Adila approached last, and when she reached for Stassi’s hand, theRoyalturned to pure light. Sam grabbed Stassi and pushed her behind him, and Caius clutched his burning chest as Rory did the same, staring wide-eyed at his sister.The new Lux Queen.
He turned to Aemas, who said nothing. “What’s happening?” Caius knew the answer, but he didn’t understand it.
Adila’s light extinguished, and she stared slack-jawed at her hands, twisting to look at Caius.
Aemas clasped his hands behind his back and walked toward them. “Gedeon is dead, and the Lux power must be passed on.” Before anyone could ask why it passed to aRoyalwho already possessed a title, theSeraphsaid, “Caius is next in line, but the shadows live within him now, and the Umbra King is all he can ever be.”
Caius looked at his hands, remembering the black void that held him captive. “Why didn’t I die?”
Aemas scrutinized him like a bug under a magnifying glass. “Your hatred for your brother almost consumed your soul and hand-delivered you to Orcus,” he said finally, and Rory clutched Caius’ arm. “But love has always been the more powerful emotion of the two, and when your mate was in danger, your soul did whatever it had to in order to save her. I believe it forged your hatred into a weapon, and quite impressively, might I add.”
“Why did the Umbra power skip Gedeon to begin with?” Adila questioned their maker. “If he was good enough for the Lux power, why was he not given the Umbra power from the start?”
TheSeraph’seyes slanted to Caius and back to Adila with a sigh. “Your brothers were two halves of a whole. Their souls were once one, and when they split within your mother’s womb, the soul did not split evenly.” His dark eyes filled with something akin to remorse. “There was nothing we could do to change the course of Fate. Caius received the goodness of their soul, and Gedeon received the opposite.”
Caius took the words like a blow to the chest. Even if it wasn’t his fault, he still felt guilty for the unfair hand dealt to his brother at birth.
“Because of this,” Aemas went on. “Moira skipped him, but when Atarah perished, they had no choice but to grant Gedeon the power.”
“What happens to the Scales of Justice power now?” Dume asked. “Does Adila hold two positions?” TheAatxehad yet to move closer, and Caius didn’t blame him. Aemas and Sam side-by-side were intimidating at best.
Aemas glanced at Rory, who afforded him a mere nod in response. Caius was stunned into silence at the implication.
“The power belongs to me,” his mate said evenly, showing little emotion.Like the Scales of Justice during a trial.
“You’re taking the news well,” Lauren observed, crossing her arms with an amused grin.
Rory glanced at her and quirked a brow. “I have been acting as judge and jury for years. Sending black souls to hell is a job I gladly accept.”
“If the Lux power is passed down the line, even if aRoyalalready holds a position,” Caius asked, not fully understanding how all of this worked. “Why did the Lux power not go to me and the Umbra title to Gedeon when Atarah died?”
Aemas’ wings ruffled with annoyance, almost revealing the rest of his face. “We don’t know, and Moira doesn’t explain herself to anyone.”
“Who is Moira?” Rory asked, but everyone ignored her. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Aemas cut her off.
“It’s time,” he told Sam grimly, who refused to look at him.
“Will I be able to tell my family goodbye?” Stassi asked theSeraph.
What?Caius looked to Lauren, who shrugged back.
“I am sorry, Anastasia,” Sam responded with enough grief and agony that Caius knew they would bear witness to a tragedy.
Stassi’s breath hitched, and she clutched the bloody fabric over her chest. “Do you mean to leave me?”
The way they looked at each other, you’d think they were…“She’s yourAeternum,” Caius guessed, appalled at the prospect of his friend leaving his mate behind.
Rory, Adila, and Lauren made various noises of surprise, and Stassi’s eyes glittered with tears. “I don’t know what that means, buthe said I’m Sam’s mate,” she said, pointing at Aemas. “And I know what a soulmate is.”
“In a sense, yes,” Aemas replied. “It was his mother’s doing.”
“Mother?” Rory parroted, and when Aemas nodded, she pointed accusingly at Sam. “The Coopers were right. You’re the son.” Her eyes moved to Lauren, who smirked back. “And you’re the knight.”
Aemas looked between Rory, Lauren, and Sam. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and unfortunately, we don’t have time to discuss it.”
Caius noticed Aemas did not speak as formally as his son, and he regarded his friend with intrigue.
“Wait,” Stassi interjected. “Why can’t I go?”
