Chapter Thirty-Five

“You were right,” Odin said to me later that night after we had dismantled the tool and returned the items to their owners. He was wearing the magical condenser around his neck, not ready to put it in his safe. Because that safe didn't feel so safe anymore.

We were sitting out on the veranda, the children falling asleep on the rug before us, their empty mugs overturned to display the remnants of the hot chocolate they had drunk. Laced with sleeping pills. I'm joking. Hot chocolate (decaffeinated) after a hard day of playing is more than enough to send children into sleepland. The rest of us were drinking it as well, and I did feel the peaceful effect of that cuddly drink. But sleep was a long way off for me. Not only was I wired from the victory of the day—returning all those stolen items and getting my husband back—but I was also in serious need of reconnecting with one husband in particular. Nope, I wasn't going to sleep until the Angel of Death made me scream. Twice. Maybe three times.

“I was right about what?” I asked Odin.

“The trickster,” Odin said. “He—I mean, they had our best interests at heart.”

“I just wish that Ty's heart hadn't gotten hurt in the process.”

Ty had gone back to Earth, saying he needed to immerse himself in work to take his mind off Modja. The club wouldn't be open for several hours yet, but there were things he could do when it was closed. Paperwork and such. Maybe stocking the bar. Anything to keep him from thinking about her. The poor guy. I'd been there.

“You never know,” Trevor said. “Maybe he'll have a happy ending too. They did say that their love for Ty was real.”

“You know what? I hope they do come back for him,” I said. “I hope they find the courage to reveal themselves to him and to us. I'd like to thank them, and I'd really like for Ty to be happy.”

“Heartbreak can be good,” Kirill said.

We all looked at him in surprise.

“It reminds us of vhat is important. It shines light upon truth. Brings value. Ty vill never forget zem. If zey come back, good. If not, he vill still be better for it.”

“Huh,” I said. “Maybe.”

“You're the Love Goddess, Vervain,” Sam said as she stroked her daughter's head. The little lioness was curled up in her mother's lap.

“Yeah. And?”

“Fix it,” she said.

“There's nothing for me to fix. They love each other. The problem lies with the trickster. They have to decide what's more important to them—hiding or Ty. As a love goddess, I can't help but have confidence in love. I think it will win. But it might take some time. The trickster will have to feel the pain of being without Ty before they realize that nothing is worth not having him.”

Azrael, who was snuggled beside me with our sons sleeping across his feet, took my hand and kissed it. “Love is more important than anything else. ”

“Even Death?” I smirked at him.

“Yes.” He rolled his eyes. “I've learned my lesson, Carus. Please, stop rubbing it in.”

“Oh, baby,” I drawled. “It's barely been a day and you've put a lot of people through a lot of worry. You'll have to suffer a bit more rubbing before I stop.”

“You can rub me ,” Re said brightly. “I'm like a magic lamp. Rub me the right way, and I'll make your wishes come true.”

Everyone groaned and tossed pillows at Re while he laughed his golden ass off.

“Not tonight, Sun God,” Azrael said as he carefully picked up Sebastian, and then put him in my arms. He picked up Dominic next, then stood up. “Tonight, she's going to make my wishes come true.”

“Goodnight,” I said to everyone who wasn't Az.

“I'm going to stay down here awhile,” Odin said. “I'm not tired yet.”

My other husbands agreed. Trevor and Kirill said they'd put our children to bed when they came up later. So, I left with only Az and our boys. We went upstairs in the golden elevator and then up the stairwell to the twins' bedroom. After tucking them into their beds, we went back down to the main room.

Azrael's wings spread as he reached for me. “Carus, come here. I feel as if I've been waiting years to hold you.”

I went into my husband's arms, sighing as I laid my head on his chest. His heartbeat was steady in my ear, but it was our bond that comforted me the most. It glowed vibrantly, uniting us as it was supposed to. No Darkness or Wild Magic lurked there to hinder us.

“I was cut off from everything,” Az whispered. I couldn't see, hear, or feel. All I had was my mind, and it was toying with me.”

I leaned back to look at him. “Toying with you, how?”

“It showed me terrible things. The world flooding. Darkness covering everything. The Faerie God ruling with insane menace. He changed you into the Faerie Goddess. There was no stopping him.”

