Destiny Descending

I knew there was no hope for a reunion. It was truly over. We had tried and tried, but Toby simply wanted a different life, one I couldn't give him, and I couldn't blame him for that.
But let's move on. Beside the Native Americans sat a couple of single men; Morpheus, the Greek God of Sleep, and Finn, a Celtic swan-shifter. They're both strikingly handsome men; Morpheus with his star-sprinkled midnight wings and misty-blue eyes, and Finn with his smiling, Irish-green eyes and ebony hair. But, at least in my opinion, they paled in comparison to the men who sat beside them. My men.
Trevor is my alpha husband, the firstborn son of Fenrir, Wolf God of the Vikings, but I have five other husbands and a new boyfriend in addition to Trevor. It's a lion goddess thing; the magic compels me to take multiple lovers, and I'm damn grateful for that. Because looking at my men, sitting there together, made my knees go weak.
Kirill, my black lion and Ganza—basically the enforcer of the Pride—had his hip-length raven hair braided back from his striking face, and his eyes—bluer than the deepest sea—gazed at me with so much love it made the ache of Toby's abandonment disappear.
Azrael, the retired Angel of Death, had his magnificent wings put away, but he was no less glorious for it. His pale blue eyes sparkled over his high cheekbones and his dark hair was an opposite length to Kirill's; a short, military cut.
Re, the Egyptian God of the Sun and Head of his pantheon, was the most sensual of the bunch, almost too pretty for me. He had ancient Egyptian features, but a golden sheen coated his dark skin, making it appear much lighter than it was. His eyes were golden as well, gleaming metallic beneath long, thick lashes. The overall effect was more Ziggy Stardust than Ancient Egyptian. Or perhaps male stripper was a better description; Re had been mistaken for one before.
Beside Re sat Viper, adding his blatant masculinity to Re's blatant sexuality. Together, the men were enough to make me quiver. Viper's pale-oak tan went well with Re's complexion and his vivid eyes were just as startling as the Sun God's. But, when it came down to it, Odin had the most beautiful eyes of the bunch, even more stunning than Trevor's honey-gold.
Odin, with his massive Viking physique, dominated his space like a warrior and a king. His nut-brown, shoulder-length hair was strewn with golden highlights and now that he had shaved his beard, his gorgeous face was out on full display, making him look much younger. But, as I said, it was Odin's eyes that really made him stand out. I called the color peacock, but I don't mean blue or green. They're a shimmering blue, green, and purple that shift through all three colors whenever they feel like it.
My last husband, Arach, wasn't there. He was busy in the Fire Kingdom of Faerie with our twin sons, Rian and Brevyn. I'd have to visit them soon. Not because they'd miss me but rather because I missed them. With my Ring of Remembrance, I could go back in time within the realms so that I was pretty much in the God Realm and the Faerie Realm constantly. That was great for my loved ones, but I still experienced the separation normally and with children involved, it made it all the harder.
Trevor held a chair out for me, the one to Odin's right, then took the seat between Viper and me.
“Thank you all for coming,” Odin said once we were seated. “We've had some news.”
“Obviously,” Horus drawled. “Or we wouldn't be here. Now, what fresh hell is this?”
“Hey, that's my line,” I whined.
“He's just upset because he and Katie are trying to get knocked up and you interrupted,” Pan divulged gleefully. “Every time I go over to their place, they're—”
“If you finish that sentence, I shall murder you and cut you into tiny pieces to feed to Vervain's lions. Starting with your penis.”
“Lions von't eat zat,” Kirill murmured.
“Ha! The joke's on you; my penis is tiny already,” Pan shot back at Horus.
“This is so much better than the meetings we used to have.” Viper flashed me a grin.
“You mean the meetings you'd have to discuss strategies for Vervain to take over the world?” Horus lifted a disdainful eyebrow at Viper.
“Yep; those are the ones,” Viper said brightly.
“Oh, he's fun,” Pan declared.
“Wonderful; another playmate for Pan.” Horus rolled his eyes.
“If we could just begin this meeting?” Mrs. E gave Horus a chiding look.
“Why are you using your mother-face on me?” Horus asked in shock. “Aim it at the children.” He waved a hand imperiously from Pan to Viper.
“Don't you have a comeback for that?” Re asked Viper.
“Well, I'm technically four months old,” Viper said. “It's hard to argue with the truth.”
“You're sleeping with an infant?” Finn smirked at me.
I just gave him my keep-messing-with-me-and-you'll-see-why-they-call-me-the-Godhunter look. It did the trick; Finn glanced away and shut up.
“The Mesopotamians are hunting Vervain,” Odin announced.
That put a damper on the festivities. The entire table went silent and somber.
“I thought you wiped everyone's memories when you were the Evil Queen?” Morpheus asked me.
“Apparently only the humans,” I grumbled. “Also, I was the Death Star and I didn't wipe memories away until after I had recovered, get it right.”
“Well, feck,” Finn cursed in his sexy, Irish accent.
“That about sums it up,” Odin agreed.
“So, what now?” Torrent asked.
“We'll need to do some reconnaissance,” Hades suggested. “Find out where they are and what they're up to.”
“There are like a thousand of them, right?” Pan looked around the table for confirmation.
“I'm not fighting them,” I declared, and everyone went quiet again.
Trevor cleared his throat. “We're having a little disagreement about that.”
“Vervain, if you don't fight, what will you do?” Persephone asked gently. “Hide here forever?”
“Just until this dies down,” I said reasonably. “Their anger will fade eventually.”
“You tried to enslave the Gods and take over the world,” Brahma said dryly. “It may take