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“She's trying to find a way to bring Remiah back. That has to be it. She came to the house the night before she left, and we talked about Remiah and how maybe the heavens would give her back to me.” His eyes filled with tears.

“Like the heavens did with you and her. I love Remiah with my entire soul, and I do not want any other mate. It is her, or it is no one.”

His words shot straight through my wrath-filled heart. Remiah loved Mikel wholeheartedly. Part of me understood why he had been such an asshole to everyone since Remiah died. I would have done the same. The realization made me frown at Mikel.

“She loved you more than anything too,” I said, because it felt like I should acknowledge it. Mikel’s tears spilled over at that point. Gods, he just wanted to hear that she loved him too. Mikel turned from us as he tried to compose himself.

“But Remiah died so long ago; how could that be possible?” Thea asked.

“It’s not.” Mikel turned toward us. “Trust me, I’ve been searching for a way to bring someone back, and there isn’t one. So maybe when she realizes that she can’t, she will come back home. Besides, I’m sure Remiah’s soul has moved on and is already in its next life.”

“So, she will be your mate again?” Cassius asked.

“I don’t know. Some say that a soul can choose if they want to wait for their mate or they can go on to the next life without them. But some gods don’t die, so Remiah would be waiting for nothing. Gods, I hope she did not wait for me.” I could see the devastation and guilt in his eyes.

“Like my mother and Killian,” Thea muttered. “Killian chose to wait for her, and then they didn’t move on right away.”

“What if Remiah’s soul is here?” I asked.

“It’s not; I would be able to see it.” Thea shot that down. “Besides, Della would have said something.”

Mikel sighed heavily, and I felt bad for him. His mate had died, and he did not know if she would ever come back to him. He looked destroyed. Gods, this is what I will turn into if Della doesn't come back to me soon.

“Anyway, I visited a lot of witches’ covens, and they all said the same thing: Della came to them asking for a way to bring a soul back, and when they couldn’t help her, she left immediately.

There are witch covens that even I do not know exist, though, so, Thea, I thought maybe you had a better idea on where we could find them or who to ask. ”

“I’ll ask the blood witches to help by visiting the covens and asking them. I’ll be back.” Thea disappeared before any of us could say a word.

“Thea will make sure every witch coven is combed through.” Cassius looked at me.

I knew she would. But my mind was lost in the thought of Della being so desperate to make things right that she thought she could bring Remiah back from the grave.

Did my words to her make her feel like she had to do this?

My head pounded with tension. She would come back to me when she realized she couldn’t save Remiah.

A moment later, Thea reappeared.

“The blood witches will visit all of the covens in Elloryon. We will know by the end of the day which covens she has visited and which ones she hasn’t.”

“We’re close to finding her.” Mikel sighed, relieved.

Thank the heavens because I was slowly losing my fucking mind.

“Are you sure this book can’t be used to bring someone back from the dead?

” Thea asked Mikel. He gave her an odd look.

“When I mentioned it to the coven, they all became quiet. And when I told them why we thought she wanted it, they did not seem to think that was out of the question. In fact, one of the women said a witch coven was asked to keep it so that others couldn’t do exactly that—bring someone back from the dead. ”

Mikel let out a shaky breath. “You’re saying there is a chance she could bring her back if she has been waiting in the After for me?” There was a hopefulness in his voice that made me hopeful too.

“What would the cost of doing something like that be?” Cassius looked at Mikel. “Surely Della would have to give up something to do this.”

“I have no idea.” Mikel began pacing around the small space. Gods, he was making me anxious. “Abram will probably be pissed off.”

“Abram, the old god?” I asked. “How would he know?”

Mikel stopped pacing around and stared me in the eyes. His eyes were filled with regret as he sighed heavily.

“Ardella talked to you about Abram?”

“I mean, she mentioned him before in passing.” I was not about to confess to Mikel that his sister was mated to a God of Hell.

“Abram is the God of Fate; he will know what she has done. I guess it will work in her favor that he cares for her. So, I doubt he will punish her. That would be my decision anyway as the God of Judgment. But he knows that she has changed fate more than once.”

“Wait, you knew she changed fate?” I asked.

“Not until she told me that you were her mate again. It should not have been possible, but Ardella has always been persistent.” Mikel stared at me oddly.

“Abram cares for Della?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Calm down, I didn’t mean it that way.” Mikel rolled his eyes.

“Aren’t the old gods supposed to be hard to find?” I asked.

“They are only hard to find if you want to harm them—like you and your siblings.” He raised his brow at me. “God of Wrath. Of course, Della would be the one to mate with someone completely off limits.”

“I don’t want to harm the old gods anymore, but they made a shitty decision when they damned us to Hell for the sins of our mother.”

“You mean your mother and father,” Mikel corrected. I stared at him, confused. “Your mother may have been the mastermind behind defying the heavens, but your father agreed to it.”

“No—”

“Yes.” Mikel cut me off. “He admitted to it.

He and your mother defied the natural order of things.

They really pissed off the Goddess of Creation because you were all created to be destructive.

You should have been born naturally, and the heavens would decide if you got godly powers or not.

Your parents created you from their stars, completely bypassing the natural laws of creation and making sure you all had powerful magic.

“You and your siblings were sent to Hell because of how your parents created you to be.” He was sure to emphasize the ‘s’.

“They wanted you to be destructive, and the heavens and old gods could not allow the chance for all of you to destroy the realm. That is why your magic was stripped from you.”

Mikel’s words swarmed my mind. Then my stomach fell when I realized Mateo was not lying to me, Della was.

“But I have magic.”

“Yes, starlight, but I mean…”

“No, I have magic. I’ve always had magic. I have frost magic, I have visions, and sometimes I can jump into others’ minds and see memories, plant false memories, or erase things.”

Mikel’s face paled.

“Godsdamn it, Ardella.” He closed his eyes tightly as he thought about what I said. When his eyes opened, he watched me closely. “She did that. Did you get any other magic?”

“What about being void—is that magic?” Thea asked.

Mikel’s hands ran down his face, and he began pacing again. He was muttering to himself so quietly that I could not make out what he was saying.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Ardella gave you her magic.” After a moment he sighed heavily. “Except the frost magic, that is from your father. He has the same magic, but the rest would be from Ardella.”

“So… she came to Hell and gave me magic,” I spoke slowly, like he would tell me it was a stupid thought to have.

“Apparently.” He began to chuckle. “Shit, Ardella is up to something, and it appears she has been up to it for quite some time. That would explain why Abram is hiding as well. He must know her plans. Fuck, he is probably helping her. Damn them for not telling me. They are always leaving me out of shit.”

“What the fuck is happening?” I asked.

Mikel faced me. “It looks like Ardella has been manipulating fate, and Abram has not stopped her—which is odd. So, they know something no other gods do. Something bad is happening if they didn’t tell me.

They are trying to protect me, and Della gave you her magic.

We only do that when we finish the mating process.

But she went to Hell to give it to you, and I don’t have an answer for that. ”

Great. My wife was keeping secrets from her own brother and the other gods—from me.