Page 49

Haden

“ W hat the fuck do you mean she's about to destroy the stars?” I asked Brim as he began running around his home, digging through things like a madman.

Brim held up his finger, telling us to give him a minute. Then he tore everything out of the cupboard to the left of the fireplace. Brim could almost fit completely inside the damn thing as he pulled an endless amount of shit from it.

“For fuck’s sake, Brim, how much shit can fit in one cupboard?” Cassius asked, amused.

“I wanted this to be hidden away, and what better way than in a pile of random shit?” Brim turned and smiled at us as he held a small black velvet box. It looked identical to the one Della used to give me her star.

“You all might want to sit down for what I’m about to tell you. Because once I do, your world will tilt on its axis, and you will realize nothing has ever been what it seems.”

“Well, that sounds like a fucking nightmare of a story,” Ezra scoffed as he sat down. Thea and Cassius sat next, but I remained standing, staring at Brim, noting the color of his eyes was not normal. He smiled at me when he realized I noticed.

“It’s alright, Haden. Sit your ass down. I have a story to tell you.”

I only sat down because Della vouched for him, and I trusted her with my whole soul.

“You’re going to tell us a story?” I asked. “Shouldn’t we be saving Della?”

Brim started laughing loudly.

“Oh, Haden, Della does not need to be saved. You have no idea who you are mated to. The stars started a war they were never going to win. She can’t lose. It is important that you understand Della and what she had to do—who we really are.”

Fear gripped my lungs as I stared at Brim. What was he about to tell me? He gave me a soft smile.

“I've waited a long time to tell you this story.”

Brim looked over his shoulder as if he'd heard something, then gasped at his reflection in the small window. He clutched his chest as if his own reflection startled him. “Gods-fucking-damn it, Della! You made me an old fucking man?” He looked down at his body and groaned, running a hand over his face. “I’m short as fuck too.”

I looked at Ezra, and he looked at me with some odd expression. Brim lifted his hand, pinching the wrinkled skin, his lips curling with disgust.

“I will never forgive her for this.” He looked at us and noticed we were all confused. Brim smiled. “You’ll understand in a moment why I am having a crisis. Your wife is a damn menace.”

Brim opened the box, and a bright green shimmer overtook his face. He lifted the star out, its surface gleaming a deep green, like the moss in the woods or the needles of a pine tree. There was also a soft glow of yellow within it that pulsed as if it were a heart. It was beautiful.

“Who does that star belong to?” Thea asked.

Brim smiled at her. “It belongs to me, child.”

Before any of us could question him further, he slipped the chain it hung from onto his neck.

The star glowed brightly in the dim room, and the light seemed to emanate power.

But it was a strange power, a power that demanded we bend to its will.

We jumped up as it shot through the home, so bright that I bet it could be seen from outside.

When the light faded, my mouth fell open at what I saw.

Brim stood in front of us, but it was not him at all.

His form before us was now young, unwrinkled, and tall, towering over our heads by a few feet.

He was in black clothing with gold stitching that looked like it was made from the very fabric of the night sky.

His dark brown hair was perfectly styled, and his eyes shined a bright green.

His bronze skin glowed, like Mikel and Della’s, and he had a dark stubble on his chin.

We all stared in awe as he gave us a big grin.

“Oh, my fucking heavens,” Ezra whispered, and I think all of us were thinking the same thing when we saw his face. Brim was now the most handsome man any of us had ever seen. Even Thea’s cheeks blushed a slight pink when she looked at him, earning her an eye roll from Cassius.

“That is better.” He sighed and stared at us. Cassius covered Thea’s eyes as if he could prevent her from seeing a man who could have anyone he wanted. Thea just grabbed Cassius' hand and moved it, her face full of shock.

“What the fuck is this, Brim?” I asked.

“This is what I look like, and please, for the love of everything, stop calling me that ridiculous name Della gave me. My name is Abram. Abe, for short if you’d like.

