Page 28 of Gods of Prey (Parallel Prey #3)

Revel

I watch from the kitchen doorway as Jovie fidgets with the delicate chain around her neck, her fingers tracing the glowing heart-shaped locket that’s become as much a part of her as breathing.

She’s been wearing it since we arrived, and every time I see it, something nags at me—a whisper of recognition I can’t quite place.

Sebastian sits beside her on the couch, his arm draped protectively around her shoulders as he explains the divine realms, while Sienna hovers near the window in her spectral form.

The afternoon light passes right through her, casting no shadow, but I can see the tension in her translucent features as she watches Jovie touch the locket.

“I still can’t believe this is all real,” Jovie says, breaking the contemplative silence that’s settled over us since our revelation yesterday. “Gods, divine realms, cosmic balance.” She laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “It sounds like something out of a fantasy novel.”

“It’s real enough,” Sebastian murmurs, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I’m sorry you got pulled into this.”

“Don’t apologize for loving me,” Jovie replies firmly, then looks toward where Sienna floats. “Both of you have sacrificed so much already.”

I see Sienna’s form flicker, her control wavering at Jovie’s words. There’s something she’s not telling us. I can feel it like a splinter under my skin. The same instinct that’s been warning me she’s keeping secrets now screams that whatever it is, it’s connected to that locket.

“Sienna,” I say, my voice cutting through the moment. “What is it?”

“What do you mean?” she asks, but she won’t meet my eyes.

“You’ve been staring at Jovie’s necklace since we got here. What aren’t you telling us?”

Sebastian straightens, his divine instincts finally kicking in. “The locket,” he says slowly, his gaze shifting between Sienna and Jovie. “It was yours in your mortal life.”

Jovie’s hand moves protectively to cover the heart-shaped pendant. “You gave it to me, remember? In New York, the first time ...” She trails off, not wanting to mention him switching timelines.

But Sebastian is frowning now, his recovered memories clearly at war with his mortal experiences. “I did give it to you,” he admits. There's uncertainty in his voice.

Sienna drifts closer, and I can see resignation settling over her features like a shroud. “It wasn’t his to give,” she says quietly.

The words drop into the room like stones into still water, creating ripples of confusion and growing alarm.

“What do you mean?” Jovie asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

Sienna looks at me first, and I see an apology in her ethereal eyes before she turns to Jovie. “The locket is mine. It’s been mine for over three thousand years.”

“That’s impossible,” I say, but even as the words leave my mouth, I’m reaching out with my divine senses, really examining the pendant for the first time. And there it is—Death magic, ancient and powerful, woven into the very metal of the chain and heart. “What have you done, Sienna?”

If the Divine Council knew that she was carrying her magic around in an amulet that could easily be lost or stolen, there would be no use even trying to negotiate the punishment.

Her sentence was specifically designed to have her live without her power.

The locket is a physical token of her defiance.

They’ll both be destroyed on the spot, especially when they realize it was passed to a mortal willingly.

Sebastian has gone still beside Jovie, and I can practically see the memories clicking into place. “You told me you’d destroyed it.”

“I lied.” Sienna’s admission hangs in the air like a confession. “I couldn’t destroy it. It holds too much of who I am.”

Jovie’s fingers tighten around the locket, her knuckles white. “I don’t understand. What is this thing?”

Sienna floats closer, her form becoming more solid as her emotions intensify.

“When Sebastian and I were first sentenced to our punishment, I was angry. Furious that the Divine Council could strip away everything we were and force us into these endless mortal lives. So I created that locket as a reminder that I still hold some semblance of power.”

“Created it how?” I demand, though I’m already dreading the answer.

I thought we were done with secrets.

“I bound a piece of my divine essence to it. Death magic, pure and undiluted. It allows me to carry some of my power into each mortal life, to remember who I truly am, even when the council’s punishment tries to make me forget.”

The implications hit me like a physical blow. “Do you have any idea what they’ll do if they discover this? Binding divine essence to mortal objects is forbidden for exactly this reason!”

“I know,” Sienna whispers. “That’s why Sebastian and I made a pact. Whichever of us died first, the other would hide the locket, so I could find it in the next life.”

Sebastian runs a hand through his hair, looking stricken. “But in our last life, when you were killed by The Order, I was so consumed with grief. With rage. I forgot about our agreement.”

“And you gave it to me,” Jovie finishes, understanding dawning in her eyes. “You gave me a piece of your sister’s soul.”

“More than that,” I say grimly, my mind racing through all the ways this could go wrong. “Jovie, you’ve been carrying Death magic for over a year. It should have killed you.”

“But it didn’t,” Sienna says quickly. “Don’t you see? She’s been protected by it. The locket chose her, accepted her. That’s why she could see me as a spirit in the previous timeline. That’s why she can see me now.”

