Chapter 20
Abram
Icouldn’t find her.
My chest ached as I came home to an empty house. Every time I left, I convinced myself she would be here when I returned. That this was all some cruel mistake. That I would wake up from this fucking nightmare and find her exactly where I’d left her.
But the house stayed silent.
Her presence lingered anyway—caught in the air, pressed into the walls, clinging to everything I touched. It made the emptiness worse. Tears burned behind my eyes as I stared at our bedroom door. I hadn’t slept in there since she left. I wasn’t sure I ever could again.
I pushed the door open.
The absence hit me like a blade to the lungs. I couldn’t breathe past it. The bed was still made, untouched, like it was waiting for someone who would never come back.
“Please come home, Elowyn,” I whispered into the quiet.
Her wedding ring sat exactly where she’d left it.
I approached it slowly, like it might scorch me if I reached too fast. When I finally picked it up, my hands shook. I slipped it onto my pinky, the weight of it wrong and perfect all at once.
I couldn’t do this without her.
And for the first time since she’d vanished, the truth settled heavy in my chest. She hadn’t just left.
She’d erased herself from me.
I used my star mist to go to Della’s home and pounded on the door until it swung open to a shirtless Haden.
“Abe?” He glanced around like I might have found Elowyn. “What’s wrong?”
He moved as I stepped inside. Della sat on the couch watching me. She must have seen it, the heartbreak in my eyes because she stood up and hugged me tightly.
“I can’t find her,” I muttered. “Where the fuck could she have gone?”
“We’ve been looking too,” she confessed. “Thea and Cassius also went to Akecia to see if she were there, but no luck. We’ll find her though. We will bring her home.”
I pulled back and looked at my sister. Her star-colored eyes filled with pity for me.
“Haden and I were talking, and we realized that we also don’t remember everything about the day Loma came here. Haden remembers things that I don’t and vice versa.” Della sighed.
So it was her. I had pushed her existence from my mind, and it hadn't been difficult when all I could focus on was finding Elowyn.
“Did she show up at your doorstep?” I asked. “It’s odd that she came days after I saw the mating bond and ignored it.”
Della looked confused again, like she couldn’t remember how Loma appeared at their home. She looked at Haden.
“You don’t remember?” he asked her. She shook her head. Haden looked at me. “Ezra brought her.”
“Ezra…” I realized I had forgotten that Ezra had been there at all. “I need to go see him and figure out what is going on.”
“Take us with you,” Haden said as he slipped on his tunic.
My heart was pounding as I wrapped my magic around us and took us to Ezra’s home. My magic disappeared, the star mist falling away to reveal that we now stood in the foyer. I listened for a moment to see if I could hear him, but it was silent.
“Ezra!” I yelled.
Nothing.
“Ezra!”
He appeared a moment later, sweaty with no shirt on and bleeding from a wound on his chest. His eyes were red as he stared at us confused. My eyes fell to the tattoo over his heart—a pink lily.
“Friends, what do I owe this visit to?” he smiled.
He turned around to find something. His back was bleeding too, drops of blood running down the tattoo of a sword running down his spine. The rest of his back was also covered in tattoos, some swords, skulls, and things I couldn't identify. After a moment, he slipped a tunic on.
“Sorry, I was dealing with a dickhead of a soul.” He looked at us slowly before focusing on me. “What’s wrong?”
“We need to talk about Loma and where the hell she came from.”
He watched me oddly. “Okay,” he walked to the sitting room off to the side.
We all sat down, and he sighed heavily.
“There isn’t a lot to say. She showed up at my doorstep saying she was sent by someone in Gilyx to retrieve the location of the three artifacts.
She said something about needing them to save the realm.
” He leaned back in his chair. “I had no fucking clue what she was talking about, but she mentioned Della and you by name so I thought you knew her.”
“Wait, she knew our names?” Della asked. “That’s odd; she acted as if she had never heard of us.”
“She used magic on me.” I looked at Ezra. “She made me forget about Elowyn and fucked up my marriage.”
“Marriage?” Ezra stood up. “What the fuck, man? We’re supposed to be best friends, and I wasn’t even invited?”
I sighed heavily as Ezra looked like a child pouting.
“No one knew, and it happened accidentally. It was all because of a spell that Elowyn had cast, looking for a husband. I don't understand it all. I would’ve told you; that is why I came to Della’s.
But then Loma was there, and she fucked with me.
