Chapter 38
MILO
I t was like a dream, watching Wren so alive—no, more than alive, immortal —and back in our home once more. She moved around the room with Emeric in her arms, showering him with love. I was never more than a few feet from them, and it would take a little time to dissipate the panic that she’d be wrenched away again.
Cy was lying out in the courtyard in the sun in his dog form, his pack writhing around him like a wiggly mass. They’d missed him as much as we’d missed Wren. He was their leader. Their protector and guardian. Without him, they’d been lost.
I had Bran and Zale in my arms, rocking them back and forth, and I finally felt that we’d achieved happiness. This was my nirvana. My Elysian Fields.
Tryp and Erus also hovered around her. Eventually, she was probably going to tire of us smothering her. But until she had to stare at our dead bodies hopelessly, she was going to have to give us a little grace.
The Valkyries had all come and gushed, expressing their happiness that she was okay, and laying their heads on the line because of their failures. She’d cut that off quickly. There wasn’t anything anyone could have done to prevent the remaining Moirai portaling in. No one could have predicted the spitefulness of them.
Teron appeared, wrapping his arms around her, Emeric cradled between them. He kissed her softly. Actually, it was probably lucky she was immortal now; otherwise, she’d have a permanent case of beard rash from the sheer amount of embraces she’d been getting in the past week.
If she needed to be anchored to the mortal plane, I was pretty sure she couldn’t be more anchored without being a ship in the Aegean. We’d fucked her in every position, in every room, in every combination of pairings since she’d arrived back.
If I could sew her to my side so she’d never leave, I would.
Tryp and Erus each plucked a baby from me. “Come on, little ones. It’s time for your swimming lessons,” Erus cooed. He had recently declared that if the babies were going to live on an island, and have access to the pool, then they needed to learn to swim as soon as possible.
Bran just waved his arms, like he knew what the Genii was talking about. And maybe he did. There was an ancient intelligence in their eyes sometimes.
Wren didn’t like to talk about her time in the afterlife, only to tell us that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Cy said a little more, enough to know that he never wanted to do it again.
I didn’t need to know the nitty-gritty. I just needed her here.
And she would be, always, as an immortal. I begrudgingly thanked the universe, even if I’d cursed it just as often.
We walked outside as the babies splashed in the pool with Tryp and Erus, the Genii never taking their eyes off them as they guided them through their swimming drills. It helped that the babies loved the water. We all sat out on the loungers, watching them swim.
Cy had climbed into the water too, an extra set of hands, which also meant six dogs jumped in as well. They kept a wide berth from the swimming babies—probably at Cy’s insistence—but it was such a wholesome, joyful sight.
I wrapped Wren up in my arms, pulling her onto my lap, and Néit lay with his head on her thighs. Maybe we could take her upstairs and…
“You sure they aren’t mine? They certainly seem to love the water.”
The voice beside me didn’t belong. Immediately shifting Wren to the other side, I stood between her and the God on the lounger beside us. Néit had his ax, but water was wrapped around his wrists, holding him still.
“Poseidon? What the fuck are you doing here?” Cy called.
“Nephew! Good to see you back, and looking so well. Fatherhood also suits you.” He reclined back. “It’s been so long since I’ve been on Crete; I forgot how lovely it was here. Not my favorite of the islands, of course, but still quite nice.”
Demke appeared next to us. “Crete is still not open to the Greeks,” he growled, and Poseidon raised a brow, glancing at Cy.
“I hate to tell you this, Minoan, but there’s one swimming in your pool. And by all accounts, Hades is here more than he’s in the Underworld these days.”
Someone snorted. “An exaggeration, as always, brother.” As if he’d been summoned, Hades strolled into the courtyard. “Why is it so fucking bright today?” He sat under a large umbrella with a scowl.
Demke looked like he was going to have a stroke, but I was glad Hades was here. He’d been good to us, and while you could never trust the Greeks completely, I trusted him enough.
Poseidon chuckled. “It’s a beautiful day, Hades. Don’t be such a grump.” He looked over at Demke. “To answer your unasked question, I was summoned here. I have enough to deal with in the sea, without worrying about your land-lover quarrels. Did you know Typhon has just walked into the ocean? It’s caused a damn outcry amongst the sirens.”
Frowning, Demke looked at Hades. “I didn’t summon you.”
“No, I did.”
I whipped around, and this time, I did draw my sword. Zeus stood by the pool, wearing nothing but a Speedo that was at least one size too small.
The babies had been whisked away, Erus and Tryp knowing what to do in the face of a threat, and the dogs were also suspiciously absent. Cy had definitely sent them to protect the children.
I hated that these fuckers could just portal in and out of our home.
“What are you doing here?” Demke growled, clearly losing his patience as Teron shifted to the Gryphon. Néit stood on the other side of Wren, who didn’t look all that perturbed to be standing in front of three of the most powerful Mythics ever weaved.
Whatever she’d seen down there during her death had changed her. It had made her almost fearless in the face of power. I couldn’t decide if I found that terrifying or insanely attractive.
“Always so disrespectful, Demke.”
“You were never my God, Zeus. We give the respect we receive, and you always thought we were less.”
He shrugged. “You were less. It wasn’t personal.”
I snorted loudly, shifting to the bull. “The death of my entire race was personal to me. ” I was going to splatter this ancient fuck, even if it was the last thing I ever did. I went to step forward, but Wren’s small hand around my wrist stopped me.
Hades held up a hand. “I assume we aren’t here for you to rub salt in their wounds, Zeus. But if the Minotaur gouges a hole in you because you’re an insensitive fuck, I’m not going to stop him.”
