by Sumida, Amy
“Fire did,” I smiled and shrugged. “See, it pays to help people.”
“I guess it can,” Trevor kissed me and squeezed me tight.
“I feel very good,” Kirill had to hug me after Trevor was done. “All of ze Intare do. I haven't felt like zis since first day I vas made lion.”
“I'm glad,” I laughed and backed out of his hug. I still had more to do.
“Goggles,” Kirill handed me the goggles, sensing my need as always.
“Thank you,” I put them on, feeling a little silly wearing goggles and nothing else but then the world got dark.
The dark was focused around the fey's tree though and just as it had when I'd observed it at the sight of the Froekn deaths, it coalesced into a human form and then traced away. I followed its progress through the Aether and watched as it entered Faerie. I had known it was headed there but still it angered me a little, knowing that this evil was going back to hunt more fey.
“Alright,” I sighed and pulled the goggles from my head. “Let's go home.”
“That's it,” Trevor looked shocked. “We can go home?”
“That's it for you,” I smiled grimly at him. “I need to go home to put on some clothes and pack. Then I'm going to Faerie.”
“I don't like this,” Trevor lost his grin.
“I know,” I traced home without waiting for him to complain more. There was nothing else to be said. I had to go, had in fact been putting this off long enough. I should have returned already.
“Vervain,” Trevor traced in behind me with Kirill and followed me to our bedroom.
A couple of Intare were roaming the halls and they gave me wide-eyed glances before hurrying away. Even though I'd gotten used to their nudity, I wasn't so free about mine, so it was probably startling to see me walking naked through the hallways right after feeding them enough energy to make them high.
“We need to talk about this some more,” Trevor closed the bedroom door after Kirill made his way in.
“Go ahead,” I pulled some underwear on and then a black sheath dress. “I gotta pack some things though.” I pulled out a large bag and threw a few items into it; face wash, toothbrush and paste, some gifts for the fey, you know, the little things.
“You have all the time in the world,” Trevor stopped my hands and pulled me over to the couch. “You know you'll be going back to the moment when you left. She may not even be there yet.”
“Oh, she's there,” I grimaced.
“Vervain,” Trevor shook his head. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“I'm not going to blow off your instincts,” I sighed. “I know this is going to be dangerous and I know things may go very badly but what option do I have?”
“You can take me with you.”
“No, I can't,” I held up the finger with the ring on it. “You said it yourself. I'm going back to the past and this is the only advantage I have over her right now.”
“How so?” He frowned.
“She left me that message, probably intending for me to follow her back to Faerie,” I tried to slow down my brain so I could explain to him. I felt like it had been racing on overdrive ever since I'd pulled all of that fire into me. “She thinks I'll be going back now and is expecting to fight me in the future but I'll be going back to the past, to a time when she thinks I don't even know about her existence.”
“You'll be able to get the jump on her,” Trevor nodded to Kirill, who had come to stand in front of the couch. “Okay, I get it. I just can't let go of this feeling that there's something different about you, that the difference is going to play into this situation somehow.”
“Oh, right,” I hadn't told them. “Remember that day when you came into the library and found me laughing hysterically on the floor?”
“Yeah?” He narrowed his eyes on me.
“Okay, so I have three beasts,” I started again. “And I have three natures,” they both nodded, “and now with Demeter's magic-”
“You have three magics,” Trevor whispered. “Fuck, you have three triple aspects. What happened?”
“They joined together,” I shrugged. “It's nothing huge, I just feel more right, more complete. I do have this feeling that I could use that connection to fuel my actions though.”
“Vat does zat mean?” Now Kirill was frowning.
“It means she could pack one hell of a punch if she needed to,” Trevor was still staring at me with shock. “Vervain, I don't know if you should leave now. Maybe we should look into this more, test out this connection you've made with all your different aspects.”
“I need this,” I took Trevor's hand and squeezed. “I can't sit here researching things anymore. I don't want to test this new part of me or just poke at it and see what it does. I need to finish this. I need to go back and stop Andrasta and I need to do it now.”
“You've been absent from our relationship,” Trevor's voice was soft and sad. “I've tried to give you time and space but now it feels like you're running away completely. Have you forgotten that you have three other lovers right here?”
“No, of course not,” I whispered and glanced at Kirill who looked away, his jaw clenched tight. “I'm sorry, this isn't about running away.”
“Odin's dead, Vervain,” Trevor ran a hand through his thick hair. “I know it's awful but we're still alive. Kirill, Azrael, and I still need you. We need you here, with us. We need you to get your head on straight and stop retreating into that damn library everyday. I feel like I haven't spent time with you since before he was killed.”
“That's not true,” I shook my head and tried to think. “We spent Halloween together.”
“Yeah, with everyone else,” Trevor reached a hand out to Kirill. “You wanna help me out here?”
“It feels like you love him more zan us sometimes,” Kirill shrugged. “Like you love his memory more zan ze reality of us. Ve vant our voman back. You can mourn and ve vant to help you mourn but ve must do it together from here on. No more running avay from us, Vervain. Enough.” He cut his hand through the air and I stared at him, a little stunned.
