Chapter 27

Della

M ikel was staring at me, but I refused to look at him. I had not been able to look him in the eyes since I learned that Remiah was going to die. I was determined to change that fate. She was not going anywhere, and my brother would never know what her true fate was. I needed him to claim her but wasn’t sure how to bring it up casually.

“So…” I glanced up to meet Mikel’s eyes staring intently into mine. Why the hell was he looking at me like that??

“I was getting worried because you haven’t looked at me the past few days.” Mikel raised his dark brow at me.?

I rolled my eyes to throw him off my tracks.?

“So, when are you going to claim Remiah?”?

Mikel startled back like I had slapped the shit out of him.?

“Where did that come from?”?

“My brain.” I smirked when his cheeks turned bright red.?

He began pacing back and forth, rubbing his neck like he was stressed the fuck out. Gods, he was stressing me out.?

“What is wrong?” I asked.?

“I am terrified.” He frowned at me. “I am too terrified to tell her that she is my mate. What if she doesn’t love me?”?

Realization filled me.?

“You are worried that what happened to me will happen to you.” I looked away from him.?

I heard him sigh heavily before walking over to me and sitting next to me on the couch. Mikel grabbed my hands in his.?

“You are the strongest woman I have ever met,” he whispered, and it made me look at him. “I am not just saying that because you are my sister. I have told Remiah how brave and smart and kind you are. I truly admire you, Ardella. And sometimes I hate the stars and heavens for what they did to you.”?

I stood still at his confession. As gods, we were not supposed to curse the heavens or be angry with them. And Mikel was the last god I would expect to say that.?

“I am angry for you. Out of all of us, are you the one that the heavens fuck up the bond for? It’s not fair. How could Abram let this happen?”

“The heavens do not make mistakes, Mikel. Maybe there is a purpose to all of this. You and I both know that Abram would never let this happen if he could.”?

“See, that is what I am talking about. You are more understanding than I will ever hope to be. If I tell Remiah that I am a god and her mate and she turns me away, I will find a way to end myself. I cannot survive it. I am not brave like you. I would turn into a villain. I would fall from the grace of the stars.”?

I rested my hand on his cheek and frowned at him.

“You are brave, Mikel, and you don’t need to be scared. She will love you. She does love you. Why haven’t you told her you are a god?”?

“She thinks I am a nobleman, and I can see it in her eyes that she does not think she is worthy of me. What will she do if she finds out I am a god, and she will be a goddess?”?

“You will spend your life making sure she knows that she is the most worthy and deserving woman, Mikel, by loving her so fiercely that she cannot doubt it.”?

Mikel nodded and brought his hand up to cover mine.?

“I gave her my star.”?

I sat up a bit more.

“You did?”?

“Yes, but she does not know its significance. I told her I would talk to her about it soon, but I keep putting it off.”?

“Well, stop,” I encouraged him. “Tell her and claim her.”

“I’m also worried about her safety because of the red lilies. What if whoever sent them is waiting for me to claim her to take us?”?

Shit, that slipped my mind.

“You don’t know that. Besides, we can move her here to protect her.”?

“She would never leave her twin brother.”?

I smiled softly to myself.?

“Then he can come too, if he wants.”?

Mikel seemed to be thinking over my words. He knew I was right. It was safer for him to claim her. Once he did that, then she couldn’t die because she would become a goddess.?

“I love you.” He smiled. “I thank the heavens that I was created with you.”?

“I love you, too.”?

Mikel stood up and sighed.?“I’ll claim her within a few days. I want to make it perfect, though.”?

“She will love whatever you decide.”?

“I’m going to go see her. I will probably be home late.”?

I nodded. “Have fun.”?

Mikel disappeared, and I glanced around the big, empty house. My visit with Brim weighed heavily on me today. Haden didn’t seem like he was keeping things from me, but maybe he was very good at lying. There was no reason for it, though. I was not convinced that he was a fae with elite magic. Something about it didn’t seem right.?

I sat up quickly. Without giving myself time to think, I summoned my star mist and went to his first parents’ home. I didn’t bother knocking and barged in. Penelope and Henry looked up at me, staring like I had lost my mind.

“Della,” they chimed. “What a pleasant surprise.”?

“Sorry to barge in, but I wanted to ask you some questions about Haden.”?

Their eyes lit up; they loved talking about their children. They nodded as I sat down on the couch across from them, waiting patiently for me to begin. ?

I took a deep breath. “I’m going to ask a lot of strange questions, and I don’t really have an answer as to why.”

“Oh, that’s fine; ask away.” Penelope smiled.?

“Alright, Haden and Holden are your children, right? You didn’t adopt them or find them or something.”?

“I gave birth to both of them,” Penelope chuckled. “Although it was so odd because we had magic spells done three times to check on the baby, and each time they said a healthy baby boy.”?

“You didn’t know it was going to be twins?”?

“No, Haden came after Holden, and it was such a surprise.”?

“Aren’t those spells always accurate?”?

“Yes.” Henry frowned. “When we went back and told them they had been wrong, they said they weren’t. There was one boy, and he was healthy.”?

