All that was broken repaired itself. Destiny rose from the ashes, connecting with my star and pushing it back into my heart until they were indistinguishable from each other. The threads of fate untangled and stretched out into eternity before me, trembling with potential.
“What have you done to her?!” Sin shouted.
My eyes popped open to see Sin running up the corridor behind Marduk, Ninkasi hot on his heels.
“Release her, you son of a bitch!” Sin demanded.
“You know exactly what I've done,” Marduk said snidely as he turned to face Sin. “I've given her back her destiny. And now”—he turned to look at me—“she will give me what I want.”
“Vervain, what did you do?” Sin gaped at me.
“What I had to do to get my life back,” I said gently. “It's a fair trade, Sin. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Thank you for everything you've done. I'll come back soon so we can talk more but right now, I've got to finish this.”
I reached for Marduk, and he snatched my hand eagerly. With one last grateful smile at Sin, I took Marduk into the Aether and traced us away.
“Vervain!” Sin's shout followed me.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
When I stepped out of the tracing room, all of my family and several of my friends were there waiting for me. In the front of the crowd were my husbands and Viper, eyes shining with tears and expressions full of both hope and regret. With their fathers and uncles were my children, all grinning with joy as they called out for me. Behind my immediate family were the God Squad, Fenrir, several Froekn, Luke, and Holly. The rest of the space was taken up by the Intare; they spread up the stairs, into the dining hall, down the corridors, and out of the palace.
“Minn Elska!” Trevor reached me first and enveloped me in an embrace with Vero, who leaned out of his father's arms to hug me.
I started crying silently, just holding them and letting their presence sink into me. I could feel their love inside me but having them physically in my arms set my soul at ease as nothing else could.
“Tima!” The Intare shouted as one.
I shivered with relief. I had my life back.
“I'm so sorry,” Trevor whispered in my ear. “I thought my love for you was untouchable, but I was wrong. Please forgive me, Vervain.”
“It's okay, Honey-Eyes. I love you. It's okay” I nuzzled his face then kissed Vero before I turned into Kirill's arms. “Kirill.”
I held Kirill's face in my hands and stared into his beautiful eyes. Tears were sliding down his cheeks. I wiped them away tenderly then I yanked him against me and hugged him as if I'd never let go. His scent sank into my skin and reassured me. He really was there, mine once more.
“Mommy!” Lesya tugged on my dress.
“Hey, baby girl.” I crouched to pull her into a hug. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.” She leaned back to stare at me with wide, confused eyes. “I don't know why I was mad at you.”
“Don't worry about that now.” I kissed her forehead and stood up to hug the rest of my men.
“Carus,” Azrael murmured as he enfolded me in his wings. “What I said about the children...”
“I know, baby,” I said softly.
“The thing I look forward to the most is seeing our sons.” He stroked my face as if relearning it.
“That wasn't you, Az.”
I eased away from my angel to reunite with Odin, Re, Viper, and Arach. They each asked for my forgiveness while lavishing love on me. Every touch healed me a little more. Every breath filled with their scents and every tender look made me feel more like myself. It was hard to believe that I had lost all of them with one spell. We had been so confident in our love that it was nearly arrogance. We should have known better; anything can be taken away, even your soul. I'd be more careful in the future, and more humble. I'd remember to treasure every day with the people I love.
“I wish you'd brought the boys,” I said as Arach held me. “I wanted to see them.”
“I couldn't. I wasn't sure when you or I would need to return, and I needed to get here immediately. As soon as our bond reformed, the horror of what I'd done consumed me. A Thaisce, I am—” He broke off, swallowing visibly as he stared at me with painful regret. “I am so ashamed. I don't understand how any magic could have changed what I feel for you.”
“We are all devastated by what we've done,” Odin said gravely as he stroked my hair. “Can you forgive us, Vervain?”
“There's nothing to forgive,” I said firmly. “It wasn't your fault.”
“But it was,” Re insisted. “We should have fought more. We should have listened to you when you came to explain what had happened. You stood right there and told us what was happening to us, but we wouldn't listen. Sin was right; we were fools.”
“You couldn't listen and you weren't fools. It was magic, Re.” I looked around at all of them “You forgave me for what I did as the Dark Star. Let's just call this even.”
“Hardly,” Horus scoffed.
“Sweetheart, shut up,” Hekate murmured sweetly. “Don't ruin their moment.”
“Horus is right,” Viper said, making Horus stare at him in shock. “Our memories weren't taken; not of you or Marduk. We should have been able to fight his spell.”
Marduk
