concerns and stupid pretentious lifestyle. I care, because in the words of the great Prince Vadim, a vampire who acts without honor disgraces us all. If you weren’t about to be dead, you could’ve looked it up. It’s on his website.”
“Kirill, Master, please. I’m sorry.” Yakov had tears running down his cheeks. “I can change. You can help me change. I can be a better vampire. I’ll do anything… I’ll get on my knees…”
Arvyn snarled. The stench of lies was thick around the bound vampire.
Five lethal looking claws sprung from Kirill’s fingertips and with one slicing moment, Yakov’s head bounced onto the floor, his mouth still open, his eyes wide and unmoving. Kirill dropped the remains of his body on the floor and said to Arvyn, “Sometimes I hate my kind. I take it he was lying about everything?”
Arvyn nodded and wrinkled his long nose. The ghost of a grin flitted across Kirill’s face, before it disappeared. “Now, Sven, what are we going to do about you?” Kirill made to reach down for Sven’s gag, when a loud popping noise and then a groan was heard from outside. “You can wait,” Kirill said to Sven, but Arvyn was already outside. He saw Ra, still in his godly form, curled up on battered ground, and he howled long and loud, sprinting for his mate.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I’m all right.” Ra coughed and took the cup of hot chocolate Arvyn had made for him. It even had little marshmallows on top and Ra appreciated the thoughtfulness. Now back in his human form, he was feeling a lot better, although embarrassed his mates had to carry his unconscious larger form into the house. Waking up curled up on their bed, covered in blankets and with a hot mate on either side of him, was a boost Ra enjoyed, even if he wished it hadn’t been necessary.
“Honestly, I just physically overdid it a bit and what with holding onto my power for so long… I seriously need to get in better shape.” He smiled up at the worried face of his mates. “I’m sorry for the whole falling over bit, but I did win the fight. Seth knows if he ever disrespects you again in word or deed, he’ll spend the rest of eternity in the world of the dead. I know how these things are important to you both.”
“You are important to us,” Arvyn said staunchly, climbing back on the bed, his arm draped around Ra’s shoulders. “That Seth friend of yours was an ass, yes, and I’m sure the slap-down he got was a long time coming, but we couldn’t see you, hear you…”
“I couldn’t take the risk of us being seen by anyone,” Ra jumped in quickly. “I would’ve taken the fight back to my realm, but I didn’t want you two thinking I’d abandoned you.”
“Will we ever get a chance to see this realm of yours? Or is it a place only gods can go?” Kirill had been quiet, but his concern shone through their bond.
“I’m planning to take you both. You have as much right to be there as I do. I ordered Seth to start organizing a celebration with my people so you can be welcomed properly. Most of the Egyptian gods have created lives for themselves in all parts of the world, so it’ll take a while to get organized, but…”
“You got Seth to organize it?” Arvyn laughed. “Isn’t that like rubbing shit in his face or something? You beat him, and now you’re forcing him to arrange a celebration for the two beings he hates the most?”
“You can’t take his hate personally.” Although Ra definitely had done. “Seth doesn’t like anyone. He’s always worried that someone will take his position or influence me in a way that goes against his beliefs. After he killed Osiris and went after Horus…”
“Hang on a minute,” Kirill interrupted quietly. “Are you telling us gods can be killed? You could’ve died during your fight with that asshole?”
“Not permanently, no. Sorry, I said that more as a figure of speech than anything else.” Ra thought about how to explain. “Way, way, back in history – millennia ago, gods were a lot more active and interactive with human populations. The younger gods like Seth, Osiris, and Horus were still working out their place with each other and how they fit on the world stage.”
“A sort of sibling rivalry type situation?” Arvyn asked.
“Something like that.” Ra nodded, but only briefly. His body still felt as though