“I'm just glad you're not dead.”
Austin laughed. “No one's happier 'bout that than me. But damn, V! I went from watchin' all this from the outside to swimmin' in it.”
“And?” I sat down.
He grinned broadly as he resumed his seat. “And the water's just fine.”
“Keep swimming, kitty cat,” Trevor said as he leaned against the back of my sofa and set a hand on my shoulder. “Tides change quickly in our world.”
“Da, rough vater is coming,” Kirill added in his Russian accent, sounding like a Bond villain. He plopped down on the carpet at my feet and slung an arm across my knees.
Shifters—they like to be in physical contact with their mate as much as possible. Trevor actually had to rub himself all over my body once a month to scent-mark me and keep his wolf happy. Viper, who was also a shapeshifter, was an exception. He did enjoy touching me, of course, but he wasn't as intense about it as Trevor and Kirill. Maybe that was because he shifted into a snake or maybe the way I'd taken his soul from the Void made a difference. Viper knew with absolute certainty that we were meant to love each other and that kind of perspective doesn't need to hold hands to feel confident.
Viper took the chair to my right and winked at me as if he knew what I was thinking. It was possible; I had made a Blood-to-Heart oath with each of my husbands except for Arach, and with those oaths came a spiffy bonus—we could speak into each other's minds. Usually, I knew when they were there, but Viper could be sneaky. Probably another snake thing.
“Thor is on his way,” Odin said as he came outside. He went to sit beside Re, who sat to my left. “He's beyond excited.”
“Is he bringing Raedra and Ariana with him?”
“No, he's coming alone. I'm sorry, I didn't know you wanted to see the baby.”
“Well, she's technically my granddaughter. I should try to see her as much as I can.”
Odin chuckled. “You can see her when you pick up Brevyn.”
“Coo-ee!” Austin exclaimed. “Ain't that the berries? You're Thor's stepmom. Aidan said you guys used to date. Is that right?”
I cleared my throat and glanced at Odin, who looked away. “Yes, I met Thor first in this life.”
“Oh, that's right.” Austin pointed at Odin. “You were her husband in another life. Then she died, and you,”—he transferred his pointer to Azrael—“collected her soul.”
“Yes,” Az said, his focus half on our twins, who were flying above the mini-castle. “Sebastian, don't dive-bomb your sister!” He looked over at Austin to add, “Odin asked me to take Vervain's soul to the Viking Well of Souls so he could find her and bring her back into a new body. I had to physically touch her soul to make the transfer from my scythe to the Well—something I never do with souls—and we formed a bond from that.”
“But you didn't meet again until years after she was reborn, right?” Samantha asked.
“Yes, we met when a Chinese goddess brought the plague to Hawaii.” He grinned at me. “It happened while I was collecting a soul. It took me a moment to recognize who she was and then I was done for.”
“That's so romantic,” Samantha said softly.
Fallon snorted. “Romantic? He met her during a plague, over a dead body, then helped her save Trevor from Hel.”
“Hell?” Austin asked. “I thought Luke liked Trevor?”
“Not that Hell,” I explained. “Hel with one L. That's the name of Trevor's aunt. She rules an icy territory in the Norse Realm where the souls of those who don't die in battle go.”
“Trevor has an aunt named Hel?” Austin's eyes went wide.
“She's the OG.” I winked at him.
“The what?”
“Oh, come on!” I whined. “Austin, you're the one who's supposed to get all my human slang.”
“What slang is that?”
“OG.” I did my rap-star pose, crossing my arms over my chest. “The original ganster.”
“Oh, that's on the opposite end of my radio dial.”
