My father hung his head, wings folding in close to his body.
“Yes. After your mother and I discovered she was pregnant with you, Apollo sought me out and gave me a prophecy. One I was reluctant to heed, as there is still bad blood between us stemming from the Daphne situation.”
The Daphne situation was the reason Zeus had passed his law forbidding gods from meddling in each other’s love lives. The story goes that my father made Apollo fall madly in love with Daphne but also made Daphne repulsed by him. It drove Apollo mad for a time, and all because he’d mocked my father. Gods’ egos were fragile things.
I swallowed hard. Prophecies were never given lightly. They carried weight, consequences.
“What did the prophecy say?”
My father’s voice was uneven as he spoke. “It foretold that you would have a love inside you so pure it could heal the hearts of this world. But if your heart failed to find its other half by the full moon in August of the year you turned thirty, your gift and heart would be lost to the world. And there was a caveat—I could not help you. You had to discover this gift, your divinity, and even your soulmate on your own. So I had a choice to make: become mortal and live the rest of my life as a human with you and your mother, or stay away until the time you found your way back to our world.”
The impact of his words hit me.
“You could have lived as a mortal with Mom and me?”
Father reluctantly nodded.
“I am ashamed to admit that I was too much of a coward to give up my immortality. Even though the thought of staying away from you and your mother killed me, I selfishly chose to leave you. To break your mother’s heart. My only justification was that I was doing it for your well-being and that someday you and I would be reunited. But in reality, it was for myself.”
Roman pulled me closer, his brow furrowed. Hedisliked this tale as much as I did.
My eyes and throat burned. It hurt to know my father hadn’t chosen me—or my mother. My mother, who was his true love. How do you walk away from that?
“I know you are disappointed in me, and rightfully so,” Father said, his voice heavy. “I have regretted the choice since the moment I made it. When your mother died, I had to intervene, even knowing the consequences of introducing you into my world before you found it yourself. I knew I was risking your heart and even that of your soulmate’s. But I had failed you once, and I couldn’t do that again. But I never imagined it would lead you to lock your heart. I failed to recognize that when the prophecy warned of your heart being lost to the world, it meant to you as well. And I realized too late who your soulmate was. And so I failed not only my daughter, but my godson.”
His eyes turned to Roman, silently pleading for forgiveness.
“For years I watched the animosity between you grow, and I knew why. My actions prevented you from meeting when you should have in the mortal world. In a place where your souls would have recognized each other. I placed you both on the wrong path. And in doing so, I unnaturally tore you apart.”
He breathed out a breath full of regret.
“When something so pure is torn apart, it breeds disharmony—sometimes even hatred as in your case. You ended up blaming each other without knowing why. And while you were both suffering, the world was losing the light it needed—you, my daughter. So I begged Zeus to help me undo my mistakes. He was growing weary of the world’s decline, and so he agreed to send you on a quest that would notonly give you a chance of falling in love, but also help your soulmate recognize you for who you are. Neither of us wanted the world to lose the gift I had stolen from it. We didn’t want you to lose yourself. That would have been the greatest tragedy of all.”
“You might have mentioned the soulmate part,” I spat.
“Daughter, you already knew who your soulmate was,” Father said kindly. “But you didn’t want to believe it. Not that I blame you. The blame lies with me. But tell me—would either of you have believed me if I had said it outright?”
A look passed between Roman and me that said there was no way in Hades—uh, hell.
“That’s not how soulmates work. You must discover each other on your own. And you would have, had I not intervened in Demi’s life or had I been brave enough, like you, Roman, to give up my godhood. You have proven to be the better man. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for Demi. For the world.”
Father bowed to Roman again.
“Now, if you would not mind, I would like a word with Demi in private. Then you may have her to yourself—though I suspect once Zeus starts time again, you will have a great deal of explaining to do.”
Roman brushed his lips over mine, his voice steady.
“She’s worth all of it. Even if I lose my show.”
I knew he meant it. But I prayed it wouldn’t come to that—especially after I’d humiliated myself for ratings and made Cassie look like a harlot on national television.
I didn’t want to leave Roman’s side, not now that my heart was once again my own and I could feel all the feelings again. It was as if the world had gone from black and white to color.And all I wanted to do was get lost in Roman and love him and be loved by him.
But I supposed I should talk to my father. Even though I was hurt by his latest revelation. Not only had he left me, but he’d also intervened in my life when he shouldn’t have, and it had cost me Roman. It had cost me my heart. I couldn’t believe that he was the one who had unnaturally torn us apart. I’m not going to lie: I had kind of been hoping it was Psyche’s fault.
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed the tip of Roman’s nose. “By the way, I love you.” It felt amazing to say those words after so many years of not being able to utter them out loud.
“I love you,” he responded reverently.
