Page 21

Chapter 21

Della

I was staring at the knick-knacks that lined up every damn surface in Brim’s home. My mind was mulling over his words, but I wasn’t sure I was processing anything correctly today. I could not stop thinking about Haden. Gods, I missed him, and it hadn’t even been a day.

Brim was staring intently at me when I looked at him. He looked like he was feeling guilty about something. I felt it as soon as I came into the house. He didn’t know I was coming. Maybe that was for the best, though, so I could catch him off guard. His guilt was suffocating the space around us.

“Are you sure?” I asked Brim.?

“Yes.” He nodded. “Kaios and his mate were taken, but so was the God of Seasons and his mate.”?

“So, someone is taking gods who have found their mates?” I asked, confused.?

“It seems so, but I do not have any answers. I don’t understand the connection between red lilies and the kidnappings. But I am working on it.” Brim frowned.

“Mikel has received lilies,” I confessed.?

Brim looked at me oddly.?

“Mikel found his mate?”?

“Yes, and soon after, he started getting the lilies. I am terrified that someone is going to take him.”

Brim began pacing in front of his fireplace. He was talking to himself as if I could follow his train of thought. He wasn’t making any sense to me. Brim stilled and looked at me.?

“We need to know of every god that has found their mate. They are the targets, so that is how we intercept these bastards.” Brim looked at me. “I will visit the gods and see if there are any who have mates that have not been taken.”?

“What if it isn’t just about mates?” I asked. “What would be the other deciding factor?”?

“I have no clue.”?

Great, so we knew nothing. I sighed heavily and hung my head. I could not concentrate today. All I could think about was kissing Haden and going to see him. I needed to focus because there was a major issue happening here, and I felt like it was bigger than any of us realized. The Goddess of Nature had been right; there was something evil lurking in the air of Elloryon.

It felt suffocating and angry. But what could make an entire realm feel so dark and dreadful? Whoever was doing this was powerful—very powerful. Did they know I had a mate? Would I start getting lilies too??

“What’s on your mind, Della?” Brim was next to me when I looked up.?

“Did Mikel tell you what happened to my mate?” I asked.?

Brim frowned and nodded.?

“Do you know why the heavens would make such a mistake?”?

“The heavens do not make mistakes. They must have had their reasons for mating you to someone you did not love. There must have been a reason you loved his brother instead.”?

I scoffed.?

“A reason? They made me perfect for the wrong man and then took him from me. For what, punishment? I have always followed the laws, and they turned their backs on me.”

“But they gave him back to you.” He smiled.?

My anger disappeared instantly.

“How did you know that?” I narrowed my eyes at him.?I hadn’t even told Mikel Haden’s name, so he couldn’t find anything out. I stared at Brim for a long moment.?

His guilt doubled in his eyes, and he frowned as he sat in his chair.

“I have a confession,” he said as he started rocking. “I had visions of you and Haden before it ever happened. I saw you fall in love, and I knew he was not your mate.” Brim watched the array of emotions cross my face before smiling softly.?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I said angrily.?“You could have warned me.”

Brim swallowed hard as he turned his gaze from me.

“He asked me not to.” Brim frowned. "And who am I to ruin such a love?"?

I stilled.?

“Who told you not to?”?

“Haden,” Brim sighed.

“Haden knows you? How?”

“It’s not often that a fae gets the magic of visions. News of it travels quickly, and I caught wind of it when I heard his name from a friend. So, I went to visit him and his lovely family. It was about a year before you met him.”?

I sank down in the other chair, staring at Brim.?What the fuck was happening?

“I told him who I was, and he said he knew I was coming.” Brim chuckled. “He said he called for me to come to him. Do you know how rare that is? Do you know how odd it is not to realize that Haden summoned me to him? I thought it was my own choice.”?

Yes, I did know how rare that was.?But I was more concerned about how Brim did not notice he was being summoned. Brim was more powerful than anyone else I had met. He should have known.

“He told me that I had come up in a vision of his future, and he wanted to know if I knew of it.”?

“Did he tell you what it was?”?

“Yes.” Brim frowned when he looked at me. “First, he told me that he had visions of a woman so beautiful that he knew she was some sort of angel.”?

I stared at him, confused. Haden had visions of me a year before we met in his last life. He had never told me.

“He told me your name, and I could not believe it. I was so happy when I heard him say it was you.” Brim smiled fondly. “He told me that he knew you were fated to Holden, but he didn’t care because he had visions that you would love him instead.”?

