I had started shivering so we were back in my bed, snuggled beneath the covers fully dressed.
“Seven,” I whispered. “Arach lost me in another time.”
“Another time? Arach?” Viper frowned down at me.
“My fey husband. I left him in Faerie and used my ring to jump back in time.” I held up my hand to show him the Ring of Remembrance.
The oval, cabochon stone caught the light and glowed at me.
“This ring takes you through time?” He stared at it in fascination.
“It's tricky, but yes.”
“And your fey husband. Will you return to him?”
“I hope so,” I answered honestly. “I left him to protect our boys.” I faltered, remembering the way I had fled because I thought I might hurt...
No. I had been wrong. Odin was wrong. All of them were wrong. I wasn't the villain. I had become a conqueror but that didn't make me a dictator. I was fighting to help humanity, not repress them. The people under my rule were happy. How could they not be?
“You have children?”
I leaned back to look at him. How had we talked about so much and yet I'd never mentioned my children? “I have four. Twin sons with Arach, a daughter with Kirill, and a son with Trevor.”
“What are their names?” Viper asked softly as he stroked my hair back. “Tell me about them. Do they look like you?”
“All but one of my children look like their fathers. My twins, Rian and Brevyn, look nothing like each other. Rian looks a lot like Arach; he has red hair, and I don't mean auburn, I mean blood red.” I smiled at Viper's lifted brow. “His eyes are a few shades darker than yours. Brevyn was born blond, but his hair has been getting darker, it'll be my color someday. He has blue eyes though. None of my children got my eyes. I'm grateful for that.”
“Why? I love your eyes; they're dark and sultry,” he murmured.
“They're brown and boring,” I corrected but smiled as I did. “Brevyn and Rian were one child in the womb, but then we were attacked by an Egyptian god. His magic started to separate my soul. It would have killed me, but my unborn son absorbed it instead and let it separate him into two boys. Since I'd given him a god soul to go with his faerie essence, he was able to split himself. Then my human blood filled in the gaps. Rian was born with a faerie essence and a human soul while Brevyn was born with a god soul and a human soul.”
“Your unborn child saved you?” Viper whispered in awe. “Wait... they have multiple souls like you?”
I had told Viper all about my souls. As he'd mentioned, we'd shared very intimate things about ourselves. Viper had told me all he could remember about his past life. He had lived on Atlantis and died when it fell. He must have lived other lives after that one—Atlantis was destroyed thousands of years ago—but those memories seem to have been taken by the Void. It didn't matter to me. I enjoyed hearing about his old life but it had no bearing on this one. Viper wouldn't have had any memories if he had been reincarnated in the usual way. He would have been born with a fresh slate to write his new experiences on. Either way, it didn't change who he was; an amazing man who I'd been pushing away for no reason.
Oh, I had shared my past with Viper, told him about everything that had led me to where I was now, but I hadn't gone into detail about my lovers and I'd skipped over my children entirely. I had held myself back in numerous ways. I didn't want to do that anymore. I wanted to tear down the barriers between us. All of them. But I hadn't talked about my children because it was simply too difficult. Too traumatic. Even now, I could feel my chest constricting with panic. Speaking about them was like summoning the Kraken; it made everything inside me rumble.
Despite the battle going on inside me, I tried to answer Viper. “That's right,” I whispered and then cleared my throat and tried again. “Brevyn also acquired some faerie essence so he technically has three souls like me.”
“Following in his mother's footsteps.”
“Yes,” my voice was just a breath of sound.
“Vervain?” Viper's expression went worried. He pulled me up into a sitting position. “Just take a deep breath, baby. I'm here with you; you're not alone.”
I drew a shaky breath and my whole body shivered on the release. Viper's hands on my arms steadied me and his steady stare helped me calm the tremors. I took another breath and felt the panic fade.
“I'm sorry.” I took his hand from my arm and held it in my lap. “I want to tell you about them but it's...”
“Just go slowly.” Viper shifted me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me. “You were talking about how Rian and Brevyn began two boys to save you.”
“Yes.” I smiled proudly and leaned back against his solid chest. Pressed up against his warmth and surrounded by his love, I felt safe. The words came easier, “My twin sons were heroes before they were born. And then came Lesya; she got my lioness magic.”
“A little lioness?” He grinned against my cheek. “I'll bet she's as wild as her mother.”
“Even more so.” I chuckled. “She saved her father less than a day after she was conceived. Lesya brought Kirill back from the dead; held onto his soul and lured him back to us.”
“And Trevor's son? Did he do something heroic before he was born?”
“Vero? No; he's the most like me. A late bloomer.” I scowled suddenly. “If I don't change things and stop the God War, he'll become a godhunter too. He'll get cynical and cold; hiding his pain with humor.”
“You can't know that for certain,” Viper said gently.
“I can,” I assured him as I held up