Poseidon snorted a laugh. “Me either. I might even enjoy the show.” He looked to the left, where the ocean could be seen on a clear day. “Let’s go. Not all of us sit around all day, fucking nymphs and drinking ambrosia. I have a kingdom to run.”
Hades lifted his chin at the God of the Sea. “What he said.”
Zeus rolled his eyes. “Fine. Maybe I just wanted to catch up with my brothers?” The deadpan expressions of both Hades and Poseidon called bullshit. “Look, I’m not sure if you know this, but my Moirai are dead, and Hera is pissed.”
Néit hefted his sword. “We’re quite aware.”
Poseidon chuckled. “Me too. There’s a monster roaming my ocean with pieces of Lachesis still in his teeth.”
Zeus looked at Wren. “I wish to call a truce. The old Fates are dead, and the new Fates have risen. I wish to protect my Pantheon from retaliation as they come fully into their powers.”
He wished to protect himself, he meant. What a snake.
Demke stepped between the God of the Sky and the woman we loved. She might be immortal now, but Zeus could still strike her down with a thunderbolt. “Your truces mean nothing, Zeus. You break them as easily as you make them,” he spat.
Zeus sighed, as if we were being tedious. “I thought you might feel that way, which is why they’re here.” He nodded at Hades and Poseidon. “Do you know who the last powerful brothers woven into an age were?” he asked Wren.
It didn’t take a genius to know the answer, and my girl was as smart as she was suspicious. “I’m going to say you three.”
Zeus nodded. “You’re correct. We rose up and created an entire belief system around us, grasping at the power handed to us. I am loath to let that power go now.” I tensed, ready for a fight, but he just sighed heavily. “But I also acknowledge that the Ouroboros has turned. It’s time for a new age and new Fates. As I said, I’d like to call a truce. To do so, I am willing to bind myself to the promise not to raise hand or army against the new Fates, or you all, in return for goodwill.”
Hades raised a brow. Yeah, it sounded a little too good to be true to me too. “Nor will you influence, by prophecy or inference, anyone associated with you or your domain, to bring harm to the new Fates, known as the Kuningilin, or their caretakers and loved ones?” He pursed his lips. “And the island of Crete remains the domain of the Minoans, and will become the protected home of the Kuningilin?”
Zeus huffed. “Yes, all that too. Brother, some would say you’ve switched allegiances.”
Shrugging, Hades gave Zeus a predatory smile. “I just like watching you get a little screwed.”
Poseidon grinned, and I felt like we were once again just pawns in a disagreement we knew nothing about. Pulling a golden trident from fuck knows where, he used it to cut the palm of Zeus. “Wren, come here. You will have to stand in the place of the Kuningilin until they are older, as their mother and guardian.”
Néit stayed right on her ass the whole walk over to the Sea God, his ax raised, ready to chop heads. She looked over at Hades. “They aren’t trying to screw us over, right? I don’t hold any ill feelings toward the Greek Pantheon—in fact, I’m quite fond of several of its members—but I swear, Zeus, if you’re fucking with me, I’m going to find a way to hold one of your lightning bolts and shove it fair up your?—”
Luckily, Poseidon interrupted. “I like you. No wonder Hades has gone to bat for you. I thought Persephone was just making him soft, but you really are entertaining.” He sliced her hand on a different prong of his trident, dripping a single drop of Zeus’s blood into the wound. She swayed on her feet, and I lifted my sword to Poseidon’s throat. “Calm now. It’s just the effects of his blood. A single drop is quite potent. But now they are tied, and he is bound by his word.”
It can’t be that easy, right?
Hades was dusting his pants off and standing, suggesting it was that easy. “I’ve got a girl to see and faces to look at that aren’t your ugly mugs. Wren excepted, of course. Zeus, it’s never a pleasure. Poseidon, you should watch the new Little Mermaid. I think you’d like it.”
A pit the size of a manhole opened up in the ground, and he stepped inside it. It snapped shut, leaving just us and the two possibly hostile Gods.
Zeus nodded solemnly. “I hope never to see you again,” he said lightly to Wren.
She gave him a pleasant smile back, but it was filled with teeth. “It won’t be a moment too soon.”
A lightning bolt hit the ground, the sound deafening, and then he was gone too.
Poseidon sighed and sunk back against the sun lounger. “Those two are always so dramatic. They need to relax a little, go with the ebb and flow of the waves. That binding should hold Zeus, and while I don’t think you have anything else to worry about from our Pantheon, that doesn’t mean there won’t be others who will try and take advantage. That’s the life of a Mythic, really. Always jockeying for power and prestige. No one wants the ocean, though—I could never understand why.”
“Sand in your arse crack?” Néit suggested, and Wren laughed.
Poseidon chuckled as he stood. “It very well could be. I’ll enjoy fucking with people from the ocean, thank you very much. So long, Wren Mahone. Minoans. Nephew.” He leapt, diving into the pool, and then he too was gone.
“Should we fill in the pool?” Néit demanded. Quite frankly, I was down for the idea.
Demke shook his head. “Unless you want to start flushing toilets with buckets, all roads lead to the ocean.”
Sighing, I grabbed Wren back in my arms and relaxed, just a little. The Greek Pantheon had been the boogieman of our lives for so long—well before Wren and the babies—that this felt almost like a dream.
Wren rested her head against my chest. “Is this the part where we live happily ever after, with no snake-headed monsters, bitter old hags, or night sludge? No side quests to Hell?”
I pressed my lips to her forehead. “I sure hope so.”