Tears stung my eyes and fell down my face. He knew before I ever told him. Why did he act so upset?

“He asked me how to change fate.” Brim looked up at me. “I can’t express to you how important this next part is, Della.”?

I nodded and listened carefully.

“I told him we couldn’t, and he argued with me about it. He said he knew it could be changed because he saw…” Brim looked at me. “Haden saw himself as a god in the future.”?

I looked at Brim, confused.?

“He will be a god when we finish the mating process. That is nothing spectacular.”?

“You don’t understand.” Brim stood up. “That was impossible in his last life. He could not become a god unless he mated with you, which was impossible because you were linked to Holden by your bond. And then he told me… You can’t get mad, Della. You have to swear that to me.”

“I will decide my level of anger after you tell me.”

“Haden figured out he was going to die. He knew it was going to happen before it did.”

My heart felt like it was falling down a bottomless pit. I didn’t want to accept that. How could he have known? How could he have not told me? He knew I could save him.

“That makes no sense.”

“He thought if you two loved each other enough, the bond would transfer all by itself over time. But of course, it didn’t because that is not how it works. When he came to me, he said he thought he could change fate, but he did not tell me why or how.”

“What are you saying?”

“Della, he knew he needed to die.”

“Needed? Why would he need to die?”

"He had a vision of you physically breaking your bond to Holden in a moment of rage. He saw you slam it into his chest in an attempt to attach your soul to his. He knew everything that was going to happen.”

“No…”

“I begged him to tell you, but he said no, and that it needed to be your own choice to make that attempt.”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” I asked. “I could have saved him. How long did he know he was going to die?”

Brim's face fell. "The day before he died. He was having visions and called to me. When I got to the house, he was a mess."

My mind immediately went to Haden being so fucking sad when I came home that night. I closed my eyes tightly at the realization that he was sad because he would die the next day. ?

“Della, you still aren’t understanding.” He took a step towards me and put his hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes to stress the importance of what he was going to say next. I did not know if I could handle any more news, though. “ Haden was having visions of his next life .” He gave me a small shake and then stepped back again. “No one, and I mean no one, can do that. Not even a god can see that far into the future. Even me, the best seer in the realm, can only see into the future to an extent. And even then, it is choppy at best. Haden knew the details of his future to such a degree that he could have written a godsdamn book with every major and minor detail that was supposed to happen. That is not normal.”

My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. Haden had known he was going to die and wouldn’t let me save him. Because he knew he would be mine in his next life. Anger and confusion pumped through me.

“But he was just a fae,” I said, confused. “So why can he do that?”

Brim nodded and smiled like I had finally asked the right question.

“Exactly, he was supposedly just fae, but I am not so sure of that now. He can’t be just a fae. I don’t know why, but I think the heavens intentionally made him the way he is because he is… important. The heavens intentionally did this. We just don’t know why.” Brim frowned.?

“Did he say anything else?” I asked.?

Brim nodded, and I knew it wasn’t good.?

“Just tell me.”?

My throat was dry and itchy with stress as Brim sighed heavily.

“He started getting red lilies when he met you, and he had a mating bond with a different female that he did not feel anything toward."

I stood up and stared at him. Confusion coursed through me at a new level. That made no sense; he was not a god, and we were not mates—why did he get lilies? Then I felt the wrath of an army inside of me at the thought of him being mated to another woman. I would fucking kill her. ?

I yelled so loudly that the wall of his home shook. “What the fuck, Brim!” Anger coursed through me. “How dare you not tell me any of this?”

“He bound my tongue!” Brim threw his hands in the air. My mouth dropped open in surprise. Tongue binding was also a rare ability.

He continued. “Tell me how a fae can see so far into his own future that he knows of his next life, can tell you when he dies, can bind my tongue, and can summon me to him without detection?” ?

Oh, my gods.?

“A fae can’t,” I said. Brim nodded. “But what can?”

“That is what I do not know. But he was the first one to get the red lilies as an omen of bad luck, and shortly after, he was murdered. And that got me thinking, Della, fae don’t reincarnate to be exactly the same as in their previous lives. I had visions of you and him meeting in Kizar during his present life. So, I went to Kizar and saw him for myself. This Haden is identical to his old self; I’m guessing down to every scar. The heavens do not do that. Creatures can’t come back exactly the same. Do you know how confusing that would be to the loved ones still alive? And what are the chances that he ends up being born a village away from his previous family?”?

