CHAPTER 30

RAMSEY

END OF MARCH.

“S taring at her won’t make her wake up any faster,” Anubis said, his voice echoing through the quiet medical hall. Bastard was really grating on my nerves . I didn’t respond to him, instead continuing to examine my sunshine’s peaceful expression.

Three weeks. Three damn weeks.

I wasn’t sure I could handle another second of her laid out on this medical bed. Nova looked far too fragile with the linens and blankets resting over her, tubes and wires connected to her arm. The beep of the machines monitoring her was the only element to any of this that was providing me with any relief.

At least I knew that she was breathing and her heart was beating. I had nothing else to go on. Those beeps were the singular thing allowing me to maintain some level of sanity in the days following the event. I could have called it the ‘end,’ but the only ending that occurred was for the world eaters.

Our universe—Earth and its attached realms—had been saved because of Nova and Lorcan.

Although, the only reason anyone in that reality had survived the explosive death of the world eaters, as they broke into fragments of space and time, was because of much older forces—namely Apep, Shiva, and Atum.

When Apep had disappeared on the battlefield, I assumed that he’d been injured enough to warrant him leaving. What I hadn’t expected was him calling on two gods that must have been successfully woken from their slumber: Atum, god of unity and order, bringer of light from the sun, and Shiva, goddess of destruction and transformation, bringer of renewal.

There were many primordial, ancient deities that no longer involved themselves in modern affairs, so Brahma had clearly said something that Apep had backed up—something to persuade them to come to our aid.

And not a moment too soon. They had appeared right as the world eaters collapsed, transferring every being present to an open plane within our realm—including enemy combatants. Something that could have been a problem, but upon the realization of what had occurred, the other side had put down their weapons in surrender. A smart move, for sure.

I hadn’t been focused on that at the time, though. Honestly, I hadn’t given the impending destruction of that reality a second thought, My focus had been on Nova. When I saw the massive arc of power that the two of them created, the destruction of the world eaters imminent—I sprinted toward Nova. Whatever blowback that release of power caused would hit her first.

I’d watched the woman I loved fall into the abyss of space that lay beyond the cliffside. It was a terrifying moment that would haunt my dreams for the rest of my life. I hadn’t hesitated to dive off the cliff after her.

There wasn’t a life I wanted to live without Nova.

Luckily for both of us, Atum and Shiva had used their magic to bring all of us to safety. Now we were settled in the medical ward in Isis’s personal estate, and I’d yet to leave her side outside of the daily shower and occasional meal. I didn’t want to risk not being here when she woke, and I was far from the only one acting that way. All nine of us had been at a loss on what to do without Nova.

I felt like I was in some fucked-up purgatory. The tension and anxiety filling our bond was eventually going to hit a boiling point.

“Earth to Ramsey.” Anubis waved a hand in front of my face, and I leveled him with a dark look.

“Leave.” The harshness of my voice made Rowan look up from where he was slouched against August’s shoulder, the latter asleep for the first time in at least two days. River, Volkan, and Nour had all gone to change and shower for the day. Our quarters were only a short distance away, but the rest of us were spread out through the private room.

Though I didn’t know where the other prophecy holder was located, I knew a similar scene was playing out in her room.

Anubis sighed in disappointment and shook his head. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you—Nova is fine. She and Lorcan are both in a healing state of unconsciousness.”

When I didn’t respond, he frowned. “I wish I could show you what I mean. They are literally on a beach of their own creation.”

A large part of me recognized that he was telling the truth, and I almost smiled as I imagined the scene. But that didn’t change the fact that until Nova opened her eyes, it felt unacceptable to relax. I would much rather her wake up so we could go to the beach together.

“What type of beach?” Fox asked. He sat on the other side of the bed, fingers intertwined with Nova’s. Cassian was laid out on a cot nearby, half asleep, as Everett stood by a window staring out into the Egyptian realm. Neither man had talked much since the event , but we didn’t really need to say anything at this point. Everyone could feel everything through the bond. Every ounce of pain.

“Tropical.”

His words solidified it as truth—Nova had constructed a beach in her head, one that would allow her and her friend to heal from saving the world. It was the most perfect and ‘Nova’ thing I’d ever heard.

“How long until she wakes up?” I asked, voice rough from lack of use. “It’s been three weeks—how long should we expect her to recover? A month? More? I can’t handle that.” It was the raw truth. I didn’t really think that Anubis had an answer, but it felt good to float the question out loud.

