Destiny Descending

out as well, but they were known Godhunter allies and if they were spotted, the Mesopotamians would know I was spying on them. So, we decided to wait on setting the lions loose. Trevor texted Fenrir, to notify the Froekn of possible Mesopotamian retribution then he traced to Moonshine, our nightclub in Hawaii, to batten down the hatches there. He didn't want to close the club completely in case anyone else wanted to get a message to us as Qaus had, but he would take steps to make Moonshine more secure.
“I'm going to visit Thor,” Odin said after we watched Trevor trace away. “Maybe this will finally motivate him out of his melancholy.”
“Okay. Tell him we miss him.” I kissed Odin goodbye.
“I should check on Shehaquim.” Azrael gave me a worried look. “Will you be okay if I leave too?”
“Of course.” I kissed him next. “Tell Mike I said hi.”
“Will do.” Azrael headed into the little tracing room with Odin.
“And then there were four.” Re looked from Viper to Kirill to me.
“I'd like to take Vervain on run,” Kirill announced. “Can you two stay here vith children?”
Re blinked. “Uh. Yes, of course, but doesn't Samantha have them?”
“Da, but she vill vant break,” Kirill said. “Better if you take zem.”
“You want to go on a run now?” I asked Kirill.
“I feel your tension, Tima. You need to run.”
“Go,” Re said generously. “I'm a father, I can handle a couple of children.”
“Are you sure?” I looked from Re to Viper. “Lesya isn't bad, but Vero just started walking; he can be a handful.”
My son was a little over six months old, but he was part Froekn which meant that he developed faster than human children; it's something to do with the animal traits. Vero had started walking at three months and said his first word at four (the was “no,” by the way). He'd also been growing fast and was closer to the size of a one-year-old boy. Vero's my fourth magical child with animal traits (yes, even Brevyn got a little growth spurt when he accepted my mother's essence), but it never stopped amazing me how quickly they grow. Amazing and depressing me. I missed a lot of baby time that other mothers got to experience, but I comforted myself with the knowledge that I'd have my children far longer than any human mother would.
“We'll be fine,” Viper assured me. Then he grinned broadly and added, “Even though Vero is older than me.”
“You need to stop talking about that.” I held up a warding hand. “It's making me uncomfortable.”
“At least he doesn't call you mommy,” Re pointed out. Then he reconsidered. “Although...”
“Oh, Strawberry Shortcake!” I cursed. We'd been trying to get creative with cursing for the children's sake. “I can't leave you with Re; he'll corrupt your young mind.”
“Will he?” Viper asked hopefully as he turned to look at Re. “You wanna watch some movies? The Intare have been playing their favorites for me.”
“Oh, I have some movies you'd enjoy.” Re grinned wickedly.
“Are they appropriate for Lesya and Vero to watch?” I lifted a motherly brow at Re.
Re grimaced and sighed. “I suppose it's to be an afternoon of cartoons.”
“Children's cartoons,” I added just to be sure.
“I am not an imbecile, La-la,” Re huffed.
“Zey are fine.” Kirill took my hand and led me toward the front doors.
“We can watch the other movies later tonight,” Re offered Viper.
I started to turn around.
Kirill grabbed my arm and pulled me back toward the doors. “Say goodbye, Vervain.”
“Goodbye, Vervain,” I called back to the other men.
“Now, who's child?” Kirill asked as we headed down the veranda steps toward the pool.
“I like to retain a youthful attitude,” I said primly.
Pride Palace's pool is formed of natural rocks with a modest waterfall that doubles as a slide. The water flows out from the pool and into a moat that circles the palace, going through a filtration system out back before returning to be pumped back to the top of the waterfall. We weren't going for a swim, though, we were using the rock wall for some privacy to shift. Not that Kirill cared about his nudity or having others see him shift; it was purely for my benefit.
Kirill and I disrobed and left our clothes on the rack I'd installed within the rock for just this purpose. We gave each other eager grins and shifted. Kirill was right; I needed a run. It had been awhile since I'd let any of my beasts loose. I think I was nervous that with my star weakened they might run amok, but I shouldn't have worried. Letting them out prevents them from going stir crazy inside me; I should have been doing this more often instead of less. As the Intare magic shivered over me, transforming my body into something much larger and more powerful than it was, I shivered with relief. The magic settled back into my star, and I shook off the zinging aftershocks as I took in the world with my lioness eyes.
Everything came into sharper focus as scents bloomed in my nose like music. I knew the exact direction our farm was in; I could smell the animals. I also knew where the largest herd of antelope were, out across the grasslands to my right. But the most important scent that hit me was that of my husband. I breathed deeply of Kirill's lion musk; a blend of something woodsy like sawdust and something sharp but sweet like citrus. It registered in my leonine brain as MINE.
I lifted my head and roared; a celebration of all I was and all I had.
Kirill roared with me, the sound resonating through my flesh and stimulating primal needs. I swung my head toward him and just stared a moment. My beautiful black lion. The only one in existence... for now. Lesya was following in her father's footsteps, her cub's fur darkening as she aged. I hoped that her pelt would match Kirill's someday; that there would soon be two