Chapter 127

Orion sighs, dropping his face into his hand, shaking his head. “June…” he sighs, probably trying to warn me away from a fight with a Goddess.

I ignore him, all of them. If Anton has had a mother out there all of this time, he deserves information! And she was sending Faiza to actively tell him to stay away!? A growl sounds in my chest and my fangs extend against my lips, just a little bit.

Life just laughs, studying first me and then Anton. “Yes, I can see why you like this one. She suits you.”

I ignore any pleasure that runs through me at this brief sign of approval, clearing my throat, demanding an answer.

“The reason I didn’t want him to come and learn this information, little wolf Princess,” Life says, stepping towards me and reaching out, cupping my chin in her hand and tilting my face up towards her. I gasp at the feel of her fingers against my skin, suddenly filled with warmth and rich, vivid energy, my mouth flooding with the taste of honeysuckle. “Is because I am not rooting for him to take the throne.”

I blink a little, struggling to comprehend her words beyond the feeling of her power surging through me.

I shake my head, pulling my chin from her hand, glaring. “Wait, what!?”

She grins at me, I think pleased. “You are a surprise to me, little wolf girl. If I had known you my boy would take to you and that you would step into such power, I may have placed my bets on Anton. But as it has stood, and as it currently stands…”

The Goddess of Life sighs and turns her attention to her son.

“I’m sorry, Anton,” she says, shaking her head. “You are very fine, but you were always my spare choice. Your brother has…very unique skills which I have long thought would best serve the needs of this planet – the Underworld and the Land of Darkness both. Plus his mate is…very blessed.”

Anton just blinks at his mother. “I have…a brother?”

“Um, excuse me!” I burst out, stepping forward, my anger spilling over. “I am also very blessed!”

Life turns back to me, laughing again, shaking her head. “You have no bond with my son. He is dead. Your blessings aside, little wolf, you’re falling a bit out of the running in comparison to my first son and his mate.”

I scoff, not liking this one bit, and I drop Anton’s hand to cross my arms over my chest. “I am the prophesied Queen of the Underworld,” I growl, lifting my chin towards Orion, who I know will back me up on this. “If you’re betting on some other girl mated to some other son, then you’ve backed the wrong horse.”

“Wrong wolf, I think you mean,” Life says with a sigh, turning away from me as if it is rather a moot point anyway.

I snarl, my hand snapping out. Orion gasps as I grab the Goddess’s elbow, forcing her to turn back and look down into my face.

She bares her teeth as well, darkness flashing in her eyes as her gaze moves deliberately down to my hand and then back up to my face. “You know not what you do, child.”

“I know that this throne is mine,” I hiss, my grip tightening, not giving an inch. “And that we came here today, despite your attempts to keep us away, for information. Not to bow to you, not to quietly accept your horrible insinuation that Anton is your second choice.” I bare my teeth fully now, letting her see my fangs, allowing my voice to sink deep into that two-toned resonance that means I’ve tapped into my power. “You will give us what we have come to receive.”

She turns fully to me now, gracefully lifting her arm to break my grip. I let it happen, knowing I’ve got her attention now. “Why should I?” she hisses, bending slightly so that we’re eye to eye.

“Because you owe him,” I say, holding her gaze. “You are his mother. And now he is dead. And even if you will feel no urgency to bring him back to life, I will do it.”

She smirks at me. “And how will you do it?”

“With the information you give me,” I reply, not giving an inch, letting the demand ring clear in my voice. “On how to get him a body. And Blythe too. You do not wish to make an enemy of me, my Lady. I contain a capacity for vengeance the depths of which I have not yet plumbed.”

She watches me for a long, silent moment, as everyone just stands very, very still.

And though they cannot see it, I feel her powers slipping over me, invisible and prying, weighing, measuring, judging me every inch. I let them, happy for the test, confident in my ability to stand up to it.

This world – it will be as I will it.

It is mine.

