Chapter 20
Effie Harlow
“Yes, your mates.” My father offered them a skeptical look. “I didn’t realize you’d found them.”
“I may have not mentioned that,” Mona offered, squeezing his arm, “but they are wonderful.” I examined her expression for a long moment, realizing she meant that.
“This is Tore and Dakota,” I said, motioning to the two men in question, “and this is Caedmon and Julian—”
“Don’t forget Coffin,” Mona added, offering him a narrowed look. Julian’s eyes widened and I reached over to squeeze his hand, imagining it was weird to have people addressing the wolf that lived inside of you as a completely separate individual rather than the part of Julian he now inhabited.
“Yes, I recognized that. I thought he was taking a different form…” Samson drew out, “but it appears he’s part of Julian now?”
“You can tell all of that?” Julian asked.
My mates were a bit tense, and I understood it completely.
I hadn’t felt exactly relaxed about meeting their parents, but they had no need to worry—as important as it was to know about my past, the opinions Mona and Samson had about my mates had no bearing on my feelings for them.
“I can tell a lot about all of you,” my dad answered, then moved his attention towards Ryder. “And this must be Ryder Bosu.”
Ryder’s brows rose. “I’m assuming you know my family?”
“Yes, I am well aware of all the pure kitsune bloodlines left.” Samson sighed, offering a tight smile. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been around any of my creations.”
“Right.” Ryder nodded slowly. “It’s good to meet you.”
“And I think it’s good to meet all of you.” Samson’s assessing gaze moved around the group. “As long as Effie is happy.”
“Never been happier,” I said honestly. I felt slightly bad about the sadness my words brought to their gazes, but it was true. I’d been happy as a child, but those emotions had faded and couldn’t compare to the current reality of being with my mates. I hadn’t meant it in a hurtful way though.
“I’m glad you found your mates, especially ones that clearly love you so much,” Mona said softly.
My dad slowly exhaled as if coming to terms with the situation. “Your mom’s right, and it’s a bond that shouldn’t be ignored—which is something I should’ve been more understanding about when it came to your mom. If I had, we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.”
I couldn’t help but nearly smile at the thought that my dad considered both himself and Alcuin to be my mom’s mates, and I suppose they were, in a sense.
I also was happily surprised by his resigned and clearly reflective perspective on what had occurred.
This situation was going to be a lot easier to sort through if he truly felt that way.
“Effie has met Alcuin and Reaper,” Mona told him. “It was how she got the key from the shadowlands.”
My father hummed in understanding, although I had a suspicion he was at least partially aware of what had been going on, even if Mona hadn’t shared everything with him.
“Yes, my half-brother,” I said, examining both of their expressions. My father immediately nodded, sadness in his gaze. I didn’t see any anger, only regret.
Mona instantly was asking questions though.
“How is he? Is he doing well? I’ve watched him from afar, but I’ve never been able to contact him.
I was able to watch you from afar for all these years, Effie—I tried to give you pleasant clear nights to watch the moon and even some happy dreams, especially when you were little, but I couldn’t actually reach you.
It wasn’t until you started to connect with your magic that I was able to push past the barrier between us. ”
“And you had almost no connection to me,” my father said, “since until recently you didn’t even recognize the other half of your magic.”
Emotion caught in my throat. “So it wasn’t that you didn’t want to help me or try to contact me…you just couldn’t.”
A fierce expression covered Mona’s face. “If I’d been able to contact you in any way more than I did, it wouldn’t have been a question. If I’d been able to warn you or tell you to leave that horrible fucking pack—”
Mona stopped her furious words and took a steadying breath as I nodded in understanding, reaching over to squeeze her hand before smiling at my father. “Thank you for telling me that…I needed to know. I wondered for so long why I’d heard nothing, but that makes sense.
“And Reaper is good,” I added softly. “He’d found his mate and is part of a blood-bonded pack situation as well.”
“Blood-bonded pack?” my father asked.
“An attempt at bringing the hybrid lines together,” Caedmon explained, his gaze filled with heavy emotion at the discussion of family.
My mates were allowing me to take the lead on this, and their quiet support meant everything to be right now.
I wasn’t positive I would be able to face the truth if they hadn’t been here.
“Fascinating,” my father hummed. “I’m glad the boy is doing well—although he’s probably far older than a boy by now.”
“I hope to see him soon,” Mona admitted.
Suddenly a boom in the distance had all of us looking in the direction of the gates, the sky shifting and changing into a stormy pattern before reverting back to normal—almost like a glitch in reality. Could that be a result of what things were like on Earth right now?
“The guardians are already correcting the balance,” my father said easily.
“About that,” Dakota drew out.
“What exactly will they be doing?” Tore finished.
“Let me show you.”
I’d thought Samson was speaking metaphorically, but Mona snapped her fingers and the sky above us darkened like a blanket being pulled over to shade the patio.
Stars lit up the sky and the moon disappeared completely, making me almost breathless.
I had no idea how this was going to result in them showing us anything, but it was gorgeous.
“You loved it as a child too,” Mona said wistfully.
“The more experienced you grow with your magic, the more control you’ll have over elements like that—you may even be able to do this same thing for your child.
” I couldn’t help but smile slightly at the image she painted of a projected nighttime sky on a nursery ceiling, the slow lull of falling asleep in a rocking chair.
“You have the ability to do so much, Effie, things you haven’t even started to unlock, I suspect.” My father smiled slightly. “Although you do seem to favor your mom’s magic more than my own.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Ryder said, speaking up.
“She has elemental magic and has kitsune marks on her back. When we were in the shadowlands, she shifted into kitsune form for the first time, even.” The pride in Ryder’s voice had my chest fluttering with happiness as I watched curiosity grow on Samson’s face, clearly excited at the prospect of me favoring aspects of his magic as well.
