You remembered my nickname!
Go away!
Fine,he huffed and left.
“Wrong or not, I made a promise.” I slipped out of bed and headed for the door.
“Are you going like that?” Re asked with a lifted brow.
“No; I'm going to put on that trashy dress he gave me,” I called over my shoulder.
“Do you want to go shopping while she's gone?” Re asked Trevor.
“Shopping?” Trevor asked dubiously.
“For a wardrobe that we can give Vervain,” Re said. “If the Aztec can dress her as he likes, I think we should be able to as well.”
“Hell, yeah,” Trevor growled.
“Great,” I huffed as I shut the door on them.“Now, I'm Barbie.”
Chapter Forty
Before Blue had said goodbye, he had given me the tracing chant to get into his palace. Re had explained the simplicity of tracing to me, but I wasn't ready to direct the Aether with just my intent yet. However, I did try a practice trip with him using tracing chants and had done just fine. So, I felt secure enough to trace to Blue's palace alone.
The tracing went smoothly, and I reformed in Blue's stone entry room without a hitch. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I looked around. It was empty, but I hadn't expected Blue to be sitting there waiting for me; he was probably in his bedroom having a much-needed rest. I wandered into the hallway and headed in that direction, but then I heard the faint echo of voices. The voices led me past Blue's bedroom and down to his ridiculous dining room. I call it ridiculous because the whole thing is done in shades of white and gold. Who does that in a dining room? It's just asking for trouble. But I suppose the Gods don't worry about stains.
I was about to go in when I heard a woman say, “The witch has obviously enchanted you.”
I paused at the door and listened.
“Be very careful, Aphrodite,” Blue replied. “I admit that there is enchantment involved, but Vervain is not the caster.”
“You believe what she says about the past being changed?” Another voice—this one crisp and male—asked.
“I do,” Blue said simply.
“Then that is enough for me,” the male said. “I trust your judgment.”
“Thank you, Kuan Ti,” Blue said.
“It's not enough for me,” another male said with a ferocious growl. “I don't care who you want to marry, but allowing this woman—who you've only just met—to influence your life like this is unwise.”
“I won't need the sacrifices if I release the vampires,” Blue said calmly. “It doesn't hurt me, and I don't want to hurt humans anymore, Tawiskaron.”
“Because of what she did to you!” Aphrodite hissed. “Look at you; you've lost your edge. And your eyes—what's with your eyes?”
“I told you; she healed me,” Blue said. “My soul has been wounded ever since my brothers slaughtered my sister and our parents. Vervain has helped me to let go of my anger and move on.”
“She's made you weak,” Aphrodite said scathingly. “Your anger was righteous and divine. Now, you're just like those rebel gods; going on about humans being our responsibility. What drivel!”
“You're as broken as I was,” Blue said sadly. “It's why we worked so well together, and why we must now part ways.”
“What?!” Aphrodite screeched.
“I'm sorry, but this is the end of our alliance,” Blue said firmly.
“Are you truly going to let a woman dictate who your ally with?” Another male asked.
