by Amy Sumida
“Love mommy,” she said with feeling.
Those two words healed my heart.
Then the pound of her father's and uncle's feet echoed up to us, and I turned with her in my arms to face the oncoming force that was my magical men. Lesya smiled serenely as the men approached and held her arms out to her daddy as soon as he got close enough to take her. Instead of taking Lesya, though, Kirill hugged us both tightly. Lesya snuggled between us and then went with Kirill when he finally eased back. Kirill's anxious eyes roamed over me.
“Vervain.” Kirill glanced at Toby uneasily. “Tell us vhat happened.”
“Lesya, why don't we go play with Zariel while your mommy and daddy talk?” Samantha offered.
Lesya looked from Kirill to me.
“It's okay, we won't be long,” I said to our daughter.
Kirill handed Lesya to Samantha as I thanked her.
“I'd better get the full version of events later,” Sam said.
“You will,” I promised, and then I ushered my men back up to our top floor suite. “Toby and I need some sustenance. Maybe one of you could make us something to eat while we talk?”
I stumbled a little and Azrael caught me. He swung me into his arms and silently carried me the rest of the way, his head laying atop mine. I could feel his heartbeat slowing down beneath my palm, and I snuggled my head into his shoulder with a sigh. I was blessed with so much love. Reconnecting with Toby had consumed me briefly, but I could never forget my husbands or Re. I was so glad to be home.
Azrael set me down on my feet beside the dining table and pulled out a chair for me. After I sat, he took the seat beside mine and then took my hand. Trevor went to the fridge and started pulling out some leftover roasted chicken while Kirill filled a couple of glasses with water and set them before Toby and me. Toby had taken the seat on my left, and Odin sat next to him. Re just stood nearby with crossed arms and glowered at us.
“Eros sent us a video,” Odin said quietly.
Everyone froze.
“I know,” I whispered. “He excited my magic again, and then tossed me to Toby. We couldn't stop ourselves. I'm sorry; I didn't want to betray our vows.”
“I figured it was something like that,” Odin said wearily. “But I also thought there would be more to it.”
“There is,” Re declared. “Look at them. Even utterly exhausted, they keep glancing at each other like maybe they could give it another go anyway. They're like newlyweds.”
I had no idea that I'd been glancing at Toby—sexually or otherwise—but I wasn't surprised either.
“Our love has returned,” Toby said simply. “And we have vowed to keep it this time.”
“Have you now?” Azrael asked in a careful tone.
“There's something we need to talk about before that. We overheard Eros and Gnas and—” I started.
“Gnas?” Trevor stopped, halfway to the table, holding the platter of reheated chicken. “Is that who abducted you?”
“Both Eros and Gnas did; Eros grabbed me while Gnas took Toby,” I explained. “They're lovers, and they've joined forces against me. Eros said that he hadn't been sure the poison would kill me, so he had this as a backup plan.”
“How the fuck did Eros and Gnas hook up?” Re asked.
“I have no idea,” I said. “But I think it was through Iya. Iya was the one with a vendetta against me and that Atlantean machine. I think he went looking for gods of a similar mind.”
“So, Iya finds Eros, who has been harboring hatred toward you, and then the two of them start plotting,” Azrael mused. “Iya introduces Eros to his family, and Gnas and Eros hit it off.”
“I don't know,” I murmured. “I mean; I think Eros truly desires Gnas, but Gnas seemed callous about Eros.”
“Yeah, we heard vhat he said to you on video,” Kirill growled. “Did he touch you, Vervain?”
“No; they left Toby and me alone.”
“I'm glad you didn't have to bear that,” Kirill's tone gentled. “Zat, at least, is blessing.”
“But she fucked him!” Re pointed to Toby. “You're not upset about that?”
“I accepted Vervain's love for Toby a long time ago.” Kirill shrugged. “It is difficult to see zem together again, but I vill get over it. All zat matters is zat Vervain is alive and unharmed. She vasn't violated by man she hates. She vas vith man she loves, and zat is enough for me.”
“You are a better man than I,” Re grumbled.
