Page 32

Chapter 32

Haden

M y vision was blurred from tears as I stared at the mound of dirt in front of me. I had buried my sister at our favorite spot. I would not survive this grief. How could Ardella do this to me? How could she think I would ever be alright with her decision? My mind raced with thoughts, but none that made sense. I felt as if I was dreaming, and I would wake up to realize this wasn’t real.

My mind and heart did not understand how Storm could do this to us. She loved me.

I did it because I love you.?

Her words mocked me. This was not an act of love.

What was I supposed to do without Remy? I had no one left. I had no home. I had nothing. I lost the woman I loved, and now I hated her with the heat of a thousand suns. I would make her pay for this one day.?

Tears fell from me, and sobs racked through me so violently that I didn’t hear that someone else was here. I turned, expecting to see Della or Mikel. But I stared up at the six cloaked figures. They stood in a straight line in front of me. Their cloaks were black but shimmered with a dark red that looked like stars. Dread filled my chest as they hid behind their hoods so I couldn’t see who they were.

“What?” I snapped to hide my fear.?

It was silent for a moment, but I could feel them staring at me, watching me fall apart, and I swore they were enjoying this.

“We want to speak to the void,” a woman’s angelic voice said.

I opened my mouth to demand why, but I didn’t get a chance. The void was already racing forward. I could feel it clawing up my spine at the request. I couldn’t even fight it as it dug its claws into my bones, seeping itself into every fiber of me. I closed my eyes, welcoming the feeling of nothing taking over. I did not want to feel anything. I didn't want to face what Ardella did to me.

The shiver ran through me as my eyes opened. I stood, feeling the devastation of what happened tonight. The grief of losing Remiah was consuming, but losing Della that way was ripping me apart.?I missed being able to not feel a thing as void; now emotions were a constant battle.

“What the fuck do you want?” I hissed.?

“Can you fucking believe what she did?” Her voice was full of shock. No, I couldn’t. “What do you feel like with half of her soul?”

“The same.” I lied. I could feel something was different. Part of Della was living inside of me, and I only felt closer to her, which was probably a problem. But that made me wonder what she felt. I had watched her keep the other half of my soul. What would happen when good and evil collided inside of a goddess?

“Hmm, maybe it will change as time passes.” I could feel her beady eyes on me. “She didn’t even hesitate to commit treason against the heavens.”

Because she fucking loved me.

I swallowed hard to keep myself in check. I couldn’t let them know that I felt terrible for what I had let her do.

Mikel hated her. She hated herself, and now the other side of me hated her too. There was only me left, and I was not allowed to tell her that I loved her and understood.

“It has started, but she isn’t done yet. There is still something else she does that will crumble everything. I’m just trying to wrap my mind around what the hell could be worse than ripping her soul in two and giving away a part of it—especially to you.”

That was what I wanted to know too. What was Della going to do that would make her fall from the grace of the stars? It had to be terrible.

I couldn’t feel her through the bond, and panic gripped me at the realization. Without being obvious, I glanced down to my chest and sighed in relief when I saw the golden bond still intact and floating. But I could see the edges of it fade into black. That couldn’t be good.

“You have one more task before you disappear.”?

She tossed the cloak to my feet. I exhaled through my nostrils as I slipped it on. I hated this damn itchy thing. Their magic wrapped around us, and when it disappeared, I froze in my spot. We were outside of Della’s home, directly in front of her bedroom.?

She was lying on the floor, papers scattered around her. I looked around us when I smelled the charred ground—lightning strikes. She was devastated, and I could feel my own emotions bubbling up.?

Storm .

Her body shook with sobs. I didn’t want to see her like this. But they forced us into her room, and we circled around her where she had collapsed on the floor.?

She opened her pure white eyes that were full of devastation. Della didn’t flinch or move when she saw us, and the understanding broke me. My mate was shattered. She didn't care what happened to her. I swallowed down the tears that stung the backs of my eyes.

“Ardella, Goddess of Life, you have been marked for your treason of god laws. Your sins will demand a price; consider this a warning for what is to come.” One of them spoke.?Her hand instinctively rubbed her right forearm, and I stared at the four broken stars marked into her skin. The points of the stars were scattered and had seeped into her arm, making it look infected. It glowed slightly orange around each one. The heavens or old gods had already marked her.