It was rare that Kirill asserted himself with me but when he did, it was like a part of me, my lioness probably, immediately recognized his word as law. Kirill said enough and I wanted to whimper and show him my belly. I know, it sounds crazy and maybe even a little submissive but our relationship wasn't about dominance or submission and it had nothing to do with that. It was about making each other happy and if Kirill was to the point where he called foul, it must be pretty bad. Which meant my men were unhappy. This in turn made me unhappy.
I walked over to Kirill and slid my arms around his flat stomach, feeling the muscles tighten against me. He hesitated a moment before wrapping his arms around me and laying his head over mine, his long hair swinging forward around us. I shifted my face and lifted my mouth to his.
He was instantly ravenous, consuming my mouth like a starving man. His hands rubbed over my back, pulling me against him, and he was hard and ready against my stomach. How much had I ignored in my sorrow? I couldn't even remember the last time I'd made love to him.
“I'm sorry,” I said when I finally pulled away. “I've been so focused on the dead.”
“Time to remember the living,” Trevor had come up behind me, encircling me with Kirill.
Clothes fell away quickly to hot hands and hotter mouths and soon I was laying beneath them in our big bed. They were a little wild by the time we were all flesh to flesh and there was a lot of growling and biting involved. I remember being thrown around quite a bit but I didn't mind, would you? I landed in strong arms or on soft pillows, every inch of my skin kissed or caressed, filled below and above with flesh as we came together in rapturous release.
Hours later, when we were all sated, I slipped from the bed to shower before my trip. When I came back into the room they were both eying me sleepily.
“This better not have been a one time occurrence meant to placate us,” Trevor growled.
�
��I promise we'll pick this all up again as soon as I get back,” I smiled at him.
“Alright,” his eyes started to drift shut. “I'll see you in a few minutes. I love you.”
“I love you too, Honey-Eyes,” I watched him fall asleep.
“Tima,” Kirill got out of bed, strutting his beautifully naked self over to me for a goodbye kiss. “Be careful vith ze fey. Be safe, I love you too.”
“I am ze fey, baby,” I smiled and grabbed my bag.
He nodded and got back into bed, flinging his long hair out behind him before falling asleep as well. I watched them for a few minutes, feeling my heart clench at how beautiful they were and how lucky I was. I had to be more careful of their feelings in the future. I didn't have the luxury of fucking up my relationships anymore, without these men I'd fall apart. Odin's death had proven that more than anything. I sighed and resolved to make things better between us all when I returned from Faerie. Then I looked down at my father's ring.
“Please take me back to the moment after I last left Faerie, to my bedroom in Castle Aithinne.”
And the bedroom disappeared around me.
[Fluffer Nutter]
Acknowledgments
On August 17, 2013 a fire was started and got out of control in Stanislaus National Forest near Yosemite. It is still burning as I write this but it's mostly under control thanks to the efforts of Park officials, firefighters, and the Forest Service. I included it within my story to pay homage to these people and all that was lost due to one man's stupidity. The dates are not accurate but I hope the sentiment comes across. I want to give a special thanks to the biologists working with the Forest Service who not only helped fight the fires but went in to help those animals that were in danger. In particular, the turtles. Yep, turtles. They found a group of stranded turtles whose marsh had been burned away. They were huddled together in what little water remained of their home and the biologists brought them more water and provided them with cover. They also protected the nests of several Bald Eagles but it was the story of the turtles that really got to me. To take the time to save reptiles most people would have thought insignificant, in the midst of a horrible fire, is heroic to me. It's real love magic at work. Thank you for saving the turtles.
Keep reading for a sneak peak in the companion book to Harvest of the Gods, and the next book in the Godhunter Series:
A Fey Harvest
Chapter One
The Faerie King was right where I'd left him.
I smiled at Arach and he smiled back indolently at me from where he slouched against the pillows on our massive bed. The black linens were stilled rumpled from the last time I'd been there, which was all of two minutes for him though it was more like two months for me. He was covered only by a sheet, the edge curling at his abdomen like it was beckoning me closer.
“Miss me?” I joked as I walked across the expanse of thick carpet that stood between the bed and me.
I breathed in the ridiculously clean air of Faerie as it flowed into the room through the open window. Sunlight streamed in as well, shimmering over the crystal decanter and goblets set out on the table near the window. The light filtered through the faerie wine inside the decanter, sending a length of red across my path. I walked through it and felt a shiver course down my spine when I noticed how it made my legs look as if they were covered in blood.
“It was virtually unbearable,” Arach's grin grew and he crooked a finger at me. I shook off the strange feeling and crawled over the expanse of the bed toward my fey husband. He pulled me against him urgently, like he was the one who'd gone so long without me. “What took you so long?”
“What, was I a minute late?” I lifted my face for a kiss and he didn't disappoint, clutching me tighter as his mouth covered mine with serious intent. When he finally pulled away, I was left shaken, my breath coming fast and my gaze fastened to his bright, yellow dragon eyes. There were flecks of gold and green in them that I'd never noticed before. His pupils were expanding over the colors, becoming more oval than slitted.
