“You're the motherfucking Godhunter, that's who you are! With or without them! No one can take that from you, it's in your damn soul. Now, get it together and start hunting, you fucking crybaby.”
I nodded at myself decisively and got into the shower. The heat felt good but not as good as it had when I was a dragon. That nearly set me to sobbing again, but I bit my lip and carried on. My family and friends weren't dead and that bastard Marduk didn't get his grubby hands on my territory. That was the one thing he wanted; the whole reason he'd fucked with my destiny, to begin with, and he didn't get it. I grinned into the spray. It was a small victory, but I'd take it. Small victories can lead to larger ones.
When I came out of the bathroom, I found a change of clothes laid out on Sin's bed. I smiled at that. He had been damn good to me. It's when you're at your lowest that true friendship reveals itself, and Sin had proved himself to be a good friend. That was another mistake Marduk had made; leaving me Sin and Ninka.
I fingered the silk dress Sin left for me. Leave it to Sin to buy me designer clothes. I breathed out through a fresh wave of pain. He was the last one who I would have expected to treat me so gallantly, but he had. Sin had been a true gentleman; picking me up off that battlefield and carrying me home when all the others had abandoned me. If not for Sin, I'd likely still be wandering through the Arabian desert. Maybe even dead under a dune. I owed him a lot, and he just kept giving.
I slipped on the luxury lingerie and then the dress, feeling instantly stronger and more like myself. I've always been a fan of fine things but they were even better when a sexy man bought them for me. Ugh! That sounded so... damsel in distress, and that isn't me. Still, a strong woman can graciously accept gifts. Being independent doesn't mean you don't like to be treated with respect and even pampered a little. And also... when had I started thinking of Sin as sexy?
I frowned. I suppose he'd always been sexy, but he'd only recently become someone who I might be attracted to. Attraction, for me, happens on several levels. It's when I see the quality of a man that I determine whether I truly find him attractive or not. Sin was showing me his worth; allowing me to see the sort of man he was, and it made him more than a pretty face. His kindness, especially, was endearing him to me. Sometimes, the smallest act of kindness can alter a life immensely. By scooping me up and taking pity on me that day, Sin had ensured that I'd live to fight again. He hadn't just changed my life, he'd saved it.
“Hey,” I said softly as I walked into Sin's high-tech kitchen.
I stared at Sin's handsome face and his perfect clothes. His dark hair swept back in a style meant to look careless, a tempting amount of muscled chest peeked through the V of his button-down shirt, and a gold watch glinted at his wrist. Even his shoes were polished. He's always so put together. Always smiling as if he were a second away from seducing someone. I never would have thought that there was a loyal, brave, sweetly stubborn man beneath all of that. When we first met, I saw potential in Sin, but I didn't see this. I had misjudged him. I suddenly felt very lucky to have Sin on my side. It looked as if Viper wasn't the only good thing to come out of my time as the Dark Star.
“Hey back.” Sin grinned at me as he pulled some ice cream out of the freezer. “Pistachio Cardamom or Rocky Road?”
“Those are my choices?” I asked with a laugh. “They make some unusual bedfellows.”
“Which is why I'm asking which one,” he shot back. “I'm not saying we should have them together.” He looked at the cartons consideringly. “Then again.”
“Who were you arguing with?”
Sin went still and then grimaced. “You heard that, huh?”
“Just the tone.” I shrugged and took the Rocky Road from him.
“It was Enki. He wants me to rejoin the Pantheon,” he said the last bit dramatically. “All will be forgiven.”
“And you don't want to?” I scooped some ice cream into one of the dishes he had out on the counter.
“Hell, no.” Sin grimaced. “I'm done with those fools. After what Marduk did to you, I could never be in the same pantheon as him. We were just at war, Vervain. I'm not going to go running back to them just because we lost.”
“It's not everyone's fault,” I said diplomatically. “Marduk made his own choices.”
“Oh, but it is,” he argued. “Enki just told me that they all knew what Marduk had planned. Of course, they did; the fucker gave your magic to my daughter to secure her loyalty.”
“Oh...” I whispered in revelation. “That makes sense now. Also, I'm so sorry about Ishtar. Were you close?”
“Very.” He sighed. “Me and her mother... not so much. But Izzy and I have always been tight. She was upset about what happened with her husband, but we were getting through it. She knew it wasn't my fault.”
“Right. I killed your son-in-law.” I grimaced.
“He was a dick, and Izzy knew it. They'd been estranged for years. She was just using his death as an excuse to hate you and side with Marduk. It was about magic, not love.” He sighed deeply. “I'm a little crushed that she would choose power over me.”
“It sounds like the same reason my men are mad at me,” I muttered.
“No, that's a lie that Marduk forced them to believe, and they aren't mad at
