“He was obviously deluded,” Apollo huffed.
“It's him.” I pointed at Apollo. “Narcissus will go for Apollo next.”
“What?” Apollo gaped at me. “Why?”
“For the same reason you'd go after him,” Athena said as she nodded. “Vanity; you both have it in droves.”
“And humans always associate vanity with women,” Artemis huffed. “When a man is vain, he's so much worse than any woman could be.”
“Thanks a lot, Sis,” Apollo grumbled.
“Just calling it as I see it, Bro,” she shot back. Then Artie got serious. “And I think they're right, Ap. We need to get some security on you.”
“What we need to do is figure out a way to follow Narcissus into his territory when he comes for Apollo,” I said. “If we catch him, we could try to force him to take us in, but it may not work. He's tricky. It would be better if we could follow him home.”
The Gods began to murmur among themselves. I just waited. I was still learning a lot of god stuff, despite my years among them, and I didn't have a clue on how to piggyback into a god territory. At least, not without physically holding onto the piggy.
“We need a leash,” Donnie said.
“Like with a dog?” Apollo asked.
“Like with a board, dude.” Donnie rolled his eyes. “Your leash ties you to your board so even if you go over the falls, you don't lose it, comprende? You might end up tombstoning, with your board bobbing up and you dangling in the drink, but you ain't gonna lose your stick.”
“Does anyone know what he just said?” Hermes asked.
“We need a way to tie ourselves to Narcissus,” I explained. “Then he'll pull us through even if he tries to shake us loose. But how?”
“He's one of ours,” Athena said with a grin. “I can leash him. I just need to get close enough to grab him.”
“Akaw!” Donnie cheered.
Chapter Thirty-Six
To lay the trap for Narcissus, Apollo stayed on Mount Olympus. He was going to lounge around on the lower level with his sister and Torrent while Athena hid nearby with several other Greek gods. Olympus was open to all Greeks so Narcissus would be able to enter the territory without a problem, but Apollo would still be protected. It sounded perfect, and I was more than happy to leave it in their capable hands.
I went home with my husbands and had a relaxing evening with my daughter, my men, and my cat. We turned the TV toward the bed and sprawled out together while we watched a movie;Bird Box. Oh, so many great quotes and so many questions.
“What the hell?” Trevor huffed as I clicked off the TV.
Lesya was fast asleep, curled in against her father's chest. Her hair trailed behind her in a mass of dark curls. I started to braid it for bed as I lifted a brow at Trevor.
“Seriously?” Trevor asked. “That girl was supposed to be named Ariel. Or even Cinderella. There was a whole selection of names already picked out for her.”
I chuckled. “It was an odd movie. Mainly, I'm wondering how those damn birds survived the rapids in a shoebox.”
“Exactly!” Odin said. “Birds are fragile, and that box was not waterproof.”
“I'm taking Lesya to bed,” Kirill said after I finished her braid. “Movie vas too vague; zat's all I have to say about it.”
I leaned in to kiss Lesya's forehead before Kirill carried her up to her bedroom.
“I'll walk with you,” Trevor offered. “I'm turning in before I start overthinkingBird Box.”
My other husbands looked at each other hopefully. If Trevor wasn't staying, it meant that he was giving up his bed-rights for the night. The other men were on a rotation for times like this.
“You were next, Azrael,” Odin reminded the Angel.
Azrael grinned as if he'd won the lottery. I just shook my head as I went to the bathroom to freshen up. Judging from Azrael's look, my night was only getting started. Sure enough, when I got back to bed, I found it empty of everyone except Az; who was completely naked and posing like a Playgirl model.
