“Mother.”

  “Yes dear?” Nyx turned to Ever, a gentle smile on her face. Her dress was a lighter blue, a shade of early twilight. She had come the moment the sun had set, busying herself cooking Christmas dinner straight away.

  It still felt strange calling the primordial goddess of the night that, but he had to admit: he felt a different kind of warmth blossom in his chest whenever he said it. She also very much welcomed him referring to her in that way. The only one who didn’t like it was her actual son.

  Could you not call my mother, ‘mother’? Even though he asked this quietly, Ever could hear how irritated Death sounded.

  “Don’t answer him,” Nyx said, a faint edge on her usually soft voice. “Thanatos, why are you stopping me from mothering Ever?”

  I’m not, Death said. It’s just… why are you guys making it so weird?

  “Well,” Nyx said, stirring a pot of pumpkin soup and tasting it, “if you were more receptive to my affection maybe things wouldn’t be so ‘weird’ now.”

  Urgh, I can’t even– he was gone faster than Ever could say ‘awkward’.

  Ever winced slightly; he would have to sort it out with Mentor later. He watched Mimi play with her Christmas present for a while: a machine that would shoot a ball out, which she could fetch and feed back into the machine. He got up and walked across the dining room to his mother.

  “Are you sure you didn’t want to stay and eat with us?” He asked, laying a hand on her arm. “I’ve told Zoe about you, she’d like to meet you. She says that she’s never met a goddess before.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Nyx smiled faintly. “Not… tonight.” She tasted the soup one more time, nodding. “I’ll be able to meet her soon enough though, I'm sure."

  The door bell rang; Mimi changed her trajectory mid fetch, letting the ball bounce away to the corner.

  ^Zoe! Zoe!^ Mimi barked at the door.

  Ever was in the hallway when he looked back into the kitchen, only to see that his mother had already disappeared. She even turned the stove off before she left. Moments later, he opened the door to see his girlfriend… well, not straight away, anyway. That’s because she was holding a gigantic gift, patterned with wrapping paper and a huge, red ribbon on top.

  “Merry Christmas!” Zoe said, poking her head out from behind the box. “Nika’s here too.” The ghost cat float-walked into the house, much to Mimi’s displeasure.

  ^Why are you here?^ Mimi growled.

  ^I’ll have you know I had many invitations and chose to come to your event, though…^ Nika sniffed and made a face. ^I might yet leave fashionably early.^

  Ever guided Zoe into the living room where she put the box down on the rug. It landed more with a plonk than a thud.

  “Here you go,” Ever said, feeling a bit embarrassed by his comparatively smaller gift. “Merry Christmas.”

  Her face lit up brighter than the Christmas lights in the neighbors’ houses outside. She ripped the wrapping paper off, then looked at the box.

  “Oh wow, it’s a Polaroid camera!” She looked at him, eyes wide with delight. “I’ve always wanted one of these.” She put the gift down then promptly stepped in. Ever was expecting a hug but instead she went in for a kiss: passionate and hungry. He was quite breathless when he pulled away.

  She picked up the gift again, starting to open it. “We might be able to use this tonight, actually.”