And if she wants to keep her place here – her beautiful beacon city in the Darkness – then she will recognize my right to rule as well as my demands.

Or else I’ll go to war with her as well.

And I’ll win that one too.

My wolf snarls, deep and true, as the Goddess of Life’s powers retreat from me. She straightens, still looking me in the eye, and I lift my chin, setting my shoulders back, daring her to counter me.

“All right,” Life says, crossing her arms. Orion takes a step back, I think shocked to see her give in, and Laila reaches for his am, steadying him. But all of my attention stays on the Goddess before me. “What is it you want to know?”

“Him first,” I say, pointing to the squirrel in Laila’s hands, not letting myself dwell in awe on the fact that I think I just went toe-to-toe with a Goddess and won. I snap my attention to Laila, glaring hard at Blythe. Before our eyes he shifts into his ghost form, standing before us as the tall and handsome shade of my ex-fiance.

The Goddess’s eyebrows raise. “You should not have been able to do that.”

“I know,” Faiza quips, her voice low and annoyed. “She’s been super annoying.”

I frown at both of them, not getting it, but Blythe takes a step forward, turning my attention back to the problem at hand.

“My Lady,” Blythe says, dipping into a deep bow before the Goddess of Life. I scowl a bit, starting to feel foolish, because if even our pet squirrel knew to bow when he met Life then I really did miss something. “I am very honored to be in your presence.”

“This one is polite,” Life says, pointing to Blythe and turning her head to frown at me. “Can’t you be more like him?”

“No,” I snap, narrowing my eyes at my ex. “Don’t fall for it. He plays nice real pretty until you find out it’s all in pursuit of a book deal.”

Blythe sighs deeply, a ghost blush spreading over his cheeks as he straightens, his eyes cast down towards the ground.

Life, to my surprise, laughs and smiles. “And what would you have me do with him?”

“Give him a body,” I say with a sigh, gesturing towards him. “Bring him back to life. Anton too. And if you can only do it to one of them then Anton gets priority.” I turn to my ex with a grimace. “Sorry, Redman.”

He shrugs, understanding. Anton folds his arms over his chest, his own eyes narrowed now, watching the scene unfold with interest.

“Unfortunately,” Life says with a dramatic sigh, turning back to me. “That’s impossible.”

“Are you lying?” I ask, snapping my narrowed gaze to her.

“Juniper!” Faiza gasps, appalled.

Life grins at me, though, I think liking my moxy. “I am not. You can consult the ancient texts, if you please,” she says, waving a hand around at the walls of her temple. “I think it is the eastern corner that tells the story of how Death and I turned the power of regeneration over to the living people of the worlds. Our business is souls, not physical bodies. It is the thing which is most sacred about embodied lives – the ability to create new ones. We could perhaps do it if all of the Gods came together, but considering the rift that currently runs between your grandmother and my father…” Life just grimaces and shrugs, letting me know it’s not going to happen.

I sigh, thinking that that…perhaps makes a lot of sense. That perhaps it’s better if Gods cannot conjure up new bodies at will, leaving that art to the living.

But then I turn towards Blythe and Anton, grief running through me. “Wait, so…” I whisper, my wolf howling with grief. “There’s really nothing we can do?”

“Your boy has a few options,” Life says, turning her eyes to Blythe and speaking slowly, as if turning over her thoughts as she goes. “He can exist in the Deadlands for as long as he wishes, with or without his memories, waiting for reincarnation.”

Blythe grimaces at this, turning his face away, not wanting to be rude but…not liking that idea.

“Or we could reincarnate him,” Life says, shrugging. “With his memories intact. That way –“

“Could I –“ Blythe interrupts, shifting his gaze back to the Goddess before him. His eye go wide when he realizes that he just interrupted a deity, though, and he drops his gaze.

“Ask, child,” Life says quietly, encouraging. “I wish to hear your thoughts.”

Blythe takes a deep breath, preparing himself to speak.