I looked up at him in surprise.
“I loved you then, and I love you now,” Blue said as he lifted his chin. “I remembered what you did for me, and how your heart already belonged to another. But we had something too, and if you hadn't been with Thor, I believe we would have been amazing together. Look at how wonderful things are between us now. And in this time, there is no relationship with Thor to hinder us. You have other men, and I don't like that, but I'm willing to work around them to be with you.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“I'm not finished,” Blue said gently. “I've had memories that don't involve you. I saw Eztli; the woman I changed into a vampire.”
“You did?” I asked in surprise.
“I love her too, Vervain,” he said. “And if I can get her back, I want her; desperately.”
“Then we shouldn't get married,” I said reasonably.
“Why not?” Blue asked. “If you can marry more than one man, why can't I marry more than one woman?”
“Fair enough,” I whispered. “But, as fair as that sounds, I don't—”
This could all be irrelevant in a few hours, Alaric interrupted me. Throw the guy a damn bone, Vervain. You're the one who was so intent on keeping this sham going.
“Yes?” Blue asked.
“I don't know how Eztli will feel about it, and I don't want you to lose someone who may become even more important to you than I,” I covered.
Oh, nice save.
“I'm willing to take that risk,” Blue said with a soft smile. “I felt my love for Eztli, but I couldn't have felt it without you. I don't know if love can be quantified—if I can say that I love you more than her or vice versa—but I know that I don't want to lose either of you. You can understand that, can't you?”
“Better than most, I'd wager.” I took a deep breath and then nodded. “Okay.”
“Wait,” Blue said as he got down on one knee. “Let's do this right, this time, Vervain.”
I just nodded.
“You washed my world free of pain and cleared my vision,” Blue said as he stared up at me with a soft smile. “You touched my soul and my magic, and brought both of them back to life. I cannot imagine living without you, little witch. You are more important to me than blood or sun; you are life for me. I am only truly living when I'm with you. Will you marry me, Vervain Lavine?”
“Yes,” I said firmly.
Blue smiled brightly and stood up; clutching me to him as he did. We shared a tender kiss, and then pulled away to stare at each other.
“This time, it will be better,” he promised me.
I didn't point out that we were heading into Tartarus with the intent to put time back to the way it had been.
“Now, let's go handle these gods so we can come back and start planning our wedding,” Blue said.
Is he totally in denial, or what? Alaric asked.
I think he assumes that Time can't be fixed, even if we do kill these gods.
Well, in that case; he may be right, Alaric said grimly. But here's to hoping that he isn't.
We rejoined the others and then headed to the Greek Underworld together. Re, Trevor, Blue, and I stepped out of Hades' palace and into a flurry of activity.
Hades had managed to gather a massive force to go into Tartarus with us; including an enormous, three-headed dog, a woman whose lower half was a dragon, and three giant men who had too many heads and arms to count. The last group made me stare the longest; with all of the arms and heads on each body, the men looked like those spiked-ball dog toys.
“The Greeks are so bizarre,” Trevor murmured.
“And people think Aztecs are weird,” Blue added.
“Those aren't Greek Gods, are they?” I asked as I spotted a pride of lions.
“No; those are the Intare,” Trevor said. “They were once men but were changed into shapeshifters by their goddess; Niyarvirezi.”
A chill went through me when I heard her name, and I started walking toward the lions in a daze.
“What are you doing, La-la?” Re asked.
“I don't know,” I whispered. “Just go with it.”
The men shrugged and followed me over to the Intare. The lions had been resting on the ground, but they got to their feet when I approached. I walked through them; looking at each one intently. I stopped before a black lion; my heart starting to race, but then I looked into his eyes and knew that he wasn't the one I was searching for.
“Vervain, right?” A woman's voice caught my attention.
I turned to see Demeter walk up to me. She glanced at Trevor and nodded.
“Wolf Prince,” Demeter said in greeting.
“Corn Goddess,” Trevor returned title for title.
“You're still with her, I see,” Demeter noted casually.
“She's my mate,” Trevor said simply.
“Wolves.” Demeter shook her head as she turned back to me. “Is there some reason that you're strolling through the ranks of my allies, Vervain?”
“I'm looking for... someone,” I said.
“You're looking among lions for someone who you know?” Demeter asked skeptically.
“Why not?” Trevor asked. “She found me among the wolves.”
Demeter frowned thoughtfully. Then an African woman joined her. This woman was tall and gorgeous, with an athletic build that was still curvy.
“Who's this?” The woman asked Demeter.
“This is Vervain, she's a human witch,” Demeter said in a tone that was just shy of being scornful. “Vervain says that she knows one of your lions.”
“I said that I was looking for someone,” I corrected. “These are your lions?” I asked the woman.
The lions shifted around me; some of them sniffing at me with interest.
“They are,” the woman
