My heart felt like it’d been crushed under the weight of grief again.
Ithurtto breathe as I gasped and jolted out of bed, stumbling over my mates and falling to the floor in front of Nebula’s stand on the nightstand, where his empty skull was placed.
“Fuck!” Dex roared, jumping out of bed, as naked as we all were, searching the room for an intruder as I sobbed helplessly, clutching the nightstand as I stared at Nebula’s skull.
His eye sockets were hollow—he wasn’t here.
“What happened?” Bram and Skel were up by Dex, checking the room.
“Why are you crying?” Hunter and Reed crouched beside me as I wailed.
“Nebula visited me! He—I held him. He was a cat again, and he told me the Fates had blessed us, but he made me leave!” I sobbed, choking on the words as I forced them out of my raw throat.
My mates shared a look, and Reed handed me my water bottle.
Before they could say anything, a disembodied voice echoed around the room.“Pandora…”
A golden light flickered from within Nebula’s skull, pulsing gently.
“Nebula?” I sobbed, collapsing into Reed and Hunter as they barely held me up with the shock that dawned through all of my bonds.
Strands of shimmering black fur began to weave themselves over his skull, flowing easily as the Fates’ magic wrapped sinew and muscle in a soft, golden cocoon around his skull. Delicate whiskers sprouted from his once-barren muzzle. His skull tilted, twitching mid-air before his golden eyes blinked open, gleaming like twin suns.
The glow of the Fates’ magic intensified, flashing a brilliant light that almost blinded me before it faded, leaving behind a sleek,livingblack kitten. His entire body was supple and whole, as if it had never been gone.
With a slow, deliberate stretch, Nebula placed himself onto graceful paws, tail flicking playfully, eyes gleaming with a spark of something ancient and loving. He purred before leaping off the table and into my arms. “I told you the Fates bestowed on us a gift, Pandora. I’m your familiar now, and my magic will only ever be used to aid you.”
I cuddled him against my chest, my body trembling with sobs that shook me. Tears continued to spill down my face, but I couldn’t stop myself from burying my face in the familiar warmth of the fur I thought I’d never feel again. My breath hitched as my fingers weaved through his silky coat, pressing against the gentle rise and fall of his living, breathing body.
“You really came back to life,” I whispered, voice breaking, my tears dampening his fur.
“I did. My life is tied to yours, now.” He nuzzled against me, purring—a deep, steady vibration that soothed the ache in my heart. “I willalwaysbe here as long as you are. The Fates decided to uphold my promise to you. They saw that you’d lost too much already. We both had. And…they told me to tell you that you havealwaysbeen more than your blood.”
I cuddled him tighter, too afraid to let him go, as if this moment might slip away like a dream.
But the weight in my arms wasreal. The warmth, thelife—it was all real. More sobs wracked my body—not from grief, but from the overwhelming, breathtaking joy of having my best friend back.
“I’m so happy to be back, but what the Fates did I come back to life to? Why are you all naked?” Nebula hissed, and the tension broke as the six of us laughed.
Nebula was alive—and he wasn’t going to leave me ever again.
62
PANDORA
The sun was molten gold in a way that reminded me of the Fates, dipping into the endless stretch of ocean as waves lapped at my feet. The salty breeze tangled in my hair, lifting it and blowing it around.
Laughter echoed around me, deep and teasing, a chorus of the five voices that were my heart and soul.
We were finally on vacation from all of our work on the Supernatural Council and getting the Demon Council officially switched over to merging with the Supernatural Council—and everything was finally done.
Sabine started transferring supernatural agents to the Demon Capital the moment we’d finished receiving our seats on the council, and the Demon Capital was already admittedly safer than it had been.
Reed’s mother had gifted him the estate when she’d taken her own life, but he had gifted it to me.
Now, it was home to all of us.
Dex’s shadows slipped around me. “Come on in, trouble!”
