“Give or take.” Ted grinned. “How's it going Gel?”
“Good, it's...” her voice faded away as her gaze landed on Odin. “Who in Hell is this fucking gorgeous hunk of a man?”
Gello sashayed over to Odin and ran a long, pointed, red nail down his shirt.
“Oh, my; what big muscles you have,” she purred. Then she looked back at Az. “Did you bring me a present, sweetie? Your mamma raised you right; you always bring a gift when you visit someone's home.”
The men—including Odin—were cracking up, while I was grimacing. Gello was the epitome of lush female appeal, with a personality that was eager to use every curve to her advantage. Now that I knew who her mother was—the original wanton woman—it all made wicked sense.
“Gello, we've already met,” Odin rumbled.
Gello went still and then slowly turned back to face Odin. She narrowed her eyes and stared into his.
“By all that's unholy!” She finally exclaimed. “It's the fucking King of Asgard!”
Odin laughed. “I shaved my beard.”
“J-man Christ!” Gello shook her head in amazement. “You've been hiding all of that under a beard? Hair hid that?” She waved her nail at his face. “Odin, growing that thing was a bad idea; don't you ever cover up that glorious mug again.”
“Thank you,” Odin said sincerely as he claimed Gello's hand and kissed it. “That's the loveliest thing a demoness has ever said to me.”
“I'm sure it is,” a woman said from the doorway. “And it's the absolute truth; you have a striking face.”
We all turned to see a lady who looked nearly identical to Gello, except her skin was fair instead of tan, and her eyes were a soft brown instead of green. She had on a more modest dress than Gello's skin-tight red one, but her curves were still apparent. It was obvious that they were related, though they looked more like sisters than mother and daughter.
“Lilith,” Azrael said as he went to hug the woman. “How are you?”
“I'm good, darling,” she purred in a tone similar to her daughter's. “And I'm excited to see the rest of the Riders with you. Hello, boys.”
“Lady Lilith,” the Horsemen said as one as they bowed to her.
“Always so gallant,” Lilith noted with pleasure. “And you are Odin, I presume.”
“It's nice to meet you,” Odin said. “This is our wife, Vervain.”
“I've heard a lot about you, Godhunter.” Lilith cocked her head at me. “You're exactly what I expected.”
“Well, that's new,” I said with surprise. “Normally I get; 'I thought you'd be taller.'”
“From idiot men, I assume,” Lilith said with a smile. “I knew you'd be someone less obvious; a petite woman with powerful magic. I wholeheartedly approve.”
“Thank you.” I smiled back at her. “Have you met my husband, Trevor?”
“No; it's a pleasure, Wolf Prince,” Lilith said. “But let's not be savages; come inside, everyone.”
We filed through a grand foyer, past its spiraling staircase, and through a hallway lined in fine art. Lilith led us into a sitting room done in pink and cream; a room so soft and feminine that all of us looked out of place in it; especially Gello and her mother.
After we were seated on the beautiful but uncomfortable furniture, Gello went to make some tea. As soon as she left, Lilith focused on Azrael.
“What has my husband done now?” She asked.
“I don't know for certain that he's done anything, Lilith,” Azrael said gently. “We're trying to discover whether he had anything to do with the Virtues' attack on me. I don't think he did, but my opinion is in the minority.”
“Why come to me?” She asked.
“We've just been to Makhon,” Azrael said. “We heard that you had a fight with Samael and left. I'm sorry to ask, but was that argument about me or my father?”
Lilith took a deep breath and released it with a scowl. “The argument was personal, and not about you or your family.”
“Are you all right?” Azrael immediately asked. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
Lilith's expression softened. “No, sweetie, but thank you. It's a matter between husband and wife, and we are the only ones who can work through it.”
“My apologies, Lady Lilith,” Odin said. “We didn't mean to pry into your marital affairs.”
Lilith flinched at the word “affair,” and I tried not to show my own reaction. Samael had been cheating on his wife; I was sure of it. I didn't know why, nor was it any of my business, but after meeting Lilith, it was a bit shocking. Shocking enough to make me wonder.
“I once thought Arach was cheating on me,” I blurted.
Lilith gaped at me. “What?”
“Oh, sorry; the mention of marital issues reminded me of my own,” I said. “My faerie husband was sneaking around the castle with this leanan-sidhe woman, and I was certain he was having an affair with her.”
“You never told us about that,” Azrael said. Then he looked at my other husbands. “Did she?”
“No; she didn't,” Odin said sternly.
“Because I was mistaken,” I said it to them, but it was really for Lilith's benefit. “I had misinterpreted every touch and look. The leanan-sidhe was designing a nursery for our sons, and was a overly excited about it. She's a hugger.”
“Did you confront your husband?” Lilith asked.
“I did.” I nodded. “And he denied it.”
“They always do, sweetie,” she said sadly.
“But he also explained what I'd seen and introduced me to the woman,” I went on. “They showed me the nursery, and damn if she wasn't as affectionate with me as she'd been with him. I