Della thinks she is fucking funny, and I will make sure she knows I did not appreciate her making me look like a small troll and calling me a nickname I absolutely despise. ”

Oh, my gods, this was the man I had seen go into her room the night that Remiah died, the one who kissed her forehead.

He talked about Della with a deep sense of love, and I instantly knew I would not win against a man who looked like he was sculpted from the heavens. Thea kissed Cassius, while chuckling when he muttered something about Brim being attractive. Ezra was gawking at Br—Abe, who raised his brow at him.

“Why are you the most beautiful thing I have ever seen? Besides my mate, of course.” Ezra cleared his throat as he looked at all of us. “We are all thinking it.”

“It’s part of how I was made.” He brushed it off as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Pay no attention to it,” he said, like we could all ignore the fact that he was too good-looking.

“I’m sorry, but if you tell me that you and Della are in love, I will lose my fucking mind.

” I looked up at him, and he made a look of pure disgust. “Why the hell are you looking like that? Della is fucking beautiful.” My gods, I was actually getting offended that the guy who could steal my mate didn’t want her.

“She is beautiful, and I love her, but she is my sister.”

Sister.

“What?”

“We are getting off topic. Let me tell you a very long story, summed up quickly because Della will need us soon. So be quiet and listen.”

“Yes, sir,” Ezra immediately responded and sat back. I don’t think I had ever seen him so obedient. He shrugged his shoulders at me when I gave him a pointed look.

“I am Abram, God of Fates, and my lovely sister, Ardella, is the Goddess of Creation. And our triplet, Mikel, is the God of Justice and Balance. He is supposed to keep the two of us in check. We are the first gods ever created—part of the old gods. There are others, but they like to keep to themselves, so it’s usually up to the three of us to handle the major stuff.

I’m getting ahead of myself, though. We need to start when Della first saw you.

“Della came to me about some of the gods using unnatural ways to create life, which was absolutely against universal laws.

The Order of the Gods—all of us old gods—made the decision to punish Malamay and Diath for their clear, direct violations.

By that time, though, they had created all seven children, but it was odd because none of you were born.

It was like you all appeared grown and fully matured.

“Della realized that your mother used the Book of the Dead to create you. She did not give birth to you. She crafted you with dead magic. If you can imagine how pissed off Della was when she learned of this, triple it, and you have one pissed-off goddess. I’m not going to lie and say we old gods are forgiving and nice.

Della and I are not that kind. She has always had a bad attitude. ” He smiled.

“But she takes her job seriously, and Diath had broken universal laws with what she did.

Mikel was the one who decided the punishment of your parents.

I wove the threads of their fate to make sure they both died.

They went to the stars like the other dead gods, but Della revoked their right to be reborn.

They could die for good or work off an existence of treason. They obviously chose the latter."

Abe stared at me and sighed heavily.

“We were supposed to kill you and your siblings; you were created in a way that should not have been possible.

Della was meant to kill you—until she saw you and pleaded with me to spare your lives and banish you to Hell instead.

There are different Hells; each one serves its own purpose.

So, you and your siblings were sent to a…

private Hell, I guess you could call it.

“I did not know that Della had feelings for you. I thought she was just feeling bad for you and your siblings because it wasn’t your fault.” He frowned before continuing. “I knew who her mate was supposed to be. I had seen it for a hundred years at that point, and it wasn’t you.”

I stared at him, confused.

“You weren’t supposed to get a mate because of how you were created.

You never should have had any sort of mating bond.

” He sighed and started laughing. “My pain-in-the-ass sister begged me for the name of her mate and where they would be born. Della is persistent, and eventually I gave in and told her. Do you know what that little shit did?”

His eyes stared directly into mine. “She made sure he was never born. She killed him before he was ever created, and as the Goddess of Creation, it was within her rights.”

Fuck, I shouldn’t like that, but I really did.

“Then she got a different mate, and she did the same thing to him.” Abe rubbed his hands down his face. “I refused to tell her who her mate was the next time, and it happened to be Holden.”

I looked at him as he shook his head.