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Chapter 1 Haden—500 years ago

When I came to Elloryon, I always seemed to surface in Akecia—the only kingdom that had snow. I glanced around, my cloak keeping my face away from the fae in the streets, not that they could see me. I was on a mission today to find the God of Knowledge. Avesh had to have the answers I was looking for, and I could not believe that I hadn’t thought of him before. But just as I was about to summon my star mist to leave this place, I stopped. A woman was walking frantically up the pathway.

She seemed to be looking for something in particular. But that wasn’t what stopped me. She was a goddess—a fucking beautiful goddess. Her star-colored eyes glanced at me for a moment before she kept going. Her dark hair fell in waves down her back as she weaved through the fae. I abandoned my goal of going to Avesh for the moment.

I had never seen a god or goddess when I came to the realm—maybe that is why I felt compelled to follow her. She walked around the fae, who did not seem to notice her. Just like me, she was invisible. The woman didn’t wear a coat in the frigid temperatures, and I wondered how she could stand the cold.

She turned quickly down an alleyway, and I cautiously followed. The alley was not busy, but the buildings were blocking most of the sunlight, so it was gloomy and difficult to see through the blizzard. The goddess seemed to be very determined to get to wherever she was going. Her steps were deliberate and fast-paced before she suddenly stopped.

She turned to the left, and I saw her shoulders slump at whatever she saw. Slowly, she stepped forward, disappearing behind a small stack of wood. I used this opportunity to move closer to her to see what she was doing. When I glanced around the stack of wood, she was kneeling in the snow, holding the hand of a woman who was bleeding from a wound.

“I don’t want to die,” the woman cried.

“Shhh, you will be alright.” The goddess’ voice was soft—lovely.

She glanced over her shoulder and stared directly at me, letting me know that she could see me when no one else seemed to be able to. Her head tilted to the side for a moment before focusing back on the woman. I knew she couldn’t see anything about me, but would she know I was a God of Hell?

The woman was crying softly as the goddess reached out and rubbed her hand against the side of her face to comfort her. The whole interaction was peaceful and, honestly, made me feel uncomfortable.

“It’s time, Fiona; this won’t hurt,” the goddess whispered.

Fiona was hardly breathing as the goddess lifted her hand, and even though I couldn’t see anything, I knew she was helping her transition into death. I watched the woman take one last breath before the goddess stood up and sighed heavily.

She looked at me, but just when I thought she was going to say something, she started running out of the alley. I followed her, jogging to keep up, but she turned a corner and vanished. I couldn’t see her anymore and worried that I had lost her as I rushed to where she had disappeared. I stopped in shock when I rounded the corner myself and found a dead-end alley with no way out. I slowly walked on, looking for anywhere she could have gone, but there were no doors or windows to have entered, nothing but brick walls all around. When I got to the end of the alley, she suddenly appeared behind me,gripping my arm and tugging me back before slamming me against the wall of the building by my throat.

“Fuck,” I groaned in shock.

I looked down, my eyes widening when the goddess lifted her hand and summoned what looked like a small ball of lightning to it. Shit.

“Why are you following me, and how can you see me?” she hissed.

I was caught off guard by how pretty she was. Her eyes were the color of the stars, which may convince me to admire their beauty. Her bronze skin was slightly red, whether from the cold or her anger, I couldn’t tell. My gaze traveled over her small nose covered with light freckles before dropping down to her pouty lips. Fucking hell, she was breathtaking.

She moved the lightning closer to my neck, its shape forming instantly to look like a knife.

“I don’t know why I can see you, but I was curious where a woman with no coat in negative temperatures was running off to.”

“Have you ever thought of minding your own damn business?” she snapped.

Gods below, she was pissy, and it made me smile.

“Did you ever think that I wanted to see where the pretty goddess was going to?” I countered back.

She stilled as her pretty eyes traveled over me, but she couldn’t see my face. I lifted my hand and yanked my hood off. It didn’t matter if she saw me and recognized who or what I was; I could scrub her mind. I didn’t dare take my eyes from her face. I was desperate to see her reaction to me, and she didn’t disappoint.

Her eyes widened and her pupils dilated, letting me know that she liked what she saw. Her lips parted, and I barely heard the soft gasp she let out before swallowing hard. I smiled at her, and her cheeks flushed brighter red.

