“Athena, Ruler of Olympus,” Trevor whispered back.
Athena glanced at the men then did a double-take. “Aren't you one of her evil gods?” She pointed at Viper.
“I got better,” Viper said in a British accent.
“You quote movies now too?” Azrael asked Viper. Then he looked at me. “What did you do; pull a Jerry and make him in your own image?”
“Haha.” I stuck my tongue out at Az. “Viper has been watching movies with me and when I'm otherwise occupied, he continues his cinematic studies with the Intare.”
“So, I can understand what the hell she's talking about,” Viper added.
“Smart man,” Arach noted. “It took me awhile to figure out that movies are like another dialect for her.”
“Excuse me?!” Athena shrieked. “But I would like an apology!”
“Athena, Vervain was abducted and when she broke free, she had to kill the Finns to escape,” Odin explained. “There was no planning and no way for her to contact you first.”
“Abducted?” Athena simmered down. “By who?”
Odin grimaced. “By me.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you people?” Athena huffed.
“Odin was under Finnish influence,” I explained.
“Is that a type of drug?” Viper asked with a smirk.
“Where the hell are you getting all these jokes, man?” Trevor asked Viper. “I have underwear older than you.”
“You have some really old underwear.” Re squished his nose up at Trevor. “You should go shopping. You're a prince after all; there's a certain standard to be upheld.”
“No one is going to be analyzing my underwear,” Trevor shot back.
Re stared at him pointedly.
“No one except you, evidently,” Trevor huffed. “But I'm not buying underwear to impress you, Re. Just forget about it.”
Re sighed and rolled his golden eyes. “The things I put up with to be a part of this family.”
Athena blinked. As I mentioned, she's one of the smartest women I know, but she was upset and processing slower than usual.
“You were enchanted by Ilmarinen?” Athena asked Odin.
“Yes,” he said. “I trusted him; Ilmarinen was a friend to me once, but he betrayed me.”
“And then you abducted your wife and handed her over to him?” Athena went on.
“Yes, and it's a bit of a touchy subject.” Odin leveled his sparkling stare on her.
“And then Vervain killed them all?” Athena lifted a brow.
“Yes, and as I said; it's a touchy subject.”
“In other words, shut up about it already,” I grumbled. “Strawberry Shortcake, Athena, but you're rather slow today.”
Athena rolled her eyes and made a pained expression. “Well, sue the fuck out of me for needing a moment to catch up.”
“She's funny. I like her,” Viper declared.
Athena looked Viper up and down. “Oh, really?”
“He's mine,” I growled, and Viper smirked.
“Fucking flying owls, Vervain!” Athena shouted. “Are you gonna leave any men for the rest of us?”
I stared at her for about three seconds before I burst out laughing. The men followed just moments after me and, finally, Athena started chuckling too.
“You have a bad morning or something?” I finally asked her. “You know, if you're looking for a man, I have a whole palace full of them. Help yourself; most of the Intare are single.”
“Gee, I wonder why?” She asked sarcastically. “Could it be because they have the mentality of frat boys?”
“Hey! That's my family you're talking about,” I snapped.
“Sorry.” She sighed. “Yes, it's been a rough morning. I'm unsettled. Olympus is full of training gods and it brings back bad memories.”
“Right,” I whispered. “Sorry.”
I knew the exact memory Athena was referring to but I, unlike her, knew better than to go into vivid detail about it. I had kicked her parents' butts, exposed them as evil criminals, and got them booted off Olympus. That's not something a daughter wants to relive. Especially now that Zeus is dead, eaten by Argentinian cannibal gods. No, I'm not kidding. Death by barbecue.
“Well, at least you don't have a god trying to rewrite your destiny,” I said brightly.
“Didn't Nyx do that to you already?” Athena came over to the kitchen table that we had congregated around, and Odin got up to give her his chair. “Thank you, Allfather.”
“Of course,” Odin murmured and slid the chair in for her as she sat.
“Yeah,” I muttered as I thought about it. “Kinda in reverse. She tried to rewrite my past. What the hell is it with gods screwing with my fate?”
“Fate tempts all,” Clotho intoned dramatically as she glided in with her sisters.
“Sons of Anarchy!” I shouted as I flinched. “Don't do that. You startled me, you sneaky Moirai.”
“You could use a good rattle,” Atropos declared. “You're up here lounging about when you should be training.”
“I was tired,” I growled.
“Wah wah wah,” Atropos mimicked a baby.
“What are you three doing here?” Athena asked the Fates.
“Actually, yes; what she said,” I added. “Why haven't you left already? Usually you deliver your cryptic message and leave. Not even that; usually, I go to you and you give me a cryptic message and then I leave.”
“We are here to support you, Vervain,” Clotho said serenely. “Your star is important to all of us; we must see it safely united before we can rest.”
“Then, thank you.” I sat back as Trevor put a cup of tea on the table before me. “And thank you, Honey-Eyes.”
“You're welcome.” Trevor kissed the top of my head. “I'm just glad you don't smell like smoke anymore.”
“Why did she smell like smoke?” Lachesis asked with narrowed eyes.
“My wife was feeling a little tired,” Arach explained. “She needed to soak in her element.”
“You went and stood in a fire and it made you feel better?” Athena asked me.
“That's right.”
“Fuck,” she muttered. “Must be nice to be fireproof.”
“It is, actually.” I grinned then looked over at the Moirai. “You know, I've just remembered something you gals told me after the thing with Katila and his mother. You said that change was coming for the Gods. That it would be rough but good too. I thought you meant that the Gods would be able to kill each other freely and perhaps even steal each other's magic. But
