Page 61 of Eternal Light (Fated in the Stars #5)

Epilogue One: (Gideon and Finn)

Gideon

After Carnell’s party and Withers’s “departure,” and after the secret service had cleared out, Lauren had shoved the keys to the beach property (the one that was coincidentally next to Carnell’s mansion—wouldn’t that have been a disaster?) into his hand.

She’d told them she’d had their belongings collected from the apartment and the Guild, with a promise from Ignatius that he would see them soon. She’d also arranged for a plane to be at St. Pete–Clearwater International in three days, to take them home.

With a firmly worded, “Please, please stay out of trouble,” she’d narrowed her eyes pointedly at him. “I mean you, Gideon.”

He’d agreed easily, even though it hadn’t been him hanging over a castle wall or disintegrating a villain with magic.

Just saying.

Rowan ranges across the lawn in Wolf form, zigzagging back and forth as he tracks the scents of agents and Carnell’s visitors, never letting the group out of his sight.

Gideon spots his newly “crowned” cousin in the distance, effortlessly commanding the staff as they clear away the remnants of the party, completely unbothered by the chaos, in his element as both servant and King.

At some point, while they had been tying up loose ends, Connall must have swapped his party clothes for an all-black suit strikingly similar to the one Gideon had worn.

Waving casually as they passed through the atrium, he’d tossed in a cheeky wink before slipping back into the house as if he owned it.

And Gideon guesses that now he did.

Not a single guest had dared to linger—no surprise there. Nobody wanted to risk being caught at the scene of Carnell’s death or Withers’s vanishing act.

They’re Connall’s problem now, and while he should feel a bit of remorse about that, he doesn’t. He’s done letting Carnell influence any part of Gideon’s freedom.

The front drive is eerily quiet, save for the two rentals belonging to the pack.

Jay had left the Buick parked ten miles away in a hidden stand of trees, so it should have been weird that Jay held the Buick’s key fob in his hand—no doubt a small but telling sign of his mother-in-law’s so-called “magical” connections.

Gideon doesn’t have the energy to untangle that mystery either, or dwell on the very real Goddess magic he’d witnessed tonight.

For once, he lets himself bask in the raw, unshakable freedom coursing through him. Carnell is gone, incapable of ever harming his family again. And for the first time in his entire existence, Gideon can say he’s fulfilled the task given to him all those years ago.

They are safe, Gideon. You are safe. Thank you for protecting them and for loving them. Be happy, and know that no matter what challenges life brings, you are loved in return.

The simple words echo in his mind, unlocking a rush of joy in the place where the Goddess has always dwelled.

It is strange, almost disorienting, to feel the absence of fear and constant vigilance.

Gideon realizes now that those emotions hadn’t been born when Nix found them. No—their roots had stretched deep, woven into his very being for as long as he could remember.

The absence of that weight now is startling, like discovering a piece of himself he hadn’t known was missing. With Carnell gone for good, the shadows he’d carried for a lifetime had finally lifted.

For the first time, Gideon lets himself feel what it means to truly be free.

“Gideon?”

A soft whiff of vanilla-bread scent heralds Nix’s arrival before he slips his hand into Gideon’s. “Are you okay?”

It is a simple question, but for the first time in a long time, Gideon can say with 100% certainty that he is okay.

“More than, Kitten. You?”

“Hmm,” he answers.

They watch as Jay tries to persuade Rowan to give up his Wolf’s scenting and sniffing, preferably before it escalates into territory marking, and get into the car.

“Was weird for a bit.”

Understatement.

Not a single one of them had dared to mention what they’d seen on the rampart—that Nix had, without a shred of doubt in Gideon’s mind, become a vessel for the divine Goddess.

Beyond the nagging worry over whether his mate was physically okay—both from channeling that raw power and fighting Withers, Gideon can’t help but wonder if Nix felt even a fraction of the relief now coursing through him.

Nix’s lips quirk into a smile as Rowan begins dodging Jay with playful precision, dropping into a dramatic play bow.

“Did it look weird to you?” he asks, tilting his head as if genuinely curious.

Weird? No. Not even close. If anything, it had felt right— so right; in fact, seeing Nix consumed by the Goddess’s power hadn’t been strange at all.

It was as though things had finally aligned—as though this moment had always been waiting for them.

Shaking his head, Gideon reaches out and pulls his mate into his arms, inhaling deeply, grounding himself in Nix’s comforting heat.

“It was beautiful. You were beautiful— are beautiful. Fuck, you know what I mean.”