My body froze in realization, and I swallowed hard. Somehow, I knew this. I knew that Haden should have been different when he came back. Some parts of his personality were the same as before, but physically, he was the exact same. And sometimes he did and said things that made me think he remembered me, but it was only when he was void. My heart was pounding. I could not wrap my head around this.

“He calls me Storm. He called me that before, and the first day I saw him, he said it again. And he has nightmares of the night that he died. He should not remember anything if he was reborn. Sometimes he repeats things he said in his first life. What does this all mean?”

“Who the fuck is Haden? More importantly, what is Haden, and what does he remember right now?” Brim looked at me.?

“Is he dangerous?” I asked. Stars, I did not think I could stay away from him even if he was.

“To you, no. You are his mate; he loves you. And I can’t stress how much he loved you before, even when you weren’t mates. I don’t think he is a danger, but I do think he is hiding something. Honestly though, I have no idea if he even knows these things after coming back.”

What the hell are you hiding, Haden?

“You can’t tell anyone about this,” I begged Brim. “If he is this powerful, then someone will want to know why. I don’t want him to be in danger.”

“Della, after how long we have known each other, I would hope you know you are my favorite god. I will not say a word, but please, tell me if you find out anything about Haden.”?

“I will.”?

"Who was his mate?" I asked, my eyes flashing white. Brim gave me a look, knowing that I wanted to go kill her.

"You won't hurt her." Brim was so sure of himself. I would. I wou— "It was Sara."

What the actual fuck? My anger disappeared. Brim was right; I wouldn't hurt her. Tears stung my eyes.

“I meant what I said earlier. Haden loved you so much, even when you were not mates. He loved you so much that he thought it could change fate itself, and I am wondering if he was right. You felt that you loved him enough to change fate, but did he do something to change fate first?”

Why wouldn’t Haden tell me all of this before? I could have saved him… Maybe though, maybe he didn’t want to be saved. Maybe he wanted to die because he saw what I would do. He had known he was going to die the morning he proposed to me. Did he only do that because he knew he would die? I was questioning everything now.

“Della,” Brim said. “There is something else I wanted to tell you.” He walked up to me and held my hands tightly. “Something terrible is going to happen to you.”?

“If Haden dies, I will lose my mind.”?

He shook his head.?

“I cannot see your future anymore,” he whispered. “It almost seems like… you die.”?

“Gods can’t die,” I reminded him, but even as I said it, I felt fear. I had believed that gods weren’t able to change fate either, but I did.?

“What if everything we know is a lie?” he frowned. “I see you and Haden in the future, in love and happy, but then he is alone, and you are nowhere to be seen in the visions.”?

“Maybe I get taken by the night lily creatures.”?

He shook his head.

“No, I would see it. I cannot see anything anymore.” Brim’s eyes filled with tears. “The last vision I have of you is confusing and does not make sense.”?

“Tell me.”?

“You are standing in the Crimson Kingdom’s garden with Remiah.”?

“What is so odd about that besides the fact I am in Crimson?”? I asked.

I don’t know if I had ever seen Brim’s eyes lose all of their light like this before.

“Remiah was dead. It was her soul floating in front of you.”?

I shook my head. No, Mikel’s mate can’t die.?

“No.” I ripped my hands from his. “Mikel would never let her die.”?

“It was confusing. Remember that visions do not always give the correct information. Sometimes it gives images with no context. Maybe you were there to save her. Whatever you do, Della, you cannot tell Mikel.”?

“I have to.”?

“I forbid it.” His friendly tone disappeared. “It is my vision, and I forbid it.”?

“How dare you?” I snapped at him as the odd sensation of his binding magic twisted around me. It felt like betrayal.

“You are getting too irrational, Della. I did it for your own good.”?

I stared at him.?

“You know more than what you are saying.”?

“Of course, but I won’t tell you, and you cannot force me to. Having too much knowledge of the future will drive you insane. You would go mad trying to change the fates of everyone around you in hopes that it would save Haden, but Haden is not the one who needs saving this time. You are.”?

I understood, but I also didn’t. How could he have done this to me?

“I hate you,” I sneered with tears in my eyes.?

“I will take your hate if it protects you.”?

I turned from him and left in my star mist. When my magic disappeared, I was standing on the main pathway of Raynor with Haden and Remiah walking toward me. I watched him closely, but I stayed hidden. He did not seem to sense me yet, and I thought maybe it was my enraged state that was hiding me well.

