“What meeting?” Viper stopped and turned to face Trevor, swinging my face in the opposite direction.
“Hey!” I protested.
Viper put me down, sliding me along his muscular chest. I may have pressed my palms over the hard expanse of it as I went. And shivered.
“I texted the God Squad,” Trevor explained. “They're downstairs waiting for you, Minn Elska.”
“You texted them?” I blinked at Trevor.
“You said you'd meet with them if I did,” he reminded me.
“It hasn't even been twenty-four hours,” I whined.
“They're here. Do you want me to send them away?” Trevor gave me a stern look.
“No,” I huffed and headed for the elevator. “I'm going.”
“I'll come too,” Viper offered and took my hand.
“You just want to make sure she gets a load of your snake cheese later,” Trevor said with a smirk.
“You're damn straight, honey-man,” Viper shot back.
“No more cheese talk!” I pointed at both of them. “You're going to ruin the food for me, and I happen to love cheese.”
“Oh, I know you do,” Trevor's smirk widened.
I groaned and punched the button for the first floor.
“Who's the Star-Lord?” Viper whispered to me.
“Oh, we're watching Guardians of the Galaxy tonight,” I declared. “That's definitely a movie you need to see.”
Chapter Three
Now that I was a mother, I had to know where my children were before I did anything. Fortunately, I already knew that Lesya and Vero were both with Samantha. Sam's my savior. She has a little girl too—the first Intare child born—and she likes having the other kids visit. I had made an apartment for Sam, her husband Fallon, and their daughter Zariel in the palace so they could have some privacy. The other lions have their own bedrooms but share common areas. Common areas like the dining hall that I was just stepping into.
My God friends waited at the dining table for us. Thor usually sat at the head of the table since he had started the team, but he was taking a break from the Squad. Ever since Thrud, Thor's daughter, betrayed him and we killed her, Thor has been MIA. He feels guilty for what Thrud did to us, but he's also a father mourning his child. A part of me had thought that Thor might show up for this. But I shouldn't have been surprised; Thor didn't come back when I went evil, why would he return now that I was better?
The head of the table was taken by Odin instead, as if the father were holding the son's place. Despite Thor's absence, everyone else was there; Huitzilopochtli (I call him Blue, it just makes things easier) the Aztec God of War and the Sun sat beside his wife, Eztli, Goddess of the Blood Moon. Both of them bear the proud, dark looks of their people; Blue because the Aztec magic changed his appearance and Eztli because she is an Aztec. Down the table from them sat another sun god and moon goddess couple: Horus, the Egyptian God of the Sun, War, and Protection wore one of his usual outfits—tailored pants with a button-down shirt—while Hecate, Horus' wife, the Greek Goddess of Magic, Crossroads, the Moon, Ghosts, and Necromancy wore her usual Goth getup of black lace and heavy makeup.
Beside Hekate were her fellow Greeks; Persephone, Hades, and Artemis, but Pan, the Greek God of the Wild, sat between Horus and Blue. The randy, horned god was Horus' best friend, although neither of them would admit it out loud. Persephone and Hades, the Lord and Lady of the Greek Underworld, looked chic as usual. Sephy had her long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail to show off her sweet face, and Hades wore a suit even nicer than Horus', although he topped it with a pair of designer sunglasses. This was a kindness to the rest of us; no one wanted to stare into the fires of Hades whenever they spoke to him.
Then, next to Hades, Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the Hunt and the Moon, held hands with her honey, Torrent, God of the Internet. Torr is the first god I know of who was created by another god instead of being born. The second created god I know is Viper. I had made Viper myself; pulled his soul from the Void and into a body I formed with my Trinity Star's magic. But that was when I was evil and my star had no limits. I can't make people anymore. Not that I'd want to, even if I could.
The last couple in the row was Sarasvati and her husband, Brahma. They're both Hindu Gods of Knowledge and Speech, but they have a few other things under their belts. Sara's also the Goddess of Music and the Creative Arts while Brahma is the Creator God. They make a very handsome couple with their matching, glossy, black hair and chocolate eyes and then the contrast of their skin tones; Brahma's being deeply tanned and Sara's more fair.
Across the table from them was another Hindu goddess; Karni Mata, the Goddess of Rats. Yes, rats; deal with it. Her golden-brown skin seemed to glow against the cape of silken, snowy hair that flowed around her shoulders, but despite her beauty, Karni could be difficult to look at. It was her eyes; they were completely black from lid to lid. Her boyfriend, however, had a pair of the most beautiful turquoise eyes I'd ever seen, full of serenity. Teharon is the Mohawk God of Healing, and he's saved my life more than a few times.
Next to Teharon sat his grandparents; Estsanatlehi, the Navajo Goddess of Change, and her husband, Tsohanoai, the Navajo God of the Sun. I call them Mrs. E and Mr. T so I don't embarrass myself by butchering their names. They also happen to be Toby's parents, and my stomach clenched when I spotted them there. The ache of Toby's abandonment was still fresh, especially since