I didn’t know what that meant, but it felt important.

“Was Haden an odd child?” I asked.?

I was desperate to know anything more about him. There had to be more clues as to what he was.?

Penelope answered. “Not really. Besides the visions that we told you about before. But, I mean, he was always exceptional at everything he did, was very well-mannered, and did everything we ever asked.”

Hmm. That told me nothing.?

“His magic was odd,” Henry said. “Don’t you think?”?That made me perk up. I had always thought it was odd that Remiah and Holden didn’t get any magic because they were twins with Haden. They should have received something.

“Does anyone in your family have frost or vision magic?”?

“No, but I’m not talking about that magic.” Henry sighed. He looked up at me, and Penelope frowned at him as if she didn’t want him to say anything. “Have you ever heard of mind jumping?”?

My stomach tightened at this new information. He had more magic than I knew of.

“No.”?

“We haven’t either, but that is what he called it when he was younger. Have you ever noticed this new version of him changing personalities?”?

The void. My heart began racing at this.?

“He calls it the void,” I whispered.?

Henry nodded. “That’s what he called it before as well. It was like a more confident…dangerous version of himself.”?

“Yes. Can he control it?” I asked.?

“Yes,” Penelope chimed in. “But he hadn’t been using the magic very often before he died.”?

“Is that mind jumping?”?

“That is a part of it. But Haden can jump into others’ minds and manipulate them,” Penelope admitted. “We don’t like to talk about it and don’t usually bring it up in conversation.”?

What the actual fuck? Mind jumping? That was not a known magic. None of his magic was, except his frost. I sat up straight when I realized he could have been using it on me.?

“I wish you had told me this before. Will I know if he uses it on me?”?

“No, well, maybe because you are a goddess. But his magic doesn’t work the same with each creature. He can see memories sometimes. He can manipulate the mind sometimes. He said, it isn’t guaranteed.”

“He can see memories?”?

“Yes.” Henry ran his hand through his hair. “Did he explain to you how he saw his visions?”?

I shook my head.?

“He would jump into others’ minds and then look into their future and see things through their eyes. It was like he defied time. He could see events that have not happened yet. We knew this wasn’t common magic, but by the look on your face, I’m wondering if it is more serious.”?

“I am pretty sure that he has inherited the same powers as his past self. Haden’s magic should not be able to exist,” I said. “Especially if he is just a fae.”?

“If?” Penelope asked.?

“Fae can’t do these things. Maybe gods, but even that is a stretch. I have never met a god with powers like that.”?

“What are you saying?” Henry asked, confused.?

“I’m saying that Haden can’t be a fae, but I do not know what he is.”?

Penelope glanced at Henry before looking back at me.?

“When we went to the witch that did the magic spell while I was pregnant and told her she was wrong, she called Haden a demon.”?

I exhaled.?

“He is not a demon.”?

They sighed, relieved, but I knew that just meant that he could be something worse. They stared at me, hoping I had answers, but I didn’t. I didn’t even know what else to ask because I was more confused than I was when I first got there.?

He can see memories. He can jump into minds and manipulate them. He sees visions of others in the future. Haden was dangerous just for this magic alone. He was more powerful than any god or all the gods lumped together. I swallowed hard. Haden was keeping his secrets locked away within the void. I was sure of it. That was when he acted and said things he used to. Gods, when we slept together, he knew everything I liked.

He remembered.?

But how much??

Did he remember all of the time or only while void?

“I don’t have answers, but I will let you know if I find them,” I promised as I stood.?

“You won’t tell anyone, right?” Penelope asked with tears in her eyes. “He told us that if anyone ever found out, the stars or heavens would be sent to find him for breaking the laws of the gods.”?

“I won’t say a word.” I reassured her and hugged them so I could leave before they saw my fear. I summoned my star mist instantly and went home. I gripped my chest tightly as I sat on the bed. No, this couldn’t be happening.

Haden knew of the god laws.

He knew that the stars were not merely a figment of imagination; they were a real, governing entity. He shouldn’t know that. Only gods know god laws. I was losing my fucking mind. I began pacing around my bedroom. Haden didn’t seem like a god. Avesh said he wasn’t. But what if we were wrong?

There was no fucking way he was a god. Gods do not mate with other fucking gods—not since Malamay and Diath. He couldn’t be a god.

I stopped pacing and cocked my head, a faint sound reaching my ears. I had been too busy losing my shit to realize that Haden’s voice was in my mind, calling my name. Did he know I was onto him?

I took a deep breath and pulled myself together. I needed to keep myself in check if I was going to get to the bottom of this. I summoned my star mist and went to him. When I got to his bedroom, he was sitting on his bed, shirtless. I swallowed hard as my eyes traveled over him.

No. No. I needed to rein in my desire. I needed answers, and he was going to give them to me.

“I missed you, Storm.” He smiled softly. He wasn’t void. I needed him to be void because I was convinced that was his true self.

“I missed you, too.”

I smiled when I thought of a way that I could trick him into going void. Immediately, I started stripping my clothes off as I walked toward the bed.