“King Cian's solution will be to close the realm,” I pointed out. “And even if we tell him not to, he might get spooked enough to do it anyway to protect what he treasures most.”
“Lugh,” Arach whispered.
“Right; Cian won't want to lose his son,” I agreed.
“The amount of lives you've touched is phenomenal,” Arach said tenderly as he stroked my face.
“Which means that this god can do a lot of damage by simply changing my path,” I said.
“We're stronger than he is,” Arach said firmly. “I have faith in our love; it's no simple affection. We have something that can survive any trauma.”
“How?” I shook my head.
“I carry you in my soul, A Thaisce,” Arach whispered before he leaned in to kiss me. “No one can take you from me completely.”
“Blood magic,” I said eagerly. “If we can't find a spell to stop Nyx, then maybe we can work a smaller one to help us hold onto our love.”
“A soul bond like you forged with the others,” Arach concluded. “I don't know why we haven't done one before.”
“Because we are connected in other ways, and we never felt the need.”
“Now, we have the need,” Arach said. “And it's a good thing that we waited because we can alter this spell into something that will help us survive this.”
“Blood to Heart?” I asked.
“No; not a god spell.” Arach shook his head as he pulled me close. “We are Fey.”
Arach lowered his lips to mine and kissed me savagely; so savagely that he cut my lip. As my blood and recent memories poured into Arach, I bit at him and savored the same from him. Magic rose around us as Arach began to weave a spell; murmuring Fey words against my lips. Then he pulled away to stare into my eyes.
“If we are parted, we shall be drawn together again, and when we meet, the sound of our names will remind us of who we are to each other,” Arach declared. “I with yours, and you with mine. Your name is burned into my soul, Vervain.”
“And your name is burned into my soul, Arach,” I said.
As I spoke his name, I did feel a burning sensation in my chest. It wasn't painful—dragons like fire—but it felt as if it sank deeper than my bones; deeper than anyone could touch.
“I love you, A Thaisce,” Arach said. “Forever; wherever that forever takes us.”
Chapter Five
I spent a bittersweet night with the Fire Fey and my family; gathering memories like flowers and praying that they would last. But flowers wither and prayers don't work for gods; no one's listening. By morning, it was all blurring together as memories do, and I knew that even if nothing were to change, I couldn't possibly remember every aspect of the night before. Except for Arach; I vividly remembered the love we shared later that night. We came close to burning the bed again.
As time in Faerie caught up with the God Realm, Arach and I gathered the children together for our goodbye. And this goodbye would be real for us; we all knew that it might be our last one. It broke my heart that my boys had to face this with Arach and me; that I couldn't pretend that everything was all right for them. That's what a parent is supposed to do; make the world seem like a safe place, even when it isn't. But the twins had faced adversity—and saved us from it—before they'd taken their first breaths; their magic and blood prevented them from having the childhood I would have wanted for them.
“It's okay, Mommy,” Brevyn said, “you're going to do great.”
My son was comforting me; why did that make things ten times worse?
“I love you so much.” I kissed Brevyn and then Rian. “Both of you.” I lifted my face to Arach to kiss him. “All of you.”
Dexter whined, and I bent down to hug him tightly.
“I won't forget you either, Dex,” I promised before I stood and backed away from them. “I'll be right back,” I said with forced gaiety.
“If you aren't, we'll know to prepare for the worst,” Arach said grimly.
My stomach clenched as I realized that he was right. Normally, I'd be back immediately. So, Arach would know, in mere moments, whether history would be changed. And if it did change, he'd have to comfort our boys without me; knowing that they could disappear at any second, and when they did, he'd forget that they ever existed.
“I'm so sorry that I can't stay,” I whispered.
“I'm sorry that I can't fight this with you.” Arach's jaw clenched, and he swallowed visibly. “I have never felt as helpless as I do right now.”
“I'll make it right,” I promised. “No matter what happens, I will make sure that our family is safe.”
“I know you will, A Thaisce,” Arach said gently. “It's the reason I can let you go.”
I smiled softly at him, our boys, Dexter, and even Blossom in her pot by the window; keeping that image of them with me as I returned to the God Realm. I reappeared in my bedroom; relieved that I had chosen to leave from there. Because as soon as I reformed, I started to cry.
It was silly; I know. Nothing had happened yet, but the mere prospect was so crippling. In fact, part of me started to suspect that Macaria had told me all of it just to bring about this panic; that Nyx wasn't working with a time god at all, but the deadly, mother-daughter duo had concocted this ruse just to torture us. I took a deep breath as I considered this theory. It was totally plausible, but I couldn't function under the premise. I had
