“It does make you wonder what’s going on, though,” Andvari said. “It can’t be a coincidence.”
“Word is spreading,” Eduard said. “If they’re hearing rumors, they want us to know. No one knows who to trust, but our families know we will trust them.”
“Our elders will send a large clutch of vampires with Hartwig. They will not be pleased that he is leaving our lands.”
“Hartwig?” Draco asked.
“Large?” Eduard asked.
Andvari scowled at Draco before turning his attention to Eduard. “He has his own guards, at least a dozen. And they’ll surely send three times as many. This is averybig deal.”
“But my mother,” Draco gasped. “Mymother. With the leader of the vampires. And Augustus. And Henry’s dads. AndSawyer.”
“Has he really not met your parents in all these years?”
“No. Are you kidding me? My mother would have taken one look at him and known he was my mate. And I couldn’t have that, now could I? I’d have never heard the end of it. Centuries of nagging that I’d let my mate get away. That I could have found a way to make it work. No way. Just no.”
Eduard smirked. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Yeah, well, be prepared to be bossed around. She’s very demanding. And likes things her way. She’ll probably have tons of suggestions.”
Eduard and Andvari shared a look. “Draco, no matter what happens, it is an honor to meet your parents.”
“A true honor,” Andvari added. “Our mating is a blessing, and our families should be given the opportunity to celebrate with us.”
“Once we find the final guardian, we should have a true celebration.”
“Once we defeat a god, you mean,” Draco said.
It wasn’t an easy thought to bear, especially knowing that Sawyer had apparently given up his powers voluntarily. Why? None of them had been able to figure out why it had been so important that he become not only human, but a null as well. And yet, he wasn’t a null at all. Not really.Nothing would stand in their way.The words from the prophecy echoed through his head. They’d been wrong for centuries about what the prophecy meant. Were they wrong again?
Eduard had gone over and over it in his head. Now that the curtain had been pulled back, it was plain to see that there should be four siblings of the mother: Fire, Earth, Water, and Air. One for each of the elements. One to support the creatures who shared their element. Where did that leave Sawyer, though? Where did he fit into that seemingly complete puzzle?
Was it really a battle between the brothers as to who would take on the mantle of Air? Was it only allowed for one of them? Were they fighting it out, and the best brother would retain his abilities as a god? It would certainly be worth fighting for. Wars had been fought for less, after all. But it didn’t seem like the Sawyer he knew and loved. His Sawyer wouldn’t risk all the pain and suffering that had been caused by all of this fighting for more power. Although, from what they’d been able to determine, his brother did not use his gift for good. No, if only from the experiments on shifter children that they’d learned of, his brother wasn’t good at all.
Maybe, in the end, that’s what it was all about. Sawyer trying to put a stop to his brother and obtain the powers for himself. Not because he wanted the power. But because he wanted to put a stop to the darkness his brother caused. That did sound like something his Sawyer would do. Willing to put himself at risk to protect innocents.
“What are you thinking?” Andvari asked.
“It’s not important,” Eduard said.
“It is,” Draco said. The panic faded from his eyes. Instead, they turned to concern. No one was more fiercely protective of his mates than Draco.
Eduard let Draco pull him close and wrap him up in a tight hug. Andvari moved behind him, and Eduard breathed deeply, surrounded by his powerful mates.
“Tell us,” Andvari said softly.
“I’m having trouble matching the Sawyer I know and love with the idea of him being a god. It’s difficult.”
“Tell me about it,” Draco murmured. “You didn’t know him in his teenage years.”
Eduard grinned and tightened his hold on Draco. “I can’t imagine teenage Sawyer.”
“Yeah, ya can. Just imagine him the way he is now. That’s the funny thing. He hasn’t really changed a lot. Gotten smarter. More mature. But he’s had that big heart of his for as long as I’ve known him. He’s got this way of just… making everything better. I don’t know what all went on to make him give up his powers or make the choice to become human, but I don’t think his heart is any different, god or human. That’s the thing we have to remember. At the heart, he’s the same.”
Andvari pressed in closer. “Anyone who can inspire such love, who can break down walls for so many of us, has to be worthy of such gifts. That is his true power.”
“The power of love,” Draco grinned.
