“Okay!” Macaria growled. “I get it; you're pissed.”
“I'm pissed?” I snarled at her. “No, I passed 'pissed' a long time ago; I'm furious—red-hot dragon furious—and I'm going to take my fury out on you.”
“Boss, you okay?” Jared, one of the Froekn bouncers, asked. He had come up with three other guys. “You want us to throw her out?”
“I got this, Jared,” Trevor said as he and Ty joined me. “Just watch over our patrons.”
“On it,” Jared said as he motioned for the bouncers to spread out in front of the curious club-goers.
“I only came to warn you,” Mac said as she dabbed at her bleeding nose.
“Right.” I rolled my eyes. “You came here to do me a favor.”
“It's not for you,” Macaria whispered as she lifted her chin.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Stay the fuck away from my husband.”
“Which one?” She shot back.
“All of them,” I snarled as I started forward. “And that includes my boyfriends too, you traitorous Jezebel!”
“Okay, back down, She-Ra,” Mac huffed. “I feel bad about what I did to Az. He's a good guy, and he didn't deserve to get played like that. In case you didn't know; Az never tried anything with me, I only made it look as if he had.”
“I do know,” I said as I cracked my knuckles. “I know about everything.”
“And you can stop calling Azrael by his nickname as if you're friends,” Trevor added, “because he—like the rest of us—hates you.”
“It takes a lot for Azrael to hate someone,” I said. “But when he does; it's with every ounce of his being. In fact, I've changed my mind; please do attempt to speak with him. I'd love to see what he does to you.”
“Look, I get that I'm the last person you guys would ever trust, but I had to try”—she sighed deeply—“for Azrael's sake and my father's.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” I leaned in toward her menacingly.
“My mother is just as furious as you are, Godhunter,” Macaria said. “You and your friends ruined our chances of truly becoming gods again.”
“You're really going to try to play the victim with me?” I gaped at her.
“No; I'm telling you this so that you'll understand why Mom is targeting you and your family,” Macaria said. “She hates you now; all of you, but especially Dad. We both lost a lot of friends that day.”
“And yet, here you are.” I looked her up and down. “Warning me for Azrael's sake. Oh, and Hades'.”
“Dad won't even speak to me,” she said sadly. “So, I have to give you this warning. Please, do us all a favor and listen.”
“Just say what you came to say and get the fuck out before I kill you in front of witnesses,” I snarled.
“Dvārakā wasn't Mom's only play,” Macaria said; ignoring my bitterness. “She's got something big up her sleeve. She's in Tartarus; I'd confront her if I were you. At least then you'll have a fighting chance. Who knows? Maybe you could reason with her.”
“You're not—nor will you ever be—me.” I set my stare firmly on her.
“Fine.” She held up her hands in surrender. “I said my piece; you've been warned.”
“A cryptic warning about a vague attack?” Trevor huffed. “Great. Thanks for that; we'll be sure to get right to it.”
“I don't approve of Mom's actions this time,” Macaria said solemnly. “So, I'm going to give you as much as I know; she's working with a god of time who also has a bone to pick with you, Vervain.”
“Time?” My face fell.
“You thought that you were the only god who could travel through time?” Mac asked with a lifted brow. “Perhaps you are. I'm not sure what this god can do, but I am sure that you won't like it. Keep a close watch on those you love, as well as on your clocks, Godhunter. Time is running out for all of you.”
Chapter Two
We headed back to Pride Palace and called in the Squad.
“How do we prevent this type of attack?” I asked them.
The Gods looked at each other helplessly.
“We kill Nyx,” Hades finally said in a low voice. “Macaria even hinted at it; she said we should confront her. That means that she believes it's the only way to stop Nyx.”
Pan whistled and shook his head. “Kill a Primordial? That's gonna be hard.”
“A Primordial?” I asked.
“There are three types of Greek Gods,” Hekate explained. “Human myth describes them as three generations, although it's really their magic that's related.”
“You mean one magic sprung from another?” I asked.
“Yes, and it was all dished out at the whims of the humans,” Hekate said. “They were the ones who gave our magic its classifications, and it was they who determined that certain primordial things such as the Earth, Sky, Mountains, Time, Darkness, etcetera, were anthropomorphic. Thus, the Primordials received their power. From those primeval magics were born others, and here's where things get tricky. The humans created relationships between us that didn't exist; binding gods together through the generations of their magic.”
“You're losing me,” I murmured.
“Uranus, the Primordial God that embodies the Sky, and Gaia, the Primordial Goddess who embodies the Earth, are said to be the parents of the first twelve Titans. They are not, but their magic birthed the Titans' magic. Do you understand?”
“Okay; go on,” I said.
“The other Primordials had children too, of course; Macaria being one of them,” Hekate said. “But she is not a Titan.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Human whim,” Hekate said with a toss of her hand. “That's why I said it gets tricky. Then we have children of the Titans;
