“Ah, she didn't tell you about that.”
I grimaced as the other gods gaped at me.
“It was an accident.” Agwusi grinned as if there were no accidents. “The wrong words spoken at the wrong time. Arach removed Vervain’s ring in an attempt to stop it from sending her back, but instead, she went back without the ring. She was almost trapped in the past, but she escaped. She made it back to her time.” She stepped closer to Ty, her expression that of a zealot. “Now, perhaps, if one of these incredible things had happened to Vervain, we could discount it as chance. But one obstacle after another finds her, and she prevails. From the moment she learned the truth of the gods, the realms have shifted to suit her. To protect her. Bring her into eternity. She is God’s chosen one. Think of her as the real Jesus.”
Ty frowned. “A sacrifice?”
“No, a child of God.”
“Vervain doesn't even believe in God.”
“Yes, she does. She has felt his presence from her first breath.”
“Take us out of here,” I whispered to Torrent.
Agwusi suddenly turned and looked directly at me. “The Trinity Star cannot fall.”
“Go!” I hissed.
Torrent pushed the Inter Realm forward and led me away from the most insane person I'd ever met.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Was any of that true?” Shango demanded as soon as we stepped out of the Aether.
“No.” I stomped up the stairs to the VIP balcony.
Once I was out in the familiar place, the thud of music vibrating through me, I took a deep breath and let it out in relief. This wasn't a mimicry of my home. It was real. This place was mine. Here, the horror faded, and Agwusi's words became unreal.
Odin took my hand and pulled me under the shade of a fake tree. “She knew a lot about you. We haven't told anyone about your trip back in time while you were in Faerie.”
“She must have pulled it out of the Aether.”
“Godhunter, I think you owe us some explanations,” Ereshkigal called over to us.
Ereshkigal stood in the center of the balcony, arms crossed, Ninkasi beside her, looking worried. The other gods stood spaced about, and all of them looked at me with similar interest, some more aggressively than others.
“She credits you for this,” Shango said.
“No, she saidGodtold her to do this for Vervain,” Viper reminded him. “The woman is insane. You can't pin this on Vervain. Hell, if you want to take her words as truth, then you should protect my wife, not attack her. She dies, all of us die.”
The gods flinched and shared horrified looks.
“Is it true about the time travel?” Hephaestus asked.
“Yes,” I admitted. “Both times. But I didn’t meet Agwusi until she started playing games with us. May I remind you that she's admitted to stealing information about gods from the Aether? I trace all the time. My memories of those events are most likely floating about in the Aether. That's how she knows so much about me. But I have nothing to do with this.”
The gods didn't look convinced. My husbands closed in around me.
“All right.” Ma'at stepped forward. “We're looking for someone to blame, but that person is Agwusi. Vervain has only helped us. Even if everything Agwusi said was true, that still doesn't make Vervain culpable. If this goddess is working on Vervain's behalf, that is still on them, not her. Vervain didn't ask for this.”
“What about that thing she said about you feeling God's presence since you were born?” Ereshkigal asked.
“It's true, but not in the way she implied.” I stepped out of the ring of my husbands, taking Odin's hand. “I was married to Odin in a past life, and when I died, he asked Azrael to take my soul to the Viking Well instead of Christian Heaven.” I motioned at Az. “Azrael agreed, and I floated in the well until Odin cast a spell to put me into a fetus. He used his magic, and I've felt him with me for as long as I can remember.Odin,not this unknown god. His magic made me a goddess before I claimed Aphrodite's.” I looked around at the gods. “I have had an incredible life, that is certain. But I owe that to my husbands, friends, and my resilience. The possibility that Agwusi is telling the truth and this unknown entity is taking credit for our achievements infuriates me. Hehelpedme? I don't fucking think so. I've endured more mental and physical pain than any one person should. More than any of you, I’m sure. I've clawed my way through the realms, outrunning gods and faeries who wanted me dead. The very thing Agwusi claims makes me special—the Trinity Star—has possessed me. Yes, it has saved my family and me more times than I can count, but it has also endangered the entire world and laid the blame at my feet. I wouldn't give up my life, but neither would I wish it upon anyone.”
“Fair enough,” Thoth said, surprising me. He looked at the other gods. “I don't even like her, but I don't think this is her fault. If for no other reason than it makes no sense. Vervain would never do this. As the wife of the Faerie God, she's in a powerful position at the moment—the most powerful woman on Earth, I'd wager. Why would she risk that? You are fools for even considering it.”
“Thank you, Thoth.”
