“Thank you for the welcome.”
The citadel knights who'd been marching in an impenetrable shield around us came to a halt and two of them opened the ballroom doors for us. Azrael and I swept in, leaving the manager behind to gape at us, and then the rest of my husbands followed with the knights bringing up the rear.
Inside, Torrent and Artemis were speaking to a woman. I only recognized them by smell. Both wore glamours. Torr's was as nondescript as the hotel manager, with mousy brown hair, watery blue eyes, and no chin. Artemis was the female version of that, though her horn-rim glasses added some charm to her skirt suit.
“Ah, Mr. Webb,” Azrael said as we approached them.
“Mr. and Mrs. Faerie God!” Torrent strode over to us with his hand extended. “Thank you for agreeing to endorse our event.”
“My pleasure,” Az said and shook his hand. “Anything for the children.”
“Please, make yourselves comfortable.” Torrent shook my hand next. “The main table along the wall there is for you, of course. I'll be there shortly so we can go over the schedule. I'm just finishing up with a member of the hotel staff.”
“Very well,” Azrael made a show of escorting me to the table while the hotel employee watched with wide eyes.
She didn't protest when Torrent escorted her to the doors and practically shoved her out. She was too dazed.
As soon as the doors were closed and a pair of knights stationed before them, we got to work. Well, Odin did. He was the best at laying wards. And this ward needed to be leftincomplete. Once I sensed Katila or he made himself known, Odin would complete the spell and seal him in. A trap wasn't a trap without a, well, trap.
The rest of us inspected the ballroom as Odin did his thing. The buffet table was set up, waiting for our Froekn servers to pick up the food prepared by the hotel and bring it in. We had been reassured that an endless supply of our selected dishes would be available to refresh the table as soon as needed. But I didn't think we'd get that far.
The room was full of round tables set with fine linen. Here, the décor kept with the artsy nature theme but in a more neutral palette. The brightest color in the room came from the butter-yellow curtains that swathed mirrored panels made to resemble windows. The tables had the same color for their under tablecloths, with another piece on top that was pure white. This was all done to showcase the enormous floral arrangements on every table.
Crystal vases held bright pink roses, pale pink camellias, white tulips, and purple . . . flowers. I don't know what they were, but they had tall stalks that bent under the weight of the blooms. You'd think nature would have made the stalks strong enough to handle their own flowers. I wondered if any of those arrangements would make it through the night in one piece.
“It's ready,” Odin said as he joined the rest of us.
“My father's here,” Trevor said.
“And mine,” Azrael added. “Good timing.”
The citadel knights outside the ballroom opened the doors for the Wolf King and the King of Hell. The two knights standing guard inside stood aside to let the royals pass. Whichwas which, I couldn't say at first. One man was larger than the other, with dark hair, so that could have been Fenrir. But that would mean that he hadn't changed his hair color at all. The other man was smaller, but not slender. He was thick to the point of being portly, with red hair that nearly matched his cheeks. And he didn't have a date. The taller man had a stunning brunette on his arm. She oozed old Hollywood, with Rita Hayworth hair and big breasts on display in a low-cut gown.
Was that Holly? It had to be. She had insisted on attending while Fenrir had insisted on leaving his wife Emma behind. Emma had been through a lot before she ate an apple of immortality. So I wasn't surprised that she agreed to stay home. She wasn't a fighter. Not in the least. Which was kinda odd, what with her being Rouva of the Froekn. But Fenrir, if that plump redhead was my stepdad, had brought plenty of wolves to take her place. Not only did he arrive with a few of them, but, as I mentioned, the Froekn would be our waitstaff for the event. A group of them was probably on their way to the kitchen.
Then their scents hit me. Yup, the redhead was Fenrir. That would make the other two Luke and Holly.
I went with Azrael to greet our guests. He, of course, knew his parents immediately. But then a new group walked in, and Az frowned at the unknown faces.
I took a sniff, then whispered, “That's Samael and Lilith.”
“Really?” Az lifted his brows at the couple as they joined us.
Samael was blond and big. He could have been mistaken for an actor. Not Viking-god-huge, but still larger than his usual self. I don't mean height-wise. He was about the samethere, but he'd gone for some impressive muscles. Despite his new physique, Samael wasn't the one who had lifted Azrael's eyebrow.
“Is that really you, Lilith?” Azrael asked the blond's gangly date.
The woman had stringy brown hair pulled back in a bun, a thin face, and no curves. Her only noteworthy feature was her eyes. They were a rich blue.
“Well, you said we should disguise ourselves,” Lilith said. “This is about as opposite from me that I could get.”
“Indeed,” Azrael agreed with a little chuckle.
It quickly became apparent that our guests were making the most of the situation and having a bit of fun. A masquerade battle. Now, we just had to wait for the Phantom to appear.
Pan sauntered in as a big, African-American man, and no amount of money could have enticed me to ask why he selected that glamour. Anyone who had ever played Cards Against Humanity with Pan would know automatically. Hell, anyone who knew Pan.
I have to admit, it was interesting to see who selected what glamour. As gods, they had spent most of their lives as attractive, powerful people. So when given the chance to wear a different face, they didn't automatically go with an attractive one. In fact, most of them took great delight in going with something, if not unattractive, then unexpected.