“You like what you see?” I teased.

She scoffed and let me go. “No.”

Ouch. I stared at her, and she lowered her hand to her side. “Lying is a sin.”

Her eyes met mine, and she smirked. “So is being prideful.” She paused for a moment. “I think the stars will forgive me for lying.” My smile fell. Gods, she was flirting with me. I don’t know why I thought the gods here would be prudes. Her gaze traced over me again like she was trying to burn this moment into her mind. Her eyes burned brightly when she looked into mine.

“So, you do like what you see.”

She gave me a nonchalant shrug, and I wished she would stop being such a damn tease. I could see it in her eyes that she liked the way I looked, or maybe I was a desperate man. Besides finding my freedom, I did not long for much of anything else. But this goddess made me want to fall to my knees and repent for my sins.

What would she think if she knew who she was talking to right now, and why did I care? My eyes traveled over the glowing silver tattoos on her arms, and I wanted to trace them—either with my fingers or tongue, I didn’t care.

“Is this how you always approach women?” She glanced around to see if anyone was able to see us.

“Maybe.” I watched her eyes travel over my face again. “Why? Is it working?”

“Maybe,” she said with a smirk. She released me slowly before turning and walking away. I quickly followed her, though. Where the hell was she hurrying off to without a damn word? Fuck, I was a glutton for punishment as I eagerly followed her. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure I was behind her. It could be wishful thinking, but I swore she looked pleased that I was behind her.

“Are you not cold?” I asked.

“No, I enjoy the cold.”

She was silent as she wove up the street, avoiding running into fae that would not even feel her if she did. I watched her closely, finding her pleasant, and that was probably the first sign that I should stop following her around like a lost dog. But gods be damned, I ignored all reason and continued to follow her. After another few minutes, I finally spoke. I wanted her to talk so I could memorize her pretty voice.

“Where are you going?”

She glanced at me before grinning. Her eyes twinkled with mischievous amusement.

“I was just seeing how long you would follow me for.” She stopped and stared at me. “Do you make a habit of stalking others?”

She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to watch me.

“Let’s not pretend that you didn’t want me to follow.” I stepped toward her, and she didn’t back down. Fuck, she smelled like what I would expect heaven to smell like. That scent would forever be ingrained in my memory. “Tell me to leave, and I will.”

She paused but didn’t tell me to leave. Her eyes stayed on mine, almost like there was a silent challenge in them.

“Tell me your name.”

“Haden, what is yours?”

“None of your business.” She tried to walk off, but I pulled her back and smiled down at her.

“You playing hard to get is only making me more interested. So, if that is your intention, you are succeeding.”

Her face immediately burned red, and her pretty eyes flashed white. Fucking hell, she did like this. What a tease.

“Sorry to break your heart, but I am taken.”

Did I hear her correctly? I watched her closely to see if she was full of shit. But she just watched me curiously back.

“By who?” I was irrationally pissed that this stranger had a man already.

“My fated mate.” She frowned as her eyes fell to the space between us. “Technically, I haven’t met them yet, but I will one day, and they are the only ones we are supposed to want.”

Gods get fated mates… Did that mean that me and my siblings did too? Interesting. That would explain why no one ever appealed to me. But she did, so what did that mean?

“Well, maybe you just met him.” I smiled. “Since it's clear you like what you see.”

Her eyes traveled down the length of me and back up. I swallowed, watching for any hint that she was displeased.

She didn’t give me an answer, only raised an eyebrow at me in an adorable way. She held her hands out, as if inviting me to look her body over as well. “Do you like what you see?”

“I think that’s pretty obvious, goddess. I am following you around hoping you will talk to me some more.”

Her eyes traveled over my face, and she frowned. “You aren’t my mate.”

I stared at her. How could she be so sure when we had only just met? To me, it felt like my soul… recognized hers. “How do you know?”

“I don’t. I’m guessing.” She started to leave but turned back to me, as if unsure about something.

“What if you are wrong?” I asked.

She took a deep breath before smiling at me in a way that shot warmth straight through my cold heart. My gaze stayed on her face, and all I could think was that I did not want another man to get this smile from her. This was all for me. I wanted to see this smile every day for the rest of my life. This had to be destiny because I wanted to haul her over my shoulder and drag her to Hell with me so I never had to say goodbye.

