"What do you mean she's no longer bound!?" a voice boomed out and both she and Kai jumped, breaking the spell of their peace. He looked down at her, hurrying to help her get the stupid device on and then tugging her tunic on over her head.
He shoved her quickly behind him as the door burst open, and Hades stalked into the room, followed closely by Sobek, and then Daemon.
"Why can we not feel it?" Sobek demanded, scanning the room for her, but Hades was already coming for her.
"Move, boy," the God said, but Kai only lifted his chin. "Move!" he raged.
"Kai, it's okay," she whispered, not wanting him to be injured trying to protect her.
Kai growled but moved aside at her touch, leaving her feeling incredibly small before the furious God.
"I didn't notice until I touched her," Daemon said angrily, and she looked at him, betrayal written over her face. "The subject of your condition came up," he said, and she nodded. He hadn't simply told them.
Hades was staring down at her stomach and when he reached for her, she was certain he was going to strike her. Flinching back from him, his hand was gentle on her cheek, his fingers barely brushing her.
"It's true. It's gone," he said in a low growl, his free hand going to her stomach. "How far along?"
"I don't know," she said quietly, his tenderness throwing her off.
"I'll see if they can find Eileithyia, she'll be able to help with... she'll understand."
Sobek came closer, and she wanted to run from him, but she remained still, watching him warily as he touched her hand and sighed, his fingers going around her wrists to feel the second binding he had on her.
Hades left with a blaze of blue fire, leaving her alone with her friends and the God. His dark eyes heavy on her as he moved one hand down to her stomach, pressing against it gently.
"How is it possible?" he asked.
"Neah, one of the Hunters. He removed the binding after he found out I could procreate with any species," she said gently.
He frowned at that, taking her hand once more and drawing her out of the bathroom into the sitting room.
"Bast!" she cried, and the Goddess looked around, her arms lifting as Etani threw herself into them.
"Hello love," the Goddess said gently, squeezing her tightly while Etani crawled up into her lap and snuggled against her.
Sobek watched the two while Bast frowned and touched the swollen belly, looking up at him over Etani's head with worried eyes.
"How did you lose it?" Sobek asked.
"Neah was angry, threw her against a wall, tried to smash her skull... kicked her," the low voice of the priest filled the room.
Etani refused to meet any of their eyes, watching her fingers as she linked them with the black furred fingers of the Goddess.
"He didn't notice until I shouted. He just wanted to hurt her, not the baby. He..." The priest shook his head, unable to say any more.
"He was trying to start the process again when I arrived," Daemon said, giving them no further information than that.
"You should have listened. She wouldn't have endured so much if you had listened," the priest said angrily.
"You should have yelled louder," Daemon snapped back.
Blocking the two of them out, she poked at her stomach experimentally, a blue glow having silenced the argument.
Hades was holding the hand of a kind faced woman with thick brown hair and a white dress that gave her an odd look of being motherly, a shawl in matching white wrapped around her arms and resting atop her hair. Soft grey eyes swept the room and plump lips pulled up into a sad smile as they found the wary, watchful eyes of Etani.
There was something about the woman that was setting off alarms in Etani's mind, like facing an enemy. It didn't make sense to distrust the woman, but she did instantly.
"Hello everyone."
"Eileithyia, it's so good to see you," Daemon called, approaching the matronly woman, and kissing her twice on each cheek.
"Eros, my darling, how are you?"
"Better now."
"Etani, this is Eileithyia."
"Call me Eile," the woman said gently.
Etani didn't call her anything, she refused to open her mouth and simply watched the woman warily.
The woman looked at Daemon and he lent forward to whisper in her ear. Those kind grey eyes turned on Etani and her smile faded, the glance towards Etani's stomach, barely visible under the loose tunic.
"So, you're the girl everyone is talking about?" Eile asked gently.
Still Etani didn't speak. She wasn't sure why this woman made her feel hesitant, but the kindness radiating off the woman was making her anxious, and she didn't much like it.
"Etani, don't be rude," Daemon snapped but Eile only shook her head and moved forward.
Shrinking back into Bast's chest, she watched the slow approach of the strange woman dressed in white, with her soft face and aura of kindness.
She took Etani's hands in hers and lifted them to her face. Etani squirmed, uncertain as the woman kissed the tops of her hands and then clutched them tightly.
She didn't know why this woman bothered her so much, perhaps it was the grating of her kindness against Etani's own coldness, hot and cold, night and day.
Exhaling slowly, she did her best to put on a polite smile, but the woman only laughed, even as Daemon glared.
"Yes, your kind never react well to me," Eile said gently.
"My kind?" Etani asked warily.
"The predators."
"Why?" she asked.
"I represent the beginning of the cycle; you are the end. I am worshipped for life; you are worshipped for death. It is natural that you would mistrust me. But I will not harm you, nor will I do anything you do not wish. May I touch your belly?"
Etani recoiled, her back pressing into Bast's chest, but at a glare from Daemon, she nodded.
The woman released Etani's hands and placed hers gently on the shrinking stomach, her face blank for a moment as she considered.
"Do you consume flesh?"
"Yes," Etani said, pain pulling through her at the thought of what her body had done.
"And this is your second, though the first was not born either?"
Etani didn't reply, her eyes sliding sideways to Epharis, and the two shared a moment of pain. She hadn't wanted a child with him, but they both still suffered at the loss.
"This is odd... you should be infertile," the woman said and Etani jerked back slightly, her attention turning back to the Goddess.
"Excuse me?" Etani snapped, to which Daemon hissed at.
"Daemon…" The Goddess said in such a maternal tone that they all stopped what they were doing, every instinct to listen triggered by the voice regardless of age or species. "You have never had a cycle?"
