“A gift?” I asked.
“Sure,” Az said.
“It's a surprise.” Re winked at me.
Azrael followed Re out with a shrug in my direction. Re loved giving me presents. Sometimes it was something little and sometimes large, but ever since we'd gotten married, they had started coming more frequently. The other men only shook their heads at his behavior, but it made me nervous. What prompted the excessive giving? Did he feel insecure? There was no way; my other husbands had welcomed him into the fold with open arms. Had I done something?
That was the only downside of Trevor allowing the Wolf to take over and seize back the alpha reins. Discovering that Trevor had been unhappy left me wondering if the others were harboring secret resentments too. I'd always thought that our bonds would let me know if my husbands weren't satisfied, but it seems that I was wrong. They could hide things from me if they wished.
“Surprise!” Re declared as he and Az lugged in a giant mirror.
I blinked in surprise. No wonder Re had needed help. The thing was nearly twice my height. It looked old, perhaps even ancient. But that may have just been the frame. The mirror itself didn't have any of the wobbly surface qualities an old mirror usually possesses, and they didn't even have glass mirrors in the ancient world. Unless it was a god mirror.
I looked closer.
The frame was hand-carved wood that had been gilded. Greek columns stood on the vertical sides; flowers wrapping around them and extending up to a garland at the top. The bottom was carved to look like grass. It was extremely detailed work and the gilding was pristine.
“Are those narcissus flowers?” I asked Re.
The Sun God beamed at me and nodded. We had the flowers at our wedding, and they would always remind me of him. Not just because of the wedding but because of the laugh we'd had over them when we decided to include them in our wedding arrangements. Narcissus for the narcissist. It was perfect.
“It's beautiful,” I said.
“Where would you like it?” Azrael asked.
“The dressing room,” I said absently.
Something about the mirror unsettled me.
“Where did you get it?” I asked as I followed the men into my dressing room. “Right there; just moved the other one aside. I'll make it into something else later.”
They moved the full-length mirror that was propped against the wall in my dressing room and replaced it with Re's gift. The gold gleamed brightly despite the fact that we hadn't bothered to turn on the light when we came in.
“I found it at an auction,” Re said. “A human auction. Can you believe it? This is a god mirror.”
“I thought it felt odd,” I murmured.
“Yeah; there's definitely some magic to it,” Re said. “Probably something to do with appearances. Just don't go asking it to do anything until I've had more time to research it.”
“You gave Vervain a magical mirror that you haven't researched?” Azrael asked in horror.
“Magic needs to be activated,” Re huffed. “It's been in human hands for years and no negative incidents were connected to it.”
“That doesn't mean anything,” Az said. “For all you know, it could eat people and leave no trace of them.”
“There are mirrors that can eat people?” I asked as my eyes widened.
“No; there aren't,” Re assured me. “This mirror is harmless unless you try to invoke something. Honestly, even if you did shout commands at it, I doubt it would work. You have to know what magic to activate and the correct words to do it. You can't just throw random spells at it.”
Azrael simmered down. “Yeah; I suppose he's right.”
“I'll be careful with it,” I promised.
We all headed out of the dressing room. My eyes strayed to the mirror as I reached the threshold; just a quick glance. Something moved within the glass. I froze and looked back. Nothing.
“Must have been shadows playing tricks on me,” I murmured.
Grammar Giggles
And just for a little giggle, here are some grammar mistakes found during the editing of this book.
Correct Line: Re made a choking sound as Donnie—aka Poseidon—laughed his tight ass off.
Giggle: Re made a chocking sound as Donnie—aka Poseidon—laughed his tight ass off. (Yes; chocking is a word. A chock is a block of wood used to secure things from rolling and so chocking is the act of securing. Thus, Re was making a sound like blocks of wood being pushed under something. I don't know why, but I found that hilarious.)
Correct Line: With that, Mayup Mamman dove into the river in the most graceful swan dive I'd ever seen—her hair cascading behind her like wings—and disappeared beneath the surface.
Giggle: With that, Mayup Mamman dove into the river in the most graceful swan dive I'd ever seen—her hand cascading behind her like wings—and disappeared beneath the surface. (I'd like to see a cascading-wing hand.)
Correct Line: The men righted the furniture, but again; the feathers were a problem.
Giggle: The mean righted the furniture, but again; the feathers were a problem.
And please feel free to write me at [email protected] if you spot any grammar errors yourself. I'm a poor self-published author who must rely on the kindness of my super-smart friends for help in editing. Please have mercy on my writing.
Pronunciation Guide
A Thaisce: Ah Hash-keh
Aalish: A-lis
Aednat: Ey-nit
Aillidh: Ah-lee
Aion: E-on
Ameterasu: Ah-mah-ta-rah-soo
Aodh: Ee
Aoife: Ee-fa
Arach: Air-rock
Artair: Ar-ter
Bean-nighe: Ban-neeyah
Bean-sidhe: Ban-she
Bearach: BEH-ruck
Bodb Derg: Bo-hid Dar-rig
Bronagh: Bro-nah
Caitir:KAH-te-heer
Carus: Care-us
Ciaran: KEE-a-rawn
Cian: Key-an
Craigor: Kraeg-or
Credne: Creh-d-nyah
Danal: Dah-nal
Daoir: Daheer
Diarmat: DEER-mit
Drachleen-sidhe: Druch-leen Shee
Eilidh: Ael-ee
Ellingran: El-ING-rawn
Estsanatlehi(Mrs E): Es-tan-AHT-lu-hee
Farinne-sidhe:
