Horus smirked. “I'm liking her more.”
“I just proposed to you,” Re said softly. “I don't want you running off to fight in the God War before we're even married.”
“But I can go after we're married?” I countered.
“Vervain,” Re growled, “you don't know what you're asking. This is a god war; the battles are fought with magic.”
“I have magic,” I said.
“You have human magic,” Re corrected. “Human magic requires preparation; herbs and tools to go with the chants. God magic is instant and very effective.”
“You don't have to make a decision right this second,” Horus said. “Why don't you and Re come by Bilskinir later; that's Thor's home. We'll be meeting to discuss a situation tonight; it's Huitzilopochtli again. You can get a feel for what we do, meet everyone, and get their opinions on what you could add to our resistance.”
“I'd like that.” I looked up at Re. “What do you think?”
“If you wish to meet them, I will take you,” Re gave in. “But I'm not happy about it.”
“Thank you.” I snuggled in against him.
“You do look right together,” Horus noted and then frowned. “And wrong. I'm sorry; I don't know what I'm saying.”
“Welcome to the club.” Re chuckled. “Tell your friends that we will attend the meeting. We'll see you later tonight.”
Horus nodded crisply and walked out.
“I'm still getting over the fact that you have grandchildren,” I said to Re.
“Horus and Anubis are actually my great-great-grandsons,” Re said. “I'm the patriarch of our pantheon.”
“Whoa,” I whispered. “You just blew my mind. You look like you're thirty.”
“Thirty!” Re exclaimed as he pulled away from me. “Take that back! I don't look a day over twenty-five.”
I laughed and shook my head. Great; I was in love with a vain god who was also the patriarch of one of the greatest pantheons in the world. Not just in love with him; I was also going to marry him. I should have been freaking out, but when I looked at Re, I only felt calm. This was right; we were right.
“I love you,” I whispered.
Re's indignation vanished, and he pulled me back into his arms. “I love you too, La-la.”
“La-la?” I asked in surprise. “Where did that come from?”
“I have no idea.” He laughed. “The same place everything else is coming from, I imagine.”
“I think I like that place,” I whispered. “La-la, it is.”
Re smiled as he lowered his lips to mine.
Chapter Thirty
“This is beautiful,” I whispered as Horus, Re, and I walked through the airy hallways of Bilskinir.
It was a palace overlooking the sea; with pale stone walls adorned with priceless works of art, marble floors covered in silk carpets, and the light scent of saltwater freshening the air. Horus had met Re and me at the tracing chamber and was escorting us to the library.
“Yes; it's very nice,” Re said. “A bit drafty, though.”
“Your palace is lovely too,” I said with a knowing grin.
“I think the word you were looking for is 'lovelier,'” Re said.
“Ah, yes; of course.”
“Learning how to handle him already, I see,” Horus noted.
“It's not that difficult.” I shrugged. “You just have to make Re feel as if he's the most magnificent person in the room, and then he's happy.”
“Most magnificent man in the room,” Re corrected me. “I could never be the most magnificent person if you were there.”
Horus stumbled and looked over at Re in shock.
“What?” Re asked. “I know that I'm self-centered, but love opens the self and allows another person in. Now, my center has shifted to Vervain.”
“I never thought I'd see the day when you loved a woman more than yourself,” Horus said.
“I loved your grandmother more than myself,” Re said. “Perhaps that's why it took me so long to find love again; I don't settle for substandard affection. Love must be everything or it is nothing at all.”
“I didn't expect you to be such a romantic,” I said to Re.
“He wasn't before he met you,” Horus said. “But come on; they're waiting for us.”
Horus opened a door and ushered us into a traditional English library. The carpeting was hunter-green, the wood accents were mahogany, and the leather furniture was maroon. It was a masculine and comfortable palette. I felt at ease immediately; my gaze traveling over the shelves of rare books that went two stories high before I perused the gods.
I knew them all by sight. Thor was the largest presence and caught my attention immediately; his strawberry-blond hair catching the firelight within its strands. He was just as I had painted him; a striking, massive man with muscles for days and strong features to match. Next to Thor sat his son, Ull. He had blond hair and a slightly smaller build than his father. Ull smiled at me in a welcoming way, and I smiled back as if he were an old friend. Why had his painting made me so sad? This man reeked of happiness.
Down from Ull, there was a Native American man with long, ebony hair and turquoise eyes. The color of his eyes was so startling in his dark face, but there was a calmness about him that negated the effect. I knew that his name was Teharon, the Mohawk God of Healing, and that his healing would feel like a rush of cool water. There were two other Native American gods there; a married couple. They were Tsohanoai and Estsanatlehi; the Navajo Gods of the Sun and Change, respectively. They were both as calm as Teharon, but they were not healers; these were powerful warriors.
Across from the Native Americans was a different type of Indian; a true Indian, if you will. He was wearing an expensive suit; one leg crossed over the other to show