“Than most of us,” Trevor said with a smirk. “With exception to maybe Azrael.”
“Thanks,” Azrael grinned.
“There is no doubt of the honor of the men at this table,” Odin interrupted. “And I too, am glad that Vervain had Toby with her. The situation could have been far worse; especially with men like Gnas and Eros involved. Re; you need to deal with your shit some other time. This is what loving Vervain means; sometimes you have to compromise. And frankly, Tobadzistsini was a part of her life before you were. We would have accepted him into our family, but he sacrificed his love for Vervain in order to save her and all of the people who live through her. I will not be a hypocrite and reject him now.”
I gaped at Odin and then looked to Re. He was crushed. Re wanted to be accepted by my husbands nearly as much as he wanted to be with me.
“Odin, that was not cool,” I hissed as I stood and went to Re. “And not entirely true.” I took Re's hands. “This isn't what loving me is about. You know what we have together, and it is no less important to me than what I have with any other man here. You do not have to push aside your emotions for another time. We're going to talk about this now. I love you, Re, and what you feel is as important to me as my own heart. I'm sorry that this happened, and your anger over it is valid. So, you tell me how you feel, and what you want me to do to make it better.”
“How I feel?” Re asked, his golden eyes darkening to umber. “I feel hurt and a little adrift. I've given up a lot for you already, and now I find that more is asked of me.”
“Yes, you're right,” I murmured. “I've asked for too much, and then I force more upon you. It isn't fair. None of this has ever been fair, and I have never tried to make it so. That's going to stop right now. Do you want to see other women, Re?”
The men around us went still. My main rule was that I didn't share. It was unfair, but it was how I felt. My beasts and my own heart were too possessive and jealous for that. Seeing any of my men with another woman would tear me apart. But Re was right; he had given up so much for me, and he didn't even have the comfort of a wedding band. If being with other lovers brought him back a measure of pride and happiness, I needed to get over my own shit and compromise too.
“Do I what?” Re growled.
“I know that being faithful to me has been rough on you,” I stammered in surprise of the heat in his voice. “I thought that perhaps having more freedom would make things better. It would be more fair.”
“More freedom? Fair?” Re roared. “Fuck you, Vervain! I don't want freedom, and this isn't about equality. From the moment our magic ignited each other's, I knew that you were all there was for me. I can't be with another woman ever again. You've fucking ruined me. All I crave is you, and yet you want more. That's the bitter pill you've made me swallow.”
“Re,” I whispered and tried to hold him.
“No!” Re pushed me away. “I had droves of women wanting me, begging for me to be with them, and I turned away from them for you. I even agreed to share you! I let your lioness magic soothe my pride and bind me to your husbands. But now you bring another man to me and expect me to accept him; you make vows to him without asking me. Then Odin tells me that he was here first; like you're some kind of territory to claim. Like this man has more of a right to you than I do. Well, I don't give a fuck who was here first; I love you, and I'm not leaving.”
“I love you too,” I said gently, “and I don't want you to leave, or to love another woman. I want you to be happy, and I'm trying my best to help that happen.”<
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Re took a few ragged breaths and then yanked me into his arms. I clung to him, and let my love seep into his skin so that he could feel the truth between us. He sighed and melted over me, his warmth igniting my elemental heat.
“Don't ever offer me freedom again, La-la,” he whispered into my ear.
“I won't; I promise.” I leaned back to look at him. “But this is how things are; this is the situation I'm dealing with. I didn't orchestrate it, but I have decided to make the best of it. Your choice is whether to support me in it or not. So, what's it going to be, Sun God?”
I eased away from Re so he could make his decision, and he gave me a steady look, then nodded.
“There is no choice.” Re let out a shuddering breath. “I will always support you as best as I can.”
“Thank you.” I squeezed Re's hand.
“I'm sorry, Re,” Odin said gruffly as he stood to face the Sun God. “That wasn't what I meant to convey. Vervain isn't a piece of property to claim, and I know you love her as much as we do. But she went into the Void for Tobadzistsini, just as she did for me, so I feel a certain kinship with him.” Odin cast a look toward Toby, and Toby's eyes widened. “We have both been through something that only one other man can understand.”