It isn’t quite what he wants to say, but Nix seems to understand all the same—his quiet smile enough to ease the words stuck in Gideon’s chest.

“Mmm. Was a lot for a bit, being both of Us, but it felt right…being Their vessel, or whatever.” He shakes his head and kisses Gideon’s chin. “It’s hard to explain.”

“No. I get it,” Gideon says.

Nix nods before running his hand over Gideon’s throat, scenting him without conscious thought.

“But…promise you won’t say anything to the others?”

“About what?” Gideon feels his stomach drop. “You’re freaking me out here, Phoenix Rhodes.”

He hurries to reassure Gideon with a smile. “No, it’s not bad—or I don’t think it is, at least. But I don’t think They’re gone.”

Whoa.

“What do you mean, not gone?”

“It’s hard to explain. I mean, since I became Were, you know I’m…weird, right? Luca calls them my omega powers, but…Arlo can’t do some of the stuff I can do, you know?”

The car door of the CR-V slams shut, and the game of “Chase the Wolf” is in full swing—now with Finn and Grayson joining in, though they are all losing spectacularly.

Nix’s laughter rings out as Jay dives for Rowan-wolf, managing to snag a tuft of fur before missing entirely and landing face-first in the grass.

Grayson, too focused on closing the gap, gets a little too close to where Jay is lying on the grass.

Ever the competitive opportunist, Jay snags his ankle, sending Grayson sprawling with a yelp of indignation.

Clearly having enough and probably in desperate need of breakfast, Leo lets out a sharp whistle.

Rowan’s ears perk up, and without a hint of urgency, he trots over to the car, hopping into the back seat as if he’d been patiently waiting for someone to hold the door open.

“I may have noticed your superpowers, yes.” Gideon smiles, picking up the conversation where he’d left off and tweaking Nix’s side through his dress shirt.

Nix snorts. “Ha ha. That’s not what I mean. What I’m trying to say is…I can tell now that this stuff happens because of who I am to Them.” His voice softens as he continues, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.

“I don’t want you thinking I’m like…still…the actual Goddess or anything. That sounds weird…”

He shakes his head, a small frown tugging at his lips as he searches for the right words to follow. None seem to come, leaving him with the unspoken weight of everything he can’t quite express.

Gideon doesn’t think it’s weird at all.

Not when he thinks about all the times Nix has amazed him—denying alpha voice like it was nothing, climbing trees with ease, blowing up med bays, or being completely immune to Withers’s dark soul magic. And those were just the obvious signs.

The truth is, Nix embodies the Goddess’s magic—mind, body, and soul.

What Gideon doesn’t like is that Nix feels uncertain about how he—or even their mates—would react to it.

Not one bit.

“Fuck, okay,” Gideon says, exhaling sharply. “I don’t talk about this shit because I think faith is a personal thing.”

Nix interrupts before he can really get going. “But you do have faith, right? That’s what your altar is for in your room, and you pray. There was all of Carnell’s talk about prophecies and stuff, too. I wondered why you don’t ever talk about it.”

Glancing around, Gideon searches for his other mates, his thoughts drifting back to when he’d first met the Goddess as a teenager. Their warnings and wishes had stayed with him, unfolding exactly as They’d said they would.

His faith had been strong enough that he had built his entire adult life around the truth of Their words, trusting Them even when it wasn’t easy.

The others were already in the cars and have left this moment to them, which is unusual.

Normally, they’d be pestering him to hurry—Rowan whining about food, and Grayson complaining about needing a shower.

But this time, no one interrupts. No teasing, no reminders; it is a moment out of time.

Gideon takes it as a sign.

Whatever this moment is, it demands his full attention.

“I have always believed in Them. No more after last night than I did as a teenager standing beside a lagoon, hearing that my mates would find me and that we would find you.

“Kitten, I don’t think you have to be Them to feel their power in you. Their power is also in me, or Rowan, or Leo. That’s the nature of faith, and the nature of Their gifts to us as Weres. We need only to believe in Them, and They are with us. Does that make sense?”

His mate is quiet for a moment, watching a small cluster of ants marching along the driveway, following their leader into an anthill near his tiny toes—oblivious to the rest of the world, happily going about their lives, completely and utterly unconcerned.

“So I don’t need to know the exact how or why I’m like this? It’s okay to just be, and be happy?”

Huh.

It’s okay to Just. Be. Happy.

“Right now, there is nothing I believe more.”

A relieved smile breaks over Nix’s beautiful face, and he jumps up into Gideon’s arms.