Chapter Thirty-Four

“Now what?” I stood before Azrael, holding the Frankensteined contraption. The monster was glowing, ready to go, but I didn't know what to do with it.

“The Pasha will link you to his soul,” Odin said.

“I'm already linked to his soul.”

Odin nodded. “Yes, that's why it must be you to wield it. Only you can draw Azrael up but not out into the Pasha. You have to be delicate about this, Vervain.”

“Delicate?” I squeaked. “Delicate? Really? I'm holding a triton decked out for Christmas! This is a Krampus staff. A frickin' fairy wand for a godmother from Hell. I'm supposed to be delicate with it?”

“Breathe,” Kirill said as he laid a hand on my back. “You are not alone. Ve are vith you. Always.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. My husbands drew in closer, but before they could lay hands on me as Kirill had, Odin stopped them.

“No,” he said. “You could affect the magic. Don't touch her.”

Kirill withdrew his hand as I widened my eyes at Odin.

“I'm sorry, Vervain, but this must be done by you. Only you. I think that's important. ”

I looked down at the trickster's monster and switched to my dragon senses. Not to smell it, but to see it more truly. When I did, the magical auras of each piece burst into view. Their colors swirled. It clicked. The elements. The God Magic. Why it had to be me. This wasn't just a tool that was used on a target, it also needed to be directed carefully, by the user pouring their control into it. That was the purpose of the tablets. Yes, they were meant to control the other parts, but they needed to be controlled to control—they were middle management, and I was the big boss.

Opening myself further, I drew on the Nine Great Magics. The very magic that fueled the universe. All magic stemmed from the Great Nine. Even the magic of Faerie. And my Trinity Star gave me access to it. The magic condenser brightened as if sensing my understanding. Yes, this tool could only be used by me because only I had this connection.

I poured the Magic of Control into the tablets, watching carefully as its aura shifted, tinted with mine. That magic spread up and down the tool. The condenser was already doing its job. It didn't need me to activate it. But the other items required a deft mind to open their power in the perfect amount. Control was never my strong suit, but with the origin of the Magic of Control guiding me, it felt effortless.

Re's scepter brightened until it shone like the sun. Quetzalcoatl's breastplate whistled as air was drawn through it and sent down Poseidon's trident. The snakes on the Caduceus began to hiss and its wings flapped slowly. At last, the magic ran up the trident's central point and the Pasha began to shimmer. Instinctively, I drew the thing back, the cord undulating through the air behind me, and then I whipped it forward as if I were fishing. A fisherman of souls. How appropriate considering my target.

Holly, who'd been standing to one side, gasped when the Pasha hit her son, winding around his neck. But I barely heard the sound, too lost to the power that rode me. Control filled my body, calling to Triumph—a part of my Love Magic. My spine straightened, my mind cleared, and I saw the path to my husband. Inside him. Inside me. Already joined but clogged with Death and barricaded by Wild Magic.

My eyes shut when that other sight took over, but I saw so much more. The Pasha sank through Azrael's skin and slithered down another cord—the one that connected me to Az. It tunneled through and when it hit the blockage, it drew power out of the god tools. The magic condenser united them, and I, with the help of the tablets, merged their elemental magic into one. It felt easy. I'd done it enough times inside myself with my star.

Earth formed a support, accepting Water. Air drew out of Water and fueled Fire. Fire's ash then fed Earth. The elements were not so separate, nor did they work against each other. They were a song. A harmony that could be played to perfection, if only you had the right instrument.

The Wild Magic drew back, out of our path, and the merged elemental magic burst through the remaining darkness between Azrael and I. Darkness. The one element that wasn't represented on the tool. I understood it then. That was the broken piece of Azrael's magic. Darkness. The Darkness within Death. If the element of Spirit was Life, then the element of Darkness was Death. It made perfect sense.

Azrael had upset the balance inside him. He was out of tune because he hadn't practiced the melody with his fellow death gods. The backlash became a shield around him. A shell. He was trapped behind it, searching for the light. I have no problem with the dark. I love it. But it cannot exist without light.

I let the light into Azrael's soul and put him back into balance .

The light bloomed, shining through Azrael. I felt victory reaching for me. But then the Wild Magic—the elements, but very Fey and very contrary—surged up and tried to wrestle the power away from Az. That's when I saw him—the Faerie God. The part of Azrael that held the Wild Magic. It's king. Unlike Trevor, who lived in harmony with Wolf, Az was at constant war with the Faerie God. Now that I was inside him, I saw the extent of his struggles. Az had hidden it from me. From all of us. With Azrael in stasis, the Faerie God had gotten stronger. And he wasn't about to slink quietly back into his cage.

I roared as the elements turned on me. In particular, Darkness. It seeped up through the trident and into my fingers. I felt the numbness. The urges. Inside me, the Trinity Star trembled. If that Darkness were to reach my heart, the star would go dark too. And I'd be the thing I swore to never be again. The evil goddess I had just avoided becoming.

There was movement around me, but I had to focus on the fight inside. I had to—

“Vervain, we are with you,” Odin's voice entered my mind.

“Ve love you,” Kirill said.

“You are stronger than this,” Trevor said.

“You are goddess, faerie, and witch. Remember that,” Re said.

“Shine, starlight.” Viper's voice was full of confidence. “You will never be the Dark Star again. I won't let you.”

They didn't have to physically touch me to be with me. I felt their presence inside me. It wasn't just me battling the Darkness. Nor was it just Azrael. He had gone about it all wrong and so had I. Our true power was in our bonds to each other. Our love.

It was love that filled me and love that sent me surging into the Darkness that shielded the Wild Magic. Love gave me more strength than the Nine Magics combined. And it was personal. It knew Az. It also knew the Faerie God.

As a witch, I had created many wards. Then I became a goddess and learned how to strengthen them, even cast them in my own mind. My faerie essence took this talent further, enhancing it with Fire. I burned through the Wild Magic and blasted over the Faerie God. I couldn't kill him. He was too integral to Azrael now. But I could cage him with his own magic. Put a leash on him. How perfect.

I harnessed the Wild Magic and wove it around the Faerie God. I hardened it with Control and directed it with my will. I used every piece of myself to mold it—my races, my magics, and my beasts. They brightened every point of the Trinity Star and sent that unreliable magic down my arm and into the tool made by an unknown trickster god.

Whoever they were, the trickster knew what they were doing. The tool couldn't have been more perfect for me and for Azrael. He needed this. The epiphany burst into my mind as I collared the Faerie God—there but never in control again. Azrael would be able to summon him at will without worrying about losing himself. And he would have spent eternity in that war if not for the trickster's games. They had helped us again.

“Thank you,” I whispered even though they wouldn't hear me. Maybe they had seen it in a vision. Maybe they already knew how grateful I was to them for all those tricks. And with that gratitude, the collar set itself firmly in place.

Azrael sat up with a roar of victory.