I think she knew exactly what she was doing by making me forget Elowyn.
Now my wife is gone, and I have to find her. ”
Ezra stared at me before he grinned like he was the happiest man on the earth.
“I knew you had a thing for her.” His grin widened when I rolled my eyes. “You are a terrible liar.”
“Shut up, Ezra,” I scoffed.
Haden and Della were chuckling softly.
Ezra’s grin faltered only for a second before it returned, sly and amused. He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head.
“So let me get this straight… you were minding your own business, being the all-powerful God of Fate, when suddenly, bam, a witch spell hits you right in the dick?”
Haden let out a quiet laugh while Della covered her mouth to hide her amusement.
“Ezra,” I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“No, no, I’m serious,” he said, fighting a smirk. “Was it like, ‘Oh no, my feet are moving on their own. My heart is racing. I must follow the hot witch voice in my head…’ type of deal?”
“It wasn’t like that,” I muttered, though his words weren’t entirely wrong. “There was this… pull. A whisper that said her name. I ignored it at first, thinking I was losing my mind, but it just got stronger and stronger until it felt like I couldn’t breathe unless I went to her.”
Ezra whistled low. “Damn. That’s some next-level lusting, fate boy.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I snapped, glaring at him. “Stop calling me that stupid nickname.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” he said with exaggerated innocence. “You just accidentally married her. Happens to the best of us.”
Della giggled, and even Haden shook his head with a small smile.
“I didn’t mean to marry her,” I insisted but it wasn’t the truth.
“When I showed up, she was standing there in a wedding dress, about to marry some random asshole that was going to show up. She said I walked into her spell though, and that meant we were bound. At first I panicked because she isn’t my mate.
But the longer I looked at her, the more it felt…
right. Like fate actually wanted me there. ”
Ezra raised his brows. “So… let me get this straight. Fate literally dragged your stubborn ass to your witch wife, and you’re sitting here complaining about it?”
I glared at him. “I’m not complaining. I’m telling you I fucked everything up.”
“Yeah, yeah, tragic and all that,” Ezra waved a hand dismissively. “But honestly? I’m still stuck on accidental wedding. Next time, can you at least hold off and send an invite? I’d have brought a gift. Maybe a nice teapot.”
“Ezra,” I muttered, rubbing my temples, “focus. Loma made me forget about her. She made me forget everything I had planned for Elowyn’s crowning. And now Elowyn is gone because of it. It can’t be a coincidence.”
Ezra’s grin faded, but his eyes still sparkled mischievously. “Don’t worry, fate boy. We’ll find your witch wife. And then I expect a proper wedding this time. With cake.”
“Stop calling me that.” I narrowed my eyes at him, but he only smiled at me. Maybe he saw how I was falling apart and knew I needed him to lighten the mood.
Haden snorted.
I ignored their teasing, though a tiny part of me felt lighter with their humor. Still, my chest ached with only one thought.
I had to find Elowyn before it was too late.
“Those artifacts that Loma was talking about are sacred, and if she’s looking for them for someone in Gilyx, then that isn’t good. The veylanthi sisters are guarding them to keep them from falling into the wrong hands.” Della told Haden and Ezra.
“Veylanthi?” Haden asked.
I leaned back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my jaw as I gathered the stories carved into my mind.
“They were known as veiled enchantresses, woven from allure and deception. Stories say their beauty rivaled the dawn, and their voices could bend a man’s will to ash.
Clever and cunning, they wove truths with lies so seamlessly that even the gods themselves could not untangle them. ”
Della’s eyes widened, shimmering with starlight as she listened.
“These creatures walked this realm draped in illusions,” I continued softly.
“Their touch could unravel a man’s mind until he no longer knew the truth from lies.
But worst of all, their souls were not their own; they belonged to darkness.
Some stories say they were bound to the gods as their eternal mates.
They carried power unlike any other, a power the gods coveted and adored. ”
Haden swallowed, staring at the floor as he processed my words.
“The veylanthi feed on lies,” I said. “They gain strength from whispered secrets, using it to bend the minds of men and women alike. Although it was always the men who fell so easily for their allure.”
“Sounds like a nightmare,” Ezra muttered under his breath, though his eyes glinted with curiosity.
“Or a blessing,” I said, though the bitterness in my tone betrayed the words.
“Because they are that way to protect the realm. They are the only three veylanthi left, and each of them protects an artifact. They will save the realm by using them to break the barriers and take down the Gods of Gilyx.”
