“Shut up, Ezra,” I scoffed.
Haden and Della were chuckling softly.
Ezra’s grin faltered only for a second before it returned, sly and amused. He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head.
“So let me get this straight… you were minding your own business, being the all-powerful God of Fate, when suddenly, bam, a witch spell hits you right in the dick?”
Haden let out a quiet laugh while Della covered her mouth to hide her amusement.
“Ezra,” I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“No, no, I’m serious,” he said, fighting a smirk. “Was it like,‘Oh no, my feet are moving on their own. My heart is racing. I must follow the hot witch voice in my head…’type of deal?”
“It wasn’t like that,” I muttered, though his words weren’t entirely wrong. “There was this… pull. A whisper that said her name. I ignored it at first, thinking I was losing my mind, but it just got stronger and stronger until it felt like I couldn’t breathe unless I went to her.”
Ezra whistled low. “Damn. That’s some next-level lusting, fate boy.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I snapped, glaring at him. “Stop calling me that stupid nickname.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” he said with exaggerated innocence. “You justaccidentally married her.Happens to the best of us.”
Della giggled, and even Haden shook his head with a small smile.
“I didn’tmeanto marry her,” I insisted but it wasn’t the truth. “When I showed up, she was standing there in a wedding dress, about to marry some random asshole that was going to show up. She said I walked into her spell though, and that meant we were bound. At first I panicked because she isn’t my mate. But the longer I looked at her, the more it felt… right. Like fate actually wanted me there.”
Ezra raised his brows. “So… let me get this straight. Fateliterallydragged your stubborn ass to your witch wife, and you’re sitting here complaining about it?”
I glared at him. “I’m not complaining. I’m telling you I fucked everything up.”
“Yeah, yeah, tragic and all that,” Ezra waved a hand dismissively. “But honestly? I’m still stuck onaccidental wedding.Next time, can you at least hold off and send an invite? I’d have brought a gift. Maybe a nice teapot.”
“Ezra,” I muttered, rubbing my temples, “focus. Loma made me forget about her. She made me forget everything I had planned for Elowyn’s crowning. And now Elowyn is gone because of it. It can’t be a coincidence.”
Ezra’s grin faded, but his eyes still sparkled mischievously. “Don’t worry, fate boy. We’ll find your witch wife. And then I expect a proper wedding this time. With cake.”
“Stop calling me that.” I narrowed my eyes at him, but he only smiled at me. Maybe he saw how I was falling apart and knew I needed him to lighten the mood.
Haden snorted.
I ignored their teasing, though a tiny part of me felt lighter with their humor. Still, my chest ached with only one thought.
I had to find Elowyn before it was too late.
“Those artifacts that Loma was talking about are sacred, and if she’s looking for them for someone in Gilyx, then that isn’t good. The veylanthi sisters are guarding them to keep them from falling into the wrong hands.” Della told Haden and Ezra.
“Veylanthi?” Haden asked.
I leaned back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my jaw as I gathered the stories carved into my mind. “They were known as veiled enchantresses, woven from allure and deception. Stories say their beauty rivaled the dawn, and their voices could bend a man’s will to ash. Clever and cunning, they wove truths with lies so seamlessly that even the gods themselves could not untangle them.”
Della’s eyes widened, shimmering with starlight as she listened.
“These creatures walked this realm draped in illusions,” I continued softly. “Their touch could unravel a man’s mind until he no longer knew the truth from lies. But worst of all, their souls were not their own; they belonged to darkness. Some stories say they were bound to the gods as their eternal mates. They carried power unlike any other, a power the gods coveted and adored.”
Haden swallowed, staring at the floor as he processed my words.
“The veylanthi feed on lies,” I said. “They gain strength from whispered secrets, using it to bend the minds of men and women alike. Although it was always the men who fell so easily for their allure.”
“Sounds like a nightmare,” Ezra muttered under his breath, though his eyes glinted with curiosity.
