“You will be rewarded for choosing correctly later,” she promised. I instantly felt desire course through me.
She didn’t look away from me as she lifted her hand, lightning forming in her hand in the shape of a knife. Then she turned and sneered at Abarra.
“A deal is a deal.” Without any further hesitation, she plunged the weapon into the woman’s chest, pulling it down and completely gutting her. Della smiled in Abarra’s face as she reached into her chest, her bloody hand pulling out the woman’s soul. It was as black as night. Abarra’s mouth fell open as she tried to catch her breath.
Della brought the soul up so the woman could witness her squeeze it until it burst into a million specks of light.
“You will die and never return in any form. Enjoy an eternity in a special Hell where there is no light, no others present with you, and you will float around in an emptiness with no end. Bitch.”
Abarra’s eyes rolled back as she fell over dead. Della opened her hand and blew the dust of the soul away like it was dirt. Then she glanced around the others menacingly.
“Who’s next?”
They all took a step backward—everyone except my father, which pissed me off beyond reason. He thought she wouldn’t gut him. Did he really think she would want him as a mate?
“I will save you for last, Malamay.” She turned to me.
“Haden, my love, go stand by my brother Abram and enjoy the show.”
“Brother?” Malamay asked.
Della looked at my father, and I hated it. I didn’t want him to see her pretty eyes or face. What was he thinking when he looked at her? Gods, I wanted to rip his fucking eyes out myself.
“You all remember Abram, God of Fates, my brother!” she announced, and the faces of all the stars fell.
“That would make you the Goddess of Creation,” Diath scoffed.
“Nice to meet you.” Della's lips twitched with amusement. “Let’s not forget our other brother, Mikel, God of Justice and Balance! And my husband, God of Hell, God of Wrath, and now God of Creation—Haden Vale!”
My mother’s face fell as all of the gods and goddesses bowed to the three of them. I think it was finally soaking in that my wife was more powerful than I realized. Della glanced back at me and tilted her head to the side, and she seemed to be thinking about something. But a moment later she wrapped her star mist around me and gently moved me back to Abe.
“You seem pretty fucking confident that you’ll beat us,” Diath sneered. “You’ll lose in front of everyone. How embarrassing. Just because you are an old god means nothing.”
Della tossed her head back and laughed. God, she was pretty when she was out of her damn mind.
“Oh, Diath, you will be fun to kill.” Della looked around at everyone watching curiously. “I saw this day hundreds of years ago. I will not lose, and none of you even make it challenging. How could you without your magic? Malamay’s magic will not be strong enough. But Malamay’s feelings for me will not let him hurt me either.”
Diath sneered at her. “You fucking snake. I knew it was you fucking everything up, but Malamay had his head so far up your ass he couldn’t see it.”
“Well, Diath, that is because he wanted me to become his mate. Did he tell you that?” Della was stepping toward my mother, who glared at Malamay.
“I knew you were protecting her, you fucking stupid motherfucker!” Diath ran at my father and tackled him to theground. They began fighting, punching, and rolling around in the grass. Della stepped back and watched intently. After a moment, a flash of frost appeared in my father’s hand before he disappeared for a split second, reappearing behind my mother, who was still kneeling on the ground. Without hesitation, he pulled back the ice spear he now held in his hand and impaled her.
His eyes were filled with frost as he stared at her with an intense hatred in his eyes. Diath’s mouth fell open, blood pouring from it. Malamay looked at Della with an expression that had me stepping forward, but Della flicked her wrist and blocked me from getting too close to them. Gods, I was going to rip him apart limb by fucking limb if he touched my mate, my wife. She was mine. I would never let him touch her.
Filled with my wrath, I ripped apart Della’s magic holding me back when Malamay grabbed her arm. He was saying something to her, but she was not responding. Before anyone realized it, I was running toward him. But Della saw me and smiled at me from over his shoulder. There was no stopping the wrath pumping through me as I reached my father and gripped him by his hair. With a powerful yell, I yanked him into the air and slammed him down into the ground hard enough to leave a small crater around his body.
“Haden,” he wheezed in supplication, realizing that he was about to die.
I circled around him, my eyes burning with hatred.
“She is mine; you do not get to touch her,” I sneered. “You really thought she would ever want you?”
He looked at her, then back at me.
“You and I are practically identical, except for our hair color. She could have easily replaced you with me. The only difference is I would have treated her better than you ever could have,” he said with a cocky grin on his face, defiant to the end.
Della sighed in mock disappointment. “Malamay, that was a very stupid thing to say to Haden. Now he gets to kill you, and I don’t.” Della stared down at him. “And you are stupid if you think you could have replaced him. I will tell you what I told his shitty parents before I murdered them. The only worthy thing you ever did in your entire existence is give me my mate. Otherwise, you are a waste of space.”