“You were seconds late,” he growled and started pulling at my red dress. “Don't keep me waiting again.”
I let him remove the dress but I stopped his roving hands before he could get to my underwear. I slid in beneath the sheet and pressed up against him, sliding my arms around his waist and dropping my cheek the wide expanse of his muscled chest, so I could listen to his heart. I sighed, loving the feel of his skin against mine and the glassy slickness of the scales that appeared down the sides of his waist when I touched him. I trailed a finger over those ruby scales and they spread down his legs, so fascinating.
“Something's amiss,” he stated as if it were fact, which of course it was, completely disregarding his own arousal. I was both touched and a little annoyed by that.
“I just found out that the Froekn are suffering because of a decision that was influenced by me.”
“The werewolves?” He frowned. “What kind of decision was this?”
“One to switch professions,” I sighed. “The wolves used to kill for a living, they were the assassins of the gods but that didn't really sit well with me, so Trevor opened a nightclub and hired a lot of Froekn in an effort to make me more comfortable with my new family.”
“Why were you uncomfortable?”
“How did I know you were going to ask that?” I shook my head and sat back up to look at him, the sheet sliding up around my hips and giving me a tantalizing view of scale-adorned skin. “Think about how I might view it, killing people for money.”
“Ah,” his expression cleared, “indeed. Continue.”
“The Froekn took to the idea with gusto,” I smiled at the memory of first opening Moonshine. “They love the club Trevor made and even Fenrir was supportive.”
“And the problem is?”
“The Froekn aren't technically gods,” I stretched my neck to try to ease some of the tension that had been steadily accumulating. “It's why they were so good as assassins. Gods have trouble killing each other, something to do with the magic but since Froekn aren't really gods, they don't have a problem with it. They are magic though and immortal, both of which is inherited through Fenrir. What Trevor and I hadn't known was that Fenrir's magic is what sustains the Froekn, and the magic requires energy to keep going.”
“Energy previously received from the assassinations,” Arach nodded.
“Yes, very good,” I huffed a laugh. Of course he would understand, he was more magical than any god could ever be. “So when they stopped killing...”
“The magic lost potency,” he frowned. “Are the wolves dying?”
“I...” my mouth dropped open. “Oh fuck, I hadn't thought of that. I wonder if they'll lose their immortality.”
“Possibly,” Arach had a thoughtful look on his face, “but if they haven't started dying yet, it's unlikely. I believe a withdrawal that extreme would have immediate results. Magic wants to live, as all living things do, it would sooner conserve resources than cut off hosts in such a way.”
“Conserve resources,” I grimaced, “as in preventing the birth of more Froekn who would create a greater draw on the power?”
“Yes, precisely,” his brows came down over his slightly upward tilted eyes, making it look as if his face had lengthened and stretched down the center. “Is this what's happened?”
“It looks very possible,” I worried at my lip with my teeth. “My friend Samantha is married to Fallon, one of my lions.”
“Yes, I've met them both.”
“Right, I forgot,” I gave him a sad smile. “They've been trying to have a baby and she just found out she's sterile.”
“Ah,” he nodded, “I grieve for her. I know the pain of empty arms, a home denied of your child's laughter.”
“Arach,” my heart clenched.
He wanted a child badly, had in fact thought to never have one, since our race had been killed off by humans. My appearance had sparked hope for both him and his Kingdom. There was now the possibi
lity of an heir to the Throne of Fire and a new line of dragon-sidhe. He'd only recently won me over as a lover, even though we were married(long story), so I wasn't sure I was ready for children yet.
The Ring of Remembrance, which I'd inherited from my father, allowed me to travel in time and made it possible for me to be with Arach practically continually without spending any time apart from my other lovers in the God Realm. So it also made children with Arach a possibility. I could actually have children in Faerie and my other men wouldn't ever even see me pregnant.
It was a bit of a shock for me, who'd thought to never have children. I'd been happy with Vidar and Vali, my sons from another life. I had memories of raising them which fulfilled any urge I might have had to have a child. I wasn't sure if I wanted any in this life but I felt like I was being incredibly selfish if I didn't give Arach the child he'd been desiring for so long. In fact, I didn't actually know what my real feelings were regarding the child, I was too conflicted over whether or not to have one.
“We have time,” he said as if in answer to my internal turmoil. “Don't fret about our possible children now. It's your Froekn friend you're concerned with at the moment.”
“Right,” I gave a relieved huff. The talk of dragon babies could wait for another day. “I was hoping there might be something in Faerie to help, some spell or fertility fey, or something like that?”
I could tell by his grim expression that the news would be bad.
“A Thaisce, I thought you knew about our own issues with fertility. Don't you think we would have healed ourselves if we had anything like that available to us?”
“Oh, right,” I recalled suddenly a conversation I'd had with the High King, in which he'd told me how the fey had been reproducing less and less. It had been one of the reasons the way between Faerie and the Human Realm was opened once more. He'd thought that the fey might have better luck reproducing with humans.
“Even if we possessed the magic to help you,” Arach touched my face with long, elegant fingers, and turned it toward his gently, “I would advise against the use of it in such a circumstance.”
