As they did now.
I cowered in a circle of prowling monsters. A twisted version of Trevor's werewolf snarled at me through dagger-like teeth, Arach's weredragon lashed the ground with a tail full of deadly barbs, and Azrael swung his scythe at me as his Death skull dripped acid over my skin. Odin took the form of a massive alligator with a scorpion tail, Kirill's lion distorted into a rabid creature with red eyes and rotting flesh, and Re's entire body burned with the power of the Sun. Around them, Viper slithered in his enormous snake body, hissing and snapping at me with a jaw twice its normal size and teeth that oozed venom.
They slashed at me with their claws and teeth and tails. I screamed as my flesh tore and blood flowed. I curled into a ball to protect myself, but they still bit at me and crushed me with their feet. My bones broke. I tasted blood. My hair burned away, the smell of it stinging my nose. I cried, begging for mercy, but they only laughed and poured poison into my wounds.
The sky darkened and lightning lashed across it. Marduk rose into the air on a glowing bolt to stare down at me while the men I loved the most destroyed me. Viper swirled himself around my body, scales sliding against my bleeding skin like sandpaper. The last thing I saw before his coils covered my eyes was Marduk laughing maniacally. Then Viper began to squeeze.
I screamed and came awake, sitting up to let out one more cry before my mind realized that it was all a nightmare. As I sat panting, staring at the shadows in the room as if they might take shape and pounce, Sin came running in.
“Vervain?” He flicked on the light and looked around the room frantically.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered. “It was just a...”
“A nightmare?” He asked gently.
I nodded.
Sin flicked off the light, and I thought he was going to leave but instead, he padded over to the bed and turned on the lamp on the nightstand. A soft, warm glow suffused the room, more comforting than the glare of the overhead. Sin slid onto the bed beside me and slipped under the covers.
“Sin, I—” I started to protest.
“Shh.” He pulled me into his arms and settled me against the warmth of his chest. “Just close your eyes and go back to sleep, Vervain. The Moon will watch over you.”
Sin flicked off the lamp, but the feeling of safety remained. I sighed and relaxed against him. A strong heartbeat beneath my ear, the smell of clean man rising around me, and strong arms holding me. I missed that. Sin didn't smell right and his arms didn't feel as I'd like them to, but his heartbeat was steady and just having him with me changed the darkness from a threat into a refuge. I laid my palm over the hard plane of his chest and slipped my fingers into the dark curls there. None of my men had chest hair but part of me liked the reminder that Sin wasn't mine. That I could take the solace he offered but nothing more. There would be no turning to him in my sleep, thinking he was my lover and doing things I shouldn't. So, there was safety in his differences too.
“Goodnight, Sin,” I whispered.
“Goodnight, Vervain.”
Sin nuzzled the top of my head, and I snuggled closer. Maybe it was wrong to hold a man who wanted me when I didn't return his feelings, but I needed the comfort too badly to worry about morality.
In the arms of the Moon, nothing mattered.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“What the hell are you two watching?” Ninkasi asked as she strode into the living room a few nights later.
“The Great British Bake Off,” I said as if it were obvious.
“You're watching a cooking show?” Her horrified question was directed at Sin.
Sin gave her an embarrassed grin. “Vervain introduced me to it and now, I can't stop watching. They're just so nice.”
“You watch it because they're nice?” Ninkasi sounded even more horrified.
“Most baking competition shows in America are cutthroat,” I explained. “This one isn't. It might have something to do with the fact that the prize is only a title and a cake stand, but I think it's simply because British people are so damn polite. The level of their niceness is astounding. Look at this!” I waved at the screen. “They're down to the last minute of a challenge and this guy is having trouble finishing his cake so the other competitors are helping him! Look! Who does that?”
“And they make really cool things,” Sin added.
“The gingerbread pub,” I said to him.
“The gingerbread pub,” he agreed. Then he grimaced and looked up at Ninkasi. “The one drawback is that it makes me hungry. I think I've gained five pounds since we started watching this show.”
“No. This is not acceptable.” Ninkasi crossed her arms. “You two need to get out of this apartment. And open a damn window. It smells like rum and rotten pineapples in here.”
“Mmmmm... mojitos,” Sin murmured distractedly.
“I can't leave.” I shrugged. “The entire God World is after me. I'm in forced isolation.”
“And I don't want to leave her by herself,” Sin added. “It wouldn't be gentlemanly.”
“Since when did you become a gentleman?” Ninkasi asked with an expression of astonishment.
“You go.” I pushed at Sin's knee. “Get some fresh, non-Vervain-tainted air. I'll be fine. Go out with Ninkasi. Go dancing or something. And take the trash out with you; that might help with the pineapple smell.”
“Thank you, Vervain,” Ninkasi huffed. “Come on, Sin, it's been over a week since I've hung out with you outside this apartment.”
“I'm good here.” Sin slid further down into the couch.
“Sin!” Ninkasi snapped.
“I'm fine,” I assured him. “No one can get past your wards except
