Page 49 of Sequel to the Easter Bunny

Jack takes the flower from me and sets it on the water, letting it swirl away in the nonexistent current.

He’s quiet behind me, arms holding me tight, breath rising and falling.

And it occurs to me, I need to ask, “Are you alright?”

He may be a god, but it’s become very clear to me that the gods can still be wounded.

He nods against my shoulder.

“Sharing wasn’t easy. But as long as you always come back to me… I won’t ever complain if someone else can give you that pleasure.”

“I’ll always come back.”

Bundled in Jack’s arms, the water flowing gently around me, I let the exhaustion of the night take me away. Snuggling down into his fur, I drift somewhere between wakefulness and dreaming… until Jack gently lifts me from the pool.

Even though the water was cool, I shiver as a soft breeze passes over my skin.

But Diyo is there a moment later, and with a flourish of their hand, both Jack and I are dry.

“Here you go my lovelies.” They hand us both a pile of deep wine red fabric and I remember what Jack said, about them wanting to dress me.

Not just me, it seems.

But Jack puts the—incredibly small—zoma on without arguing, and I let him drape a toga that is nearly identical to the one I came in. Only the colour is different.

“Now!” Diyo takes both of my hands and leads me back to the bed, sitting me on one end before they sit on the opposite and fold their hands in their furry lap. “After that delight,” their eyes slide to Jack for a moment before they return to me. “I would give you my very soul. What do you need from me to get that evil summer bitch off your back? Anything! Just ask and it is yours!”

Their panpipes hang from their hip, the metal glinting as the swing rocks. “I need your flute.”

Everything around me stills.

The air is heavy and drags at my lungs.

There’s no more birdsong.

No more bees buzzing.

Diyo’s face is utterly blank. “Anything but that.”

Jack stands with a different kind of stillness beside me. “Juun will kill her if she doesn’t do this.”

Eyes wide, Diyo looks terrified, but not, I think, for me. A moment later, they wave their hand and sputter something I don’t understand before they say, “She’s protected as long as that baby bunny is inside her.”

“I can’t stay here forever, It’s a death sentence that will be carried out in 8 months.”

Jack slips into the old gods’ tongue and I don’t understand a thing they say to each other, but I know it’s an argument, and I know that Jack is probably considering whether or not it would be easier to simply strangle them.

I need to stop this before it comes to that.

“She just asked for the flute.” They both turn to me. “What if I can give you something else, to take its place?”

Diyo’s face twists with suspicion. “I’m listening.”

Fuck.

I have no idea what a god could want to replace their flute. “There are dozens of instruments in my world that might amuse you the way your flute does.”

“Mortal instruments?” Diyo cocks their head to the side. “I suppose we could make a trade….”

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