Reuniting
Sienna
Ahush falls across Solaria as the sun dips in the sky. My heart has been pounding since this duel began, fearing for their lives. No one could die for me; it wasn’t fair.
But they had won. They were incredible, mind-blowing, and utterly amazing. A battle of such calibre was beautiful to witness, too. Extremely intense, but the Westwood brothers were a reckoning, and seeing them in action, it’s one for the history books.
However, seeing them in the state they are in now, my heart bleeds.
Hearing the exhaustion in Jayce’s words only makes me feel guiltier.
I don’t know how much time has passed on Earth.
Maybe a year, I’m not sure, but Jayce looks older.
He seems to have mastered new skills with his powers. He’s incredible.
Right now, I want to go down there and heal him, heal them all, but I can’t move until the Divine Order deems it fit. They are still in their spot, looking down into the destroyed arena, their ancient eyes taking in everything from beneath their hoods.
I look across at Heaven and Allie, both of whom are staring down at the battlefield, too.
Allie almost shifted several times, her eyes blazing red as she struggled to contain her lycan.
They had smiled at me when our eyes first met, and all I wanted to do was run over to them and apologise. To tell them I’m sorry. Sorry for not telling them everything that was going on, sorry for not being able to do anything to fix this. Sorry for hurting them.
Heaven’s eyes widen before she turns, trying to get past the celestial guards.
They block her, and I can see her pointing towards the ground.
I turn to see it’s in Theo’s direction. His blood drips onto the cracked floor.
He’s barely standing, his scythe dissolving into black mist, and I can see he’s got a huge wound in his stomach that hasn’t begun healing yet.
Her power ripples around her, but then one of the Divine Order turns to her.
“The duel may be over, but the terms are to be spoken, and only then can they be binding. None may interfere until then!”
She stills, her eyes wide, her aura rising, but she doesn’t move towards them, waiting, albeit impatiently.
A member of the Divine Order, the one whose voice had declared the victory, now raises a hand.
“You have done what was deemed impossible, Deimos King. And in return, you seek the wife of a god, one who currently bears his mark.” Anger ripples through me as I remember the moment Helios had pressed his lips against my neck at our wedding ceremony, and I had felt intense heat before a glowing sun had appeared.
“To claim this victory and to free her, you must mark her.”
My heart thunders as I look down at Jayce, whose eyes now snap to mine, a dazzling blue rage clear in his eyes.
“I have to mark her? That was not part of the deal.” Jayce’s voice is cold, and it sends a stab of pain through me. He’s angry at me, isn’t he? I can’t fault him.
The audience watches on in intrigue, enjoying the show before them. There are a few gods, but I’m unable to see who they are as they partially mask their presences.
I look down, keeping my face emotionless as my final moments on Earth replay in my mind. The way he begged me, the way he pleaded.
The way I broke him.
“She is not free until the mark of Helios is removed, and only a ruler touched by a god has the power to remove another god’s mark. Ideal for you, Deimos King, since you came to win the Goddess of the Sun.”
“Understood,” Jayce answers.
“Queen Sienna, descend to the arena,” the Divine Order commands.
Golden steps appear from my throne, leading down into the destruction, and I stand, slowly walking down them. My stomach is a mess of nerves. It’s taking everything in my power not to run into his arms.
My eyes flicker to Helios, who is still down on one knee, his burning eyes staring ahead unseeingly. He’s deep in thought, and I can sense his anger.
“With this victory, does the Sun God promise to let his past grudges go?” Jayce asks, his eyes on Helios.
Helios does not reply, but the Divine Order does. “As agreed, this shall put an end to the desire for vengeance on Helios’ behalf. Is it not so, Sun God?”
Helios now looks up. “Yes, as agreed. I am a god of my word. I always have been.” He stands and looks at me, his eyes travelling over me with what one might almost say is sadness, but not quite.
Helios doesn’t care for me. I was just something he took from someone he didn’t like, like a child satisfied with stealing a toy from someone who loved it.
I step off the golden stairs just as Helios walks towards me.
“You return to your fated. The future of Earth is unknown. I do hope you survive it,” Helios says arrogantly.
“I’m sure I will, after all, we all witnessed what mortals are capable of,” I answer calmly yet clearly.
He arches a brow. “Perhaps,” he says. “But the endurance of men often births rebellion. Be careful what flame you keep lit, Deimos King.” His eyes flick to Jayce before returning to me, and he smiles.
That same arrogant smile he always has. “I look forward to witnessing what comes after trust has been shattered.”
With those words, he walks past me and up the steps.
“Did he say fated?” Renji asks in surprise.
“As in mates?” Ares asks.
“Again with the secrets, one would think you’d tell everyone the goddamn truth, especially if they’re helping you out,” Carter grunts. He’s still in a lot of pain.
Theo simply smirks. “That’s a plot twist I’m not surprised about.”
“Mates?!” I hear Allie somewhere above us.
I glance at Helios’ back as he heads up the steps.
He is weakened, but he will be fine. The gods will have to have a meeting on whether they agree to reinstate his divine mark or if they’ll choose a new Sun God.
I’m sure he’ll get his power again because, although I don’t like him, he is not evil, and he has centuries and centuries of experience in this role.
When the world is so unstable, changing a divine being of power would be a dangerous idea.