I walked behind them as they laughed about something. Usually, I would smile at the sound of his laughter. But instead, betrayal pumped through me as I watched him. My eyes took in everything about him, from the familiar tips of his pointed fae ears to the same circular scar on his neck that he had before.

Could he see his future in this life? Someone who was that powerful before their death would probably keep their magic, right? Had he seen me coming in his visions? I shook my head as tears stung my eyes. How long had he known that he was going to die before it happened? Was it only a day or longer? I tried to think back to that morning; he had been so sad the night before, and then we spent most of it talking about our future and getting tangled within each other. He let me plan for a future that wouldn't be ours. I still didn't know what he remembered. What if he remembered everything?

Had he been trying to make our last night special? That wasn’t fair. If he knew that he was going to be mine again, he should have told me and spared my heart the pain. I had spent the next 300 years wondering and waiting for him, hoping and praying he would be mine.

He should have told me.

Why hadn’t he trusted me enough to tell me what was happening or how he was so damn powerful? My body froze when I realized that I had not ever sensed his magic. As a goddess, I should have felt it, but the only thing I felt from him was his frost magic. I glanced up at Haden and wondered who exactly I was in love with.

He paused in his steps and turned directly toward me. His eyes flickering around as if he could sense me. I sighed heavily because I did not know Haden at all, and it was because he had purposely hidden himself from me. How much does Haden remember now about his past life? Because I was not convinced that he was this shy man that I was seeing. The void knew me, though. I could feel the recognition when he shifted. He was confident because he remembered me. I looked around like someone would pop out and tell me I was on the right track.

I needed answers. Sighing, I headed to see the God of Knowledge. He would point me in the right direction.

?★★★?★★★?

My star mist landed me in front of a tall white building with pillars that seemed to stretch high into the heavens. Gods, I hadn’t been here in thousands of years, and when I was here, it was only to accompany Mikel. The beautiful structure floated on its own island above the sky, like mine and Mikel’s home.

I was out of damn breath halfway up the ridiculous amount of stairs that led to the entrance when I finally said, fuck it, and used my star mist again just to get myself to the top. When I headed for the door, it was already open, and there was a figure peeking around the door with a large tome in his hands. I stared at a man that looked nothing like a god. He was short and skinny as all hell. I did not remember him looking like this before.

“Ardella.” He smiled and closed the giant book in his hand. His dark brown hair fell past his shoulders, and his dark skin was flawless as he stepped forward, his brown eyes watching me curiously.

“Avesh.” I smiled.

“I haven’t seen you in what, a thousand, two thousand years?”

Stars, I was starting to remember how friendly he was. I nodded, and he waved for me to follow. He wore an all-white outfit that I couldn’t believe was so pristine. When we walked into the home, it was so large that our footsteps echoed. The space felt cozy, with dark woods and soft lighting that reminded me of a library. The grand staircase split in two, one on each side of us, before curving together at the next floor.

“Would you like some tea?” he asked.

“No, that’s alright.”

“We’ll grab some tea.” He smiled. “I have a feeling our conversation is going to be a long one.”

“Why do you think that?”

Avesh stopped and turned to me.

“You have never come to see me. Whatever the reason is for your visit, it must be some serious shit for you to think I may be your only hope.”

I smiled softly. Know-it-all.

“Tea it is.”

“Wonderful!” He exclaimed so loudly that it echoed and ricocheted around the foyer. He flinched slightly. “Gods be damned, I forget how loud it is in this part of the damn house.”

He started walking up the stairs, and I followed. The second floor was decorated in the same manner but was not as grand as the bottom floor. The walls here were covered in simple artwork depicting mostly scholarly-type pictures. He led me down a hallway and stopped for a brief moment at an open door.

“Nina, would you mind bringing tea and a treat to the grand library , please?”

I heard a soft voice murmuring back before we kept going. For the love of all things holy, how far was this damn library? After another few minutes, Avesh and I came to the end of the hallway. He shoved the large wooden doors open, and my mouth fell open. The library had millions of books lining the room. I walked through the doors and saw beautiful mahogany shelves lined all the way to the ceiling filled with books of all colors and sizes. There were ornate wooden ladders on wheels that could move swiftly and gently to whatever shelf you needed. I crossed the thick, blue carpet and walked toward the railing in the center of the room.

