Chapter 22 #2
My thoughts went silent. My body locked in place. Pain seized my chest so violently I couldn’t draw a breath. Elowyn—bound to him? To something so wrong it made my skin crawl?
Philip didn’t deserve to look at her. He didn’t deserve her trust, her laughter, her love. He couldn’t love her. Not the way she deserved.
And fate—godsdamn fate—had done this to her.
The realization curdled in my gut, sharp and bitter. I had been bound to a lie. She had been bound to a monster.
“The fates are working overtime with you and Elowyn.” Thomas smiled. “Balance must be restored. And for that, you are meant to end that bloodline. Your reward is having the woman who should have been your mate to begin with.”
I swallowed hard before looking at Ezra. His shoulders fell as he let go of Thomas. Realization sinking into both of us.
“But it will be at an unknown cost to Ezra and Farris. Fate always demands a price, even if you are the god of it.”
“Where is she?” I asked. “Can you see where she is?”
Thomas nodded as he watched me with curious eyes.
“For the God of Fates, you sure aren’t seeing a lot.” Thomas raised an eyebrow in question.
I sighed. “I can’t always see the fates of the gods, especially if they are close to me. And I have never been able to see Elowyn’s fate or my mates.”
Thomas’s eyes slid to Ezra and lingered there far too long. Something unreadable passed over his face before he smiled.
“You, beast,” he murmured, “will do great things. Terrible things.” He nodded before turning his gaze back to me.
Ezra looked at me but I had no clue what Thomas was speaking of.
“Fate is working overtime, Abram. It will ensure Elowyn meets Philip—even cursed it had them cross paths. That was always meant to happen. But when you loved her back, when you saw the bond and still chose her, you broke the curse without knowing it. Your choice was the only thing capable of undoing what Jade bound to her.”
He paused, letting the weight of it settle.
“Jade’s curse is already fading. Fate will reward Elowyn by giving her a mate, and in time, it will reveal the bond between them.” His gaze sharpened. “And you are running out of time.”
I stared at Thomas, not sure if I should punch him or hug him for being able to see what I couldn’t.
“But what was the point of the curse if it led her to her mate anyway?” I asked.
Thomas shook his head and sighed.
“You are the curse. She was always going to fall in love with you; it is why the moon brought you together when she asked for the man she would love.
She did not ask for her mate. The heavens wanted you two to fall in love so that you would sacrifice your mates.
The realm is suffocating because of what Gilyx did with the barriers.
“The vyrak are helping the god, Rolph, from Gilyx. This is the heavens protecting the realm. You and Elowyn can have each other, but only if you do what you must—kill the vyrak for good. Besides you should know that Kilryn is fucking everything up too.”
Thomas looked at Ezra. “Farris has her own secrets, and they are what drove her to stay with Philip. By then though, he had already attached himself to her, and that fake marriage they put on was him wanting you to suffer. Philip and his family hate the gods.”
“So they aren’t married?” Ezra asked.
“They are, but not in any sense of a true marriage. He just wanted you to leave her alone so he could keep her. And he knows her secrets, and she is willing to die for them.”
Ezra deflated at those words.
“Great, so this went from complicated to nearly impossible.” I began pacing.
I couldn’t hurt Farris. I would never do that to Ezra.
But the heavens were going to force my hand, and I knew when push came to shove, I would protect Elowyn above all else.
Ezra seemed lost in thought for a long moment before his beast form slowly lessened its grip on him.
He stared at me without giving away any emotions.
“We have to kill them,” he said. “Fate will not allow another outcome, especially if the realm is in danger.”
“Ezra…”
“I’ll save her,” he assured me. “I will save Farris even if it kills me.”
Thomas stilled all of a sudden. He walked to the front door and opened it, stepping out. Ezra and I followed him to see what was wrong. Our mouths fell open when we saw the sky lit up with lanterns.
“What is that?” Ezra asked.
“Night of the lanterns is when the people of Falgon ask the heavens to grant them one wish. They believe the heavens grant three wishes a year,” Thomas answered.
Fuck, Elowyn would’ve loved something like this.
“We should go,” I sighed.
“Wait, god of gods. You have something coming for you.” He smiled as he pointed into the sky.
A single lantern was coming toward us. Thomas’ eyes watched in awe as it drifted straight to me.
I held out my hands and caught it, the flame under it going out as soon as it was in my hands.
I stared at the small symbol on it. Three stars in a triangle around a crescent moon. Elowyn had this tattoo on her hand.
I looked at Ezra then to Thomas. Something pulsed from the lantern, like magic or power.
“You feel it?” Thomas asked.
“I don’t understand what I’m feeling.”
His grin widened. “It appears Elowyn’s lantern found its way to the only god who can make her wish come true.”
“This is Elowyn’s?” I gripped it.
He nodded, and I didn’t bother asking any other questions. My magic wrapped around Ezra and I. When it moved away, we were at the lake in a crowd of people. We began searching around for her. My eyes moved to anyone with dark hair, but I couldn’t find her.
I moved through the crowd and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a woman off to the side by herself. I didn’t need to see her face to know it was my Elowyn. The crowd parted, and I stepped toward her. She turned slightly to look over the lake, and I paused to admire how pretty she looked.
I swallowed hard as relief filled me. My throat tightened as tears stung my eyes.
“Elowyn…,” I whispered as I took another step.
But then he appeared, a man that was smiling at her. He was tall and good looking. Gods, he looked similar to me. Ezra stepped up next to me, and I could feel his anger.
“That is Philip,” he growled.
Philip handed something to Elowyn, and she took it.
Then his gaze flickered up to Ezra and I.
He reached forward and moved Elowyn’s hair off her shoulder.
My eyes flashed red when he smiled at me—a cocky, knowing smile.
My magic surged instinctively, answering a command I hadn’t given.
The world narrowed to the space between them, her laugh, his hand, the way she leaned just a fraction closer.
The worst part wasn’t that she was smiling. It was how easily it looked like she could learn to smile with him.
He said something to Elowyn, and she nodded, turning away from him. As soon as her back was turned, he waved to us before flipping us off.
“This motherfucker.” I started for him, but before I could get far, they disappeared with magic.
“Godsdamn it!” I yelled so loud that everyone stopped talking and stared at us.
This was my fault. I left her alone long enough for fate to fill the space.
“Okay, well now we know she’s in Falgon.” Ezra was trying to find the positives.
“And with her fucking mate.” I was losing control. “I’m too late. She is going to love him and forget me.”
Ezra turned toward me and frowned softly when he saw how devastated I was. She was already seeing Philip. Did she know he was her mate? They looked comfortable with one another.
“She isn’t going to pick Philip over you. She loves you,” Ezra reassured me. “We will have to figure out a plan on how to get to her.”
“I will destroy him… even if she loves him. I will not let her choose that monster.”
“Then let’s go to my house, and we can come up with a game plan on how to kill your mates and save our women.” Ezra grabbed my shoulder and squeezed. “I’m always here for you. We will do it together.”