I now look at Jayce, my heart aching as I slowly make my way towards him, hesitating. I still find it hard to believe he is here before me. That he came for me, even if he’s angry.
I had dreamt of a moment like this, to be able to be back in his arms, but none of them were like this; then again, this isn’t a dream.
He doesn’t move, his eyes lock with mine, his jaw clenched, but his face is unreadable. I wonder what is going on in his mind because he’s controlling his emotions perfectly behind a mask. I stop a few feet away and look at the five brothers.
“Thank you for fighting for me,” I say to them all. “I’ll forever be grateful.”
Renji smiles and shakes his head with a wave of his hand. “It wasn’t much.” He’s saying that despite his injuries.
“Well, you know, being as amazing as we are, this was a walk in the park,” Theo adds.
“Yeah, if it’s fucking Jurassic Park,” Ares remarks, making me smile.
“Nice mask,” I say, pointing to the skull that covers the bottom half of Theo’s face.
“It’s actually a part of me; neat, init?”
“Very,” I answer. “And the trident, Poseidon, that’s incredible.”
Ares grunts.
I look at Carter, who simply nods. “Doesn’t mean you’re forgiven yet,” he says quietly to me. “Because of your decision, our family got-”
“We don’t need to discuss that here,” Jayce cuts in. I turn back to my love, my fingers curling into a fist as I resist reaching out to brush his hair off his forehead.
He looks like a god, with the clothes he’s wearing, the way his skin glows, the scars on his body beautifully glimmering gold. Some might call me biased, but regardless, he looks the most handsome. From the moment he stepped onto the arena, his essence was radiating off him.
“Hey,” I say softly.
“Hmm,” he responds, closing the gap between us. His scent from beneath the blood and ash hits, and the urge to fling my arms around him almost takes over. He reaches up his hand, cupping the side of my face. Sparks jolt through me as he leans closer. “Let’s do this.”
My eyes flutter shut. Gods, he’s irresistible.
His lips almost brush my ear, his warm breath making my heart pound, not caring for the audience we have.
My core tightens before he speaks, his voice barely audible.
“This is only to free you… But once my mark is there, it’ll never be able to be removed by another. The choice is now yours. Shall I mark you or not, because it will mean nothing to me?”
The words are cold and harsh, filled with resentment. They cut deep, like a knife slicing through my heart, but he is the only one I will ever love, the only one whose mark I would want to wear, anyway. It’s him or no one.
“Mark me,” I answer quietly. Time has changed him, the pain has morphed him, but it’s also changed me.
I don’t move, I don’t cry. I hold it all in – controlling it with balance as he sinks his teeth into the spot where Helios’ mark that I so resented once shone. Pleasure erupts through me, like a wave of ecstasy that hits me like a tidal wave, one that is entirely dizzying.
I feel the snap of the bond I fractured a long time ago come alive.
“And it is done. The duel and promise have been completed,” one from the Divine Order says from above.
Jayce extracts his teeth as he slowly moves away and steps back, licking my blood from his lips.
Gods, he’s sexy.
Then Heaven and Allie are racing towards us, both having jumped into the arena, and they fling their arms around me, almost toppling me over.
“You’re finally here. We fucking missed you,” Allie says.
For her to say that, she really must have.
I fight back my tears as I nod. “I missed you both, too. I never thought I’d ever see you again,” I whisper softly.
Heaven nods as she moves back and cups my face, pressing her forehead to mine as she cries silently.
“Look at you both!” I say. “Loving the get-ups.”
“Yeah, it’s some weird soul representation thing,” Allie says, with a sceptical look down at her ensemble.
The garments that represent us, the ones that our souls shall wear once we have passed on. I look at Heaven. She hasn’t said a word, and I smile at her.
“Say something,” I whisper, holding both their hands to my chest.
She raises her other hand. I missed you, she writes.
I frown. “Why aren’t you speaking?” I ask, concern flooding me.
It’s a long story, not now, Heaven writes, waving her hand dismissively. I nod, but something makes me feel uneasy. Is it because of me?
Heaven pulls away, turning to Theo, and I’m relieved when she casts a spell, placing her hand on his abdomen. At least she can still perform spells, but… what happened?
“Upset I’m hurt, Blondie?” Theo drawls with a smirk.
I smile as Heaven glares at him.
“Right, I can heal!” I shake my head, raising my hands, but Jayce steps back, motioning to Carter.
“I’m fine,” he says, turning his back on me. It hurts, but nothing can dampen the happiness of seeing all these familiar faces surrounding me.
Once I’ve healed the other three quints, I see Heaven’s moved from Theo to Jayce, who again refuses, but she ignores him and heals him anyway. I’m grateful he at least allowed her to.
I’m going to have to fight for his forgiveness, but I’m ready.
I owe him that much.
“So, can we leave now?” Ares grumbles.
“Yes!” Renji, Allie and Theo say in unison, but Heaven steps forward.
Just one thing, she writes, before turning to look up at Helios, who sits on his throne like he hadn’t just been brought to his knees. May I have a word with the Sun God, Helios?
The Divine Order looks towards Helios, who cocks a brow, curiosity in his eyes.
I want to tell her not to; nothing good comes from talking to him, but she came all the way here. She knows what she’s doing.
Helios smirks. “Very well, Daughter of Hecate, come.”