Page 16

Malamay had been made a star because the gods thought he shouldn’t be punished for eternity for his mate’s mistakes.

The stars had been created to help the heavens and the old gods, but what they hadn’t realized was that Malamay was just as corrupt as Diath had been.

He was supposed to be in charge of gods that died.

He gave them a choice—be reborn or become a star with him.

However, he had been collecting gods and goddesses up here without allowing them to be reborn.

Malamay was being selective about who he kept here, though.

Malamay wanted to take over Elloryon with his children.

He thought we were all oblivious to his plan.

But Abram and I figured it out a long time ago.

“I’m sorry, but you need to explain why the hell you are here pretending to be a star.” I narrowed my eyes. Malamay stared at me oddly before standing up and walking toward me.

“What do you think stars are?” he asked. “Dead gods. The old gods really do not share much with you lower gods, do they?”

Lower gods, that term pissed me off. The stars did not hold power over the gods, not really. I glanced at the hooded figures as they each took off their hoods, revealing faces that could only belong to gods.

“But…”

“Della, I appreciate your passion for loving Haden, but he is not the god we are concerned for.”

I didn’t understand. “Promise me now, or I will end your children.”

His eyes flashed with his frost magic. Malamay reached out and grabbed my shoulders, staring at me intently.

“No harm will come to Haden, I promise.” His eyes did the same thing that Haden’s did when he was sad. Anxiety squeezed the air from my lungs. “But he will not forgive you when he finds out what you did.”

“That is fine.” Yes, he would. He loved me so fucking much that he would forgive me for anything. But Malamay didn’t understand that.

“Are you going to tell me what you are using the Book of the Dead for?” His stormy eyes traced over my face.

“Are you going to tell me what you are using the Book of Dark Magic for?” I asked.

“No, and you better not tell Haden about our deal. He is unaware of who the stars are and that his siblings are planning something big.”

My eyes stared into Malamay’s stormy eyes.

He was going to be pissed that I have always been three steps ahead of both him and the stars.

A part of me wanted to boast right this second in front of all of them that I knew what they were doing and there was no way in hell that I would ever allow them to finish this stupid plan.

“Did you give your children the idea to take the gods and their mates?” I asked. Malamay thought I didn’t know what the Book of Dark Magic contained, but I read the entire thing before handing it over, and I knew what they were using the book for.

“No.”

“I did,” said an unknown female voice. I gasped when Diath, the Goddess of Mischief, walked in the room from a door off to the left. “Malamay could never come up with such a cunning plan.”

Malamay’s mood instantly soured. I looked at the stars behind them, knowing what they were planning to do with the gods and their mates.

It disgusted me.My gaze shifted back to Diath.

How did she know about the Book of Dark Magic and what it could do?

Someone had fed her that information, and I had my suspicions about which god had helped her.

If I found out my suspicion was correct, I would make a spectacle of his death.

“I should have known it was you.” I looked at her. Her dark hair was in a tight updo, and her dress was form-fitting and very flattering on her. Haden’s mother was fucking beautiful with her pale skin and dark eyes. She smiled.

“Ardella, I did not ever think you would be the goddess to help us with our plan.” Her head tilted to the side before her gaze fell to Malamay’s hands on my shoulders. He dropped them instantly.

“Well, this is the only way I can have Haden.”

Her gaze ran over me before she sighed. “You would be better suited for Mateo. He could match your level of crazy. Haden is too soft, like his father. You want a strong mate that is capable, handsome, and clever.”

Gods, she was a cunt.

“Haden is perfect.” I glared. “Mateo could never give me what I need.”

I insulted her favorite child on purpose because I hated her.

She was an evil snake, and Malamay unfortunately had loved her enough to follow her, but I was convinced that she didn’t actually care about him.

Malamay looked at me and smiled slightly.

Haden was his favorite son. In fact, I don’t think Malamay really cares for his other children, and I could probably guess that it was because they were like their mother.

“Mateo is better than Haden, and you don’t deserve him, but he wants you.”

“Yuck.” I turned from her and looked at Malamay. I narrowed my eyes, and his eyes flashed with anger at what Diath had said. “Haden is the only one I will agree to be mated to.”

“We’ll see,” Diath sneered.

“Is she going to be a threat to Haden?” I asked Malamay. “I can get rid of her now if she is.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Diath stepped toward me.

I turned and smiled in the bitchiest way possible. “You have no magic. Did you forget that? I will rip you apart without hardly lifting a finger.” My gaze flickered around the room before landing on Malamay.

He was the only one here who had magic.

The Gods of Hell did not have powers, and they would need them when they were freed.

The gods and their mates would be stripped of their souls with the Book of Dark Magic , and the Gods of Hell would take them for themselves.

It would allow them to have magic and be as powerful as, if not more powerful than, other gods.

But I had a feeling that the stars would be trying to do the same thing.

“Anything else I need to know?”

“Actually…” Diath started to speak, but I turned my wrath-filled eyes to her.

“I was not asking you.” I glared. “Malamay is the leader of the stars. You aren’t even one of them. You are only here because they did not want Malamay to be without his mate for eternity. You are here only because of who your mate is; don’t forget that. Now get the hell out of my face.”

