And Sin, Al agreed in a strange tone.
You don't like him, I said in surprise.
Sin was necessary, but no, I don't like him.
Before I could say anymore, Zimri-dagan interrupted.
“Is your Consciousness done speaking to you yet?” the Jinn asked with a twinkle in his dark eyes.
“You know about Al?” I lifted a brow at him.
“I told you; I foresaw this moment.” Zimri-dagan went serious. “Vervain, despite the breaking of your destiny, everything has happened as it should. Your invisible friends are not the only players in this game. You are being moved forward even when their hands are not upon you.”
I went still and stared at the Jinn. It wasn't the first time that it had been suggested that there were other forces at work in my life.
“Who?” I asked him. “Who else is moving me?”
“As an instrument of their plans, I cannot say.” Zimri-dagan shrugged. “The Universe has rolled its dice. You have your star back, Dragon Queen. Now, what will you do with it? Is the Godhunter truly satisfied with becoming the hunted? Or will you take back everything that has been stolen from you and reassert your claim on the future?”
A deafening roar filled the corridor, and I turned to see the Intare spilling out of doors all the way down the extended palace. They stared at me confidently, so certain that I would win them back their home and so eager to help me do it. I glanced at the grim faces of my lovers next. They had wanted this; a clear end to the war with the Mesopotamians. No compromise; just triumph or defeat.
“Call our allies,” I said. “We're going to war... again.”
The Intare roared once more, my men nodded with satisfaction, and Zimri-dagan grinned. The only one who looked worried was Sin, but I didn't blame him. My track record with Marduk sucked and the last time he hurt me, Sin had been the one to pick up the pieces. I dearly hoped the past wasn't about to repeat itself.
Chapter Forty-Four
I was out on the wraparound balcony outside Re's bedroom when I heard someone enter the room.
“What the... Oh, wow. What do you even do with that? Where would you put it?” Sin's exclamations made me chuckle.
To reach me, Sin had to blaze a trail through Re's collection of sex machines, chains, toys, racks of kinky clothes, and cabinets full of all kinds of naughtiness. I turned to see Sin staring through the glass doors of one of the cabinets at a collection of phallic objects. He glanced over and caught me watching him.
“Is that a horse tail attached to a dildo?” Sin asked conversationally.
“Why, yes, it is,” I confirmed and grinned at him. “My husband enjoys... experimenting.”
“No shit,” Sin muttered.
“It's just a bit of horseplay,” I couldn't help adding.
Sin snorted. “Who's the horse; him or you? Wait; no, I don't want to know. I don't need any visuals of Re in my head.” He joined me on the balcony but glanced back over his shoulder. “But I do need to ask; what's with the throne?”
I burst out laughing.
“What?”
“That's exactly what I called it,” I confessed. “It's a sex chair; it can be put into all sorts of positions to make the act more enjoyable.”
“I might need to get me one of those,” he murmured with another look back at the chair.
“Are you all right, Sin?” I asked gently.
The sound of training soldiers carried up to us. In the plains before Re's palace, my lions were going through maneuvers with the Froekn. Some of them were shifted but most were fighting in human form, using wooden practice swords in place of the fire swords they'd wield in the real battle. The crack of wood hitting wood made an erratic drumbeat.
Sin glanced down at the troops before replying, “I'm worried about Ninka. If Marduk came after me—”
“Oh, Fast and the Furious!” I exclaimed. “I forgot about Ninkasi! We need to go get her.” I grabbed Sin's hand and pulled him back into the palace. “Do you know where she is?”
Sin laughed and pulled me to a stop. “Take a breath, V. I do know where she is. I also know that Ninka has wards, and she's a bit smarter than me. So, hopefully, she won't let Marduk into her apartment. Still, I'd like to bring her here if I could.”
“Of course, you can.” I started heading downstairs again. “And I'm going with you.”
“No, Vervain.” He pulled me to a stop. “I'm not taking you back to Bahrain. I don't know how many Mesopotamians are still prowling the streets there. Marduk said he's offered a place to all of them, but who knows when or if they'll take him up on it; what with there being nothing but dirt in his territory.” He smirked at me. “So, you stay here, and I'll go get Ninka. I just need the tracing chant to get back in.”
“You're not going alone either, Sin,” I insisted. “You don't want me there? Fine. I'll wait here. But you're taking someone with you.”
Sin looked as if he were about to argue.
“You can't have it both ways.” I wagged a finger at him. “Either it's safe enough for both of us to go or it isn't, in which case you need backup.”
Sin sighed and smirked. “All right; I'll take your backup.”
He turned to head downstairs, but I stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Hey, I never properly thanked you. You took care of me when you didn't have to. You picked up my pieces and put me back together and then I ran off with Marduk at the end. I hope you understand my reasons for leaving so rudely.”
Sin stared at me a moment, his expression going soft. “I understand, Vervain. It was your best option and you had to jump on it. Don't worry about my feelings; I'm fine, really.”
“Really, really?” I asked and narrowed my eyes at him.
“Really,” he repeated with a grin. “I had hoped...”
