arach's voice jerked my head up.
I hadn't even realized how silent the room had become. I was too lost to my bittersweet thoughts. But now the quiet resounded around me, and I stood slowly, in a dream-like haze which all magical moments seemed to shift into.
“Arach,” I launched myself at him.
“I guess you were right,” he whispered.
“What's that?” I pulled away to look over the beautiful face I'd been missing so much.
“You told me you needed me here,” Arach held up his hand, and showed me his new Ring of Remembrance.
“I did?” I whispered and hugged him. “Tell the other me I said, 'thank you'.”
“I'm sorry I couldn't bring the boys with me,” Arach kissed my forehead gently. “You're with them now, and I shall return to all of you momentarily,” he leaned back and grinned. “After spending the evening with you of course.”
“Can one of you please explain the dragon's presence to me?” Trevor asked.
“I told you about the new ring,” I said to Trevor. “Arach used it to come over for the party.”
“But if I'm not welcome...” Arach stiffened.
“Nonsense. Of course you're welcome here,” Odin said gruffly. Then he turned and shouted, “Someone get the Dragon King a drink!”
Arach laughed and angled away from me, to greet the rest of my men. He got a mug of wassail, and a back-pounding from Fenrir, then took a seat beside me and held my hand. I may not have had my children with me, but having all of my lovers together was nearly as good.
Wassail!
Chapter Thirty-Three
The veranda, which was made to resemble a drawbridge, extended over our moat. The moat was an offshoot o
f our swimming pool, and often had lions doggy-paddling through it (they probably wouldn't appreciate that term). There were a few drunken cat-men in there tonight, despite the cooler weather and the fact that people were partying above them. Actually, I think that may have been how some of the lions had ended up in the moat to begin with. The veranda had been cleared for dancing.
Arach and I swished across the wooden floor, surrounded by other happy couples. A stereo had been brought out and set up on a small table discretely. It was playing soft rock mostly, with some holiday music, but not a single Christmas song to be heard. Again, we didn't want to send Horus into a tizzy. He looked so happy, dancing with Hekate, who was all decked out in her Gothic finery. Black lace trailed behind her like stylish cobwebs as Horus swept her around the veranda.
“Strange couple,” Arach noted, as he saw me staring at them.
“Opposites attract,” I shrugged, looking pointedly at him.
“We are similar, not opposite,” he said firmly.
“Similar only in bloodlines,” I argued. “Our personalities are about as opposite as you can get.”
“Perhaps,” he conceded. “But blood is very important,” he nodded to Aidan.
I looked over to see the little, lion man stealing a kiss from a Froekn woman who had made the mistake of passing below a bunch of mistletoe. Aidan had been stalking the mistletoe-hung doorway on and off all night, intent on getting some Yule nookie. He was a gorgeous man though, and he really didn't have to try so hard. The woman who was presently wrapped in his arms, let out a growl and jerked back. I thought she was going to smack him, and judging from Aidan's expression, so did he. But instead, the wolf grabbed Aidan by the hand and led him off into the palace. He let out an excited yip and picked up his pace.
“What's the problem?” I asked Arach.