I could not contain myself. Diath pissed me off beyond reason. I hated the way she talked about Haden. She really thought I would give him up for Mateo. Haden would fucking gut her if he knew. He hated Mateo more than any of his other siblings.

“You will keep this from Haden?”

“Yes.”

Fear trickled into my mind because there was one small problem; one of my visions showed Haden returning to Hell. I did not understand why I saw him there again. Why would he go there unless he was forced or killed?

“Good, Haden truly has no idea that they are doing this. They do not realize that Haden is in love with you. They do not trust him after he did not tell them how to break the curse.”

I needed to know how much communication, if any, Malamay had with his children.

“Are you sure you can convince Haden to side with you when the time comes for his siblings to resurface?” Malamay asked. “It is clear that he has made a home for himself in Crimson.”

“Yes, he will do whatever I say.”

“Good, because they will not hesitate to try and kill him like they did all those years ago.”

“They are the ones who killed him?”

Instantly, I became enraged. I had never figured out who hurt Haden and Holden, but now it made sense. Haden knew he’d die, and he knew who would kill him.

“Yes, but then he came back for some reason. The heavens must not have liked that his siblings sabotaged his turn and gave him another one.”

“Do you talk to your children?” I asked. “Will they know about our bargain?”

Malamay looked around at all the other stars and turned back to me.

“No, I can’t speak to my children when they are in Hell, not until the curse is broken. Haden would be the only one I could, since he is out to break the curse.”

His eyes narrowed on me for a moment before he sighed heavily.

“What about her?” I asked him as my eyes narrowed on Diath.

“She can’t leave the stars again. She is only allowed out once every hundred years, and she already used it to tell them about the Book of Dark Magic .”

“I know what you are doing with the book. Are you sure you want to go through with that?” he whispered. “Bringing Remiah back will be your downfall.”

“That is the point, Malamay.” I frowned. “I must fall from grace, and I will do it by fixing a mistake I made. This is what you want, what needs to happen to free your children.”

“Do you even know what you have to do to bring someone back from the dead?”

“No, that is what the book will tell me," I sighed. “I will do whatever it takes. Mikel deserves to have a mate.”

“Fine, but you better not go and die bringing her back. You need to fulfill your end of our deal,” he said, resigned.

“If I can’t save them from Hell?” I paused. I wasn’t sure they could actually find the book, but I had been looking for it for nine damn years.

“You will, or you will be damned to the fucking stars.” He moved toward me. His eyes flickered with something they shouldn’t when he looked at me—hopefulness that I would be stuck with him. “You will be stuck here with me for eternity if you don’t help my children out of Hell.”

Dick.

“It’s been nine years; hasn’t she been reborn by now?” He questioned.

“Well, that is why I will go visit Ezra.” I answered.

“Tell him the stars told you to do this if he asks too many questions. Knowing Ezra, he will annoy you with his questions.”

I turned away from him and began pacing around. Remiah had been waiting for Mikel, and the image of it broke my heart. I had seen it in my visions. She was waiting in the After for Mikel. My brother’s mate could be brought back, and I would do that for him.

“If you die, then you will come take your place in the stars with us.”

“I don’t want to be a damn star! I want the life Haden and I planned 300 years ago.” I clenched my teeth. “Haden will be so sad if I die.” I started crying.

Malamay frowned at me. “You are not allowed to tell anyone what you learned today. Haden cannot know about his siblings, and he absolutely cannot know that you are trying to bring Remiah back.”

“Why?”

“Because Haden will try and change fate again.” Malamay grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him. “If Haden interferes, he will not be able to stay, do you understand?”

Is that how he ended up in Hell again? He died trying to stop me?

“Yes.” I looked into his eyes. “I will not tell anyone what I am planning.”

I couldn’t tell Mikel because there was a chance that I could not bring Remiah back. And there was no way in hell that I could tell Haden either. He would try to stop me from bringing her back. If he found out too soon about what I was doing, then he would try to stop me from fulfilling my bargain.

He wouldn’t understand why I was doing this. Malamay turned back to me with a sad smile.

“Are you sure I can do this?” I faked my fear.

“Yes, because you love my son enough to make sure he will not damn himself to Hell.” He swallowed hard. “The heavens picked the best mate for him.”

Diath scoffed and glared at Malamay. I nodded as he flicked his wrist, and his magic circled around me and took me back to Elloryon. As soon as his magic disappeared and I was securely on the ground, I sighed heavily. I think that went well.

I smiled and wiped my fake tears from my face.

It was ridiculous that I could manipulate the stars so fucking easily. Part of me wanted to laugh at how they thought they were tricking me when it was me using and bending everyone around me to get what I wanted.

I could feel Haden tugging on our bond, but I still needed to make sure everything was good to go before I saw him. I needed to make sure Abram would be ready. He would tell Haden what he needed to when I died. Because there was no if I died, I was going to die.

Abram told me it was my fate. I had to die to save everyone and destroy the stars.

My eyes flashed red as I thought about how I was about to make the stars fall from the sky and rip apart the lies of the realm. The gods were about to see what happens when you cross the wrong goddess.

It was almost time to tell Haden I knew his secrets.

It was almost time to die.