EPILOGUE #2
"You know, Snow… I never understood why you couldn’t see my future even though you could see everyone else’s.
And I guess I was a little angry about it, because when I was a kid I thought you were doing it on purpose, that you weren’t telling me because you just didn’t want to help me, because you didn’t care what happened to me…
And then I believed you truly couldn’t see it, but that didn’t change the fact that I was still angry, because if you had seen it, a lot of terrible things might not have happened in my life… "
Snow slowly turns toward me, his expression filled with this strange kind of sadness.
"If I had been able to see your future, Bay, my power could have affected you, and so could Summer’s.
Then you wouldn’t have been able to stop the catastrophe.
So in a twisted way, everything lined up perfectly.
It was meant to be. But… I am truly sorry I couldn’t help you, and that you felt let down. "
A heavy sigh escapes me.
"Sometimes I think that the war between us never needed to happen, we could have just been… brothers, and supported each other. And there were days when I really needed that support."
Snow looks at me seriously.
"We can still be brothers, Bay." He says it and then lifts his hand slowly, placing it on my shoulder, and it feels strange, alien almost. "That’s the best part. We can still be brothers and from now on, from today, we can make different choices. A fresh start."
He tilts his head almost teasingly.
"And besides, we have more in common than any of our other brothers. After all, you and I are both devas."
I laugh quietly. "That term always amused me, even if there’s a grain of truth in it. It sounds like something from mythology."
"And what’s funny, now our situations are even more similar," Snow adds. "Summer and I used to be Twin Souls but… we fused our souls and then separated them again. Summer wanted that. That’s why we’re also True Mates now."
I heard about this from my dad, so I know what he means, what Snow and Summer went through.
"Sometimes I wonder how something like that is even possible. Fusing and splitting souls is incredible, and I guess it seems instinctive. We both did it."
Snow shakes his head firmly.
"Nothing like that. Neither you nor I could split our souls. That’s not part of our talents."
I raise my brows a little.
"I don’t get what you mean. We clearly did it."
"Nope. Dad did it."
"Excuse me?"
Snow bares his teeth in a small grin. "Think about it. Every time that miracle happened, Dad was there. He has a powerful energy matrix that’s basically the essence of creation.
Dad helped me fuse my soul with Summer’s, and that’s why we survived that catastrophe.
As Twin Souls, we couldn’t have done it on our own.
And in your case, Dad helped split your soul so he could create a True Mate for you in Alex, back when your original Twin Soul left his body when Alex died in that accident. "
I stare at him and Snow hesitates. "That was the only vision I ever had of you, Bay.
When I was a kid, I dreamed it and tried to draw it for Dad, but of course no one believed me.
I dreamed that Fate sent his angel, his messenger, to earth…
you. Even with a torn soul, you still fulfilled your mission.
You helped us, you stopped the catastrophe, you saved all of us.
Thank you for that. I will always be in your debt. "
Wow, that sounded intense and even gave me a little shiver, almost as if Fate himself had blown a breath of wind across my neck.
"No problem," I mutter, looking to the side, trying to downplay it, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "Although I’m not sure how much of a special ‘messenger’ I am and how much I was just the right person at the right time. Probably a coincidence," I add with a crooked smile, because the idea of being some sort of angel sent by Fate just doesn’t fit in my head. It sounds too weird. Then I continue, almost lightly, "So you’re saying that without Dad, I wouldn’t have my True Mate at all… "
I interrupt for a moment, because to be honest, Snow’s words make everything just click into place. It becomes logical. It’s strange that I didn’t see it before.
"So our dad has to have a passive creative power. Maybe he’s a deva too?"
"It’s possible, or something else entirely," Snow winks.
"That instinct he has, almost supernatural, the way he influences events. He seems to know certain things before they happen, kind of like you, maybe more subtly, but it’s really an incredible intuition. He really does hold us all together. There’s a certain… power in him."
