Chapter 19
Effie Harlow
What happened next could only be described one singular way—a bomb detonating.
As the key turned and clicked into place, there was a single moment of calm silence before the gate exploded outwards, sending me flying back into Ryder.
He turned his body to shield me from the deadly inferno, his magic wrapping around the group of us protectively.
Raging winds and thunder cracked through the air, the scent of fire and smoke permeating my senses.
I could only pray that my mates were okay, that they weren’t being hurt.
Then the screams started. Loud screams, seeming to come from the heavens themselves, and the sensation of rushing water that ran over us in a cooling yet chilling effect.
I felt dizzy from the contrast, and my chest compacted tighter as my own magic expanded out, supporting Ryder in his effort to keep my mates safe.
But the power that had been unleashed was so intense that it shook me to my core, and that was before the magic pulled on me.
“Effie,” Ryder bellowed as a sudden vacuum yanked me forward, a shot of pink and blue energy coming from the swirling vortex where the gate had been. I cried out as my body lifted from the ground and my head snapped back—
Memories of every kind began to assault me.
Except these weren’t the memories or experiences of others—they were my own.
Ones featuring Mona and a man that I hadn’t recognized at first but I now realized was my father.
Happy ones. Sad ones. Memories of me exploring the divine realm; memories of interactions with other gods and ethereal spirits that sheltered me from danger as I grew up as if they loved me like one of their own.
Hot tears ran down my face at all of the answers I was receiving at once, at the realization of how much I’d left behind…
How much I’d been forced to leave behind.
As the memories receded, my body relaxing in relief, I was thrown into another cycle of power that had everything to do with the future and nothing to do with the past. Just as Mona had predicted, the opening of the gate directly shifted my mating bond.
Almost as if welcoming me home and promising me protection alongside my mates, the magic from the divine realm ran over each of my bonds and hardened them into solid diamond, making them unbreakable and permanent.
My whimper of pain at the shocks of power from each instance weren’t enough to counter the joy and contentment I felt at knowing nothing could ever separate the six of us.
Finally, the fear of men like Hastain being able to hurt us would be gone.
Dropping hard onto the ground, the space around us vibrated and shook, my mates surrounding me as the magic from the gate spread through the clearing and arched towards the sky.
It changed the evening light to a vibrant electric blue as explosions of colors burst from the portal like spirits rising from the grave.
My breath stuttered as I realized that those were the gods from the divine realm, flooding back to Earth to reap justice on this planet.
It was almost a peaceful moment despite being intense, and only the sudden blood-curdling scream of Hastain broke it.
Sitting up, I watched in awe as two of the gods’ ghostly forms circled him in an almost taunting way, fear evident on Hastain’s face as they converged on him, their magic causing him to convulse.
My eyes widened as they dragged him forward and through the portal, his screams echoing as he begged for us to help…
but there was nothing we could do. Not that we wanted to help anyway.
I felt everything still as the portal transformed into something more…
an actual gate leading into the divine realm, the entire scene spread out in front of us like something in a movie.
Around us the world was shattering and changing, transforming into something new, something far more…
balanced. And all I could stare at was Hastain begging and pleading as he was pulled up the stairs and disappeared into what I had to assume was the divine realm.
Or heaven. That was what it really looked like.
It looked like we were at the legitimate gates of heaven, or at least the images of heaven I’d seen in human illustrations.
Orange and white clouds floated in a lavender sky, light from a massive sun and moon reflecting off the white marble of the staircase that ascended upwards.
A shaky breath left me at the thought that we would need to go up those stairs to face what lay beyond the gate.
“Let’s go,” I whispered as I stood shakily, Tore wrapping his arm around my waist as we slowly made our way forward.
I couldn’t even find the strength to tell them that we were bonded, truly bonded, but I had a feeling they’d felt the change as well because despite the nervousness associated with all of this…
there was also hope. Hope that we could officially move on from the fear that had plagued us.
“Nothing will change unless you want it to,” Julian reminded me. I nodded hesitantly, our ascension up the stairs slow but steady. Once we were halfway up, though, my body went rigid as I stared in shock at the two individuals standing a short distance away.
“The sun and moon goddess.” Ryder’s voice was filled with tension.
“My parents.”
Dante’s Paradiso. It was after a long moment that I realized that was what this realm reminded me of. The white marble stairs were covered in a light, pearly fog that had the softest floral scent, and the light around us was muted yet somehow brilliant at the same time.
The sky above transitioned from morning to night from my right to left, stars sparkling throughout all of it and creating a lavender hue in the center which had been my original vantage point.
I was captivated by the sky alone, but that didn’t even account for everything else I could see, and despite the fact that most of it was in the distance, I could see it with startling clarity.
Trees in shades of orange, purple, and pink stood tall like great pines and shifted in a breeze I could tell wasn’t natural but instead filled with magic.
There were natural stone paths off the staircase that led over silver grass hills, and while I couldn’t see perfectly clearly, in the hazy, foggy, very far distance I was almost positive there were houses or buildings, their small statures not taking away from the way they sparkled under the sunshine and moonlight at the same time.
Dreamy. This place was absolutely dreamy, but my heart began to beat louder as I recognized that I could only distract myself for so long.
I turned my attention to the two individuals at the center of all of this—my parents.
I honestly didn’t know how I felt about that label to begin with, but the way they were watching me, the small smiles and emotion-filled expressions that beamed from them, told me they felt the intensity of this moment as much as I did. A moment I never expected to have.
Of course I’d wondered about my past, but I never expected to have this type of answer to it—or any answer, really. I also couldn’t deny that I bore an uncanny resemblance to both of them.
