Marked by Death (The Godhunter, Book 4) (34 page)

No, I felt bad that I had hurt him but that was all. I was done with Thor and his mood swings. I had so much more to focus on. I could be his friend if he was able to get past his anger but if not, I wouldn't waste anymore time on feeling bad about him. Thor was a drain on energy better spent elsewhere. I looked over at Kirill and smiled. Now there was someone I'd be happy to spend a lot of energy on.

My eyes drifted away from my beautiful lion and scanned the crowd as I thought over the possibility of having to add more men to my life. I had the Pride but I didn’t want to tie my lions to me like that unless they absolutely wanted it. No, if the time came, I’d have to look elsewhere.

Through the crowd, a familiar pair of dark eyes caught mine. Jewel tones swirled over them like an oil slick in the sun.

Keep reading for a sneak peak in the next book in the Godhunter series:

Green Tea and Black Death

Chapter One

  There’s nothing like a Hawaiian sunrise. The sky starts to blush shyly before the china doll pink darkens to an angry orange, then brightens to proud yellow before clearing to simply illuminate paradise. Emotions across the sky, that’s what it’s like to see the sun awaken Hawaii.

 
Unless you’ve been hunting a tiger goddess through Chinatown all night and are too tired to appreciate it.

 
I stumbled up the steps into my little house, not even noticing the spectacular sunrise… or the lip of the door. I almost fell face first into the living room. It’s a good thing two of my lovers were coming up behind me and caught me, one under each arm, before the shameful cherry could be placed on the sundae of my horrible night.

 
Two of my lovers… I was still getting used to that. Not that having a werewolf Prince, a werelion, and the Viking God, Odin, as lovers was anything to complain about but I was raised to want a husband… a… not many. I’m all for monogamy and if any of my lovers cheated on me, I’d probably throw a fit... and some knives. I know, totally unfair but that’s the way I felt. The really funny thing was, if I cheated on them, that is with any man other than the three, they'd be just as upset. Any new lovers had to be approved of by my alpha first.

 
Trevor caught me up in his arms and started carrying me down to our bedroom, his werewolf strength making it seem effortless. I looked over at Kirill, my sweet black lion, and he winked at me before he headed for the bathroom. He was going to give me some time alone with my alpha.

  “
I haven’t been this tired since I fought Balder,” I tried hard to smile as he set me down on the edge of the bed and started removing my heavy boots.

  “
Let’s take a quick shower and head straight to bed,” he kissed my forehead before pulling my leather bodice off. Leather, it seemed like I was always wearing leather lately, and not for fashion reasons. Fashion I loved but it was fighting that required me to wear the thicker, tougher clothes… fighting gods.

 
Soon, our clothes were in piles on the floor and Trevor was heating up the water for our shower. I heard Kirill’s shower running in the bathroom down the hall and hoped my water heater could take the strain. The last thing I needed was for the water to go cold.

 
I seemed to catch a break on that one tiny detail and the warm water continued to blast, feeling like heaven and easing some of the tension out of my tight muscles. I sighed as Trevor came in behind me and started soaping up my body. It felt wonderful but I was thankful that he was quick about it. I was just too exhausted to have shower sex.

 
As good as the water felt, my Chinese wedding bed was ten times better. The carved walls encircled us like sanctuary and we snuggled down into the soft mattress with a shared sound of contentment. The sandalwood oil I used to polish it, scented the air lightly, wafting in on the currents of the a/c.

 
Trevor kissed my neck, where one of his love bites was still healing, and I tried to push away thoughts of the scar that used to be there. The one that Thor had given me to cover Blue's vampire bite. All of my scars were gone now; the bite mark, Thor’s lightning bolt, and the scar from Anubis' blade, ever since I drank from the Grayel. I was healed completely, free from Anubis’ power but also free of the oath Thor had made me.

 
Thor had been my first god boyfriend… godfriend. Whatever, he’d been my first… in this life at least, and it was sad to know that our friendship and our relationship were both over. I didn’t need his protection anymore, I was technically a goddess in my own right because of the Grayel, but it would have been nice to know I could connect with his mind if I needed to.

 
I was too exhausted to monitor my thoughts, so my head automatically filled with Thor, images of our relationship before I’d even met Trevor. I saw the massive Viking on his boat, happy and teasing me as his red hair whipped in the breeze; in his library, standing before the fire, all shadows and gold; and in his bed, covering me with kisses, fierce in his passion. Thor had been hard to get over.

  “
Vervain?” Thor’s shocked voice echoed in my head.

  “
Thor?” I bolted up in shock, dislodging Trevor.

  “
Thor?” Trevor sat up and looked around. “Here? What the fuck are you talking about, Vervain?”

  “
Hold on a second, Honey-Eyes,” I patted Trevor back into the bed as I tried to calm my racing heart. “Thor, is that you?”

  “
Yes, darling,” my heart clenched to hear the endearment he hadn’t used for me in ages.

  “
How?” I motioned to Trevor that it was alright because he was starting to get those little lines between his eyebrows. “I thought our connection was broken with my drink from the Grayel.”

  “
The Grayel heals scars, poisons, things of that nature,” his voice mused. “It healed Anubis’ scar, which was the source of his control over you and it healed my scar that I placed on you with magic but the oath I made to you had nothing to do with the scar. I made you a blood oath, that’s not something to be healed.”

  “
But Jesus said I was free of you as well as Anubis.”

  “
He probably thought our bond was through the scar, like that jackal bastard’s.”

  “
Maybe,” I didn’t know what else to say. I’d missed this but having it back was going to cause problems with Trevor. Also, I wasn't sure I wanted it back anymore. It would be good in case of emergencies but I wasn't sure it was worth the headache of having to deal with Thor and all his new issues. I know, I sound fickle but it really wasn't Thor I was missing, it was the idea of the Thor I'd loved. If that makes any sense.

 
I had loved Thor with everything I had but he hadn't loved me in the same way, with the same completeness. He'd thrown our relationship away for guilt and when he realized he wanted me back, he didn't try to apologize and work out our issues. No, he accused me of being the reason things ended in the first place and then expected me to go running back to him anyway. Even though I had moved on with Trevor. Evidently it was all my fault, including my unavailability. Doesn't exactly sound like a winning plan to gain back someone's love, does it? That's because it isn't. I was so done with Thor.

  “
Vervain…”

  “
I’m sorry, Thor,” I cut him off before it got too personal. “I’ve been chasing Xi Wangmu around all day and I’m exhausted. Can we get back to this when I get up later?”

  “
I’ll give you eight hours, then I’m coming over.”

 
I groaned and fell back into bed. Evidently Jesus didn’t know everything.

About the Author

Amy Sumida lives on an island in the Pacific Ocean where gods go to play. She sleeps in a fairy bed, high in the air, with two gravity-defying felines and upon waking, enjoys stabbing people with little needles, over and over, under the guise of making pretty pictures on their skin. She, like Vervain, has no filter but has been fortunate enough to find friends who appreciate this... or at least tell her they do. She bellydances and paints pictures on her walls but is happiest with her nose stuck in a book, her mind in a different world than this one, filled with fantastical men who unfortunately don't exist in our mundane reality. Thank the gods for fantasy.