I sighed and sat down in front of my cooling cup of coffee. “Hopefully, I'm wrong.”
“Well, this will certainly scare them straight,” Azrael drawled.
“What's he talking about?” Torrent asked me.
“The Faerie God took responsibility for the events on Earth.” I looked over at Az, who, despite his confident words,looked worried. “He warned them it would get worse if the criminals didn't stop breaking his laws.”
“I assumed it would get worse,” Az said to Torrent's shocked face. “I just didn't know it would be this bad. From strange weather to mutants? That was quite a jump.”
Torrent recovered quickly, his sharp mind analyzing the situation in seconds. “Yes, but it falls in line with what the Faerie God did before.”
“The Wild Fey,” Az whispered.
“Yup.” Torr nodded. “Actually, that was well done, Azrael. It was clever to use this to help people.”
“How's he helping people?” Viper asked.
“By scaring those who hurt others. I'll bet companies will think twice about dumping waste into lakes and stuff like that.”
“Way to go, Erin Brockovich.” Viper slapped Azrael's shoulder.
Az grimaced. “Unfortunately, innocent people are paying the price.”
“Vervain will fix it after we figure out how to destroy the machine.” Torr grinned at me.
I gaped back. I knew Torr adored me, but I didn't know he idolized me. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Torr, but I don't know how to fix those people.”
“Don't worry, V. It's not all on you. We'll brainstorm and figure it out. We always do.” He motioned at everyone. “Come on, let's do this!”
I grinned back at Torr. What else could I do under the light of such friendship? Torrent—a man born of God and Internet Magic—was the most loyal, brave, utterly guileless man I knew. It was especially shocking when I considered who created him and how much knowledge Torr possessed. In the debate of nurture versus nature, Torrent was a third option that threw a wrench in the works. He had never been nurtured, and nature hadn’t given him anything. Iktomi taught him to be cruel, but Torr rebelled and chose to be good. Against all odds, Torrent had become an incredible man.
Why the hell had that idiot God chosen me when Torrent was available?
Chapter Twenty-Five
“So, what can we do to help those mutated people?” Torrent asked.
I looked around the table at my husbands. “Any ideas?”
Odin said, “I'm afraid if anyone tries to heal them by destroying the flu virus, it might kill them. If theyarethe disease, curing them would mean death.”
“And they're not technically ill,” Re added.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, and then I sat up straighter. “Have the mutations sparked any outrage toward Azrael?”
“I haven’t seen anything online,” Torrent said. “I’m guessing people are scared to speak out against the Faerie God.”
“Good.” Azrael crossed his arms and stared out the open balcony doors.
I couldn't blame him. Yes, he'd done a number on the Earth as the Faerie God, but when he'd gotten back in control of himself, Az had tried his best to make amends. He'd taken what the Faerie God had done and turned it into an opportunity to better the world. But it had been an endless battle that had threatened us, the Fey, and those affected by the Wild Magic. Azrael spent a lot of time in meetings and traveling around theworld to impress upon people the need to treat each other and the world with kindness.
The Fey’s arrival on Earth presented him with a new set of problems. They weren't even his people, but the Wild Magic made them so. Azrael had to pave the way for them in human society and smooth any fears that arose. Despite his power, it had been exhausting. He could have become a tyrant, forcing people to obey him, but he didn't want that. Az was hoping to leave governing the world to humans and interfere only when necessary.
We'd faced mobs, cults, fey mischief, apple-stealing Angels, a faked second-coming of King Arthur, and then the trickster. Through it all, Azrael had to take responsibility for the actions of the Faerie God, the Fey, and the Gods who started masquerading as Fey. Oh, and let's not forget that he has to guard the Elemental Well and the Fey orchard. It was too much for one man to shoulder. Even with our help, Azrael was at his breaking point.
My phone buzzed. I checked my messages to find a text from an unknown number. After reading it, I frowned. “Why is someone texting me about seeing Agwusi in Portland?” Then I jumped up and grabbed the Herald. “Oh, it's working! We've got our first tip!” I ran for the door.
“Vervain, where are you going?” Re called.