I turn and look toward the tables where Dad is moving among them, stopping at one and then another, smiling and radiating energy like a ball of light.
"Or maybe it's just this deep love he has for us," Snow whispers.
And suddenly I say it, just like that,
"I’m sorry, Snow, if I was an asshole to you."
Snow flinches slightly, as if my words caught him off guard. His eyes fix on me, studying, and he slowly nods, as if he’s truly taking in my words and everything behind them.
"And I’m sorry if I was one to you," he says with complete sincerity.
And then, for the first time in my life, I hug Snow like a brother hugs a brother. For the first time, I feel free to do so. I don’t have to hold on to any grudges toward any of my brothers anymore. There’s no need for it. Everything has settled in our lives.
I smile at Snow and he laughs back, pats my back, and shoulder to shoulder we walk toward the tables again.
But… at some point I notice a black car pulling into my parents’ driveway, the part I can see from the spot near our table.
So, I don’t sit down, I just mutter to Snow, "Excuse me for a moment. I need to talk to someone."
I walk up to the car because I know immediately who’s inside, although I have no idea why he decided to show up here.
My cooperation with Ennio ended the moment Alex and I got back together. Ennio became capo and no longer needed to fight the illegal operations inside the mafia, because now he was the one deciding how the organization functioned. We said our goodbyes then and I thought I’d never see him again.
The door opens.
Ennio steps out. I haven’t seen him in exactly a year, and he’s changed so much.
Of course he still wears his signature perfectly tailored black suit, apparently you never grow out of that mafia fashion, and his hair is still slicked back into a long ponytail, but his face…
Wow.
"First of all, I’d like to know what you’re doing here, and second, I need to ask if you found the fountain of youth or… if you found your True Mate," I say with a bit of sarcasm.
A subtle smirk appears at the corner of Ennio’s mouth.
"I’m invited. That’s the answer to the first question, and as for the second, the second one is true."
I stare at him in disbelief, blinking a few times and even rubbing my eyes once because I can’t believe it.
Ennio’s face was always attractive, and he looked young for his age, thirty-four at the time, but now he looks like he’s in his twenties!
His skin has this almost rosy glow, and he radiates an energy I’ve never seen in him before, this lightness… almost happiness.
"Whoa, Ennio. Congratulations! I’m really happy you found your fated mate, because if anyone deserved it, it was you," I say still sounding a little stunned. "But… who invited you to this wedding?"
"Your dad did. After all, my True Mate is from your family…" Another smirk.
I blink even faster, like my brain just blue-screened.
"Hold on, wait, repeat that again slowly like I’m an idiot."
Ennio smirks again.
"What’s there not to get? It all started in a very not-safe-for-public-ears way, so forgive me for skipping the details, but it’s true. I met him—"
"No, no, hold on, I can’t wrap my head around it. You came for the wedding, but where’s your True Mate then?"
Ennio sighs heavily, and I’m convinced he’s about to pull out a vape, but he doesn’t. He stands relaxed and tilts his head.
Did he drop the vape like I did? I no longer need it. Maybe it’s the same for him?
"Well, I couldn’t make it to the main ceremony; I had a business matter to take care of, but I made it to the reception… I hope the newlyweds forgive me."
"Who is he?! Your True Mate?"
I turn around because I see Ennio’s eyes shift past my shoulder toward the lawn, where someone is walking, almost running toward us with this bright, cheerful energy.
"That’s him," he whispers, and then breaks into a wide smile.
Unbelievable, and yet, apparently happiness is possible for everyone. For every person, even the ones who gave up on it completely.
How wonderful… The world can turn around. It did for me, after a decade of suffering, and for Ennio after almost two decades of loneliness.
"Congratulations," I whisper and hug Ennio tightly for the first time. "And thank you for everything. This really is a wonderful day."
Then I look at Ennio and his True Mate as they wrap their arms around each other, and my heart squeezes with emotion. Are my eyes a little wet? Our difficult paths have finally found their perfect ending.