“That must have been your fears manifesting. Az, you should have told me how bad it was. How much you struggled with him.”

“It wouldn't have made a difference, Carus.” He smoothed back the starlight stripe in my hair. “There was nothing you could have done to help me.”

“And yet, I did. Someone gave me the very bizarre tool that I needed to help you.”

He shook his head. “I can hardly wrap my mind around it. Premonitions are one thing, but to see this much, that far ahead is, well, I've never heard of a seer with such power.”

“You're right.” I frowned. “Even Brevyn is limited to one vision at a time and it usually comes just before that future starts to manifest. But the trickster knew months ago that this would happen. They planned two rounds of games around it.”

“It was one game all along. A very long, complicated game but still only one.”

“The long game,” I said.

“Who is this god? How do they have such power?”

“I don't know, but I'm grateful that they are using it to help us instead of hurt us.”

“They are better on our side. That's certain. ”

“I don't even mind all the hoops they made us jump through. Having you free of the threat of the Faerie God is worth it.”

“I agree.”

He bent his head, but before his lips met mine, I pulled back.

“There's something they wrote that I think I've heard them say before. It's odd.”

“What?”

“Something about 'having it on good authority.'” I scowled. “They said they had it on good authority that you'd recover. Whose authority?”

Azrael's eyes went wide. “Do you think there's more than one of them?”

“And the other one is even more powerful?” I asked in horror.

“Maybe the other one is the psychic,” Az said eagerly.

“Now that makes sense!” I laughed. “We keep assuming things about the trickster and it throws us off their trail. They aren't just one god; they're a team. A trickster and a psychic.”

“Yes. Now, can we stop talking about them and get back to us? He leaned down and kissed me. Slowly. Thoroughly.

There was no stopping that kiss from becoming more. The pleasure shot down my spine and summoned the lust that had been waiting for a chance to take over. I practically jumped on Az, grinding myself against him as his wings folded around us. He made happy sounds into my mouth and pulled at my clothes.

There was a frantic stripping, and I wasn't sure who got what off who, but we were soon naked and on the bed. It was a relief at first. My skin felt too hot without Azrael pressed against it. And that's saying a lot for a Dragon-Sidhe. Instead of cooling me, though, the touch of his naked body on mine made me burn hotter. The relief evaporated, but I was glad to see it go. It was replaced by excitement.

“Inside. Now!” I growled.

“Not happening,” Azrael said. “Not before I make you come.”

And with that, my angel dove between my legs, his wings rising into a magnificent display of midnight feathers. I sighed, then gasped as I stared up at the dark arches. There was no faerie dust sprinkled there. No hint of the Faerie God at all. I smiled and dug my fingers into Azrael's thick hair. He had let it grow down to his shoulders, but it was nowhere near as long as FG's. I liked long hair on a man, but the Faerie God's was ridiculous. Kirill's was about as long as hair should get on anyone. When it goes past your knees, it's simply too much.

But Azrael wasn't too much. He was just right. And right where I needed him.

“Azrael!” I screamed as my first orgasm of the night blasted through me. It cleared out the cobwebs of anxiety and the pain that had been caught within them. With that dusting came the freedom to breathe without constriction. Joy burst in me along with the release. My legs shuddered, drew in around Az, and then flopped open.

Licking his lips, my husband crawled up my body and settled his hips in the cradle of my thighs. “That's better,” he said as he rubbed his shaft into the slickness he had created. “Oh, fuck, yes.” He pushed into me without having to direct himself. That's how wet I was. “Carus, you're so warm. So tight.”

“Az.” I gripped his ass and pulled him deeper. “More. Now! ”

The Angel of Death started to thrust, his cock spearing into me, rubbing all of those delicious spots inside me. Bringing me back to life. Yes, it felt as if I'd been in stasis with him, drowning in fears that my mind taunted me with. Only now, with our joyous reunion, could I finally get back to living.

The irony of the Angel of Death giving me life was not lost on me. But it wasn't the first time he had done so. It probably wouldn't be the last. We saved each other all the time. It's what we do. It's our destiny. Sometimes, we need a little help, a game to drive us forward on our path, but we always save each other. Because love shows us the way.

Love and a trickster god.