"No," Etani said, recalling the phrase as a reference to her study of female anatomy.
"Interesting. You shouldn't be able to carry a child at all."
"Etani is of my blood," Sobek said, and the Goddess turned slightly to see the God.
"Even so, perhaps you do not reproduce though the same means as the majority of us."
"What does that mean?" Daemon asked, keenly interested in the subject.
"It could be that her reproduction is based off another species, I'm not sure which. You have the same structure as a human, without a menstrual cycle which suggests infertility. However, there are signs of recent miscarriage and trauma that your body is ignoring, though I cannot see why. There is nothing blocking the healing process."
Etani knew why, but she wasn't about to say anything to any of them. She did not want to go through it again, and she was actively keeping her magic from repairing the damage. She would not allow her body to heal and run the risk of her losing a third. Her heart could not survive a third loss.
Daemon moved forward, his eyes intent on her and she met his stare blankly. He had to suspect, but he decided not to say anything right then.
"I am sorry for what has been done to you. Not many women could go through what you have gone through and remain strong."
Etani didn't want her sympathy, she wanted to know why she had been summoned.
"There is nothing I can so here, Daemon, except provide comfort."
"What about...?" his eyes dropped to Etani's body.
"Her system has already absorbed it to keep her alive. There is nothing to be expelled, though you may still experience some nausea for a few hours," the Goddess said kindly. "Where did you find her, Daemon?"
"She's my protégé," he said with a note of pride, but the Goddess had turned slowly to look at him.
"What are you talking about?" she asked in a lethal voice Daemon immediately realised his error and his eyes widened in alarm. "Daemon?" she demanded, her sweet voice turning hard.
"He bred me," Etani said, amused by his sudden fear.
"You kept up that disgusting game?" the Goddess yelled and Etani grinned at Daemon when he glared at her over the shoulder of the Goddess. "Don't look at her, look at me."
He did so obediently, and she couldn't help but feel that she liked the Goddess.
"Yes…" he said sulkily, his head lowered as her rage levelled on him.
"What is she?" the Goddess demanded.
"A lot of things," he said evasively.
"How many things Daemon?"
"Fifty," Etani supplied when Daemon refused to speak.
"Fifty?" the Goddess snarled and Etani smirked, glad finally that someone understood the frustration of the situation. "Why would you keep it up for so long?"
"You know why..."
"What? So you got up be the special one who created her from a prophecy no one could verify? You selfish, greedy, arrogant little monster!"
"See?" Etani said smugly "I told you prophecies were rubbish."
"Prophecies in and of themselves are not. But this one was only a rumour," Eile said.
"Ha!" Daemon yelled, pointing at Etani.
Etani returning the point with one finger raised in his direction. Bast snorted in amusement, but then cleared her throat to cover the sound.
Looking around the room, Etani found Uzo watching her, and he offered her a slight smile, tilting his head towards the balcony.
"She's a Goddess, Daemon! She is quite possibly the most powerful creature to ever exist, and you're to blame if things go wrong!"
Wanting to get away from the argument, Etani fled Bast's grip while the Eile and Daemon were too busy arguing to notice.
Taking Uzo's hand, they slipped out of the room and onto the balcony with Versalis following after them, amused, but more interested in spending time with her.
Closing the door behind them, Etani immediately threw her arms around Uzo and hugged him tightly, his arms going around her in response. He squeezed her painfully hard, lifting her off her feet in the process.
It felt amazing to be with him and Versalis again, her arm shooting out to pull Versalis into the hug as well, and Uzo immediately embraced the vampire as well, even though the vampire was facing away from them and was being bent backwards under the force of her grip.
Twisting in their arms, he grinned and kissed her cheek hard. "How are you, sweetheart?"
She had been about to give a flippant remark, but she saw their concern and she shook her head.
"Everything hurts," she murmured softly. "I thought he was…"
Uzo sighed and kissed her forehead gently, his face tired.
"I had sex with him…" she whimpered. "I wanted to be with him…" She couldn't look at their faces again, ashamed of herself for her naivety. "I just wanted someone who would love me for me, not my magic."
Uzo's thumb brushed her cheek free of tears she hadn't realised were falling and he pressed his hand against the back of her head, holding her against his chest.
"Hush now, there's nothing wrong with that."
"We've all fallen for the wrong person," Versalis said gently, his hand trailing down her back.
"I really thought he cared about me…" she whimpered. "I'm so stupid… I should have known better…"
"Hey now, don't say that. You're not stupid, and there's nothing wrong with wanting someone to love you," Uzo said as he guided her towards the day bed and Versalis sat down on her other side.
Versalis pulled her hand away from where she had wrapped it around herself and clutched it in both of his, squeezing it tightly.
"Etani, listen to us. He is the one to blame here. He is the one who manipulated you. You did nothing wrong," Versalis said.
The balcony door opened a crack and Sebastian slipped out, moving silently to lean against the balustrade.
"You missed Daemon getting bitch slapped," Sebastian said gently. He was watching her when she looked up at him.
"Daemon deserves worse," Uzo sighed, tilting his head to see her face, and she glanced at him, her lips pulling up into the faintest hint of a smile, though she couldn't stop the tears.
"We still think you're a good person," Versalis said gently, using a long strand of her hair to tickle her cheek.
"It would take a lot for my opinion of you to change," Sebastian added.
"Well, I'm related, so I have to love you," Uzo said haughtily, and she laughed, leaning into Uzo's arm.
"You two are actually related?" Sebastian asked.
"Yep," Uzo said. "Can't you see the resemblance? She's a spitting image of me."
Sebastian stared at him, and then her, his eyes flicking back and forth between them, but Versalis ruined it by snorting in amusement and Sebastian glared, the group breaking out into quiet laughter.