"So... You're married?" Ton asked and tore his eyes off Frej and Zitzi out in the yard, practising runes and wards.

"Yeah," I muttered and finished off Ton's left eyebrow in my sketch. He looked worried on paper too.

"And did you think that was a good idea?"

"Yeah." I looked up from my sketch and caught my brother's gaze.

"And now you'll be outsiders in the community. Do you think that's fair on the boy?"

"He's not a boy..." I murmured and returned to my sketch. I drew his other eyebrow arched so he looked confused at me, just like the real version did right now.

"Then what is he? He's not a man. He won't ever be a man. Not only have you cursed him with eternal youth, but now you've frozen him out of the community that could've been good for him. What you're doing isn't fair to him."

"Isn't fair?" I growled and pushed my sketchbook out of my lap. "I saved him. Death asked me to save him! And I've given him a new home. A warm and welcoming home." I rose to my feet and stalked towards my brother, stopping right in front of him. "He has more things than he could ever want. And Frej has a loving husband. I'll tear my own flesh from my body in order to protect him if that's what it takes. Don't tell me it's not fair to him. I wasn't the one who bound him to a pyre!"

Ton looked a little stunned down at me as my voice echoed through the house. Then he sighed and shook his head. His eyes flicked back down at Frej and Zitzi in the garden and his expression softened.

"I'm just looking out for you," he said softly.

"I know. But I don't need that, Ton."

My brother snorted and looked back at me. "Really? Because you seem a little lost."

"For the first time in my life I'm not feeling lost. For the first time I actually feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I finally feel at ease." I pointed out at the garden, my finger tapping at the glass. "And it's because of him, Ton. He... Sees me."

"Sees you? I see you. You're standing right in front of me."

I sighed, rolled my eyes and went back to retrieve my sketchbook.

"He sees you," Ton muttered.

I dumped down in my chair again and ripped the paper out of the book, starting a new drawing, this time of Frej.

I woke up to someone blowing air in my ear. I opened one eye and caught Frej giggling like a little girl.

"Wake up, my love," he murmured and kissed my cheek. "It's teaching day."

Teaching day was the day where I'd teach Frej a new ward or spell. Or something. Anything. He loved it and kept counting down the days until I would teach him something new. He had to learn the one lesson first, then practice, and then I'd teach him something new.

And today was that day.

I chuckled and stretched my arms over my head. Frej took that as an invitation to crawl on top of me, placing his hands on my chest, pressing down slightly. He bent over and softly kissed me and I lowered my arms, my hands landing on his hips.

"What would you like to learn today?" I murmured and moved my head to the side, so he could kiss my throat. And hopefully feed on me.

"Hmm," he murmured against my skin, gently pressing his lips against it.

I lifted my hips a bit and Frej softly inhaled before his teeth punctured my skin. My eyes slid shut as I felt my pulse slowing down. Frej moved his hips in the rhythm of my heart and I was getting undone completely. A soft moan slid out of my mouth when he pressed harder down on me. He rose up to his knees, wrapped his fingers around me and held me steady as he sat down.

He whimpered and dug his fingers into my chest. We stayed still for a moment, both of us panting.

He straightened his back then, reached back, grabbed the furs and pulled them over us, so we were cocooned in a little nest. He bent over again and kissed me, as he started rolling his hips.

Starting my nights with Frej had proved to be the best decision in my life. I loved waking up to his red hair, his smiles, his voice... I was so lost in him.

"I love you," he whispered sweetly against my lips.

I groaned in response, human language lost on me. I could feel him smiling as he grabbed my wrists and placed them above my head, his fingers slipping in between mine. He kissed me again and again, his grip on my hands tightening and loosening in the rhythm of his moving hips.

"You're incredible," he murmured and lifted up a bit.

I opened my eyes and met his gaze.

"I love you so much, Xipe. You can't even fathom how much I love you."

Oh gods, he was going to kill me. I was sure of it. His sweetness was going to melt me completely.

I lifted up and kissed him again. I had to kiss him. I had to taste him, feel his tongue against mine, had to hear his breath quicken slightly as if it was more exciting to be kissing me than actually making love to me.

With Frej everything was about the little things. The small freckle he had on his chin. The slight blue tint he had in the vast green ocean that was his eyes. His collarbones protruding his skin in the most delicate and artistic way. He was just a god among mortals.

I knew every inch of his body and face. I had memorised him so well, I could draw him from memory and I loved it. I loved him.