“My grandfather,” Toby said, referring to Mr. T.
“Yes,” Odin said. “The three of us were pulled out of the Void. I know no other soul who has experienced this.”
“We're all upset to have another man brought into the fold,” Trevor added. “But when it comes down to it; we are lucky to have this woman. I feel blessed every single day, and it's all because of Vervain. When something happens to her, it happens to all of us. So, this thing with Toby is not something for her to deal with, but something that all of us will deal with. And that is what loving Vervain is about.”
Odin nodded his head in concession.
“That video hasn't destroyed us, and neither has Toby and Vervain's rekindled love; which means that Eros' plan failed,” Azrael said with a smirk.
“I'm not sure that it has,” I whispered.
They all looked at me in surprise. I resumed my seat and looked at Toby. He seemed as grim as I felt.
“Vervain was trying to tell you earlier that we overheard Eros and Gnas talking to Unk,” Toby explained for me. “They thought that our love would break Vervain's alliances, but if it didn't, they believed she would still be hurt.”
“They said something about cutting me off from Faerie,” I added urgently; the conversation coming back to me vividly. “There's another collaborator; a woman. They were talking about needing the Fey to close the path to the Aether, and if the path closed, Eros and Gnas could use a machine to cut off the Faerie Realm. But I'm not sure what that means.”
“Another machine?” Re asked with wide eyes.
“What woman?” Trevor asked at the same time.
“Yes, they said they had another machine,” I answered Re first, then looked to Trevor. “And, I don't know who the woman is, but Unk asked about her, and was told that the woman left shortly after Toby and I were brought to wherever we were.”
“Iya's undersea home,” Toby said. “That's where we were.”
“I thought so; what with all the caves and the water,” I muttered. Then something occurred to me. “Naye! Did anyone tell Naye that Toby is all right?”
“Yeah, they told me,” Naye came in with Doba. “Just before they left the war council.”
Doba ran over to Toby and licked his face excitedly. Toby gave her a quick hug before he got to his feet and went to hug his twin brother. The joyous reunion was interrupted by a hissing feline. Nick, my gray tabby, had been sleeping on the bed this entire time. But, in the way of cats, he'd sensed the presence of a canine and woke up. Nick was fluffed into a puffball and hissing at Doba. Poor Doba didn't know what to do, she looked from Toby to me, and then to Nick. Finally, Nick ran into the bathroom to have his hissy fit in private. Cats have too much dignity to freak out in public. Without fail, someone has a cell phone handy, and the whole episode gets plastered on YouTube.
“So, maybe you shouldn't move in just yet,” Odin observed.
“Wait; did you say 'war council?'” I asked Naye as Doba angled her front half into my lap.
I gave Doba a smile, a hug, and a good scratch behind the ears. I had missed her nearly as much as I had Toby.
“When you two disappeared, everyone went crazy,” Naye huffed as he came to sit at the table with his brother. “Unk tried to grab Iya and trace away, but Iya had been bound by territory magic already. So, she disappeared without him. The Wakan Tanka, along with your squad of gods, came to the obvious conclusion that Unk and Iya were behind the abductions. We were amassing our forces on Thor's ships when Trevor ran up to me and said that you and Toby were safe, and I should meet you all at Pride Palace.” Naye grimaced at Trevor. “You left me to clean up your mess. I had to inform the Wakan Tanka that Toby and Vervain had escaped, then I had to go and pick up Doba from Toby's girlfriend because I knew she'd be worried, and he would want to see them both.”
“They're the God Squad, not a squad of gods,” I corrected, and then I saw Toby's face. “Oh, shit; your girlfriend. I forgot about her.”
“Yeah, you get a little wrapped up in yourself a lot, Godhunter,” Naye took great pleasure in informing me.
“Shut up, Naye,” Toby growled. “She isn't self-centered, and you know it.”
“Whatever you say, Brother.”
“Do you need to go?” I asked Toby.