“Right.” He nodded and then seemed to shake himself. “Before we focus on that though, let me show you what exactly is happening down on Earth.”
I really wanted the security and confirmation to know that something was going to change—that we could truly move on from this. Plus, we could talk about my magic later.
My father motioned through the air with his hand, and a golden screen appeared out of nowhere. The images in the center were vibrant, softly fading on the edges. It was like a television but somehow more realistic.
At first I couldn’t make sense of the images playing out in front of us. Colored energy colliding with buildings, surrounding and converging on certain individuals. Buildings falling and screams echoing loudly. It was terrifying and beautiful in a way I didn’t fully understand.
“The divine realm is inhabited by two types of gods—those deemed as the guardians, who fall under us in the hierarchy, and those who live their somewhat ‘normal’ lives here, similar to how you would if you chose to.”
“Guardians—those are the colored energy spirits?” I asked, not quite knowing how to describe them.
“Yes. They are lesser gods and more representative of energy, pure and determined to enact justice through the world. The gods who live here each represent different cultures, but the guardians protect all, which is what you see them doing here. They’re evaluating the current state of things and extracting those who need to be removed from the equation…
much like that Hastain bastard,” my father explained easily.
“They will face justice in the divine realm for their actions.”
“And the innocents who were captured are being released,” Mona added. “The guardians will help them find a safe haven.”
“How can they tell?” Julian asked. “How can they tell who’s deserving of what?”
“The guardians have a sense of right and wrong that even we don’t have.
They are pure and incorruptible, only executing the actions that are best for the balance of those on Earth.
Their role is one that all three of us decided was necessary when we created the Earth and the divine realm.
We knew we weren’t perfect, and we wanted to have checks and balances in place—even we aren’t immune to their justice.
Something we had to answer for when the gates were first closed. ”
My eyes widened. Someone held the creators of this universe accountable…I mean, I was glad for it, but the concept was somewhat insane.
“They also have an innate connection to those around them and the land itself. They will seek out any problems and instantly correct them—which was why it was so essential to release them. Only gods like them can provide the balance that we truly need,” Mona finished.
My gaze moved back to the screen as I continued to watch the images flashing across it, one building even tumbling to the ground. I may not have understood all their actions, but I could sense a difference…a change occurring. I didn’t fully know what it meant yet, but I think it was a good thing.
“And the gods that live here?” I asked.
“Not perfect by any means, but they also view Earth as valuable,” my father said.
“The innocents involved in all of this—ones that are stuck in those buildings they are demolishing…are they not being injured? You said they were released, correct?” Caedmon asked, his eyes darkening on the screen.
“You mean the women that Erik Hastain captured? Or the children your father victimized?” Mona asked. “All of them will be fine—the same cannot be said about Erik, though.”
“Your father, if he’d survived, would’ve faced a far worse punishment than even Hastain,” Samson offered and then shrugged. “But it would have resulted in the same ending—death.”
“If you can, destroy all of it—the entire town. All of their headquarters. All of their buildings…just all of it,” Caedmon said harshly. “Especially anyone that helped him.”
My parents held his gaze before nodding, seeming to agree and not view it as a concern.
I had a feeling they had a way to communicate with the guardians.
I had no idea how, but it was just a guess.
I continued to watch the screen, my attention pulled back as lights blinked in and out of existence amongst the chaos.
I couldn’t imagine the world we were going to come back to after this.
“How do we know that more evil won’t replace the current—that it won’t just create a vacuum of power?” Dakota asked, causing my chest to tighten once more with nervousness.
“It’s not that it won’t,” my father said, “it’s just that no evil will have the chance to upset the balance past a certain point—it won’t be a game of amassing wealth and power and using it to hurt others.
There may be bad individuals, but they will never grow as powerful as they were…
at least that’s the hope. Before the gates closed the balance was far better, and when those that broke the balance were brought in, they faced a judicial council for sentencing.
For many like Erik Hastain, death will be the answer, but for others there’s a prison here that can contain them. ”
Sitting back, I let out a long exhale, feeling like everything was set up the right way…I just hoped that it worked. I really hoped that it would work. There was one last question that tugged on my mind, though.
“Hastain was using divine realm magic, or at least that was the rumor…was someone helping him?” I asked. My parents’ expressions turned tense and angry.
“That is another reason why I have no doubt he will receive the most severe of punishments. He was illegally siphoning magic from a divine realm item that one of his ancestors stole,” my father said. “The bastard has no true magic himself.”
Feeling relieved by that, I admitted, “I don’t think he deserves anything less. I’m not sure how I feel about saying that out loud, but he’s hurt a lot of people and I know he planned on hurting so many more.”
“I promise we will handle him.” Mona squeezed my hand.
“Right.” I nodded and then offered them both a hesitant smile. “This…this has been a lot. I don’t even know what to say, and I don’t mean that in a bad way—I’m just a bit overwhelmed.”
Tore’s lips brushed against the side of my head, and I melted into his embrace, feeling better with the reminder that he was right here with me—all of them were.
“I’d love for you to stay the night while you digest all of this, and it’ll give us a chance to celebrate your accomplishment and welcome you back,” Mona said, then addressed my mates.
“All of you. I wasn’t lying when I said a mating bond deserves to be celebrated, and you haven’t had a chance to do that yet—not really. ”
“What do you say?” Samson asked hopefully.
I could tell that none of my mates were exactly against the idea, but they clearly wanted me to decide. Something that was confirmed by Julian’s words. “Whatever you want, preciosa.”
“Then yes.” I turned towards my parents. “We will stay.”
I just hoped they understood it was for only one night.