Just like my mother.

Della looked up at me, not realizing who I was because of this stupid cloak. I twisted the red hell flower in between my fingers before tossing it next to her. She looked at the flower and closed her eyes tightly. The flowers were just a reminder to the old gods and heavens that they could not keep us locked away. It was more symbolic than anything.

“You will pay for your sins.”?

She didn’t fight us. She didn’t say a word as tears flowed down her face. Della was broken, and I knew that this was not the worst of it. Della was just getting started on her treasons, but I was not sure which one set off her destruction of everything the heavens and old gods created.

She reached forward and gripped the flower in her hand and pulled it to her chest and began sobbing. My mating bond wanted me to crawl to the ground and hold her. I want to tell her that I didn’t hate her. I understood that she had no choice but to take Remiah. I hated that fate was being so cruel to her.?

I did not want to see her so destroyed. I stared at her as she whispered for me to forgive her, not knowing I already had. The good side of me did not understand that Della didn’t have a choice in this, and I worried what kind of damage he would do to her heart before I could come back and fix it.?

If I could fix it. If I could save her and us.?

This is what your precious heavens had given you, Storm. They did not think you were worth making happy. They were punishing you for loving the wrong man. You were never supposed to actually love me. I knew that was all my fault too. Della may be the destruction of Elloryon, but I was the fire that lit the fuse.?

We were destined for heartbreak. We were destined for destruction. And we would destroy each other in the name of love. My greedy gaze drifted over her, and I got no pleasure from her sadness like the rest of them did. This damn bond was making me weak.?

I needed to remember what I saw in my vision. Della was the key for us to be free. Storm was the answer to everything. And because of that, she would destroy everything the heavens and old gods had put in place. She would be the downfall of the heavenly gods and stars. Because once we escaped our prison, we would never be put back.?

The seven of us would rain hell down on the realm that tried to keep us away.?

There were footsteps coming from outside of her room, so I used my magic to take us outside of the house. We watched closely, expecting Mikel, but it wasn't him who entered. It was a tall man with black hair and fancy robes that stepped inside. I watched closely as he didn't hesitate to scoop Della up in his arms. She gripped him tightly—like she had done it a million times. Then he laid her in bed. My chest ached with jealousy.

"Looks like your goddess is already cozy with another man," Elra said just to piss me off, but it worked. Who was this man? We couldn't see his face.

My blood ran cold when he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead—like he had done it so many times before. Della shook her head at whatever he said before sitting up and hugging him against her. My wrath was getting to a boiling point. I was going to lose it.

I wasn’t sure which one of them used their magic to take us back to the field where I buried Remiah. But as soon as my feet were planted on the ground, I ripped the cloak off and tossed it aside. I wanted to go right back to her. I wanted to pull her out of the dark storm inside of her and remind her she was good, she was kind. That man was too familiar with my mate.

“You will scrub this memory from your brain enough that your nice side can’t remember.”?

Fuck her and her jab at me, but I was in no mood. My wrath was becoming almost uncontrollable, but I nodded.?

“We have found the trifecta.” She slipped off her hood, and Elra’s blonde hair fell over her shoulders. Her red eyes stared at me with a smile on her pretty face. Nothing but a lurking sense of evil filled her eyes.?

“Who is it?”?

“A royal couple who have nearly every sin running through them already. They are greedy, full of wrath, and envious of everyone. They are both lustful—leaving their marriage to find pleasure in others. They are gluttonous; you should see the excess of their castle, and it is so fucking ugly, too.” Her eyes flickered to me as the rest of them let their hoods down.?

I didn’t bother looking over them. I watched Elra.?

“Way too fucking prideful. But one thing they are not is sloth. However, we found the perfect man to step in and complete their sins. His name is Prince Jesper of Kizar, and he is the laziest royal I have ever witnessed.”?

“Who is the couple?” I asked again.

“King Luren and his wife Gwyn of Cerithia.” She smiled.?“Thea’s father and stepmother.”

That’s why they were so obsessed with Thea being star-blessed. Della had created a goddess, not knowing that my siblings thought she would help us. My visions of Thea showed her as a monster, causing destruction as she stood in a colosseum ripping men apart with hardly lifting a finger. Maybe I shouldn’t have told my siblings that a goddess was born due to sin—her father strayed from his marriage for greed, for power. A man that evil could not produce a goodhearted woman. And Della had star-blessed her without knowing.

