“Anna and I will share North America,” he announced as he passed by the map the gods had been bickering over.
I narrowed my eyes at him but didn’t argue. I had just chastised the other gods for fighting over territory, so I wouldn’t allow myself to do the same.
“Since you’re here,” I told Drake. “Why don’t you share your plans with us. How do you plan to rid the world of your mother?”
Drake smiled. “My mother and I now share power over the dark fae. I’ll keep them at bay while you attack her directly.”
“What a sacrifice,” Malekbel said sarcastically. “You’ll sit back and watch to see who wins?”
“Would you rather I rallied the dark fae to fight against you?” Drake asked with a raised brow. “You won’t be able to do this without me.”
“Perhaps,” Xichil said with a frown.
My heart turned to ice when I realized something.
“Drake?” I called out. “If you can get in here without any issues, what’s to stop the Morrigan?”
“Absolutely nothing,” he said cheerfully. “She’s probably been watching the group of you for a while. Luckily for you, she stepped into Winter a few minutes ago and will be busy for a little while.”
Drake smirked at me. “I heard you were busy stirring up trouble.”
The other gods turned their attention to me.
“Summer had something of mine, and I decided it was time I took it back,” I announced to the room.
Xichil shrugged as if it were no longer of interest, but since Drake had brought it up….
“Where do the fae of Winter and Summer stand?” I asked him. “Who will fight with the Morrigan, and who will watch by the sidelines?”
“The fae don’t belong here anymore than the Morrigan does,” Vayu spat out.
Drake selected a silver chalice off the table and poured himself some wine.
“True,” he admitted before taking a sip. “But you’ll be pleased to hear that Anna plans on sealing the gate to Winter.”
Venus rolled her eyes. “That would only stop them for a few centuries, and then they’ll just make another door here.”
Drake gave me a sly smile and took a sip of wine.
I seethed. Drake had agreed to share the secret of sealing Winter off from this world, but he never said it would be a pointless action.
“I say we kill the Morrigan, then seal off the gates to all of the other worlds. I could use a few centuries of peace,” Xichil announced.
“No!” Montu argued. “The two to the fae realms, but not the others.”
I raised an eyebrow. Just how many other worlds were out there?
“Let’s focus our energy on the Morrigan first,” Malekbel told the room. “After the battle, we’ll need to conserve our power before taking on another large project anyway.”
“You mean that you can’t wait to go back to sleep?” Xichil asked irritably. “I’ve slept enough for at least a thousand years.”
“This meeting has been delightful,” Drake said as he set down his cup. “But I have other matters that require my attention.”
Drake stepped back into a shadow and was gone.
“He’s just as dangerous as the Morrigan,” Montu said flatly.
“But malleable under the right guidance,” Venus said as she looked at me with a knowing smile. “I didn’t notice until I saw the two of you together, but you wear his mark.”
The other gods looked at me sharply, but I just shrugged. Now wasn’t the time to admit Drake had marked me without my permission or knowledge. Let them wonder about just how close we were.
“We agree we’ll attack together?” I asked to divert their attention back to the more important matters at hand.
There were murmurs of agreement around the room, but I couldn’t help but wonder how much I could really rely on the others. How many gods here would hold back a portion of their power, worried that they’d weaken to the point that one of the others would turn the attack on them?
“And the date?” Venus asked. “How long do we have to prepare?”
“Spring Equinox?” Montu suggested.
“It’s agreed,” Vayu announced. “Gather your allies close, draw in your power, and we’ll meet here on that date.”
“And until then?” Xichil asked.
“We’ll keep the lines of communication open, share information about the Morrigan’s location and assets,” Malekbel assured her.
After a series of goodbyes and passive-aggressive well-wishes, the rest of the gods disappeared into their gateways. Venus lingered behind the others and took a sip of wine.
“You’re struggling with all of this, aren’t you?” she asked softly.