“Soon. I’m sure all of you can feel her magic rising back to normal levels,” Anubis pointed out. I did, and outside of the medical equipment attached to her, she looked perfectly healthy. I was glad she’d taken care of herself, creating a space to heal, but it didn’t make any of us this fucking easier.

After a long moment of silence, Anubis continued, “Oh! I’m also here to tell you that there are three gods that want to check in on Nova. Apep, Atum, and Shiva.”

I still thought it was crazy to consider those three individuals ‘gods’ in the sense of the ones I interacted with on a daily basis…but still, I understood what he was saying.

“Let them in,” I said stiffly, standing up from my chair and turning toward the doors. Everett joined me, the two of us standing protectively in front of Nova. I didn’t think our guests meant any harm, but it was impossible to ignore the urge to shield her when she was in such a delicate state.

“I find it hard to believe they’re just here for a visit,” Fox said quietly. I agreed, although, I had no idea what that reason would be considering the current state of our world. A lot had settled and even changed in the past three weeks.

Despite everything we’d gone through, our home reality had remained untouched by the war. Humans had been none the wiser, and while there were reports of a few storms across the globe, it had mostly been a quiet week for them. The humans remained blissfully unaware that our corner of the universe had nearly been eradicated.

Something about that ignorance was unnerving.

“What I had meant was three gods and a scholar,” Anubis corrected himself. I arched a brow as Bayton, of all people, walked in alongside the three primordial gods.

“I didn’t realize he could even leave his realm,” Cassian said, shifting to sit up from his half-slumber.

It should have been more surprising he’d come to visit—but I didn’t find myself shocked. In the past few weeks, almost every ally and friend that Nova had ever made had come to check in on her at least once. It had been difficult not to lock the doors, but many of them looked up to her as a leader and a friend, one that they care about a lot.

“Where is she?” Shiva asked, her eyes moving over the bed that we were partly shielding. I grunted as the older woman all but pushed me to the side, her magic bouncing off both Everett and me. I frowned as she leaned over my sunshine, examining her face with concern.

“She hasn’t woken yet? Why? I need to talk to the girl. I had no idea this was going on—something I blame on Brahma, but mostly Vishnu. Just because I was on an extended vacation doesn’t mean I didn’t need to be kept up to date. And for such a powerful young woman to exist, I could have helped her train her powers!”

Shiva’s ending ramble continued on in a different language as she shook her head in annoyance. I didn’t really know what to say to her, feeling as though this was more of an internal conflict. I smoothed my hand over Nova’s hair to comfort myself, more than anything.

“Wasn’t Brahma the one who woke the two of you?” Apep asked, sounding amused. Shiva waved him off before finding her place next to Atum, facing us.

“He was,” Atum confirmed. “I should have realized trusting Ra was a mistake, but I thought…I thought he’d grown up a bit. Clearly not.” His gaze moved to mine, and he smiled. “Ramsey, it’s good to see you.”

His familiarity surprised me. “It’s good to meet you.”

“Your father was of interest to me centuries ago,” he explained. “So I’ve kept watch on you for some time.”

I had no idea what that meant, but okay…

“The healers here are lovely,” Bayton said, making me realize he had dipped to the back of the group to talk to one of the medical attendants. “And they believe she’ll wake soon as well. Which makes our arrival ideal, because we have some important information to offer you.”

“What information?” August asked, joining us. Everett took a step back and sat on Nova’s bed.

“The witches have been returned to Earth. All of them,” Atum said. A bit of interesting news since many of them had chosen to explore the God realm after the war. “Hecate and Isis are with them, but the coven hopes that Nova will visit them at some point. They view her as their leader, whether she wants that or not.”

Unsurprising, considering the amount of power she’d lent them.

“They aren’t the only ones.” Apep shook his head. “Something I should have predicted.”

“What do you mean?” Rowan demanded. I had a feeling that whatever they were about to say would complicate things more than slightly.

Shiva spoke up this time. “We mean that the gods of this realm believe Nova is a god that is similar in power and skill to those of us who are older—something we agree with as well.”

“So?” I asked. I knew where this was going.

She smiled as if seeing my reaction before her words even came out. “They want her to take over Ra’s position on the council and to serve as a leader for the realm.”

Absolutely fucking not.

