Accidentally…Over? (Accidentally Yours #5)(67)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

The blonde shrugged. “I was sitting at Club M-Brace, going through my playlist for tonight when she walked in, demanding I make her forget Máax. Of course, I knew who she was and told her no, but then she forgot and asked again. Then again.” She paused. “And again.”

“So you wiped her memory? Really?” the redhead asked.

“I know better. The newly heartbroken are completely irrational. But then she lost it and jumped me. Little bursts of something flew from her palms and triggered my powers. It was an involuntary reaction.”

The redhead’s eyes opened wide. “From her hands? Was it painful?”

The blonde shook her head. “It felt good. Really, really good.”

“I don’t have a clue, but we don’t have time for this.” The redhead covered her face and groaned. “Oh, gods, what a mess. Can you undo it?”

“I’m the Goddess of Forgetfulness, not the Goddess of Memory Recovery.”

“Ashli?” The redhead looked straight at her. “What were you thinking?”

“Am I Ashli?” Honestly, she had no idea.

“Yes!” The redhead sighed loudly. “Oh, Ashli. What have you done?”

“I honestly don’t know. So my name is Ashli? Really?”

The previous evening, Emma confirmed Máax’s worst fears. But how had Ashli found his sister—what’s-her-face—in the first place? What a damned mess. And if he ever got his hands on Brutus, he’d rip that blockhead’s arms from his body.

Well, Máax had had enough of this stercore de bovem and was ready for his trial this morning. He needed this to be over quickly and to fix things with Ashli, not to mention actually fix Ashli. Yes, his freedom was paramount, and come hell or high water, he would get those damned votes to change the laws. He was not going down without a fight, even if it meant betraying one if his own.

Timothy knocked on the glass of Máax’s cell. “Ready, sir?”

Máax nodded.

“Sir?”

Right. Timothy couldn’t see him. “Yes, Timothy. Ready.”

A short walk and elevator ride from the underground prison brought Máax to the Court of the Gods. It looked very much like one might imagine: At the head of the room, fourteen empty marble thrones sat behind a long stone slab table on an elevated platform with neoclassical Roman pillars to either side. An aisle ran the center of the room, between ten rows of stone-carved bench seats, and a solitary wooden chair (for the person on trial) sat toward the front.

Máax took his seat as did Cimil and Zac. They would both go on trial today, too, and they sat behind him in the first row. When Ashli entered, looking her usual ravishing self in a simple black dress, he felt his entire being illuminate. It was such a relief to see her face, to know she was near, even if she did not remember him. He took a deep breath and tried to remain focused; everything rode on his words today.

One of the Uchben guards announced the gods, and the packed room rose to their feet while the deities settled in.

Penelope, who looked like she’d just swallowed Bees’ hat, took her seat toward the middle of the long table next to her husband Kinich. She wore plain jeans and a T-shirt, and her dark hair was pulled back into a neat braid. Kinich, who was standard deity size, also wore a no-frills outfit—jeans and a tee. Both looked like they were displeased to be there. Who could blame them? The two had gone through their own turbulence recently. They probably wanted to be at home in bed, enjoying the fact that the end of the world was not coming after all and their baby would be born into a life filled with an eternity of love.

The remaining gods took their places, and Penelope turned on her iPad with a heavy sigh. “I hereby open the proceedings against the deity known as Máax, who has been accused of violating the sacred laws of—dammit!” She threw down her stylus and scowled at Kinich to her side. “This is total bullshit! Why are we doing this? We all know Máax doesn’t belong on trial.”

Kinich reached for her hand. “Honey, we talked about this already.”

“No! I talked this morning. You ignored me.”

Kinich scratched his golden scruff. “I merely tried to explain that these are our laws. I created them to protect humans from our abuse of powers.”

“Oh, I get it. Your giant bloated man ego doesn’t want to admit that you made a mistake, is that it?” she fumed.

Kinich’s turquoise eyes shifted to black. “N-n-no, honey. I just…”

“You just what? Want to see Máax disappear forever? All because he saved a few thousand Payal women, tried to stop the apocalypse by rescuing Ashli, and did a bunch of other nice stuff like killing an incubus, saving your sister Ixtab from being stuck inside a portal, and gods know what other selfless crap? Really?”

Kinich gnashed his teeth. “Our laws are—”

“Laws shmaws!” Penelope barked. “We’re changing them. This is bull crap!”

“But—”

“But nothing,” she interrupted. “You and I lead the House of Gods; you and I are husband and wife.” She cupped his cheek and lovingly gazed into his eyes. “Haven’t you learned, baby, that there’s nothing we can’t do together? We’re meant to change the world. And it’s time for the gods to evolve.”

Máax smiled. Penelope was a gods’ send. Such a smart, smart woman. And a perfect match for his brother.

Fate rose from her seat at the end of the table in her belted little dress and white boots, looking like her usual snotty, uptight self. “Well, you need a unanimous vote to change a divine law, and you’re not getting mine. Our laws have worked just fine for tens of thousands of years, and I see no need to change them simply because it’s convenient.”

She is so predictable. Well, here goes.

“Are you sure about that, Fate?” said Máax.

Fate glanced at him or the chair, he wasn’t sure. “Of course I am.”

“Because,” he said, “our laws state that they can only be changed by a unanimous vote of all fourteen deities. You are not a real deity, are you?”

The room collectively gasped, and Fate’s face paled. “I-I have no i-i-idea what you mean,” she stuttered. Her eyes shifted from side to side.

“Fate?” Penelope said. “What’s Máax talking about?”

Sitting behind Máax, Cimil raised her hand. “Ooh. Ooh. I know! Call me. Call me!”