Page 343 of The Gods Order

My favorite part, though…is watching Mom simply be Laney’s person. Like Annalise, she never tried to claim the title of mother.

She never had to. She simply loved her.

She missed twenty years of my life, but she pours every ounce of that love into my little sister, and somehow, watching it healed something inside me.

Yes, at first, it hurt.

Seeing the mother I never got to have standing in front of me every day wasn’t easy. But Iric helped me realize love isn’t a finite thing.

Mom loving Laney doesn’t take anything away from me.

It gives Laney something I desperately wish I had.

She, thank the stars, is not turning out the way I did. Her anger doesn’t consume her, and she has more support than I even knew existed back then.

About a month after bringing everyone home from beyond the barrier, Lambrit and I sat her down and explained that the evil plaguing the realm, the one that took her parents from her, had been taken care of.

It was safe for her to live with Lambrit or, of course, with the guys and me. Laney, who’s becoming too mature for her age, gripped our hands and said…no, thank you. She doesn’t want to live with only adults, and she loves her new siblings.

Her new home.

We accepted her choice and then threw ourselves into getting the realm right so not only her but every other child in the realm could grow up differently than we did.

Eleven months into that work, Mom told me she was ready to step into the Veil. Even once her decision was made, she worried she wasn’t worthy of walking back out a goddess. That she hadn’t done enough to deserve it.

Then the Deliverance she walked out with named her the Goddess of Stars. Every doubt she’d carried disappeared the moment she read it.

She watches over the journeys of every soul that enters the realm. She doesn’t change their fate, choose their connections, or manipulate anything. She illuminates their way to find their Starwoven. Their forevers.

Somehow…she was never becoming someone new.

She simply became who she was always meant to be.

That day, she wasn’t the only one who stepped into the Veil.

Yemi, Iric, Nero, Sevryn, and Mara each came out holding Domain God titles like the rest of their Starwoven Valtrue. Havar went in and came out a Domain God as well. They more than deserved and have earned them. It was still so relieving and gratifying watching their truths unfold.

Iric Obi, God of Solace.

Nero Valadi, God of Accord.

Sevryn, God of Pain.

Mara Willmer, Goddess of Elevation.

Havar Andino, God of Creatures.

I was a touch worried about Havar’s. Not because I didn’t think he deserved it, but because I didn’t know how Otiero would accept that.

Surprisingly, he was incredibly supportive and said after the many mistakes he had made, it was time for someone else to take care of the creatures of our realm.

Havar cried. He’s so emotional.

And Yemi Andino…Goddess of Boundaries.

My dad thought he had lost his title and he was completely okay with it. Then, the Gods Binding told us otherwise.

For the first time in our history, the realm felt that the Domain of Boundaries would be better enforced by two people rather than one alone. No one understood the importance of healthy boundaries better than the two of them.