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“I still do not understand how she did it. She figured out who her mate was going to be through her mind-jumping bullshit magic. I had been blocking her from going into my mind, but I’m pretty sure she did it as I slept.

But when you decided to try and break your curse, you had to be reborn.

Della was in charge of picking your family, and she picked Holden’s parents.

I think she believed she could replace Holden’s birth with you.

But it didn’t work. And then she died—right after she tried. "

“Died?” I looked at him.

“Yes, she needed to die so she could go spy on your parents in the stars without looking suspicious. Don’t worry, old gods can’t die for good unless we decide we want to, and then we retire in the heavens if we wish.

But old gods come back the exact same way, and they come back almost immediately.

We do not need to be reborn; our magic and power allow for a quick transition. ”

Abe stared at me for a long moment.

"Della, Mikel, and I all had visions of you and your siblings escaping Hell and destroying the realm.

But she knew that if she could transfer the bond to you, then we couldn't kill you without cursing ourselves.

We can't harm others' mates without punishment—it is the greatest offense we can commit.

And gods be damned, she figured out how to do it.

" He laughed, but he was proud of her. "Mikel started having visions of the stars starting a war, and my clever sister made a deal with the heavens.

"The heavens were still upset that she mated herself to a God of Hell.

They have the right to take our mates from us, but she bargained with them.

She gets to have you for a mate if she fixes her mistakes.

So she had to bring Remiah back. She had to take away your mating bond so that you had the chance to choose her.

She has to kill the stars because she took pity on Malamay and did not evaporate that prick like she should have.

She must find the old god that is helping the stars and punish them.

She had to make sure Thea fulfilled her prophecy and survived. "

He looked at Thea for her reaction.

"I was part of the bargain?" Thea asked, confused.

"Yes. You and Cassius will have children who are very important to Elloryon." Abram looked at Thea oddly. "Della did not give you all your memories after you broke your curse."

Thea's gaze snapped to him. "What?"

"You don't remember, but you met Malamay a very long time ago—right after you died and were sent to Exile.

Malamay lied to you, saying that he could get you out of Exile for good if you got him the Book of the Dead.

He needed a witch—no, he needed you—to retrieve the Book of the Dead because the old gods had stolen it from Avesh and hidden it among the covens.

We knew that damn book was going to be used to destroy Elloryon.

Della gave your mother the book to safeguard it, and Bayla put a spell on it that only the queen of blood witches could retrieve it from hiding. "

"But I never got the book," Thea said, confused.

"That's why my siblings were so set on getting Thea on our side—because my father told them about the bargain.

He still needed the book. He needed Thea to free it," I said.

"That's why Della was searching the witch covens for the book, but how did she get it out without Thea?

" I paused. "Della wiped her own memories? "

"No, she only locked away certain things, and Cassius was not the only one who unlocked memories for her—I did too.

You have to understand that between Mikel, Della, and I, we knew what was going to happen.

Unfortunately for Mikel, he was a risk to Della doing what she needed to do, so she wiped some of his memories too.

He forgot until recently that we were old gods. "

Abram ran his hands down his face, then looked at Thea.

"Della's going to kick my fucking ass for telling you all of this." He paused with a heavy sigh. "You released the book without even knowing. All it took was a touch of your finger, and it was there for the taking."

"When the hell did I do that?" Thea asked.

"Do you remember Rosaline?" he asked. Thea nodded. "That was not Rosaline—it was Della, using illusion magic."

Thea stood up. "What the fuck?"

"Rosaline was Killian's mother, but she died long before she could give you the letter from your mother.

That bookstore was hers when she was alive.

Della knew the book was there, but she couldn't take it because of the spell.

So when she took you there with her magic, she made sure you stood near the shelf with the book.

She thought you might be drawn to it—like its power would call to you.

And she was right. You dragged your fingers over the leather-bound books.

You touched the book without realizing, and gave her the chance to take it when she left you in the room to read the letter from your mother. "

My gods. My wife had woven a web of carefully constructed lies and illusions. I watched Thea stare at Abe in confusion before she sat down.

"Della brought the book to me and told me to hide it with someone I trusted.

" His eyes seemed to gleam. "So I gave it to the Deathweaver Coven, because Elowyn is the biggest pain in my ass and no one would suspect that I'd hide it with them.

Della didn't know where I hid it, but I told Elowyn that Della was the only one who could take the book.

Malamay tried to get it from her, but he couldn't. That is why he sent Della after it. "

"What else did she keep from me?" Thea asked, her voice tinged with hurt.

"Nothing. I can see this has upset you." Abe stared at Thea before taking a step toward her.

"I don't usually tell others what their original fate was, but I think it's important for you to understand.

You were going to get that book, and you were going to give it to Malamay.

That one decision would've destroyed the realm, Thea, and you would've never broken your curse.

You would've forgotten Cassius. And when Haden and his siblings came up from Hell, they would've destroyed Elloryon, and you would've been so riddled with guilt that you wouldn't have been able to live with yourself.

"You died, Thea. That was going to be your fate, and Cassius would've followed you as soon as he realized what had happened.

Your fate was not a good one, and Della made a promise to Bayla.

Della was never going to let you go down that path, so yes, she lied to you—but she saved you because of it.

The visions your mother had of Elloryon being destroyed weren't just from your father—Bayla was seeing Haden and his siblings coming from Hell.

Della would've ended up killing Haden if that had happened, and we wouldn't have stopped the destruction in time.

Elloryon would've had to be created from the ground up. "

Thea's eyes filled with tears as Abe grabbed her shoulder.

"You didn't know what would happen when you agreed to help Malamay, and Della didn't want you to ever know you agreed to it. That is why she kept it from you. Della loves you, Thea. She was protecting you."

Thea nodded as she sat down on the couch and pulled Cassius to her in a tight hug.

"But my siblings were using the Book of Dark Magic. Why did my father want the Book of the Dead?" I asked.

"Remember how I said your parents used the book to create you and your siblings? They were going to create more children."

Ezra sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "For fuck's sake."

"When Della came to me all those years ago to convince me to help her, I thought she had lost her mind, Haden.

Why go through all that work for a man she shouldn't have wanted?

But she is persistent and persuasive. If she completes all of those tasks and saves the realm and the gods, then the heavens will let you two be mates. "

“But when I met her 500 years ago, before I went to see Avesh, I saw a faint bond between us,” I confessed.

He nodded with a smile.

"I have a theory about that—well about Della in general—that I haven't shared with her.

I don't know if I will ever know the extent of her powers.

Most of us think of life and death when we think of the Goddess of Creation, but what if it isn't that simple?

I think Della can create…anything she wants for the most part.

I think she can create new realities, new fates, even new truths.

Della creates more than just life. She came to me after that day in Akecia and told me there was a bond between you two.

But it wasn't there the whole time. She said it only appeared after you told her that, 'Maybe fate would catch up to you two,' when you saw each other again.

"My theory is that Della created that bond with you, but it couldn't become real until you agreed to it.

When you said those words, the universe believing you wanted it too, so it let her create a new fate for the both of you.

But it was faint and not fully intact. She was convinced it was because you were in Hell.

She was pissed when she realized that you hadn't taken Holden’s existence but rather became his twin.

And when you were born, the bond went to the wrong child.

“She begged me to change the fates, but you both had to want to be mates. That is why her bond with Holden didn’t go anywhere.

Della had rejected the idea of anyone but you.

Then you met her, and it was clear why she wanted you; you were completely enamored by her.

I couldn’t help but think that if you were born under normal circumstances, then you would have been with her. Do you remember what happened next?”

“My siblings killed me so that they could try their turn at breaking the curse.”