Page 74 of Her Soul for a Crown

The cosmos burst into existence.

Again.

The Heavens spread wide. Pearl-encrusted gates rose high from the center of glistening waters.

Yet, where once there had been gilt stairs disappearing into another realm, where turrets and spires stretched to breach them, there lay two ivory structures.

One on each end. One held the purveyors of unconditional blessing, the other of contractual obligation.

For it was not balance if all favor came freely, nor if all aid came with a price.

And after centuries of tilted, soured, broken balance, the cosmos had righted itself once more.

Within the pearl gates stood a gilt door, unlocked and unbarred, through which the First and Second Heavens emerged. They pooled across the lake, Divinities to the right and Yakkas to the left. Not their shadows, but their true forms. Pure and hale and whole.

Reeri blinked, and there were his hands, long and slender. His heart fluttered.

His.

Fingers flew to his face, traced the square jaw, the rounded nose, and wide, full lips. They tracked the length of his neck, down his bare brown chest. No markings, no scars, no bulging muscles built for battle. It was all him. He was all him .

A snort broke free, and he could not tell if he was laughing or crying.

Mayhap both. It did not matter. He closed his eyes, lashes brushing cheekbones for the first time in two centuries.

He had missed the tickle. Yet not nearly as much as he had missed his brethren, his family.

He paused. For so long, fear had kept him at bay, yet now…

Heart beating so swift he was sure he would fly across the lake, Reeri took a deep breath and faced the Yakkas. He lifted his lashes and took in their measure of him.

It was not filled with derision or blame. Nor hatred or shame.

Only one thing shone bright.

“Reeri.” Ratti’s voice cracked. She slammed him into a tight hug.

A sob broke him, flooded him, cleansed him.

Ratti laughed and wiped away his tears, as she had done for centuries, as he had dared not hope of her doing again. It was better than any dream.

“My little brothers,” she cooed, pulling Calu to their side, wiping his tears as they fell like monsoon rain.

Reeri looked up, no longer in fear but expectation. Kama, Sohon, Baddracali, Anjenam Dewi, Wewulun, Bodrima, Gopolu, Bhooto Sanni, Morottoo, Bahirawa, the Riddhi, and a hundred more. As one, they rushed him.

Held him.

Loved him.

***

The pearl gates cleared again, the door yawning wide, allowing true communion in the Heavens for the first time. Yet not all had changed.

The Great Sword flew on the shimmering air, clean and sharp and gleaming in its own glory. It hung above the Yakkas, not in threat but in Heavenly patience, waiting.

“You have reset the cosmos to true balance,” a Divinity said, starlight dancing in their depthless eyes. “Yet a Lord of the Second Heavens it still demands. There must always be balance.”

The Yakkas stilled, staring up at the hovering sword. Not one reached out.

“We wanted only freedom,” Reeri said.

“There must be one Lord,” the Divinity said. “For though the foundations of the cosmos can only re-equilibrate, the rules in the Heavens may bend and reshape. Is a new Lord not then necessary, to choose such new decrees wisely?”

It was what Wessamony had wanted, for the cosmos to rise from its ashes, fresh clay for him to manipulate. Yet he had also wanted to be rid of his fetter.

“Do not fear. The cosmos has equalized communion between the two Heavens, so too with Earth.”

“The new Lord can return to Earth?”

“For a balanced amount of time.”

Reeri lost his breath. His eyes flashed to the sword dangling above him, a whisper of want in his ear.

“Do it,” Kama cooed. “Take the Great Sword and be our Lord. Choose decrees that protect us and delight in our gifts. Go to Earth as you please and race the setting sun to the beach.”

Reeri’s hands twitched.

“She can run with you.”

His mouth dried.

“Do it.”

The memory of a whip in his hand surfaced. “No, I—”

“It is what we want,” Ratti said. “Lead us into freedom.”

“Take hold of your dream, Reeri,” Kama cawed. “Together, we make it come true.”

The whip fell away, melting on a fading memory.

He was not Wessamony. And as long as he existed, there would be no violence in this court.

Reeri lifted his hand and curled his fingers around the glorious Great Sword’s hilt.

Heavensong swam across the lake, sparking heavenslight and a loud cheer from all Heavenly beings.

“True balance has been long awaited,” the Divinity said. “Do not sour it again.”

“I will not,” Reeri promised, voice booming and golden, hand vibrating with the power of the sword. The power of a Lord. “Life is too precious.”

The Divinity smiled. “What shall be done first with the newfound freedom?”

Reeri turned to his brethren, his heart beating swift.

His.

Reeri nearly choked. “Live.”