Amick and Kyzen.
“They introduced the fourth to me last, although he was born first. They called him the singleton. I thought I’d suffocate when I stared down at baby blue eyes that matched my own. The only difference was the streaks of burgundy through one that we assumed was busted blood vessels due to his difficult, early delivery. Those eyes shattered my grief.”
Riven.
His Chaos pushes against my stomach, beckoning and mixing with my own, and I strangle back a sob. The pressure is devastating.
The slur in his words can’t come close to masking how much he’s both hurting but also how much he loves them.
“There was so much innocence in those four sets of eyes. They were created with the purpose of being nothing more than monsters. My stance changed once again because of those four boys never meant to be. I chose them. My life would be meaningless at this point without them. The invisible restraints wrapped around me would’ve sent me into madness by now if they weren’t here to motivate me. They weigh more than my need for revenge.”
Gods…
I wipe my eyes on my shoulders and clear my throat several times before I can get my voice to work.
“Then came me.”
He lets out a loud laugh.
“Then came a little troublling!” he cheers, throwing his hands in the air, but they fall fast right back to his lap.
The bottle he barely had a grip on tumbles to the ground. He doesn’t pay it any attention. He doesn’t even open his eyes.
“The only warning given about when she’d come was that we’d know once she was here. And that proved true. Her birth breathed life back into this realm. It sent a pulse—a shift that signaled another change was upon us. One that’s going to right the wrongs. Not to restore, but to reshape. She was who they were missing.
“I had my doubts about that at first. Until the day herangrylittle voice rang in my mind. She chose me before all others. I found it fitting and flattering. We both were on a path we had no clue about and needed guidance that would come from unlikelysources. I chose her right back. Despite her sass and smart-aleck ways, she’s my favorite.”
A watery, sad laugh slips out of me and there’s a drunk smirk twisted on his lips.
“It could’ve been worse. Instead of me, Seduction could’ve had the fifth like they planned.”
“Oh, my sweet, sweet Thay—” he hiccups, then pats his mouth as a yawn breaks free.
Silence stretches as I stare at his still form until a snore startles me.
“Derivius,” I say. He snores louder. “Derivius.”
Not even a flinch.
I grip my roots and take countless deep breaths as I try to wrangle the emotions brewing inside of me. My gaze never leaves his face, and the longer I trace his soft features, the harder it becomes to hold back my tears.
They eventually break through my restraint and tumble out of my eyes in streams.
“Are you okay, my Vedae?”V hoots.
“No,” I mumble as I peer over at him. “Where are their lines and limits, V? Is there no boundary they aren’t willing to cross?”
“Once upon a time, there was.”
“I find that incredibly hard to believe.”
“I’m telling you the truth. I witnessed the truth.”
My head whips toward the melancholy in his tone and I sink into his teal irises.
“You had a Calling with one of them?”
“I was the first Vedarya. I was all of theirs before I was anyone else’s.”
