“Nicky!” I cried in relief.
Nicholas, the cat I had raised from kittenhood, the animal I had bottle-fed and who had imprinted on me as if I were his birth-mother, hissed and then started growling. I gaped at him in shock.
“Nick, what's your problem...” Aidan stepped into view and then stared at me. “Oh, I see.”
“Aidan, is everyone all right?” I asked urgently.
“No thanks to you, bitch,” he growled.
“Excuse me?” I blinked at him.
“Ganza!” Aidan shouted. “She's here!”
“Aidan, what the hell's wrong with you?”
“You broke our bonds!” He snapped as he pointed accusingly at me. “You left us floundering. If it wasn't for the magic in Lesya, the Intare might have gone extinct!”
“Marduk changed my destiny!” I protested. “I did nothing to you.”
“Bullshit!”
“Aidan!” Kirill growled as he stepped out of the elevator. “I'll handle zis.”
“Kirill, thank goodness!” I ran to him and threw my arms around his shoulders.
Kirill was alive, and nothing but death could tear this man from me. Everything would be okay now.
Kirill stiffened and pushed me away. “You shouldn't have come here, Vervain.”
I stumbled back and stared at him in horror as the breath stuttered in my throat. My mind stumbled to a stop. I couldn't process; it wasn't possible.
“Why the fuck did you come here?” Trevor snarled as he stepped up beside Kirill.
I glanced behind Kirill to see all of my lovers glaring at me with hatred. Not just anger; hatred. It was the one emotion I'd never thought to see in their eyes and it cut me deeper than any blade could have. The world reeled around me, the entire foundation of my life swept away. This couldn't be happening. Anything but this.
“They were part of your destiny,” Sin said gently as he laid a hand on my shoulder. “Because of that, Marduk was able to change them; he broke their love for you.”
“Vervain broke our love for her!” Odin shouted at Sin. “By betraying all of us on that battlefield.”
“What are you talking about?” I wailed. “I didn't betray you!”
“There won't be any reasoning with them, sweetie,” Ninkasi said. “They're under the Tablet's influence.”
“Do you hear that?” I shouted at them. “Listen to her; she's telling you that Marduk has enchanted you. He's changed you; I didn't do anything to you!”
“None of you are velcome here anymore,” Kirill snarled. “Get out, or I will cast you out myself.”
“Kirill, please! What about Lesya? Trevor, you can't separate me from Vero! They need their mother!”
“Lesya doesn't vant you anymore,” Kirill declared coldly. “She doesn't need a mother who betrays her father. And you vill not be allowed to see her ever again.”
“No,” I whispered. “You can't do that. She's my daughter! You can't keep me from my children!”
“You won't be allowed in Faerie either,” Arach stepped forward to announce. “You gave up your essence out there, Vervain. You gave up everything you are just to try to kill that god. If we mean so little to you then giving us up shouldn't be a hardship.”
“Arach, I didn't give anything up; it was taken from me,” I sobbed. “My boys. Please, you can't. You can't keep me away from my children!” I tried to roar but all that came out was a human shriek. I sounded like a lunatic.
“Your children are better off without you,” Azrael declared. “I thank the Fates that we never had any.”
“This isn't you. Please,” I begged. “Try to remember how much we love each other.”
“Not enough to stop you from throwing us away,” Re sneered at me.
“Get out,” Trevor growled.
“No! I'm not leaving!” I stood my ground. “You can do this; I have faith in all of you. Fight this magic. Fight for us!”
“Ve don't fight for you anymore!” Kirill started forward with violence in his eyes.
I froze, but Sin stepped between us.
“All right, she gets it!” Sin held up his hand. “We're leaving; there's no need to be complete assholes as well as morons.”
“Fuck you, Moon God,” Re snapped. “You have no idea what she did to us.”
“Neither do you, Sunshine,” Sin snarled. “You're all fools; pawns in Marduk's game.”
“My children,” I whispered. “Nicky.” I searched for my cat but he was gone; run away from me.
“Vervain,” Sin turned to me and took my face in his hands, “we'll fix this. We'll find a way, but I need you to come with me now. Trust me, V.”
I took a deep, steadying breath. “Okay. I trust you.”
Sin took my hand and led me into the tracing room.
“And stay the hell away from us!” Viper shouted after us.
Chapter Thirty-One
After crying in Sin's arms until I had no tears left, I fell into a fugue state. I just sat in a chair and stared out of Sin's windows at the barren landscape of Bahrain. It felt appropriate, mimicking the bleakness inside me. Sin brought me food and even went as far as feeding me, but I barely looked at him and hardly ate anything. He'd beg and plead with me then finally started simply shoving food in my mouth. I didn't acknowledge him through any of it. I couldn't. My mind was focused on other things; replaying everything
