Re wanted to stay with his daughter a little longer, but Sekhmet insisted that she was fine. If she wasn't hindering the unknown gods behind the Dvārakā excavation, there was no reason for them to target her. It was a good point, but Re looked unconvinced. It took Bast's arrival to get him to back down. The sisters promised to watch over Dvārakā and alert us if anything happened, and we left them to it.
With that threat out of the way, we all headed to our separate homes. Toby went to his territory in the God Realm, but Re came home with my husbands and me. It was late by the time we traced in to Pride Palace, but as soon as we stepped past the tracing room's doorway, Re started talking about our wedding... again.
“Re, I'm tired,” I sighed. “You're welcome to stay the night, but I have no desire to talk about venues right now.”
“Well, you've rejected every suggestion I've offered.” Re pouted.
“No one wants to travel through Aaru to attend a wedding,” Trevor said.
“And it would be insensitive to Anubis to have it in Duat,” I added. “I don't know why you won't agree to have it here.”
“I want something different than your first wedding.” Re sighed.
“We have lots of options,” I assured him. “Any of our friends would be happy to host us.”
“I don't want to impose,” Re said as he piled into the elevator with my husbands and me.
“Like you're doing right now?” Azrael asked with a smirk.
“Get used to this imposition,” Re said smugly. “I'm here to stay, gentlemen.”
“Then the least you can do is let us get some sleep,” Odin grumbled as we stepped out onto the top floor of Pride Palace.
I didn't bother with more wedding banter; I just headed for the bathroom to get ready for bed. Lesya was downstairs with Sam and Fallon, so we'd all be able to get a good night's sleep... if Re ever shut up.
“La-la,” Re tried to follow me into the bathroom but I shut the door on his golden face.
“Fuck off, Re!” I growled as I headed to the sink.
The laughter of my husbands carried through the bathroom door.
“Fine,” Re said in resignation. “You win; I'll give you a reprieve. But I'm staying the night, and we shall speak more on this in the morning.”
I groaned as I soaped up my face up and got bubbles in my mouth. I ended up gagging and spitting into the sink.
“Well, there's no need to be rude,” Re huffed.
Chapter Twelve
Re was true to his threat, and my morning was full of wedding planning. But we achieved a small measure of success and finally decided on a location; Osiris and Isis' home in the Human Realm. They had a palace in Aaru, but they also had a home in Egypt; an estate really. Osiris and Isis were Horus' parents, and Isis was Re's great-granddaughter. So, they were family and were more than happy to host our wedding. And Re didn't feel as if he were imposing.
That decided, we went on to the choice of cake, clothes, and ceremony; the three Cs of a wedding. This was Re's second marriage, and my second ceremony, so you would think that we could pare things down a bit. But Re's wife had died thousands of years ago—more thousands than I had known—and it was a new life for him. Which made this his first marriage, in a way. So, it had to be special.
I was sighing while I flipped through the pages of a wedding magazine as Re droned on about fish versus chicken, when Azrael walked in.
“Is it a god problem?” I asked hopefully.
“No, Carus.” Azrael chuckled as he bent to kiss my cheek. “I just wanted to let you know that I'm meeting Macaria for coffee.”
“What? Why?” I narrowed my eyes on him.
“We exchanged numbers,” he said casually. “She offered to give me pointers on getting through this life change.”
“Oh, right,” I murmured. “Okay. You could have invited her here.”
“I don't know Macaria well enough to trust her with the tracing chant,” he said reasonably. “I thought it best for me to meet her in the Human Realm first.”
“Valid.” I grimaced. “And thank you for thinking of it. I don't know what to make of Macaria; she's not at all what I would have thought a daughter of Hades to be like.”
“I agree.” Az shook his head. “Honestly, she reminds me a little of you.”
“Excuse me?” I huffed.
“She's brash, funny, and says inappropriate things,” Az pointed out. “You have more kindness in you, I think; more compassion. But otherwise, you're a lot alike.”
“I can see that,” Re agreed.
“Maybe that's why I don't like her,” I muttered.
“That makes no sense.” Re frowned.
“I read somewhere that when you see your irritating quirks in someone else, it makes you uncomfortable and you end up disliking that person. It's like a subconscious slap in the face; you have to face your true self, and it can be jarring,” I explained.
“So, you don't like the other person because they are a reminder of your faults.” Re nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense.”
“I don't think Macaria has your perception either, Carus.” Azrael stroked my hair away from my forehead. “I