As I looked around, there was much more than books here. Maps floated around, globes of the realm were spinning on their own, and there were books flying around. As I reached the railing, I gasped. I looked out and saw that we were visiting only one floor of the library. From here, I could see countless levels stretching both up and down, all packed with the same beautiful shelves of books. I laughed when a book zipped past my head. My gaze watched as it flew down into the depths of a lower level.

"Careful, the books do not care if you are in their way. They will hit you without remorse.”

“Shit,” I whispered, impressed.

“I know, right?” He laughed. “We will sit over here.” We walked to the left, and a large sitting area appeared next to us. The beautiful couches were some sort of leather, with dark wood tables sitting next to them and a large fireplace that roared and instantly warmed me. We sat down across from each other, and Avesh stared at me oddly. What the hell was he staring at like that?

I raised my eyebrow at him, and he chuckled. A moment later an older woman came in and set down a tray with tea and an assortment of desserts on it before leaving without a word. I grabbed a pastry and nearly died at how good it was.

“So, what do you need to know?”

I paused, halfway to reaching for my second pastry, and looked at him. He watched me take another one and sigh.

“This will sound crazy.”

“Sometimes, knowledge is crazy.” He leaned forward and took a pastry for himself.

“I’m trying to figure out what sort of creature can bind a seer’s tongue and see so far into their own future that they can see their next life.”

Avesh stared at me oddly.

“Anything else?”

“They can summon even a seer to them without the seer knowing they did.”

Avesh looked confused.

“There is no creature that can do that.”

“Yes, there is,” I challenged.

“Is it elite magic?” he asked.

I gave him a pointed look and ate my pastry.

“We both know that this is not elite magic.” I paused. “What about being reborn? After someone dies, have the stars ever brought them back in the exact same form? Everything about their appearance is identical.”

“Are you describing a god?” he asked. "And it is the heavens that send them back, not the stars."

“Gods can’t die.” I raised my eyebrow. Avesh gave me a grim look.

“Yes, they can.”

I glanced up at him and wondered if I heard him wrong.

“I have been dying to tell someone about this.” Avesh smiled as he sat up straighter. He leaned forward, and the gleam in his eyes made me lean forward too. “A god can die when they no longer possess their soul.”

“How does a god lose their soul?”

“Another god takes it.” He looked at me. “As of right now, you are the only god I know of that can take a soul from another god. But in the other realms, the God of Death in Valynth can as well.”

I looked at him oddly.

“How do you know a god can die, though? I have not ripped any souls from any of my fellow gods, and I don’t plan on it.”

“Once upon a time, you weren’t the only god with such a power over the souls of other beings. Hold on.” Avesh lifted his hand and muttered something softly. I heard a whooshing sound as a book flew from somewhere in the library and landed right in his hand. Its cover was made of weathered leather, and it was worn on the spine, like it had been read so many times. Something about seeing the book made me lean forward with curiosity. He opened it to a page with a beautiful picture drawn inside of it, showing what I could only guess was a soul being taken from one god by another god. I had trouble wrapping my head around this fact.

The illustration was that of a goddess kneeling in front of a god. Her left arm was raised toward him in what looked like supplication. I looked closer and frowned at the stars drawn on her arm. They were black with a slight glowing effect around the edges.

The text was not in a language I knew. Avesh pointed to the god who was taking the soul.

“This god is Malamay; he was once the God of Life.” I couldn't see his face that much, as he was turned to the side.

I looked up at him, and he nodded.

“Who is the goddess he is taking the soul from?”

“That would be Diath, the Goddess of Mischief.

I sat up and looked over the picture. Something about it was so intriguing.

“Why did he take her soul?”

Avesh sighed as he glanced at me.

“Have you ever noticed how all gods are of a positive nature—life, justice, nature, knowledge?”

I nodded, realizing that he was right.

“Where are chaos, suffering, pain, grief, wrath, envy, and pride?” he asked. “No gods are of an ill nature in this realm. And as the God of Knowledge, I thought that was strange. It does not make sense. There is good and evil in life; it keeps the balance. So, why are there no ill-intended gods?”

“Did you find your answer?” I asked.

“Yes.” His eyes shined brightly. “It is because of this picture right here.”

He pointed to the image of Malamay and Diath.