“I’m hoping I am.”

My chest squeezed at her confidence. Fuck, she was perfect. Gods, this day had quickly become the best in my existence. I stepped forward without thinking. I wanted—no, I needed to be closer to her.

“I’m hoping you are too. How will we know?”

“Fate will tell us.”

I glanced around and realized I was running out of time. I really should go talk to Avesh. I ran my hands down my face and stepped toward her again. I did not want to leave her.

“Give me your name.”

I lifted my hand, desperate to feel her smooth skin under my fingertips at least once. She didn’t move from me, but she hesitated before she spoke, like she might keep it from me.

“I will beg for it if I must,” I whispered.

“You would fall to your knees for me and beg for something as simple as my name? Why?”

“So that when I start praying to the stars and heavens, they will know which goddess I am begging for.”

I had never prayed a day in my life, and if you would have asked me about it twenty minutes ago, I would have laughed in your face. But then again, perhaps I had never found anything I thought was worthy of a prayer. If praying would help to make her mine, then I would pester the stars all day for her. I would annoy them so much that they had no choice but to either let me keep her or hear me for the rest of their lives.

She raised an eyebrow at my comment and smiled again. “I am Ardella.”

The name alone sent a jolt of life coursing through me. My heart and soul buzzed like they had waited our entire existence to hear it. It rose to the surface, like something that had been buried deep within.

“Well, Ardella, maybe the fates will decide that we are supposed to be together.” But even as I said it, I knew the stars would never let me have her. She was a heavenly god, and I was a God of Hell. Her eyes stared at me, as if trying to read my thoughts. I knew I couldn’t let her remember this day with me, though. At some point in the near future, I would be walking this realm with ill intent, scheming up a plan to break the stars, and I did not need her recognizing me.

But I hesitated because this meeting had been… perfect. I didn’t want to become a nobody to her again. Somehow that just seemed wrong. Ardella gave me a bright smile before she slowly reached out and pushed my hair from my forehead. I inhaled sharply at the action, her touch sending a spark of electricity through me. She acted as if this were a normal occurrence between us.

“You look like you’re about to bolt,” she said coyishly.

“I am supposed to be somewhere, and I am very late.” I didn’t want to leave, though. She gave me a look like she knew what I was thinking.

“I’m confident that our paths will cross again, Haden, so don’t look so disappointed.”

“I look forward to it. Maybe by then, fate will catch up to us.”

“Let us pray to the heavens above and the hells below that we meet again,” she said, but something about the statement made me pause. She knew there were gods of Hell, and she was willing to pray to them for me. Didn’t that go against the stars?

“Until the next time, Ardella,” I whispered before frowning slightly as I jumped into her mind.

I closed my eyes and started scrubbing away our meeting. But at the last moment, I stopped and opened my eyes. Could I change fate so that she was mine? The stars could not keep me from her if we were mates. They would have to let me out of Hell for more than a few hours.

Fuck.

I didn’t care if they only let me out for five minutes a day to be with her; I would take any scrap they sent my way when it came to her.

Without giving it much more thought, I scrubbed our conversation, but I left bits and pieces so that she would feel drawn to me if she saw me again. I leaned down and stared into her vacant eyes. Her mind was shut down because I was in it, manipulating her.

I closed my eyes and started thinking of us, projecting images of a fabricated future together. Then I put them deep in her mind, hoping that if we ever crossed paths again, she would see these fake thoughts and feel like we were supposed to be together. I opened my eyes and leaned forward, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“I do not care if fate says you belong to another; they are wrong. You belong to me, Della, and you’ll remember that when you see me again. No matter what, I will be who you chose.” I gave her a small memory of my face, burying it deeply in her mind.

Even if I must break the threads of fate, I would do it. She was not going to belong to anyone but me. Maybe this was why I belonged in Hell, because I was a selfish man. But the stars should have never let her cross paths with me. I always get what I want, and the only thing I wanted was this flirty goddess in front of me. I hesitated before leaving.

She wouldn’t remember me until we saw one another again, but I wondered how long that would be. Hopefully not too long. I traced over her face with my gaze, memorizing it in my mind. Then I pulled my magic from her mind and disappeared.