Mona was unsurprising to me because we had very similar coloring overall, from our hair to our eyes, but my father—Samson, apparently—and I shared the same features.
We both had a slightly more rounded face with high cheekbones, and while his features were more masculine in nature, I couldn’t deny that we did resemble one another. Especially when he smiled.
That smile was the same one I saw in the mirror every single day.
When I was less than ten feet away, Mona flashed in front of me and pulled me into a tight hug.
I couldn’t help but automatically hug her back, feeling torn on the way she’d orchestrated this, but at the same time understanding that Mona, Samson, and Alcuin had made a mistake.
It had cost a lot and resulted in some really bad stuff, but it seemed—and I wanted to hear it from the two of them—that they recognized that and had been trying to correct things.
I may not ever consider them to truly be my mother and father—not in the close, familiar sense like I had when I was little—but I couldn’t find it in myself to be as angry or confused or even hurt as I’d been before.
Mona had left some things out and hadn’t exactly been straightforward, but she hadn’t lied about the permanent bond with my mates.
Plus, it appeared that the gods were already doing what she’d predicted—fixing the balance in our world.
And honestly, after seeing those memories and experiencing those emotions again, I had no doubt they’d loved me—a lot—and while I didn’t understand why they didn’t try to contact me, it was clear they hadn’t wanted to be away from me all these years.
“You’re here, you’re really here,” she said, her eyes watering, joy and relief evident in her expression.
“I am,” I said and then looked up at my father, finding his attention focused on the men behind me, his gaze critical and cautious. “And you must be Samson—my father.”
Samson’s eyes moved down to me, warmth filtering into his gaze. “Yes, little moon, I’m your dad. I know you probably don’t remember a lot—”
“I actually do. When the bonds with my mates solidified, I received a lot of my memories from my childhood.”
“Oh, good.” Mona offered a small sound of relief. “I’m so happy to hear that.”
“Is there anywhere we can go to talk?” Ryder asked, eyeing the gods and people around us—reminding me that we weren’t truly alone right now.
No one was super close and I didn’t think anyone cared what we were talking about, but I wouldn’t mind the chance to sit down and take a moment to check up on my mates after that had just happened.
“Absolutely, let’s go home.” Mona motioned to the castle behind them, her words directed towards me rather than Ryder.
The castle actually looked like more of a fortress, serving as a safeguard and barrier between the gates and the rest of the realm.
Following my parents, I kept myself insulated between my mates as I refamiliarized myself with so many things about this place that I’d long forgotten, including the several-story lavender-colored doors to the castle that were embedded with orange gems that made them appear to be on fire in the sunlight.
My childhood home was gorgeous.
My home was with my mates now though, and no matter who these people were to me, parents or not, my mates were my future.
I knew that with every ounce of my being.
As we stepped through the doors, I was hit with a memory—an occurrence I predicted would continue to happen as I made my way through this realm.
“Mom! Dad!” My voice was filled with panic as I ran quickly through the halls, holding a small creature against my chest, the little thing mewling in pain. I wanted to get it to the medical healers as soon as possible.
My dad appeared out of nowhere, surprising me to an extent. Usually in the evening he was getting ready to go to bed and my mom was just getting up, but he looked like he was wide awake. “Honey,” he said gently as he crouched down, “What’s wrong?”
“I need to show you something,” I said as my mom rushed into the room.
“I just saved this kitty. She’s badly hurt, and I need to take her to the healers.
” I just didn’t know how to get there. It was a very large castle for a five-year-old to navigate on their own, and the healers had their own building.
“Oh,” Mom said, joining my dad in crouching down. “Let’s see her.”
Gently opening my arms to reveal the kitten, I let out a concerned noise at the way her paw was actively bleeding. Other than that she looked pretty healthy, and her long fur was the prettiest sparkly blue shade I’d ever seen.
“Looks like she may have been bitten,” my dad said as he examined her paw.
“Her name is Misty,” I said softly.
“Naming her?” Mom gave Dad a knowing look before offering me a curious look. “Did you want to keep Misty, Effie?”
“Yes,” I said emphatically. “I want to protect her, and if she sleeps in my room I can do that way easier.”
“Well let’s get our new family member to the healers then,” Dad said.
I breathed out a sigh of relief—I knew that my parents would understand. They always did.
Emotion clogged my throat, remembering just how much I’d loved Misty.
I fought the urge to ask my parents about her as I looked around the four-story foyer featuring large marble pillars and a sparkling floor embedded with blue and orange jewels.
On the ceiling were translucent lavender and pink curtains that floated in the breeze as we walked through an exit pathway into a large grassy corridor and covered patio space.
There was a long table already prepared for us with food and drinks, but that wasn’t what caught my eye.
“Misty!” I sprinted ahead and knelt down on the grass, pulling her into my arms. Immediately she began to purr loudly as she nuzzled my neck, and tears filled my eyes, nearly breaking down my face.
A little sob caught in my throat as a warmth infiltrated my chest with pure joy.
In that moment, seeing Misty made everything worth it.
I knew it was silly, but I hadn’t realized just how much I’d missed her until I’d gotten my memories back.
“She’s been waiting for you,” Mona said lightly, motioning to the long table. Dakota helped me up, and I sat between my mates, keeping Misty on my lap.
“I missed her,” I said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before looking around. “And I recognize…all of this.”
“This was your home,” Samson said quietly. “Effie, this is your home.”
Examining both of their faces and looking at my mates, I offered the truth—even if they weren’t going to like it. “I may have grown up here…but my home is with my mates.”
And it would be that way forever.