Odin blinked his eyes open and stared up at me sleepily; his peacock-colored irises glittered a deep, iridescent purple. He smiled after he focused them on me.
“Hey.” Odin pulled me down beside him.
The scent of crisp mountain air surrounded me, and I sighed. Odin always smelled fresh, even when he shouldn't. I snuggled in against him and just breathed him in for a second.
“Morpheus is here,” I told him. “He says that Nemesis is missing. She was supposed to meet him this morning to talk about Narcissus.”
“What about Narcissus?”
I told him what Morph had told me, and Odin sat up, got out of bed, and started putting on his clothes. I admired his thick, muscled body and the perfect curve of his ass while he did. I started to wonder if I might spare a few minutes to appreciate that divine display when it occurred to me why Odin might be getting dressed.
“You don't have to come along; Re is already insisting on joining us,” I said.
“I want to go.” Odin glanced back at me. “This whole situation feels unfinished to me, Vervain, and I don't like leaving things unfinished.”
“Neither do I.” I sighed deeply and stood. I had promised myself I'd be more careful so I didn't have the right to complain about backup. “All right, come on.”
Odin followed me downstairs where we found Re ready and waiting. He nodded at Odin in approval, and we took the elevator to the first floor where we met up with Morpheus. His eyes widened at my escort.
“Is this a family outing?” Morph asked.
“This is family security,” Odin corrected with a pointed look at my belly. “She's not leaving this territory with only one husband.”
Morpheus nodded. “Fair enough. I don't mind the extra help.”
“Alan,” I caught one of my lions as he went walking by.
“Yes, Tima?”
“Could you let Kirill know that I've gone with Odin and Re to help Morpheus find his aunt?”
“Of course.” He frowned. “Do you need some lions to go with you? I can grab some of the guys.”
“No, we should be fine with the three of us, but thank you.”
Alan nodded and ran off to find Kirill.
“Can we go now?” Morpheus asked impatiently. “I'm worried about Nem; she never misses a meeting, and she's always on time. She thinks to do otherwise is disrespectful.”
“Then something or someone has prevented her from showing you respect,” Odin said. “Let's find out what it is.”
Chapter Thirty-One
“Wow,” I said.
“Huh,” Odin added.
“What the fuck is this?” Re asked.
We stood before an English cottage. It had a traditional thatched roof, white plaster walls (Is it plaster? Spackle? Bone-dust? I don't freaking know.) with a wood framework, and casement windows. A wild patchwork of blooming flowers in all sizes grew exuberantly to both sides of a cobbled path that led to the front door.
“Aunty Nem likes things soft and feminine,” Morpheus explained as he led us to the cottage.
“It just goes to show that magic may influence a god's appearance but it doesn't change who they are underneath,” I said.
“I don't know,” Odin murmured. “Nemesis seems to be pretty tough inside and out.”
“Can you guys get over the fact that she likes flowers and lace and help me look around?” Morpheus asked with irritation.
