“I only have one question for you, Athena,” Odin said with deadly seriousness.
Everyone went quiet.
“Yes?” Athena asked.
“Can Vervain keep the toga?”
Chapter Forty-Two
While we were gone, the rest of the Squad had compiled a list of death deities connected to us by no more than two degrees of separation. You've heard of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? Well, we couldn't go that far; we wanted there to be a reasonable amount of connection. Gods rarely go through this kind of trouble to target people without god reason. So, it was two degrees of God Squad.
Naye—Toby's twin brother—made an appearance at the end of the evening; not to assist us, but rather to attempt to convince Toby to come home. The twins rarely spent much time apart, and Naye was having some separation anxiety. But Toby didn't want to leave while we were still in jeopardy—him included. I finally promised Toby that I would text him if anything came up, and he went home with his relieved brother. I didn't let Toby go for Naye; I did it for Doba—Toby's dog—who I knew would be missing him, and who I had a soft spot for.
The gods of the God Squad divided up our death deity list and left to investigate their portions. My husbands, Re, and I had taken Mot; a lesser known Angel of Death that had been overlooked in our first investigation. Toby would pitch in on the Mot (also known as Moth—oh, so many Mothman jokes) investigation after he returned in the morning.
The men were getting ready to head up to bed, when I stopped Azrael and Trevor. “Now, you two can tell me what those angry looks were about earlier.”
“What looks?” Azrael asked.
Trevor glared at him. “Tell her or I will.”
Azrael sighed. “Trevor thought he saw something that he didn't.”
“Oh, you had best do better than that,” Trevor growled.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Odin asked.
“When I went to grab Az so we could go to Olympus, I saw—” Trevor began.
“I'll tell them,” Azrael cut Trevor off. “He thought he saw Mac and I in a romantic moment. He did not.”
My throat went dry as all of my doubts were challenged. I had become so strong over the years; surrounded by all the love of my husbands. But all it took was one guilty look from Azrael to turn me back into a cynical, insecure woman.
“Then why do you look so guilty?” I asked softly.
“Because I know how it seemed,” Azrael said angrily. “And I also know how much you dislike Macaria.”
“I don't dislike her,” I protested. “I just don't particularly like her. But I'm leaning more toward the dislike as we speak.”
“Nothing happened to warrant your antagonism,” Azrael assured me.
“I saw you holding her,” Trevor growled. “Her face was lifted up to yours; one more second, and you would have been kissing.”
Kirill, Odin, and I stared at Azrael in horror.
“That's not how it happened,” Azrael snapped. “If you were so certain that I was about to betray my marriage vows, why didn't you tell Vervain right then?”
“Because you made me doubt what I saw,” Trevor admitted. “And I wanted to be certain before I broke Vervain's heart.”
“And you're not?” I asked Trevor.
“They broke apart when I entered the room,” Trevor said. “It looked bad, but not absolute.”
“I heard your footsteps coming down the hall,” Azrael huffed. “You know how sound carries through the wood. Why would I kiss Mac, right when I knew someone was approaching? And we didn't lock the door. Don't you think I would have had the foresight to at least lock the door if I wanted to cheat on Vervain right under her nose?”
“Maybe it was one of those moments you didn't plan on,” Trevor growled.
I shivered as I recalled Ted's words; how Az would not set out to betray me... but that he didn't trust Macaria.
“Hold on,” I whispered.
The men kept arguing; with Odin and Kirill starting to get in on it.
“I said 'shut up!'” I shouted, and they went silent.
The men stared at me in surprise; especially Azrael.
“Carus, I love you,” Az said. “Think about what we've been through; how I touched your soul and then tried to walk away from you. Yet here we are; we were drawn back to each other.”
I smiled; visions of Roarke serenading Anna in my head. The best loves were those that healed themselves; love that drew people together no matter how hard the world—and the lovers themselves—tried to tear it apart. It was time to trust in that love and let go of my doubts for good.
“I know, Az,” I said softly as I went to him and laid my hand on his cheek. The bond between us flared, and I felt the honesty within him. “And I'm sorry for doubting you; no matter how brief it was. You would never do that to me; or to your family. Your heart is too pure for that.”
“Carus,” Azrael's whole body trembled with relief as he pulled me into an embrace. “I forgive you your doubts; I had them too. Seeing you look at me as if I had betrayed you made me doubt what we have, but then you go and say something that makes me love you even more.”
“I've become too focused on saving you,” I said. “It made me forget to simply treasure you. And then Macaria showed up, and I drew even further away. I thought that I was showing you trust, when to you, I must have seemed apathetic.”