I slid my hands free of his grasp, grabbed his hips and turned us around. He smiled up at me very briefly, but only until his face contorted in pleasure as I thrust my hips forward.

I had to be closer to him. I lowered myself down on him and he wrapped his arms around me, one hand fisting my hair, while he dug his nails into my back with the other.

I lifted his hips up with one hand as I snaked the other under his head, so I could really keep him close. My chest was pressing against his. My stomach moving over his. I could feel every inch of his body almost desperately pressing against mine and it was pure bliss. It was amazing.

"Teaching day, teaching day," Frej chanted like a child and smirked up at me. "Teach me something, master."

I rolled my eyes and patted his head while looking for a specific book on the shelf next to the chair my lover was occupying.

"I'll teach you something," I murmured under my breath, my hand slowly running through his hair.

Frej grinned at me and I glanced down at him, realising I was just standing there, my hand circling around in his hair like I was petting a dog.

I removed my hand and reached up to take the book I had been looking for. Frej obediently followed me through the library back to the large mahogany desk by the window. I placed the big book on the top of the desk and opened it, flicking through the pages until I found the right one, while he sat down on the chair in front of it.

"Look here," I said and pointed to the page. "I thought I'd teach you a little about me today."

He widened his eyes and looked up at me. "Is that you?" he asked and nodded towards the illustration.

"Yeah." It was me. A very intricate and colourful depiction of me, holding some very large swords. My head was oversized and the my body was made up by intricate patterns. "This is how my worshippers see me."

Frej narrowed his eyes. "That looks nothing like you."

I chuckled. "No, but that's their rendering. My godly image."

"Xipe..." He glanced up at me with a serious look. "Why are we not supposed to be together?"

"I've already explained that to you," I said and turned the page. I guess he wasn't that interested in my history then.

"You've explained that you were promised to another. But why would the rest of the community not approve? Is it... Because I'm a boy?"

"No Frej. No one cares about that. And you're not a boy," I murmured and kissed the top of his head. My lips lingered in his hair and I inhaled. He always smelled amazing. "You're... Beneath me. I'm a deity. I shouldn't sink to a level where I'd want to be with someone who has once been human." I crouched down next to the chair and rested my chin on his arm which was lying on the armrest. "I'm supposed to be your superior. It'll look like I'm forcing you."

"But you're not," he said, his frown growing even deeper.

"No, but I'm still not supposed to touch you. You're not mine to love. You're a servant of Death, just like I am, and our priority should be serving Death. Giving her sacrifices when we feed," I explained softly. "Ensure that her realm is stocked and that the world is in balance."

He ran his hand through my hair, softly, and I briefly closed my eyes, enjoying the action.

"I was put in this world for you. All for you," he said very seriously. "The gods saw it to put me in your path, and Death chose you to give me a second life." He bent down and kissed my forehead. "Teach me more now."

I chuckled and rose back up to my full height and turned our attention back to the book.

"So, I'm the deity of death, life and re-birth, as chosen by Death herself. I also represent diseases, and spring, goldsmiths... And my favourite, liberation."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, people who need me for any of those things, will send me a sacrifice. And I'll bless them. But not many worship me. Death told me I had to be patient. I'm a new deity compared to the others. The humans need time to realise I exist."

"Oh... So, what does that mean?"

I chuckled. "It'll mean I'll get more to do in the future, hopefully. Blessing my people with whatever they need. And I'd like to do all that with you by my side, Frej."

"Of course!" he immediately exclaimed. "So we'll go back to your home?"

"If you'd like."

"Yes!" He almost jumped out of the chair, looking ready to leave now. "How will we get there?" he asked as he stalked towards the bookshelves. He grabbed the book of maps I had acquired and brought it back to the desk. "Show me where it is."

I opened the book and showed him on the crude drawing of the world. Across the big sea, right at the bottom of what would become the Free World. "Here. And we'd go with a boat."

"It will be so far, Xipe. How are we supposed to live on a boat for so long?"

"Well, I'll have one built for us. And there'll be servants to sustain us. It'll be magnificent. "

At the mention of servants, Frej paled a little. I knew he didn't like how they were handled, but he had to realise this was how it was done. We couldn't just let humans roam around freely. They'd talk. They always talked. This was better.

"Do you want to leave this place? I'll take you where ever you wanna go."

The paleness disappeared and he smiled widely. "I... Love it here, Xipe."

"Then we'll stay," I murmured and kissed his cheek.