“Let me fetch some apples first.” Az stood up and shifted into his Faerie God form. “I don't want to take any chances.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Hekate offered to open a path through the Aether for us to trace en masse but since our mass wasn't army-large and such an arrival might draw attention, we opted against it. It turned out not to matter since our tracing wall was currently wide enough to accommodate all of us at once. Plus, Horus wanted Hekate to stay at Pride Palace with Asteriana. Katie agreed to that since we didn't need her, but Persephone surprised me by asking Hekate to watch Demetera so she could join us. Hades wasn't thrilled, but he knew better than to suggest that Sephy stay behind.
“Where are we tracing to?” Pan asked as he accepted an apple slice from Azrael.
“I think we should go here—the White Drawing Room.” Torrent held up his phone and showed us an image of a room full of gilded furniture. Its ceiling alone was stunning, every inch covered in corbels and moldings that created multiple tiers.
“It looks more like a gold room to me,” I said. “Even the walls are gilded.”
“And the rug is red,” Gello said.
“I didn't name it.” Torrent rolled his eyes. “Take it up with the new King.”
“Do you mean Charles or Arthur?” Luke drawled.
Torr snorted a laugh. “King Charles. Arthur is about to get evicted.”
“Why that room?” Trevor cut in.
“It's near the Throne Room, with only the Picture Gallery between them.”
“And my father can never resist a throne,” Jesus said. “He'll be there.”
“All right, everyone, get a good look at the picture and eat your apples,” Thor said, sounding a little like a kindergarten teacher. “We'll trace there cloaked and then head to the Throne Room.”
“While I speak to the reporters,” Azrael said.
Everyone but Az took a bite of apple and pocketed the rest of their slice. I did as well, but I did it as I headed outside to kiss my kids goodbye. Brevyn was waiting for me on the veranda.
“Oh, damn it!” I said when I saw him. “I should have mirrored your father and asked if he wanted to come with us.”
“No, it's better this way,” Brevyn said and kissed my cheek. “Love you.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What do you know?”
“It's fine, Mom.”
“Do you have your ring?” I asked. I had put the ring on a chain for him after we'd returned to Pride Palace the night before. Just in case.
“Yes, I have my ring.” He tapped his chest. “Do you have your emerald?”
“My emerald?” My hand went to my neck, where my emerald pendant hung. “I do. Why do you ask?”
“I was just trying to make a witty comeback.” He stepped back so that the flying and running mob of children could get to me.
Brevyn ran off before I finished kissing the other kids goodbye, and I didn't have time to chase him down and demand that he tell me whatever he knew. If I needed to know, he would have said something. The fact that he was keeping quiet was actually reassuring. It meant things would go well for us.
“You guys okay with them?” I asked Samantha and Fallon, who were sitting on the veranda/drawbridge with Hekate, the babies, and a few of the Intare. “With the new chant I set in place last night and the ward tuned against Jerry, you should be safe here.”
“We're fine, Mom,” Samantha mimicked Brevyn. “Just go save the world. Again.”
I snorted a laugh. “All right. Thanks for watching them.” I went inside and found everyone waiting in and around the tracing room. “Did Az leave?”
“Da,” Kirill said. “Ve go now.”
With Kirill's words, the group started to move. I brought up the rear with my husbands but then we spread out along the tracing wall. As soon as we touched our palms to the wall, the Aether pulled us into its pure energy, sent us zipping to our destination, and spat us out into the White Drawing Room that was neither white nor used for drawing.
