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My aunts laugh as they move up to hug me. Then, as one, their eyes turn to Audrey.

“Hello, daughter,” they say in unison, and a shiver runs down my spine.

I hate it when they do that. It’s creepy as hell.

“Umm…hello…Fates?” Audrey’s eyes are wide as she glances toward me, but I don’t know what to tell her. I have no idea why they’re looking at her like that.

Taking pity on her, I step over and wrap my arm around her shoulders. “Audrey, this is my mom, Claudia, and my aunts, Laurel and Athelina. Mom. Aunties. This is my mate, Audrey.”

“We’ve met,” Mom says with a smile.

I’d almost forgotten that they had come to Audrey once before.

“How did you manage that?” I ask, hurt panging in my chest. I tried for so long to reach them in their sleep, but I never could. If they could reach out, then why was it to my mate and not me?

“Oh, sweet boy.” Aunt Laurel offers me a soft smile. “When we were forced to sleep, we weren’t at full power. We could feel you reaching out to us and hated that we couldn’t respond. We had to reserve what little power we had left for when your mate sought us out.”

I bite my cheek so I won’t demand they explain in more detail. I’m a grown-ass man, and I shouldn’t whine about being unable to reach them when they’d been placed in a magically induced sleep.

My mate doesn’t seem to have the same problem. “But why? Why me? Why wasit so important that you ignore your own blood to speak to me?”

“Because we knew this moment was coming. It hurt us to hurt Cassian, but if you failed to defeat Michael, then none of the gods would be able to wake.” Aunt Athelina looks between me and Audrey. “We would’ve loved to speak to you, Cassian. We heard every word you spoke to us, and it gave us hope. It’s what kept us going when we could’ve lost ourselves to the abyss as some of the other gods have.”

Lucifer clears his throat, coming to stand on the other side of Audrey. “Athelina, Claudia, and Laurel, it’s good to see the three of you awake and among us once more. I’m sorry to interrupt this moment, but what’s this about the other gods?”

Mom shoots me one last smile. “We’ll continue our conversation shortly, my boy. As for the gods, some of them may be forever lost to us. They haven’t fared as well in their sleep.”

“Are we even going to be able to wake them?” Lucifer asks, frowning.

Aunt Laurel nods. “The future isn’t written in stone, but there is a chance of bringing back all the gods.”

“But it’s not guaranteed.” He doesn’t phrase it as a question. Why would he?

He’s spent just as much if not more, time with the three of them as I have. Nothing with them is ever guaranteed.

The strings of fate are forever changing. A single decision made by one can cause ripples throughout the destiny of many.

It’s a pain in the ass, if you ask me.

“As with everything,” Mom agrees. “There are many factors that could change the outcome.”

Lucifer nods. “We’ll be reconvening in the war council room shortly. Fates, I would appreciate it if you would join us.”

Mom inclines her head. “We will be there.”

I can feel the others crowding in behind us, Wraith moving to take Lucifer’s empty spot beside Audrey when he walks away.

“Are you going to introduce us to the rest of your…friends?” Aunt Athelina asks with a smirk.

“This is Wraith, also known as Death—one of the four horsemen—and Donovan, who’s a hellhound. They’re my chosen mates,” I tell them with a roll of my eyes. They’re always so fucking nosy. “This is Brenden. He’s a vampire and a teacher at the academy. And this is Nex—“

Mom hums. “The mate who was the deciding factor of whether my baby boy got his happy ending.”

Nex blanches, taking a step back. “I wasn’t… I didn’t…”

“I know.” Mom waves him off. “Remember, we see all.”

Now, it’s my turn to flinch. “Don’t let her lie to you. They don’t see everything—unless that was a lie.”