“I don't know.” Agwusi looked at me at last. “Maybe he isn't that powerful. Maybe he's just a watcher who can only help by influencing people.”
“Maybe you should have learned more about him before you trusted him.”
“I should have, yes.” She rubbed her temples. “I wasn't thinking straight. He showed me how to walk the Aether. He said it was to gather information that I'd need, but now I'm wondering if he did it to drive me mad.”
“It made you easier to manipulate.” I looked at her with a new perspective—not as a villain but as another victim. “He targeted you.”
“I think so.” Agwusi shook her head violently. Panting, she looked at Ty. “I love him. That much is real. His love was the only thing I gained from this that was truly mine. Now, I have nothing. Not even God. Not even the machine.”
I sighed and looked around the room. No one had noticed us talking. Even my husbands were immersed in the discussion. “You helped us, Agwusi. You did some good before he brought you to this. When this is over, I'll release you. I'd do it now, but I can't trust you.” I met her gaze. “I hope you understand.”
“I do. Will you bless him with your Love Magic?”
“Ty? He refused my blessing.”
“Do it anyway. You didn't ask for his permission to take his love.” She looked at Ty again. “He needs something to fill the void you made in his heart.”
“I did not leave a void in him. Love is not finite. When I took his love for you, his heart filled with new potential.”
“It's not enough.” Agwusi lifted her chin toward Ty. “Look at him. He's acting normal, but that's all it is—an act. By taking his love for me, you've emptied his heart.” Covered in those gold chains, unable to move, she still seemed to lean closer. “Please, help him fill it again. My deepest regret is hurting him.”
“Not destroying souls or threatening the realms?”
“You're the Goddess of Love; you know how selfish it can be. The realms can crumble as long as Ty is happy.”
I nodded. “I would burn the world before sacrificing the people I love. But this time, they would burn along with the realms.”
“Vervain, no.”
I looked back to find her face full of horror and regret. “I know I've been fighting for this. I know I told you that you're the only one who can control the machine, but don't do it. You will become a slave to it—its teacher, guard, and companion. There will be nothing left for you.”
“But my family will live.”
“Vervain?” Trevor, who'd been sitting beside me, laid a hand on my leg. “Did you say something?”
I smiled at him. “No, honey-eyes.”
Agwusi groaned and then whispered, “Forgive me.”
I didn't think she was speaking to me, but to the realms.
Trevor didn't notice. He had already returned to the discussion. I focused on it as well.
“—them in another way,” Odin was saying. “It won't work with the condenser, but maybe one of the other items.”
“So instead of destroying them, we make them useless?” Freya asked.
That caught my attention. My mind spun. Of course! The gods’ connection to their relics empowered the items with their magic.Theirmagic.
“Are you talking about removing the magic from them?” I asked.
Everyone frowned at me.
“Sorry, I was talking to Agwusi. I missed most of the conversation.”
They frowned harder.
“So?” I looked around the room at the gods seated on chairs, sofas, and even ottomans. “Are you going to drain your magic from the relics?”