“Maybe I should.” He swallowed roughly. “I owe her an explanation at the very least.”
“Yeah; you just got lucky on that front,” Naye said with a smirk. “You may have noticed that she's not with me. Doba was alone when I got there.”
“What?” Toby asked in surprise.
“I don't know how, but I think your girl knows about your other girl.” Naye chuckled.
“Not funny,” Toby growled at Naye.
Naye rolled his eyes. “Are you gonna go look for her, or what?”
“Yes, I'm going to look for her,” Toby snapped as he stood.
“Are you coming back afterward?” I asked Toby.
Toby's eyes widened as he looked over at me. “Of course I'm coming back, Vervain,” he said. “What part about 'I can't let you go again' did you not understand?”
“Just checking,” I whispered.
“I love you, my Moon,” Toby said and then kissed me. “You don't know how good it feels to be able to say that again.”
When Toby pulled away, I saw Re's face. “La-la” was a way for Re to call me his moon. It rubbed him wrong that Toby was doing so now, after already taking so much from him. I gave Re an understanding look, and Re sighed, then nodded. Toby looked back and forth between us with a frown.
“Is something wrong?” Toby asked
“Could you not call me that; at least, not in front of Re?” I asked Toby. “It's our thing too; he's a sun god.”
Re's eyes widened at my request, and Toby looked at him in surprise.
“Of course,” Toby said. “No problem. I know this will take some adjustment and probably a bit of compromise, and I want you all to know that I'm willing to do whatever it takes.”
Re smiled and held a hand out to Toby. Toby shook Re's hand, nodded to the rest of the men, and then left with his brother and Doba. After such a traumatic rekindling of our affections, it was hard to watch him leave so soon, but I wasn't the only one with issues to handle before we could be together. My thoughts went to Toby's girlfriend, and I felt horrid. None of this was her fault, and yet she was going to suffer for it. Yet another injustice that I had perpetrated.
Chapter Forty-Four
The God Squad showed up shortly after Naye and Toby left; everyone but Thor, that is. They expressed their relief over my safe return, and explained that Thor had stayed behind with his fleet—more of his ships had arrived from Hawaii and Portland. The Wakan Tanka weren't giving up on catching Un
k just because I was safe. Now that it was certain that Unk was a part of our abduction, along with Gnas, the Lakota council wanted them both for questioning... serious questioning and possibly serious punishment.
“What happened to the Atlantean machine?” I asked them, wondering who had the power to destroy the geomagnetic field now.
“Machine!” Re shouted. “I forgot about the machine.”
“It's cool, Re; we got it, remember?” Pan said slowly. “The Lakota handed it over to us to destroy. Hades took the machine to the Underworld for safekeeping until you can dismantle it properly. You said you'd know what to do.” Pan looked over to me and whispered, “This must have been rough on him if he can't remember that.”
“I don't mean that machine,” Re looked at me anxiously. “Vervain mentioned that Unk, Gnas, and Eros were going to employ the use of a machine to close off the Faerie Realm, but first the realm would have to be sealed from the other side.”
“What are you talking about?” Horus huffed.
“Unk mentioned a female accomplice,” I explained. “She made it sound as if this woman could compel the High King into closing the borders of Faerie. King Cian was already contemplating such a move when I told him about the machine that could destroy Earth's magnetic field. But he wanted to hold off on doing so until it was absolutely necessary, because it would put Faerie into stasis again.”
“Right; we remember,” Teharon said. “But who would have the kind of influence needed to make the High King of Faerie change his mind?”
“What woman would have that kind of influence?” Trevor corrected.
“There are only two whom I can think of,” I said with dawning horror. “The High Queen...”
“It can't be her,” Odin huffed. “She'd never betray her husband for some god.”
“Or Ethniu,” I added.
“Fuck,” Trevor whispered. “Lugh's mother? Would she do that?”
“Hasn't Ethniu been visiting Lugh lately?” Odin asked.
“Often,” I said with simple sobriety.
“Damn her,” Finn swore. “The Fomorians and the Tuatha have finally made peace, and now she's going to threaten it?”
