Page 126

Love, in a white dress and slouchy boots, with her raven hair snarled in an unruly bun and a naughty expression tweaking her face.

Andrew, with his snowy hair, boyish snark, and selfless pewter eyes.

Anger, his shoulder-length hair tied halfway back, and his windswept countenance rested, allowing those graphite irises to shine with peace.

Merry, in her pastel tulle dress with a sweetheart neckline and high-top sneakers, her skateboard settled a few feet away.

Wonder, a cherub with a nomadic gaze, a cascade of marigold blonde hair, and a corsage of wildflowers.

Malice, a golden devil in leather, with a perverse but cunning tongue.

They stand beside the bank of a tranquil lake, with the great stargazer of Fortune’s Crest rising in the backdrop. The water mirrors the sky. Celestials dapple the atmosphere without sequence or order, creating an erratic, crystalline arrangement.

That’s how they’ve always been.

Disorderly but resplendent. Messy but eternal.

The archers wait for the final pairing with varying smiles of amusement, some more impish than others.

Malice’s laser gaze knows a thoroughly satisfied couple when he sees one. “Now that’s what I call a graphic afterglow,” the demon coos. “Nom, nom, nom.”

On her way past Malice, Sorrow swipes him upside the head, causing him to bark, insulted.

Merry offers Envy and Sorrow a set of pulsing lanterns. As they accept them, the misfit goddess’s pink ponytail matches the swooning flush in her cheeks as she rejoins Anger, who tucks her close to his side. Newly healed from his injury, he’s taken to mortal t-shirts and jeans rather than his old tunic and hose.

They form a ring, each holding a lantern, the flames highlighting and shadowing their faces. Envy grins, sticking close to Sorrow, whose smile puts yet another dent in his heart. He needs to stop this, stop fawning over her all the damned time, or he’ll never be able to concentrate again.

He focuses, aware that Sorrow’s rolling her eyes at him. Albeit, lovingly.

Wonder’s gaze brightens. Although the blazes illuminate the starburst scars embedded into her hands, she is more than just her wounds, and she knows it. “Are we ready for this?”

“To a new legend.” Malice glances at Wonder, love eclipsing his diabolical mien. “And hell, it’s about time.”

“A legend that won’t be hidden,” Wonder says. “That anyone can find, because they’ll know where to look.”

“To gods and goddesses who can love,” Love adds.

She bumps hips with Andrew, who laughs. “In whatever messy way they do.”

“To imperfection,” Anger follows, a hoop earring flashing from one ear, a stud winking from the other.

“No more banishment,” Merry says. “To a life where all deities may dwell in whichever realm they call home.”

Sorrow smiles. “To the past.”

Envy smirks. “To the future.”

In addition to relearning their magic, they each plan on indulging in their passions whenever they can. Rather than focusing strictly on humans, they will focus on themselves as well, and they’ll be elated for it.

No more control. No more denial.

Henceforth, it’s all blessings and inspirations.

It’s destiny and chance, hope and trust.

Should immortals wish to control anything, it shall be limited to their own souls. Although deities will remain the Fates, with its Court and Guides and archers, they will be the Fates unto themselves. No one else.

With that in mind, they make their vows and release the lanterns. The boxes of light float into the air, into the sky. Knotting their hands together, the band watches until their vows have blended with the stars, until it’s impossible to tell one from the other.