“They were in love.” He smiled sadly. “The first and only fated mates to both be gods. From what I gathered, they were very happy. But the longer they were together, the more mischievous Diath was with her powers, even behind Malamay’s back. Then, one day her cleverness caught up to her. Diath had tricked Malamay. See, as gods, their children would likely become gods themselves, but they still needed to birth them naturally. However, Diath, did not do that. She combined their stars and created their children. She broke laws of the gods to create new gods. A direct violation against the heavens and old gods. What Diath didn’t disclose either was that she had been born from a black star and therefore was not physically compatible with her mate. Kind of like you and Holden.”

“A black star? I have never heard of such a thing,”

“A dead star.” He looked at me. “It is what ill-intended gods are made from. Where you are born from a bright, healthy star.”

“But the stars would step in if it was that bad.”

He shook his head.

“As gods, we give too much power to the stars. They are more like a middle man between the heavens and gods. The stars have not been a governing entity for a long time and hold no real power. But the old gods were tired of being in control of everything, so they created the stars to help out.”

I looked at him, still not understanding.

“The seven sins were born, Della. They aren’t just simply an idea from a garbled religion; they are living gods—wrath, envy, sloth, greed, lust, pride, and gluttony.”

I scoffed.

“There are more than seven sins.”

“Correct, but all sins are derived from one of these desires.”

That made sense.

“Well, they aren’t here, so where are they?” I asked.

“The stars demanded retribution. Malamay was given an ultimatum by the old gods and heavens. He had to kill either his seven children or their mother in order to keep the balance.”

What the actual fuck? Avesh met my gaze, nodding like he agreed on how fucked up that was. I stared at the picture and realized he chose to kill their mother.

“He killed his fated mate, Diath,” I whispered.

“He literally reached into her and ripped her soul out,” he sighed heavily before continuing. “After it was done, the old gods were still wary of the destruction and chaos they might cause, so the children were sent to hell to live—where they could use their naturally given… negativity to rule the tortured and lost souls. It was a win for them. Diath happened to be the first and only goddess to be born from a dead star, and her actions forbid any more ill-intended gods from being created. The heavens made sure of it and did not allow gods to be mated to other gods."

“Where is Malamay?”

“After he ripped out Diath’s soul, the old gods killed her out of both pity and fear. No god should live without their soul. Can you imagine all of that power and no soul to control it? She had to die. Malamay could not live with himself. So, he did to himself what he had been forced to do to her, and he ripped out his own soul before ending himself.”

“Shit. That is heavy.”

“Yeah, some real fucked-up shit,” Avesh sighed. He glanced at me and frowned. “If you have not ripped the souls from any gods lately and killed them, then it is safe to say this man you are talking about is not a god if he was reborn. You would have had to rip his soul out of him completely to kill him and allow the rebirth to happen because gods can't die any other way.”

"He was stabbed; that is how he died." I told Avesh. “So, what is he?”

Avesh slammed the book shut.

“No fucking clue.”

“What do you mean?” I scoffed.

“What you’re describing doesn’t exist in the texts I’ve read, and believe me, I have read a lot.” He waved his hand out towards the center of the library. “Therefore, whatever you are dealing with is the first of its kind, maybe.” Avesh pursed his lips like he was thinking hard. “Perhaps he is just an elite, elite seer.”

“That’s a thing?”

“Della, no, that is what I’m saying. Perhaps he is just the first of his kind.”

“Sorry, it’s been a long day,” I sighed and grabbed another pastry. “Hey, since I’m here, have you found your mate yet?”

Avesh raised his brow at me.

“Why?”

“Have you heard that some gods have gone missing? Once they found their mates, they both went missing.”

“Well then, thank the heavens that I haven’t.” He frowned. Avesh stared intently at me. “Have you asked this man what he is?”

“No,” I said.

“You’re scared of him?”

“I don’t know what to think about him.”

“Chances are he doesn’t even know that his magic is that powerful. Most memories don’t usually carry over after death.”

He was right. Haden probably didn’t even know the extent of his magic. I didn’t even know if he still possessed the same magic he once had. Maybe he was just fae with some serious elite magic. I leaned back in the chair, feeling a bit stupid. Brim and I were paranoid fools. Haden wouldn’t keep something so monumental from me.

“Well, I appreciate you taking time to help me.” I smiled. “Sorry I wasted your time.”

“Knowledge and company are never wasted time.” He grinned.

“I’ll let you know if any new developments come along.”

He nodded.

“Please, take the rest of the pastries with you.” He gestured to them. He didn’t need to offer me twice. I smiled and grabbed the tray before leaving.