My fist balls in my lap and I stare at my white knuckles.
Stupid-ass prophecy.
“Shortly after my return, all the portals closed, leaving me trapped here. I thought coming back after hundreds of years,Rella would look at me a little different,” he breathes, and my scowl softens as I take in his distant gaze.
“She didn’t. If anything, there was even more coldness in her eyes. Val had warned me she couldn’t be informed of the prophecy, but I had every intention of telling her the truth. Until I spent more time around her and realized how much she had changed. How…agreeable she was with Kira, Sabe, and Creation.”
“Why do you call her Creation and not a nickname like Kira, Sabe, Rella, Val, Suma? You all shorten each other’s names except for hers.”
“Because names have power, of course. They can’t hear me speak their nicknames, but Creation never allowed us to give her one. She was created inperfection, so she’d be addressed as such. Ridiculous. Just like everyone in the Veil thinks if they give themselves a name that starts with a V, the Valories will give a fuck about them a little more. Preposterous mindset. The Valories named Val, the Vedarya, and the Veilatara after themselves because they’re favored. That’s it. They couldn’t care less about the rest, but families have yet to let go of the naming tradition. So stupid. Egotistic.”
He shakes his head, and I mine. That’s the last time I’m going to get off subject. Although his ramblings are insightful, he’s far too drunk to carry on more than one line of conversation.
He’s now smirking down at his bottle, stroking it lovingly.
“So…Rella was more agreeable with them once you returned than when you left. You didn’t tell her about the prophecy?” I press.
“No,” he groans like he’s over talking at this point. “Their closeness made the rage inside of me harden, and my revenge plan blossomed. I was going to play both sides, be a middleman just as I always was prior to my disownment. When the time wasright, I’d kill Seduction and the realm could fall for all I cared. That all changed when I was once again betrayed.”
I blink.
“Who betrayed you?”
“Ev-everyone.” The crack in his voice guts me. “It was a betrayal that blindsided me in the worst way. Both sides worked against me. The Valories, Val, the Messenger, Suma, they all stood on the side of salvation and withheld the whole truth about how the prophecy would come to fruition. While the other, Kira, Sabe, Creation, and Rella were scheming their own plans that didn’t include any of us.
“They figured out a way to procreate and had decided they were going to create the ultimate Valtrue. Rella and Creation believed they were doing this as a way to finally replicate the power we once received from Elementra. They—we, I suppose—fucked so much up in the matching of gods since we took the power from the realm. The four of them thought they figured out the perfect solution.”
“The guys,” I mutter.
“Yeah,” he hums.
“Do…do they know the story of how they came to be?”
“No. Not entirely anyways. They obviously know Kira had sex with Creation and Rella, but not the powerful details.” He squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head. His deep yawn tumbles into a small chuckle. “Would you like to know so you can be the bearer of bad news rather than me?”
No. Not at fucking all.
“Is that what you need?”
A sleepy smile splits across his face as his eyes shut.
“No. I’m used to my role as the realm’s most notorious bad news giver. I’ll hold the torch a little while longer. Plus, I could use a little more time to build up the courage to tell them my plan was to kill them the moment they were born.”
“What?”
All the air in my lungs rushes out of me.
“Uh-huh.” He nods as he slouches down in his chair. “I was going to kill the five gods foretold. Especially the four made between Creation and Rella. That was the plan for the duration of Creation’s seven-month pregnancy. I spent all that time doting on Rella. Taking care of her every need despite the hatred I held in my heart over how the baby in her belly came to be.
“When Creation went into labor early, they forcefully induced Rella. I was fucking petrified. There was no telling how the delivery of babies never meant to be would go, and I refused to lose her.
“I was ready, though. Plan concocted and solidifying as I paced the halls of the healing villa in the Abandon. Then…I looked into their eyes. One pair was the color of ash. A beautiful balance between the bright white light of life and the black void of death. My hatred cracked.”
Creed.
“The next was a stunning yellow like a sunrise breaking through a boundless stretch of clouds. The armor around my heart split open. The third set was a navy blue that reminded me of the moment before night turns to day and the realm takes its first breath of clean morning air. My lungs filled with my inhale.”
I brush away the slow tear that slides down my cheek.