“Bexla.” Della’s eyes widened. “That is why you keep going to Gilyx and Valynth. You are helping with their fate. Why didn’t you tell me?”
I sighed heavily.
“I didn’t say anything because things are fucked up enough in our own realm, and we need to focus on that. I didn’t want to worry you. I have it under control.”
“What are the artifacts exactly?” Haden asked quietly.
“Relics with unimaginable power. The Bow of Blythe was carved from the heavens themselves. Black as midnight, with stars shimmering inside it. It was designed to kill gods, and when it does, it traps their power so someone else can take it. Then there’s the Mirror of Vesmal.
It’s rumored to show someone their true nature, everything they hide beneath their skin.
It strips away every lie until only the truth is left.
But it does more than that. It shows them a sliver of their fate…
just enough to push them in the direction they’re meant to go.
It swallows lies and strips someone down to their truth. ”
I paused, thinking of the last and most dangerous of all.
“And the Sword of Wern… that one is star-cursed. It is the most dangerous of them all. The sword holds incredible power, but only for the one it was destined for. If anyone unworthy uses it to kill, it’ll condemn their soul to float among the stars for eternity.
But in the right hands… it binds itself to its wielder, making them unstoppable, even to the gods.
We have to be careful, because it can kill old gods for good. ”
“Where the hell are they at?” Ezra asked.
I shook my head. “No one but the veylanthi knows, and that is for the best. But the sword had been something that the Gods of Gilyx have been searching for, for centuries. I truly think they believe one of them will be the rightful owner. But one of the veylanthi said it is in Elloryon. I wonder if Loma knows that.”
“You’ve spoken to one of the veylanthi?” Ezra asked.
“Yes, each sister is living in a realm. Maris, from Valynth is mated to the God of Desires. She is the guardian of the bow. Bexla is in Gilyx, and she has the mirror. They will not even tell me who their third sister is or where the sword is located—that is how important it is to the realm that no one finds the sword. Besides, I had to step in; their fates were all fucked up like ours.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Haden sighed. “Maybe you need to use Loma to see if she knows where the artifacts are. Or maybe she’ll trust you and tell you.”
“Maybe Loma isn’t a bad guy,” Ezra sighed. “Actually, scratch that, her weird brother gave me the creeps.”
“Her brother?” I asked.
“Yeah, he refused to say his name and kept glaring at me like I personally offended him somehow.” He shrugged. “He even refused to go to Della’s home.”
That’s odd. I stood up.
“I need to go find Elowyn. I’m going to go ask around again.”
Nate popped into my mind. I hated that I was going to see him and see if he knew where my wife was, but I was desperate. Ezra stood up.
“Hell yeah, we are due for another bonding experience, so I’m coming. You need someone to watch your back.”
There was no use in trying to talk Ezra out of this. I knew he wouldn’t listen, and I honestly felt better knowing he’d be with me.
He was my best friend after all.
“Where are we starting?” Ezra asked.
“With a friend of Elowyn's.”
I used my magic to take us to Nate.
When my star mist cleared, we were standing at Nate’s pastry cart. His eyes bulged when he saw me appear, and he instantly got into a fighting stance. Ezra let out an amused snort.
"I see you've met before." Ezra chuckled.
Nate was staring at Ezra and me, wide-eyed. “Whatever you think I did, I didn’t. I’ve left Elowyn alone like you said to.”
“Have you seen or spoken to her? She disappeared, and we can’t find her.” I frowned.
He straightened and stared at me.
“What do you mean she disappeared?” Nate glared at me. “What did you do?”
“I found my mate.” I looked at him. “Not intentionally. More like she found me.”
His face drained of color before he let out a heavy sigh.
“So my uncle was right. You two weren’t fated. I really thought he was wrong.” He looked at me. “I told her that you looked like you were in love with her, and she told me I was crazy. She said that you wouldn’t love her.”
My brows pinched together.
“Maybe your uncle can help me?”
Nate shrugged. “Good luck. You know where to find him.” He paused for a moment. “I’ll look for her when I’m in Akecia for business. If I find her, I’ll call for you.”
Nate hesitated as if he were remembering something.
“One time, Elowyn told me that she wanted to run away to Falgon, where nobody knows her, to start over." He glanced at Ezra then back at me. “Maybe she really meant that.”
“Thank you.” I nodded. “Ezra, we are going to Falgon to see Thomas and maybe with luck we’ll see her.”