Staying my tongue, I crossed my arms and tried to ignore the twitch in my eye at the idea of Nova around so many damn gods all the time. It was probably the right move in some ways, but there would need to be a fuck ton of changes for me to be comfortable with that. Especially considering that the focus for so many gods was creating new gods . And now that she had proven how powerful she was? I massaged my temple, thinking about just how many assholes I would need to scare off.

Atum continued, “Whether she takes the offer or not is up to her, but I would suggest she do so. Even if only for a short time. Having an entire realm at your fingertips in times of trouble is helpful.”

Ideally, I would much prefer to have no trouble for the next few decades. My sunshine needed time to rest and explore.

Bayton suddenly jolted, looking toward the door. “Lorcan has woken up.”

I had no idea how he knew that, but it was impressive. He gave us a small smile and in a snap decided that the conversation needed to be over. Odd bastard. “We need to be going, but do tell Nova all the news. We’re going to go visit the siren before returning to the institute.”

And then he was gone, striding toward the door.

“Another interesting development.” Apep tilted his head in thought. “Sirens will now be viewed not as evil, but as sources of good and aid. A once extinct species beginning again.”

“The cycle of rebirth— something that won’t be happening for Ra —a fact I could have never foreseen,” Shiva said, smiling down at Nova. “When Nova wakes, I hope to talk to her. As someone who deals with rebirth and transitions, her ability to extinguish someone is fascinating. Please tell her to visit us—I have much to discuss with her. I have never seen power like hers.”

“Or we can come to her,” Atum offered. “Now that we’re awake, we may as well do something with our time.”

“I will not.” Apep chuckled. “But tell Nova that if she needs me, I’ll be here.”

And in a poof of smoke, all three of them were gone.

“Did that even count as a goodbye?” Rowan asked curiously.

“No.” August chuckled. “The older and more ancient these gods are, the fucking weirder they seem to be.”

“I wonder if Bayton is a god,” Fox said. “Since he seems to know them so well.”

It wasn’t something I’d ever considered. Was that possible?

As I turned back to look down at Nova, I realized Shiva had left something behind for my sunshine. A gold amulet littered with gemstones lay on her chest— another blessing from a god. It was truly insane to consider how much magic had touched Nova, but it also made complete sense.

The woman was chaos, magic, and death—and I loved it. I loved her. Something I would tell her again and again if she would just open her damn eyes.

As if my will was brought to life in that exact moment, Nova’s eyelids fluttered.

Everyone in the room shifted to look at her as the doors opened. The others had rushed back, knowing through our bond that something was going on.

I held my breath as Nova slowly opened her eyes. Their brilliant dark color, surrounded by a silver bolt, was a bit hazy as she looked around in confusion for a long second.

She slowly tried to sit up, so I helped her as the others moved to circle around her, no one saying a damn word. Her hands smoothed over mine as she looked at all of us before offering a sleepy smile and tilting her head with a curious expression.

“We’re alive ? All of you are alive…which means I’m alive, and everyone else is alive…” Nova’s slow thoughts seemed to zap together into a coherent picture all at once, a brilliant smile filling her face. “Did we really do it?”

“Yeah, sunshine. You really did it.”

“Holy shit!” She looked around the room, asking, “Where are we? The God realm? Don’t tell me Bora Bora—I know it sounds crazy, but I could seriously use a break from the beach. I really thought I was dead, that none of it had worked. What even happened after I fell off the cliff? Lorcan and I couldn’t remember anything?—”

“Breathe, baby.” Everett squeezed her hand, and she inhaled and nodded. Through our bond, relief and an array of other overwhelming emotions clouded everyone’s minds. I was just so damn thrilled to see her eyes open .

“Before we get into anything, we need to make sure you eat,” River said. Nova nodded, asking the others a few questions as she played with the amulet in her hands, not seeming to find it odd at all that someone had left her a random gift. My fingers strung through her hair as she looked up at me with a curious look.

“I have a feeling a lot happened while I was sleeping.”

Understatement of the century, sunshine.

“We have all the time in the world to catch you up,” I promised.

Nova’s eyes shone with tears. “I love all of you—each and every one of you—so much.”

My sunshine’s words had my chest tightening as I dipped down to kiss the top of her head.

This spectacular woman—a savior to our universe—loved us. I wasn’t sure that was something I could ever fully get over.