?The goddess was in a borrowed body but she didn''t have the sway of hips that Emma had. Emma walked enticingly. He remembered when she walked naked in front of him and he wondered if she was exaggerating her hip sway. But she was always like that.


    Emma wasn''t as serious as Maeve or conniving endlessly. She was chirpy.


    Maeve applied more makeup, wore jewelry from top to bottom and then got up. As she walked, her jewelry jingled like that of cattle. Lazarus stifled a chuckle. She came to sit opposite to him, out of his reach. He realized that she actually liked to avoid him. He sipped more blood from his tumbler and said, "How was your stay in Sgiáth Bio?"


    "Wonderful!" she said excitedly, remembering Ailill.


    "I hope you won''t be going back now."


    Maeve crossed her legs and sighed. "I have to," she said. She turned her arms for him to see. "Look how wrinkly they have be. This body is unable to contain me. I am afraid that it is breaking slowly."


    "Hold on till the ritual," he said, and suddenly he felt the pang of losing Emma. "You wille with me to attend Samhain in two days." Her presence would make him forget Emma.


    No. No. Maeve was a goddess. He needed her in his ultimate n. He had to take the kingdom from his father, who killed his mother, his mate. He was never going to let anyone snatch his kingdom. He was so close. "Talk something else," he said harshly.


    "You know what, Lazarus. You are being too stubborn. I don''t think I can carry on like this if you don''t mark Emma. She is going to be strong only if you mark her. There is no point in taking over her body without your mark. She won''t be able to sustain my powers as a normal human but with your mark, she would be strong enough."


    Lazarus was above these tricks. "That won''t happen. I will im only my bride."


    Maeve gritted her teeth. She flicked her hair back. She had to meet the king and Anton and tell them about her progress. In which she was clearlygging.


    "Is there anything else you would like to say?" he asked in his usual serious tone.


    "I need more jewelry." She looked at the one she was wearing. "I am tired of these."


    "Okay, I will send the jeweler to you." Emma was never wearing any jewelry or demanded anything. Silence followed. "And is there anything else you wish to say?" Why was he sounding so strict?


    "What can I say?" Maeve replied with a scoff. "I only think of whether you really like me or not. Most of my mind is upied by the ritual!"


    Heavy silence followed because Lazarus didn''t want to speak about it. Momentster he opened his mouth. "What do you we will do once I be the king of Wilyra?"


    "Like I said already—we will conquer more." And she would kill him and get Ailill. "But why do you ask?"


    "Just like that?"


    He shrugged. Emma had talked about happiness. Where was that? "And how many children would you like to have with me?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    At that, Maeve flinched. "I won''t be having children, Lazarus!" she said as if despising the very thought. "It would destroy my body and what good would the children be to the goddess. I will be living forever!"


    Lazarus stopped drinking as his chest tightened with dread. Emma wanted to have children with him. Lots of them. And that was why she was averse to the idea that he would be using her body to have children with Maeve. "You will have my children," he said coldly and seriously.


    She barked augh. "Are you serious Lazarus? Children are of no consequence to a goddess like me!" She never nned on having offspring with Ailill either.


    A growl emanated from his chest. "That is my order." How could Emma ask all those questions when none of them entered his? How could he miss such details about Maeve? Emma had slowly nted seeds of doubt in him and even though he berated himself for doubting Maeve, he couldn''t help it.


    Maeve became quiet as she red at him. "It looks like you are swaying from your endgame, Lazarus. Need I remind you about it?" She turned her face away. "I don''t want to talk to you."


    Lazarus was stunned at his own thinking. What was he going to do with Maeve without children in the future? What did he have to look forward to?


    He decided that he had to charm her to convince her to have children. "What would you like us to do, my lovely fae?"


    "I am a little busy," she said, "But we can go to the vige together if you like. There is something I would like to buy."


    Lazarus got up. "I wille to pick you up at midnight." When he returned to his chamber, there wasplete silence on the other side. It bothered him.


    ---


    Emma was on the horse with Ginger, waiting with thrill, as Magnus and Yul crossed the magic wall. "Should I try?" she asked in a loud voice.


    "Yes, you can," Yul replied. "The magic is very weak. You can cross it."


    "Go Ginger!" she urged her maid who was shaking with fear.


    "What if—"


    "Ohe on!" Emma didn''t know how to ride on a horse, but she kicked the back of her horse. It neighed and crossed the little gap between her and Yul. She got a creepy feeling on her body, as if hundreds of ants were crawling, but after that the magic subsided. She squawked, "It''s not there!"


    Yulughed. "I told you so." He really liked the girl. He was thinking of asking Lazarus to let her be with him till Maeve was here or till her soul was cast out.


    Together they rode to the vige. Emma was thrilled with her adventure. As they rode, the snow forest was a blur. The waxing moon shining brightly over the dark, naked trees. She grabbed her cape tightly.


    They reached the alehouse of the vige in an hour. It was midnight.