“Yes, I did better with them.” I chuckled and rubbed my chest.
“Are you all right?”
“It’s my magic. It rises when I find someone worthy. Love wants to help you.”
Ty's expression steadied, and he squeezed my hand. “I accept your blessing, Goddess of Love.”
As if they'd been waiting for his consent, the butterflies of my Love Magic flew through my hand and into his. Ty's eyes widened as he swayed on his feet. I steadied him with my other hand, and more butterflies surged through that connection.
“I see her,” Ty whispered. A tear slid down his cheek. “V, I can see her! Oh, she's beautiful. She's nothing like Agwusi. Not at all what I thought I wanted, and yet she's everything I need.”
Joy brought a smile to my face. “I bless you, TryggulfR Fenrirson, with true love. May the next woman you give your heart to be the woman who will make you happiest and love you as completely as you love her. May you be drawn together at the perfect time—when you are both ready to commit yourselves toeach other. I give you Love's protection, that your love will never be taken from you. You will never know heartache again.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his forehead. “So be it.”
As I lowered my heels to the ground, the butterflies rushed back into me to roost in my star. I made sure Ty was steady before I let go of him.
“She's gone!” Ty grabbed my hand. “Her face is gone, V! I can't remember it. It was right there! How could I forget her so soon?”
“It's all right. That just means it will be better if you don't recognize her immediately. Your love will grow normally. All you have to do is be open to it.”
He sighed in relief. “Thank you, V.”
“My pleasure.” I hugged him.
Then we both turned as a commotion came from outside. We left the house to find Jesus hugging Azrael and twirling him in a circle—quite a feat with Azrael's wings.
“What's going on?” I asked.
Jesus put my husband down and ran to pick me up. “He's whole!” He spun me around.
“Who's whole?” I smacked his broad back. “Jesus, put me down.”
He set me down and beamed at me. “The broken soul, V! He's healed. He remembers who he is.”
I went still. “He healed them. I didn't think it was possible, but A.D. healed them.”
“Well, it's only right to correct your mistakes,” Jesus said.
“That's what I told him.”
Jesus grinned again. “Then it's no wonder he made amends. He had a good teacher.”
I looked at the smooth ground that was the machine’s grave and wondered once more if its consciousness had learned to feel. Or maybe A.D. had been more than a consciousness. God Magic had created life before. Had the god machine birthed a soul? If so, perhaps that soul would be reborn.
“Vervain?” Azrael took my hand.
“Az, did you see a soul depart the machine?”
His eyes went wide. “A soul? I don't know, carus. I wasn't watching the machine. My focus was on you.
“Oh.”
Az pulled me into a loose embrace. “But do I think the machine had a soul? No, carus.”
“God Magic made Torrent.”
“God Magic and the flesh of a god. Iktomi didn't build Torrent. He created him in a process similar to asexual reproduction. Metal and glass cannot reproduce.”
“But if a created body can summon a soul from the Void, why not a machine made with magic?”