“Thea is the first goddess born of sin, and your little girlfriend made it happen. She will be important to our plan. You will find a way to befriend Thea and manipulate her into being on our side.”?

"How am I supposed to do that when the other side of me won't remember?" I asked.

"You'll figure it out," Elra said, with her bitchy attitude.

“You do realize Thea may not end up like we did? What happens to your plan when you find out she is good-hearted and nice? We don't need them to raise hell in Elloryon. Della is already falling from grace, and when that happens, we will be released from hell for good.”

“Then she will fall with the rest of the gods. And it will benefit us to have the fae start hating the gods so we can use them. We still don't know what magic we will have besides our starlight.” Elra stared too intently at me. “But with a father as evil as Luren, I do not know how she will ever resist the dark side of her. Unless her mother is a fucking saint or something.” Elra rolled her eyes.

"We will give the gods a choice: join us or die. Besides, we still need to find all of the old gods that were there when we were cast into hell for the sins of our fucking parents. Because they are the ones that did this to us. Abram gave us this fate, and we will kill him for it. And the heavenly gods will pay for not standing up for us. Then we will take over everything. We will bring hell to Elloryon so everyone can know the life we were damned with."

I looked at her and didn’t say anything. She frowned at me, but I knew it was to mock me.?

“Do we need to worry that you will interfere with your whore when you come back?”?

Well, that was the last thing I needed for my patience to snap. I pulled my fist back and punched my sister in her smug face. She fell to the ground, laughing at my outburst.

“Watch yourself, Elra,” I sneered.?

She stood up and laughed as she wiped the blood from her cut lip. I could see that she was pleased to see me lose my shit. Violent bitch. Elra glanced around at our other siblings before looking at me.

“You will not come forward until after Thea breaks her curse. In fact, I think you will not be allowed to come out until you see Della for the first time after the curse breaks.”?

What an odd request. My gaze flickered over her face to see if I could pick up anything from her.?

“Why? You know something and aren’t telling me.”?

“Well, then call it even, Haden, for deviating from the plan the first time around.”?

“I paid for that already. You fucking killed me; do you not remember?” I glanced around at our siblings. “Each of you stabbed me for my sins, and I had to go through the painful fucking process of being reborn.”?

Elra smiled, as did our siblings. Sick fucks.

“Well, we don’t want to wait so long again, so let's all stick to the plan this time.”

“Are we done with this pointless fucking conversation?” I clenched my fists at my sides to stop my wrath from taking over completely.?

“Yes, we’ll see you when we see you, Wrath .”?

Her greed-filled eyes stared into mine before they disappeared. Fucking heathens. I glanced back to where I buried Remiah and frowned.?

He would never forgive Storm for this. I paced back and forth as I tried to figure out what to do. I knew, deep in my tainted soul, that I would destroy her while I was gone. I ran my hands down my face and stared up at the heavens.

I raised my hand and flipped the stars off.?

“Fuck you for doing this to her!” For doing this to me. I closed my eyes and hung my head. I couldn’t help but recognize that the stars were very fucking clever. They thought that by making me her mate, I would save her. But they were also willing to sacrifice her for the greater good of the gods if I refused.?

I sighed heavily as I waited for anything, anyone, to pop out and tell me what the fuck I was supposed to do. After a moment, I gave up. This was supposed to happen. Della was supposed to become the villain, and I would lose her no matter what. I should be happy that when I retreat deep inside of myself, the nice side of me would destroy her.?

Maybe she will get the fucking hint to not love me. She needed to hate me because at some point she was going to find out what I did. Storm was going to know that before she changed our fate, I had already done the same thing. But maybe that was my punishment.?

I was never supposed to actually love her.?

The Goddess of Life and the God of Wrath should have never crossed paths—we should have never fallen in love. Now Della had half my soul, and I wondered what would happen to her. What would happen to the realm now that my mate took half my soul and damned herself with it? Would she kill me when she realized I was a God of Hell?

She was in love with a monster, and the day she figured it out would be the end of us. But would I survive the wrath of a goddess who loved and sacrificed everything for the wrong man?