I don't think the Egyptians had realized exactly what this wedding would mean. Hell, I don't think that I realized it. When Re started to make his vows to me, I just stared at him in surprise. His eyes gleamed with laughter; he had known exactly what this marriage would mean for his pantheon. He just hadn't expected Osiris to be so bold about it.
“Vervain,” Re said. “Lala, the first moment I saw you, I thought to myself... why?” He started in a sweet tone and ended with bafflement and a confused expression. “Why would Anubis be so obsessed with this woman?”
The gathering burst into laughter, Anubis even chuckled, but I grimaced at Re.
“But then you spoke,” Re went on, “and I experienced all that is Vervain Lavine; the appalling humor, the sharp wit, the enchanting innocence, and the awe-inspiring strength.” Re stroked my face affectionately. “There is a beauty within you that shines like the Moon; subtle but pervasive. You were meant to hold that magic; meant to be my counterpart. There is no other woman like you; not on any world or in any heaven. You are the only Moon in my eyes; the only woman in my heart. Without you, my life would have continued to be an endless dance in the sunlight; pleasantly warm but utterly empty of any worth. Beneath that emptiness there was an ache that I pushed there; the hollow hurt of never holding you. I've felt the loss of you before I knew you, and now, I can see the truth; that the Sun can never be happy without the Moon to temper him. I needed your cool reflection to ease my heat, and your wild heart to make mine beat again. I will never stop shining my love upon you so long as you never stop reflecting yours back to me.”
My knees went a little weak, and I clasped Re's hands tighter. He smiled tenderly at me. Then the moment was broken by my daughter.
“Uncle Re, my Daddy said to give you this.” Lesya stood beside us with a ring in her outstretched hand. “Hi, Mommy; you look pretty.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” I said as I stroked the dark hair out of her face.
“And thank you for the ring,” Re said as he took the diamond ring from her.
It was my wedding band from my second marriage; the one that my four husbands had added a diamond to. The diamond had been made by Luke; fashioned from locks of my husbands' hair. Azrael had recently taken the ring back to Satan and asked him to add a little something extra to the diamond; a lock of sun god hair.
“You're welcome,” Lesya said. She held up a platinum band to me. “This one is for you, Mommy.”
The platinum band was special too. I'd enchanted it—along with my ring and all of my other husbands' rings—so that it would alert any of us if Re were in trouble and vice-versa. It would also help us track him; in most cases. In short; he'd be one of us.
I took the ring and kissed my daughter on the forehead. “Thank you, baby. Now, go back to your Daddy.”
“Okay,” Lesya said as she stepped down the dais. At the bottom step, she paused, pointed back at me, and declared proudly, “That's my mommy.”
The entire room laughed as Kirill hurried over and scooped her up. He gave me a smiling shake of his head as he carried her back to their seat.
“Zey know, Kotyonok,” Kirill whispered to Lesya. “Zey know.”
Re slid his ring on my finger; still laughing about Lesya. His eyes glittered when he lifted his gaze to mine.
“With this ring—”
“One moment please,” Odin stood up and the room fell into a horrified silence; even I stared at Odin in shock. “We—Vervain's husbands—have a slight change to make to the ceremony.”
Kirill handed Lesya to Aidan, and my four husbands stepped up to the top of the dais.
“What are you doing?” I whispered to them, but they only smiled at me, and then looked at Re.
“Do you remember the vows we made at our wedding, Sun God?” Trevor asked. “The ones we made to Vervain and to each other?”
Re's face went blank and then he blinked. His slack mouth shifted into a soft smile, and his gaze turned grateful.
“I remember,” Re said.
“Do you think you can repeat them without prompting?” Azrael asked.
Re gave it some thought while Az handed him a piece of paper. My sun god chuckled as he skimmed the vows and then nodded.
“I've got it,” Re said. “And”—he looked at each of my husbands—“thank you.”
“You don't just marry Vervain,” Kirill said. “You become our brother.”
“I'm honored,” Re said sincerely.
And then we formed a circle. Re gave me my wedding ring, and I held it in my palm as the men placed their hands on each other's shoulders and on mine; Re on my right and Trevor on my left.
“I bind my life to yours,” they all declared to me and to each other. “My magic will magnify your magic, and my strength will reinforce your strength. I will be your shield and your sword. I will stand beside you against all enemies, and if you fall, I will avenge you. I vow my fidelity to you above all others, for all of eternity. We are more than blood, we are one.”
I shivered as the vow settled over us and bound us together. With a trembling hand, I handed the diamond ring back to Re. The Sun God slid the ring on my finger as the other men stood behind him; each with a hand on Re's shoulders.
“With this ring, we thee wed,” they all declared.
My husbands stepped away from Re; their hands giving him welcoming