Jovie stares down at the pendant, and I can see her processing everything we’ve just revealed. “This is why I’ve been having those dreams,” she says slowly. “The ones about shadows and cold places. I’ve been dreaming about Umbraeth.”

“The locket creates a connection,” Sienna confirms. “It’s been showing you glimpses of my realm, preparing you in case ...” She trails off.

“In case of what?” Sebastian demands.

“In case she needed to understand what she was getting into by loving a god,” Sienna replies simply.

I feel anger slowly consuming me. Not just at the deception, but at the sheer recklessness of it all. “Sienna, if the council discovers what you’ve done, they won’t just extend your punishment. They’ll unmake you entirely. Erase you from existence.”

“I know,” she says again, but there’s a stubborn set to her spectral jaw. “But it was worth the risk.”

“Worth the risk?” I’m on my feet now, pacing again. “You’ve endangered not just yourself, but Sebastian and now Jovie. That locket is evidence of direct defiance against divine law!”

“Revel’s right,” Sebastian says quietly. “Sienna, we have to tell the Divine Council before they find out on their own.”

“No.” The word comes from Jovie, surprising all of us. She’s standing now too, her hand still protectively covering the locket. “If this is really a piece of Sienna, then I’m not giving it up.”

“Jovie—” I start.

“No,” she says more firmly. “Do you know what this locket has meant to me? It was the first real gift Bash ever gave me. I wore it through every horrible thing that happened after Sienna died. It was my comfort, my connection to both of them when I thought I’d lost everything.”

I see tears gathering in her eyes, and despite my anger, I feel my heart clench.

“If it’s really been protecting me, if it’s been showing me Sienna’s world, then maybe it’s not rebellion,” Jovie continues. “Maybe it’s love. Maybe it’s exactly what I’ll need to survive in Aurelys.”

Sienna drifts closer to Jovie, her form shimmering with emotion. “The council will never see it that way.”

“Then we don’t tell them,” Jovie says simply.

“Absolutely not,” I interject. “Jovie, you don’t understand the consequences?—”

“I understand that Sienna risked everything to keep a piece of herself alive through centuries of punishment,” Jovie interrupts. “I understand that this locket has been protecting me and connecting me to the divine realm I’m about to enter. And I understand that sometimes love means taking risks.”

She looks directly at me, her gaze unwavering. “You want to bring Sebastian back to maintain the cosmic balance? Fine. But I’m going with him, and I’m keeping this locket. It’s my choice.”

“It’s not that simple?—”

“It is that simple,” Sebastian says, standing to put his arm around Jovie protectively. He’ll take her side, regardless. “She’s right. The locket has been protecting her, preparing her. Maybe that’s not a coincidence.”

I look between the three of them—Sebastian resolute, Jovie determined, and Sienna watching with something like hope in her ethereal features—and I realize I’m fighting a losing battle.

“This is insane,” I say finally. “You’re all willing to risk everything for a piece of jewelry.”

“Not jewelry,” Sienna corrects softly. “Hope. The locket represents hope that love can survive divine punishment, that some bonds are stronger than cosmic law.”

She floats closer to Jovie, her expression gentle. “Keep it,” she says. “When you go to Aurelys, you’ll need something to remind you that there’s more to existence than duty and divine order. Let it remind you that sometimes, the greatest act of rebellion is simply refusing to let love die.”

Jovie touches the locket again, and I swear I can see it pulse with soft, dark light. “Thank you,” she whispers.

I sink back into my chair, running my hands over my face. “If the council discovers this...”

“They won’t,” Sebastian says firmly. “We’ll make sure of it.”

“And if they do?” I ask.

The room falls silent for a long moment before Sienna speaks.

“Then we face the consequences together,” she says. “All of us.”

I look at her floating there, this goddess who’s spent millennia paying for one act of rebellion and is now willing to risk everything for another, and I realize something that terrifies me. I’m starting to understand why she’s making these choices.

And worse, I’m starting to think she might be right.

“This changes everything,” I say quietly. “The Divine Council will sense the Death magic the moment Jovie enters Aurelys.”

“Then you’ll hold on to it when we go. Keep it safe until Jovie is ready,” Sebastian replies.

I meet Sienna’s eyes across the room, and in them I see the same desperate hope I’m feeling. The hope that maybe, just maybe, love really can triumph over divine law.

But I also see the fear. The knowledge that we’re all walking a razor’s edge now, and one wrong step could destroy everything we’re trying to protect.

Jovie unclasps the necklace and hands it over to Sienna, wincing when the metal glows and sears her skin as it gets closer to its owner.

As I watch her, I can’t help but think that maybe she’s exactly what both realms need—a mortal woman brave enough to carry Death magic and face down gods for love.

The question is whether any of us will survive long enough to find out.