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“Took your time finding her.” God winked.

Unbelievable.

“She wasn’t born until twenty-something years ago.” Ari rolled his eyes and widened his stance. “Are you going to help us or is this little visit just a goodbye?”

Suddenly, God’s sense of humor faded.

He glanced around at the prince and king, then back to him.

“Yes, is the answer to your other question. I gave you and Gio the ability to stop humanity self-destructing. They advanced too soon. I saw it coming. Everything must have balance,” God explained, and like he was a college professor, waved his hand around as he spoke and paced. “When I saw the path of their evolution, I realized I had to pivot. Redirect, so to speak.”

Ari listened, but it only made him angrier.

“We aren’t a factory line.” He growled.

“I’m not looking for your agreement, Ari Moretti. This is how nature works. There are multiple realities happening at any one time. Did you know that in a parallel universe you are a fictional character and quite the book boyfriend... never mind.”

“Stop. What?”

“I’m digressing. Nature needs balance and vampires weremy creationintended to keep humanity from imploding.”

Which they had. And now, to punish him further, he got to sit on hold and watch the final millisecond on his own as the world incinerated.

“Clearly, didn’t work.” Ari sneered.

With a hand on his chin, God let out one of thosehmmmnoises like he was out of milk and looking for an alternative to his recipe.

Ari uncrossed his arms and ran a hand through his hair. There was no point arguing with the deity. What was done was done.

“Fuck, I should’ve intervened. Earlier. I knew I had the ability,” he admitted.

“Then why didn’t you?”

Ari glanced at his nephews. “Them. I lost my brother and my family and didn’t want to cross the line and lose them, either.”

“Yes. You should have. When I saw you wouldn’t, I threw you all a bone,” God said, taking a seat on the sofa and lifting his foot to his knee like he was there to have a beer.

“How?”

“The wolves. They can walk in the sunlight. Your mate”—God waved his hand at Sage—“she would’ve worked it out, but you focused all of her resources on the serum.”

Jesus.

Ari crossed his fucking arms again. “Because our enemies used the serum to capture vampires and torture them. It seemed like a priority instead of, I don’t know, being able to go to the beach. Jesus.”

God dropped his leg and leaned his forearms on his knees.

“Walking in sunshine would have given you an advantage. Some of those warriors next door can already. The wolves.”

Fuck.

He was right, but the king decided what his science team worked on. None of them had thought focusing on the daylight ability was worth risking right now.

Frankly, it was a little terrifying.

“Fine, whatever. Hindsight and all that.” Ari mumbled, thinking how awesome it was for God to show up and rub it in his face. As if he’d lost an online game and was giving him the commentary afterward.

Ari would’ve been fine turning to dust with Sage, silently.