We reached an open area about a hundred feet from the rally, and I could feel Huitzilopochtli closing in. The connection between us—that line of magic I was drawing from him—strengthened as he followed us. If he'd been smart, he would have tried to run, although, I don't know if that would have worked. I had a lock on him now; it was very possible that he couldn't escape me.
But I couldn't focus on all the details; Huitzilopochtli's magic was rushing through my veins. It was hot with sunlight and battle-rage, and yet it was also cold and calculating. It felt off; broken. There was something wrong with Huitzilopochtli, and it wasn't just his bloodthirsty ways.
There was a flash of light as Huitzilopochtli appeared; his invisibility failing him. He was just as I had pictured him; a tall, sleekly-muscled man with deep brown skin and midnight hair. His crimson eyes narrowed at me as he stumbled forward. Thor swung his hammer; the glint of magic and steel flashing through his invisibility spell.
And then everything went to Hell.
Huitzilopochtli ducked and dodged the hammer as he barreled into me. He clutched me to his chest as he rolled. I was torn away from Re, and as soon as I was free, Huitzilopochtli traced us away. Traveling the Aether without preparing for it is a shocking experience, and I reformed in a daze; staring about the strange room Huitzilopochtli had brought us to.
The walls, ceiling, floor, and furniture were made of stone. The floor was black marble; a shocking contrast to the walls which were white marble with gold veining. The ceiling was just a pale cream color that matched the unwieldy dining set beside us. The massive table and its blocky chairs were placed before a glass wall. Outside that glass, a thick jungle pressed in; making the room feel colorful, even though it wasn't.
I was forced to stop draining Huitzilopochtli when he traced us, but the connection was still there. I began to draw on his magic again, but then he bit me. Waves of ecstasy rolled over me as Huitzilopochtli fastened his mouth over the wound in my throat and drew out great gulps of my blood. With my blood, he called back his magic, and it surged away from me, along with my life.
I knew Huitzilopochtli was going to kill me, and there was nothing I could do about it. But something had changed. While I had held his magic, my soul had fixed that broken piece in it. Huitzilopochtli's power had entered me ugly and dark, but my light had blasted away a thick, black coating to reveal a beautiful hummingbird beneath. When that bird flew back into Huitzilopochtli, he shuddered and froze; his teeth still in my neck, but his lips gone lax on my skin. He drew away with a gasp; leaving two seeping punctures in my throat.
“What have you done?” Huitzilopochtli whispered in a velvety voice.
I blinked my way out of the lust haze he'd sent me into and stared up at him. A memory flared inside my mind; Huitzilopochtli vowing that he could love me with the strength of centuries as I stared up at him adoringly. Then I felt love shimmer to life inside me, and I realized that Huitzilopochtli must have been one of my husbands... and I had tried to kill him. Damn; that Time God was devious.
Huitzilopochtli cried out suddenly and fell back onto the stone floor. His arms stretched out across the glossy, black marble; fingers clawing at the surface as his freshly-laundered magic rushed through him; fixing the broken pieces in his soul. I knew that this was happening because I could sense that it had happened before. I had saved Huitzilopochtli from himself once, and now, history was repeating itself. I knew it was for the best, but I also knew that it would be traumatic for him. So, I sat beside Huitzilopochtli and eased his head onto my lap.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered as I laid my palm against his cheek. “I didn't remember you, but now I do.”
Vervain, he's not—
Gods damn it! Not now, Alaric! I nearly killed one of my husbands!
But—
Huitzilopochtli started to shake as if he were having a seizure, and I pushed away Alaric's whining and focused on my husband.
“Hold on, honey,” I said to Huitzilopochtli—Blue; that's what I called him. “I'm here, Blue; I've got you. It'll be over soon, and then you'll feel so much better. Trust me; we've been here before.” I brushed his sleek, thick hair away from his face as he went still. “Blue? Are you all right?”
Huitzilopochtli opened his eyes and stared up at me in wonder. I was so lost in that intense stare that it took me a moment to realize that it was green. His eyes had changed from blood red to jade green.
“Beautiful,” I whispered as I stroked his cheek.
“Little witch?” Blue asked softly as he lifted a hand to my face. “I think I know you.”
“You do; we were together once,” I said with a smile. “I think I may love you.”
“I know that I love you,” Blue said with sudden passion as he sat up and pulled me against his chest. “I can feel you inside me. I want to be inside you as well.”
Blue's mouth covered mine, and I moaned into the tenderness of his kiss. His fingers threaded through my hair as he eased me onto his lap, and I wrapped my legs around his waist; holding him to me even tighter. Huitzilopochtli pushed me back onto the floor and settled over me. We ground against each other through our clothing as his mouth moved down my neck to lick the
